Chapter 40
"What timing," Bonnie said when she saw the message.
Lilith nodded without giving it much thought.
It really did look like coincidence. "I was going to wait until Auriel had time before dealing with Giles, but since he reached out first, I might as well go meet him.
" She replied, set the meeting at Frostbound Bastion, and closed the interface.
"This shouldn't take long. I'll be back soon. "
"He'll need time to get to the Bastion anyway," Bonnie said, pointing toward the farmland below the wall. "You might as well have breakfast first. Look — the vegetables are finally ready. I'll make something."
The harvest amounted to little more than potatoes and tomatoes, but they were the first fresh vegetables Lilith had seen in nearly two weeks, and Bonnie had a point. There was no need to rush.
That decision to stay for breakfast bought Morwen enough time to send a Specter with another report from the south.
"You found something already?" Lilith asked, surprised.
A Specter bowed before her. "My Lord, the Goblin tribes to the south are moving. They have gathered their forces and appear to be preparing to enter the Frostlands."
Lilith paused. Was the third omen about to appear?
It was the only explanation she could come up with for why the Goblins hadn't struck her Territory in retaliation. She dismissed the Specter with a wave. "Keep watching them."
The Goblins didn't frighten her the way they once had. She'd grown to the point where only an Elite could reliably beat her, and even if the Goblins mobilized their whole faction and sent an Elite along with it, she could call on Elowen.
With the high-end combat power evened out, they had no chance of taking her Territory. For that matter, she still didn't know whether they even had an Elite. If Morwen confirmed they didn't, Lilith would wipe the faction off the map without a second thought.
"Lili, breakfast is ready!"
Bonnie had put together a simple but colorful bowl — tomatoes, potatoes, roasted beast meat, several kinds of greens. The castle kitchens were well stocked with seasonings, and it all tasted surprisingly good. Lilith lifted one of the leaves on her fork.
"Where did you find this?"
"Wild plant from the Verdant Forest. I ate it all the time before — it's actually pretty good."
She tried it. Crisp, juicy, none of the bitterness she'd braced for. "Not bad." Another bite. "You've got good instincts in the kitchen."
Bonnie grinned.
By the time breakfast was done and Lilith reached Frostbound Bastion, nearly half an hour had passed — plenty of time for Simon to make the trip. Yet from the top of the Bastion wall, sweeping the surrounding snowfields, she found only her own stationed undead.
She sent another message.
[God of Light: Are you here?]
She was still watching the translucent screen for a reply when she caught movement beyond it. A concealed figure emerged in the distance.
Giles.
He'd clearly arrived ahead of her and gone to ground when he realized she wasn't at the Bastion yet.
Now he dropped the concealment and came toward the fortress at an unsteady walk.
Neither of them spoke. There was only the wind sweeping the Frostlands and the snow crunching under his boots — a silence with an uncomfortable edge to it.
As "Giles" drew closer, Lilith could sense the disorder inside his body.
The wounds hadn't fully closed, though most of his strength was back.
Which of them held the reins, she still couldn't tell — but Frostbound Bastion counted as an extension of her Territory, and that let her inspect anything that entered its range.
She stood openly on the wall and examined him.
[Name: Giles]
[Race: Human]
[Rank: Tier 3 Veteran]
[Identity: Lord]
[Attributes: 112]
[Overview: A unique human from another world, possessing exceptional Talent and the support of a mysterious power.]
It was the first time she'd inspected another Lord the way she would an ordinary creature, and the readout differed from a native being's panel. Unfortunately, it said nothing at all about his abnormal condition.
So the System couldn't tell her who was in control. Her eyes settled on the Rank line instead. Tier 3 Veteran — nowhere near the Tier 9 strength Simon had reportedly thrown around. Did that mean Giles currently held the body?
She closed the panel and looked down at him. When he'd come close enough, Giles finally spoke.
"Lord Lilith, I don't know whether you can fix what's happening to me.
" The voice came out strained. "If you can't, that's fine.
Just kill me." He raised both hands, offering them up for restraint.
"While you examine me, please don't take any chances.
Simon could surface at any moment and attack you. "
Lilith's eyes narrowed. Everything about him matched the Giles she remembered — humble, sincere, afraid to die yet willing to accept it if it came to that.
Simon was arrogant, manipulative, obsessed with his own superiority. Could he really imitate Giles this convincingly?
Then she remembered. Simon was a con man.
She kept her guard up and smiled reassuringly. "You're not going to die. I may already have a way to save you."
Hope flooded his face. "Really?" Then it dimmed again. "If saving me costs you anything valuable, killing me is probably the better choice."
"You don't need to worry about the cost." Lilith stepped off the wall and landed lightly in the snow, several yards from where he stood. "Come with me."
Giles kept his hands raised. "Thank you. But you should restrain me first. If Simon takes control, I might hurt you."
Inwardly, Lilith laughed. She was all but certain now that the man in front of her was Simon. He kept insisting she come close and bind him — which would hand him a perfect opening for a point-blank surprise attack.
Simon wanted revenge, but he wanted to survive it too.
He had no way of knowing whether Eldran, Morwen, and Varkhul were still stationed inside Frostbound Bastion, and even if he killed Lilith, a wounded Simon would never outrun all three Overlords.
His safest play was to lure her away from the fortress and finish her before she could react.
And there was a second crack in the performance.
If Giles truly controlled the body, he'd be far more likely to insist she simply kill him.
His condition was an anomaly even the System couldn't identify — why would the real Giles believe Lilith could cure something the System itself failed to explain?
She said nothing. She simply started toward him, Soulfrost Chains coalescing around her hand, selling the impression that she meant to bind him.
Simon could barely contain himself. At last. His revenge was finally here. He kept both hands raised and walked slowly out to meet her, his pace deliberately measured, drawing her a little farther from Frostbound Bastion with every step.
The distance shrank. Ten feet. Six. Three feet.
Simon stopped pretending. Werewolf power erupted through his body as he lunged.
"Die, Lilith!"