The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 97 - The Calm Before the Manor (Patreon)

Piper followed Eleni through the halls of the keep, her thoughts growing hazier by the second. In the mortal realm, her body hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in days. And she hadn’t slept either. At this point, the only thing keeping her upright was sheer willpower.

Before long they reached a stone staircase and ascended it. When they arrived on the fourth floor, they exited into a hallway with doors spaced every few metres. A plush carpet covered the floor, and glowing crystals mounted on the walls emitted a soft white light.

Eleni stopped at the third door on the right and pulled a key from her pocket. While the gates had opened automatically in her presence, apparently the room locks were far more mundane.

Piper stifled a yawn, her eyelids drooping. But she couldn’t sleep until she rescued Ophelia. All that mattered was her friend’s safe return.

Yet she had no idea when she could leave the guildhall safely. While she was too far from the outer city to know what was going on, she imagined the nuns were still scouring the streets. And she didn’t think they would give up anytime soon.

Plus, she couldn’t just cloak herself in illusions and hope for the best. She’d seen at least one adventurer with a magical item she believed could see through her illusions. Then again, she had been able to fool an augur. Maybe her magic was strong enough that she couldn’t be discovered at this point.

With another yawn, she waited as Eleni unlocked the door with an iron key and swung it open. The young woman’s features were tight as she pulled open the door and motioned for Piper to go inside.

“This is my room. You’ll be staying with me for now.”

“Wait,” Piper said. “I’m supposed to sleep in your room?” She wasn’t too comfortable staying with a woman who really didn’t seem to like her at the moment.

“All the wayfarer rooms have two beds,” Eleni replied. “And the other bed in my room is… vacant. Just be glad you’re not sleeping with the aspirants in the stables.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Do they really make them sleep in the stables?”

Eleni eyed her coldly. “They’re gravebait. Why would the guild waste any resources on them?”

“I’m an aspirant,” she said, her voice rising. “And we’re not gravebait.”

“You’re not an aspirant,” she spat. “You’re a filthy false classer who tricked me into letting her into my guildhall. Niko is never going to forgive me after I was so stupid.”

“I saved your life,” she shot back. “And you invited me to join your guild. I could have found somewhere safe on my own.”

“I only invited you because I thought recruiting you would gain me favor with Niko. Now I’m going to spend the next few years hunting giant rats.”

The mention of giant rats made Piper’s thoughts return to the terrible events in the sewer, and her face crumpled. “I can’t do this right now,” she said, her voice catching in her throat. “Can I just get something to eat and drink? Please?”

Eleni cocked her head to the side and gave Piper a quizzical look. “Did you really lose your friends? That wasn’t just a story to trick me?”

Piper nodded , blinking rapidly. She couldn’t fall apart right now. There were too many people counting on her. She had to be strong—just like when she was in the hospital.

“And saving me wasn’t some ploy to gain my trust?”

Piper shook her head. “I saved you because you were in trouble.”

“Who are you, Anna? Really?”

“My real name is Piper,” she sniffled as she furiously brushed away a stray tear. “You might as well use it since you know everything else going on.”

Eleni licked her lips. “Why don’t I try to go find the servant I sent to get you food? I’ll let you rest for a while in the room. My bed is the one on the right.”

Piper nodded as she walked past the young woman into the room. At the foot of the beds were two wooden chests, large enough to hold a full suit of armor and some personal effects. What must have been a shared desk sat against the wall, and a shaft of light from a narrow window sliced through the gloom.

When she turned around to ask Eleni a question, she found that the young woman had disappeared. With a mental shrug, she closed the door behind her. Walking over to the bed, she sank down on the soft mattress.

Sliding across the covers, she leaned her back against the wall and slumped forward onto her knees. She held back the tears as she sat there; the events of the last few days came rushing back.

No matter what she did, she kept seeing Selene’s face in the sewer when the young woman had been struck by the rot mage’s spell. Her friend had trusted her to protect the group, and she’d let them all down.

Why did I survive and not them?

She knew the only reason was that she’d been reborn as a demon. Meanwhile, they had to struggle with their common classes and their low human attributes. Nothing felt fair in this world.

Drying her eyes, she sat up as a feeling of resolve formed in her chest. She would make sure no one else ever died because of her. She’d been granted an amazing class in the Infernal Realm, and she would use it to keep the cities aspirants safe.

Realistically, she knew she couldn’t save all of them. But if she could find the time to just accompany one group a day, she could prevent countless deaths.

Piper lifted her head and gazed up at the ceiling. She realized someone had painted the night sky, complete with pictures of dragons winging between the celestial bodies. She even spotted one that she was pretty sure was Elaraxa.

I guess they haven’t completely stomped out heresy here.

A feeling of drowsiness stole over her body, and she decided to rest her eyes just for a second. She blinked a few times, the interval growing longer between each one. Then she slipped into a fitful slumber.

