I looked at the Damned that were moving to surround me.

  My eyes drifted up to the four larger Damned slowly walking down the cliff face from the front. They jumped, landing amid their kind with heavy thuds. They lifted their heads and looked at me.

  Fiery embers crackled and drifted up into the wind from their scales. Compared to the others, these were larger, stronger, and far more arrogant.

  The Damned leaders looked at me and then past me, where a tornado had started to take form. They sniffed the air and looked at each other.

  One of them hissed and began to speak. His voice was cultured, at odds with his monstrous form. “You must be Voss Truechild.”

  I nodded. “I am.”

  Another, this one a female, spoke in a bored tone from my left. “Baz failed then? What a bother.”

  “It seems so. Look at this stupid brat. Standing there with his foolish face,” the one on my right answered in a guttural voice.

  They all looked behind themselves at the largest Damned standing head and shoulders above the rest. That one didn’t move his eyes from Ilya’s tornado.

  “Voss Truechild. I am Baron Shea.” The Damned with the cultured voice introduced himself and turned left and right while introducing the others. “This is Baroness Enis. And that is Lord Selch.”

  I nodded. “Hello.”

  “Hello?” Shea laughed, and a hissing laughter rippled through the throng of the Damned. “Boy, do you know why I introduced us?”

  I shook my head.

  Shea looked at the other two Damned leaders imperiously. “Because now that you know our names, there is no way any of us will let you live.”

  Selch took a step ahead and snarled, “Like I was going to let him live anyway. Voss Truechild, we reject you. We reject the Vosses. We reject the Starbright Empire.”

  “I already gathered that,” I said convivially and smiled.

  They all looked at me. Their eyes sparked with barely held anger, and then Shea snorted. He carried on in a bored tone, “You know why you are not dead already?”

  I nodded. “The mana in the air.”

  The Damned surrounding me snarled.

  Selch hissed. “Yes. But we know a better source of power. Essence!”

  The Damned roared the word Essence, and a shiver went through the crowd of lizards.

  Selch looked at me disdainfully and muttered, “And since you are a newborn, you won’t have much. You are not worth the trouble, weakling.”

  I played dumb and gave him a baffled look. If this lord knew how much essence I actually held, he would have attacked already. No, I had to keep these creatures at bay. I couldn’t afford them tasting my soul. That would make them attack in a frenzy, and my chances of surviving that were low.

  “Oh?” I said.

  I had to keep them talking. The more they delayed, the more mana I breathed in to water my seed.

  “May I ask a question?” I asked.

  Baroness Enis rolled her eyes and let out a bored sound. “Polite? So dull and boring.” She waved her clawed foot. “Fine. Go ahead, ask your question, Truechild.”

  I nodded a thanks towards her and asked, “Where are the Thorgs? Did they not come with you?”

  Selch snorted. “Those blighted demon lovers?”

  “Shut your mouth, Selch.” Enis gave the other Damned leader an annoyed look. “They are our allies. The Tyrant King has deemed them so. And they are happy doing all the hard jobs that I don’t want to do.”

  “Lazy witch,” Selch snarled.

  The two Damned glared at each other. I looked at them. Could I use this discord to my advantage? I had to give it a try.

  I cleared my throat. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to cause a rift. I just wonder, if they are your allies, why aren’t they here?”

  “What is it to you?” Baron Shea asked.

  “I don’t like them. I wanted to fight them.” I shrugged and sighed. “But I guess they sent their servant lizards to do their work for them.”

  Shea laughed, and once again, the Damned followed. “Servant lizards? They are fighting the Wraith, and when they are done, they will bring down the Elemental Remnant of Voss. Who serves who, child?”

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Shea waved dismissively. “But you don’t need to worry, you will be dead soon.”

  I looked at Selch and gave him an empathetic look. “Shame. A lord like you getting sent to kill a newborn like me?” I shook my head. “You know, I get being Damned. You can live forever and eat souls. I would even join you if it wasn’t for the demons. They want to end life everywhere and plunge everything into darkness. How can you be allies with something like that?”

  Enis let out a bored sigh. “This is so droll. Boy, are you trying to get us to turn on each other?”

  I nodded. “Is it working?”

  Enis shook her head. “No, of course not. You are too young and too straightforward to succeed with something like that.”

  “Oh, really? Hmm…” I tapped my chin thoughtfully and asked, “Then why does Lord Selch look unhappy?”

  Enis turned to look at the other Damned noble. “Selch, don’t tell me this boy is getting to you. Just send your people already and tear him down.”

  I raised my finger. “Before that, may I ask another question?”

  Shea exhaled. “Sure, why not? But make it quick.”

  “I am curious. How are you planning to fight me with all this mana around?” I waved my hand all around me.

  Enis rolled her big yellow eyes. “Yes, we can’t use our mana. We need to keep it locked in our bodies.”

  “With your essence.” I nodded.

  Enis’s bored eyes focused on me and narrowed. “How do you know that?”

  “Call it an educated guess.” I showed my teeth.

  Selch snarled. “We can still use our teeth and claws, Manaborn. Those are enough to tear you to pieces, you unnatural thing.”

