If you're following this series in order, click here next . For more information on the entire series, read the "'Demon's Due' Defined" journal entry here. [link]

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Amidst the faint, flickering light of the nearby room, a slight shift catches Elina's eye. "Luther," she hisses, dropping the Cat Witch's skirt and drawing her dagger. Luther spins and closes quickly, his eyes fixed on the strange, floating light that is trailing a tail of ash and smoke behind it. The Scholar's whispered "halt" freezes him before he can move in front of her.

"What is it?" he asks behind her ear.

"A Mote," the Scholar says quietly, never taking her eyes off of the darting form. "A quantity of ambient magical energy concentrated and attached to the vestige of a once-living mind."

"'Once-living'? You mean, like a ghost?"

"Yes," she answers, her daggertip following the thing's path through the shadows. "But only a few thoughts and memories remain."

Luther shifts his blades defensively. "How dangerous is it?"

"That depends. Motes can release small amounts of pent-up energy at whatever they contact, like an electrical or fiery discharge. But they generally won't attack a healthy, living person unless they are made of concentrated hate and fury, and those are very rare. A free-roaming Mote, often called a 'will-o' the wisp, will often lead those who follow it to places of import, including burial sites, or even a stray sheep, or the hiding place of a lost child. And sometimes they can lead to places of deadly peril."

Luther sighs as the Mote turns away and floats off into the darkness. "So how do you tell the difference?"

Elina watches the Mote flit away. "You can't. But the real danger here would not be a free-roaming Mote, but one that is under sorcerous control, something called a 'Runemote.'"

"A 'Runemote'? Why would that be so bad?"

Elina turns to the Magistrate's chief agent, her voice a mere whisper...

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I thought it was about time for an "information dump," especially on these "floating sperm" that have been cruising around for the last 40 pages, and who better to present it than our resident Scholar on all things arcane?

And I lied on the last page; we've still got one more before we switch to a new face and place.

Elina was drawn using stock photos provided by Emily, a.k.a. ~Feathered-pics . Thanks a ton, Emily!

Enjoy!