Dancing with the Devil

The prediction

Kalista's brain was a whirlwind of confusion. The coincidences she had encountered since entering Avaloria Castle seemed to support the most plausible theory. If it were true, the ownership of the castle would have passed through generations, and the name Serafinia would have faded into obscurity long ago. She pondered the reason behind her intense feelings and unwavering determination.

The canoe glided with the current, carrying Kalista towards a narrow channel at the edge of the city. She stepped ashore, securing her purse. With a swift motion, she dug a hole in the earth and buried the blood-stained maid's dress. To her astonishment, most of the injuries she had suffered during her battle with the mummies had vanished, and even the cuts in her mouth from the porcelain fragments no longer caused her pain.

The palm of her hand still seemed to retain the warmth of the ironing, and Kalista couldn't help but think of the devil and ponder the meaning behind the sudden kiss.

Kalista needed to meet Evelyn as soon as possible to retrieve her money and explain the events that transpired in the castle before any news reached her. However, the outskirts of the city were so desolate and covered in vegetation that it was impossible to find a pen to write with.

She picked up the brown paper Evelyn had left her and contemplated her next move. She turned the vellum upside down and over, and discovered a line that had been dampened with water, allowing the ink to seep through to the other side. Suddenly, several letters began to twist.

A sense washed over her mind, causing her to freeze. She blinked and then focused her eyes, but nothing happened. With a sigh, she picked up a dry branch and dipped it in mud to write.

Fortunately, the kraft paper was thick enough not to be punctured by the tips of the branches. She scribbled, "Castle chaos, afternoon out of the city to discuss the news," and the paper then burned, turning into ashes, leaving only a wet corner of the trees. Evelyn took a moment to reply, providing the name of a tavern in a frontier town.

Thanks to her childhood experiences of sneaking out of the castle to explore, Kalista successfully mapped her current location to her memory's map of Serafinia and set off for the nearest town. She arrived around noon.

The town was not too far from the castle, and to be on the safe side, she immediately went into a grocery store to pick up the necessary supplies. Her accent was slightly different from the residents of the town, and the boss regarded her as a foreigner and killed her. She swallowed the loss silently, chose a scarf to cover her head, and exchanged the rest of the money in her purse with the silver candlestick for a portable dagger.

Before she left, she seemed to casually ask the boss if she had heard of Serafinia. The boss was confused and said she did not know.

It was 306 years in the new calendar, and there was no way to know when the old calendar ended. Kalista estimated, based on the portraits of the Hunter family in the castle, that she was born at least 500 years ago. During these years, the territory of Serafinia had changed dramatically, not only with the emergence of supernatural creatures such as "devils," but also some people had mastered "magic."

Look, there was a mysterious man sitting outside the grocery store. He was crouched in a corner, wrapped in a black cloak, holding a dirty crystal ball in his hat, as if he were a homeless man. At least he wasn't there until Kalista entered the store to make her purchase.

The edge of the black cloak appeared to be embroidered with some strange symbols in gold thread. Kalista glanced at him twice, and the tramp suddenly looked up and smiled at her. His face was surprisingly clean, and his mouth moved as if speaking, but the words were garbled.

"Good day, pretty lady. Have you heard of the prophecy of the Sword of Time and Space?" he asked.

Kalista shook her head.

"The prophecy says, 'One day the golden-haired knight will break through the mists and return with the sword of time and space that will slay all evil.' You have beautiful hair, Miss," he continued.

"Thank you for your kind words, and have a nice day," Kalista replied, not having time to engage in further conversation. She left with her scarf tightly fastened around her head.

But the tramp sang to himself, "The sword of time and space can fulfill all the wishes of the man who holds the sword, it can reverse life and death, across time and space..."

Kalista stopped suddenly and looked back—the homeless man in front of the store had vanished.

She knitted her brows slowly. The runes on the edge of the tramp's cloak seemed similar to the water-stained text on the corner of the message paper, except that they were reversed and mirrored. It was a pity that she had lost a seemingly useless piece of paper.

Kalista walked quickly to the agreed spot and opened the door of the tavern. There were not many people in the restaurant, and she turned to see Evelyn waiting at the window seat.

Evelyn wore a short knight's uniform with antlers embroidered on the epaulets and back, and a thin sword at her side. She had been watching Kalista from the moment she walked in the door, her expression less than welcoming, but she had a bag of money and a few papers at the ready.

"All my men are dead," Evelyn said, her green eyes filled with anger as she surveyed Kalista, clearly distrustful.

Kalista responded, "The Count is dead, and your sister had your friend killed, trying to pin it all on me and kill me. Too bad it didn't work out for her. I got out. Thanks for the medicine."

Evelyn remained unconvinced. "You killed the count. All we agreed to do was steal the key."

"I killed him," Kalista admitted, removing the key from around her neck. "But your sister ordered it. She knew all about your spies in the castle, and after you left, she came to me and threatened me to work for her."

"Then you should have contacted me first!" Evelyn slammed the table, drawing the attention of the other patrons around her.

Kalista whispered, "I can't. Aside from the fact that you only gave me two subpoenas, the mystery behind this is much more complicated than I thought. If I didn't pretend to work for her, I'd be dead before I left her room."

Evelyn clenched her fist. "You know the secret of the key."

"Yes," Kalista thought, realizing it was futile to hide the truth, "because of the Count's peculiar diet, he turned into something close to a devil last night, so I killed him with a table knife." It was a hard fight."

The visible wounds on Kalista's body confirmed her claim that she fought for her life to escape from the castle. If Evelyn had any common sense, she would know that Kalista wouldn't be able to kill her friends if she didn't have any power. The truth was clear. She just didn't want to believe her sister was capable of such cruelty.

Kalista placed the key on the table and held the dagger at her side. "What other questions do you have?"

Evelyn ran her fingers along the hilt of her sword, then pulled the metal buttons from the sheath of her shirt and handed Kalista a piece of paper, a bag of silver coins, and a suitcase.

"The Holy See will deal with the devil, and from now on, you need not interfere. Here's your new identity and some money. Security outside Avaloria was not good enough to carry large amounts of silver. You can use your identity documents to go to various branches of the Holy See and get silver coins."

"Thank you," Kalista said, carefully arranging the metal buttons and counting the coins and papers before putting them in her bag. "My friend Mabel, is she okay?"

"She is safe in the sanctuary of the Holy See, and if you wish to see her, I can take you there."

"No need. If she's safe, we'll meet again." Kalista stood up, packed her bags, and waved to Evelyn as she prepared to leave.

At the same moment, the guests at the next two or three tables also rose. They all carried swords.

Kalista looked at Evelyn. "Do you want to kill me like your sister did? I thought people who believed in God kept their word."