  “Noted.” I drew my sword and looked at the Damned. “So, are we done talking?”

  “Stop.” The final Damned leader finally spoke, and the crowd stilled. Even the crackling embers lifting from their scales stopped for a second.

  The largest Damned looked at me. “Manaborn. You are not strong enough. Why don’t you call the other one down?”

  “The other one?” Enis asked and looked back. “What do you mean 'the other one,' Agat?”

  I chuckled and taunted, “What? Afraid of a little boy like me?”

  Agat ignored me and looked at the tornado. “There is a second Manaborn in that tornado. They are isolating mana in that area. It is Ilya Truechild, isn’t it?”

  The Damned looked at me.

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  Agat sighed. “So, Baz failed on both counts.” He looked at the Damned and shook his head. “You have chosen the battlefield well, Truechild. We can’t use our magic, but you can.”

  Selch snarled. “There are still more of us than them.”

  Agat shook his head. “I will be withdrawing from this battle.”

  “Are you going to make us do all the work again?” Enis asked in an annoyed tone.

  Agat gave Selch a withering look and snorted. “If you win, the glory will be yours, Selch. Or yours, Enis. What about you, Shea?”

  Shea looked at Agat and then at the tornado raging behind me. He sighed. “He knows who I am. I can’t let him live now.”

  “Outsmarted yourself again, Shea?” Agat shook his head and looked at Baron Shea. “Good luck then. Come find me if you lose a limb or two. I will get you new ones. For a price.”

  Agat turned around and, with a handful of the Damned, left the basin. We all watched him go in silence.

  When he was past the door, I sighed. “Well, that was disappointing.”

  “What?” Selch snarled.

  “You were twenty-three. Now you are down to eighteen, and I haven’t even wet my new blade.” I raised my sword to show it to the Damned.

  “I am going to rip your ribs open with my teeth, Truechild,” Selch growled.

  “You all talk too much.” I waved at the Damned. “It’s time to battle.”

  Selch growled. His hackles rose. Enis yawned. Shea looked at Selch and muttered, “Just kill him!”

  A ripple went through the lizards, and they shot into motion.

  The front line scrambled up the rocky outcropping I was standing on. Loose rocks tumbled down. Their lips parted in snarls, and embers floated out from their scales in a wave. Some lost their footing and were trampled as the second line let out screeches and followed their kind.

  Still, they didn’t stop. They got back up and jumped into motion, trying to reach me before the others could. Like rabid creatures, they wanted to be the first one to bite me and tear me into pieces.

  I watched them close the gap with bated breath. I needed them to get closer.

  I raised my sword and planted my feet.

  “Closer. Closer,” I mouthed as the Damned closed the gap between us.

  Fiery embers began to splash onto me. They bounced off my armor, burnt my skin, and blinded my eyes. I didn’t blink. I didn’t turn my head. I couldn’t afford to look away.

  Three steps. Two steps. One step. Now!

  Just as they were one step away, I released an ice-cold wave of white magic and followed it up by a wave of death magic.

  The frosty white wave blinded the Damned just long enough for them to run into the dark death wave.

  The Damned screeched as their scales withered. Their limbs went limp. They fell onto their sides or face-first into the ground. They would use their essence and recover soon.

  I couldn’t afford to give them the chance or let them retreat. I sprang into motion.

  I raised my hand and released a bolt of death into a skull. I stabbed another in the eyes. Kicked a third in the snout. And stabbed one last one with an essence dagger.

  I brought my dagger back, ripping open the skull of the first one I had downed. Making sure it was dead. I moved on to the second, slitting its throat.

  By the time I had reached the third one, the wave of dark death mana had started to disperse.

  I drove my dagger into its side, ripping open its body. And immediately drove my sword into the opening to hide my use of essence.

  I couldn’t afford to reveal my Reaper’s nature just yet. Let them think I'm just a Death Mage. If they knew I was consuming essence, they all would attack in a mad frenzy. And I didn’t think I would be able to survive that.

  I began breathing in the essence. To my surprise, Rustle’s flaps rippled and started guiding all the essence towards me. The little ferret chattered happily in my soul as it began guiding essence into me.

  Just to make sure that I was hiding my use of essence, I leaned over the downed Damned while breathing heavily.

  That is why, when the cloud of death dispersed, the Damned found me panting heavily and looking at them wearily.

  “Death caster!” Enis hissed while taking a step back.

  “That was my nephew! You worthless dog!” Selch shouted. Spittle flew everywhere. Some even reached me.

  I looked at them and exhaled. “Fourteen.”

  “What?” Baron Shea asked.

  I took in a long, heavy breath, breathing in both essence and mana. “You were eighteen. Now you are fourteen.”

  Selch growled. “I am going to rip your head off and shit down your throat, you blighted creature.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Creature? That is a strange word coming from a man who has turned himself into a hideous lizard like you.”

  Selch growled and started to move towards me. I raised my sword and turned to face the Damned fully.

  Enis joined Selch and circled to my other side. “Selch, take him from the left. I will go for the legs.”

  Shea’s thorny tail stood on its end. He joined them and muttered, “I will go for the throat. A little death mana won’t do us much harm. Let’s see how this brat avoids us when we attack together.”