A knock on the door nearly made her jump out of her skin, and she leapt to her feet, brandishing her claws. Her eyes took in the unfamiliar room before she remembered where she was. Another knock made her turn toward the door.

With horror, she looked down to see her exposed alabaster skin. Her spell had fallen away while she was asleep.

As the door cracked open, she hurriedly cast [False Face], her illusion firming up the moment Eleni popped her head through the door.

“I’m sorry. Were you sleeping?”

Piper nodded and made a show of patting down her tousled hair. She also cast [Truth Shroud] to change her classes back to Anna’s previous ones. She didn’t think anyone would be rude enough to use [Identify] on her in the guildhall. But she didn’t want to take any chances.

After all, the guild master had used the skill without her even feeling it. Who knew when an adventurer would sneak a quick [Identify]. If her race came back as a demon, she doubted even the guild master could save her, not that he would likely want to at that point.

The man wanted a powerful infernal caster; not a denizen of the Infernal Realm.

She lifted her nose slightly as a divine aroma wafted into the room. Her mouth watered at the sight of a plate of food in Eleni’s hand.

The dark-haired woman stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She walked over to the desk and deposited an overflowing plate close to Piper’s side. An entire roast chicken took up the middle of the plate, while fried potatoes, slices of buttered bread, and wedges of cheese were arrayed around the steaming meat.

Piper raised her brow at seeing so much food.

“You said you were hungry,” Eleni said before smiling. “I practically had to wrestle it out of the cooks’ hands, but I wasn’t about to let our newest guild member go hungry. Also… take this as an apology. I have no idea what it’s like being an Infernal Caster. And you saved my life twice without asking anything in return. A lot of other adventurers would have left me to die. I imagine the empire isn’t an easy place to live with your class.”

“It’s really not.” Piper reached down and grabbed a chunk of yellow cheese. She nibbled at the edge and let out a sigh of pleasure. This had to be the tastiest cheese she’d eaten in her entire life. “I don’t suppose you have anything to drink?”

Eleni’s smile grew larger. “Did you think I forgot?”

She unslung two wineskins hidden behind her back. She placed them on the desk next to the plate. “The one on the right is the best wine you’ll find in the city. The other is water that’s been cooled and purified by our resident water mage.”

“No more wine, please!” she said emphatically. “The last time I had some, I got arrested by the Dawnward Host.”

“Wait…” Eleni held up her hand. “They’ve arrested you in the past? Or did you mean you were drunk earlier today? I can’t see them letting you go if they had you before.”

“They arrested me a while ago,” she said with a full mouth. “I barely managed to escape, but I think I screwed up someone else’s life in return. I still need to find him so I can fix it.”

“That’s crazy.” Eleni pointed at the chicken. “Do you mind if I grab a leg? I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“Help yourself. You got it for me after all.”

Eleni tore off a leg with golden-brown skin and bit into it. Juice dribbled down her chin, and she wiped it away quickly with a handkerchief. While she ate, she sat down lithely on the edge of the bed opposite Piper.

“How do you even end up with an infernal class, anyway? You don’t strike me as the burning down villages and causing mayhem type. Unless you’ve completely fooled me again...”

“I promise I’m not fooling you,” Piper said. “And I just sort of ended up in the Infernal Realm for my awakening.”

Eleni’s mouth dropped open, the half-eaten drumstick forgotten in her hand. “You went to an ascendant realm for your awakening? How is that even possible? How could you get the deeds for an epic class so fast?”

“I had an incredibly brave best friend back on our farm. We fought an ooze on our own… and actually won. Plus, I had to face an awakened lion and escape from some ancient demon ruins.”

Piper felt her dark thoughts lifting as she talked about the farm again. The battle against the ooze might not be her best memory, but she loved her time with her surrogate family.

“My friend from the farm; she’s the one the Ares family kidnapped. It’s why I have to save her as soon as possible.”

“If you give me a few weeks, I can find a way into the manor. Our guild has incredible influence and reach.”

“I’m going first thing tomorrow.”

As Eleni spluttered, Piper uncorked the waterskin and tipped it up to her lips. As she did, runes flared to life on the side, and ice-cold liquid poured into her mouth. Her eyes widened at the magic. She gulped down the water as fast as she could, the icy liquid cooling her parched throat.

Nearly thirty seconds later, she lowered the waterskin. She panted for breath, her thirst finally quenched. No matter what Eleni said, she was keeping this thing. The ability to have cold water whenever you wanted was too good to give up.

“You’re mad if you think you can sneak into one of the most defended manors in the city in one day,” Eleni finally said. “Perhaps we could slip in through the sewers, but who knows if they run under there?”

“I’m not going to sneak in,” Piper said, her voice hardening. “I’m going through the front gate, and I’m going to deal with anyone who stands in my way. No matter what, I’m getting Ophelia back and nothing is going to stop me.”