The cross pointed at Maria held no effect. The little girl watched her in fear but showed no sign of reacting to the sacred symbol. The presence of the Evil One began to fade. Nene's senses gradually returned to normal.

  ?Have you gone insane?!?, Adanara yelled.

  ?Nene, a-are you feeling good??

  Incredulous and confused, Maria didn’t move. She was the portrait of innocence, yet Nene was certain of it: she had just invoked the Evil One. There was no way she was mistaken.

  ?So…?, she gasped. ?This “angel” built this place?

  ?Myadame, what is the matter??, Maria stammered. ?Have I angered ye haply??

  The Evil One had created that place as a refuge for its followers. It had built it underground, hidden its entrance under a lake and left that hideous guardian on the lookout. As if that wasn't enough, it had harnessed a star to illuminate its sanctuary. Maria believed it to be an angel, a benefactor. She couldn't have been further from the truth.

  The little girl didn't seem dangerous at all. On the contrary, she looked genuine in wanting to help Kora. However, she was no ordinary child. Her prodigious ability to communicate with animals went far beyond an innate talent. It had to be witchcraft.

  ?We are in danger?, she announced. ?This is the refuge of the Evil One?

  ?You don't tell me...?, Adanara said, sarcastically. ?That's exactly why we're here, right??

  ?Nene??

  Nila caressed her cheek, looking worried. Maria giggled embarrassed, then hid her face and turned away.

  ?You don't understand. They... they’re dangerous!?

  ?“They”, ye quoth? I be sorry to remember, yet there is only me hither. And mysire Tera, assuming he did not hie back?

  Maria looked melancholy. The squirrel she had rescued jumped onto the table next to her. She caressed it absently, suddenly gloomy.

  ?Have you always been alone, Maria??, Nila asked.

  ?Oh, no. Mine father once lived hither. And, from time to time, e’en mother would visit us. Ye should wot that mine mother is most devout, and needs to remain in contemplation for long periods?

  ?What happened then? Where is your father??

  ?He left years since, looking for a remedy. Mine mother was born with a wonderful benison, which unfortunately also caused her great despair. I pray that Father returns anon to alleviate her suffering?

  ?Folks?, Adanara interjected. ?I need some time to read all this. Why don't we continue tomorrow??

  ?Tomorrow?!?, Nene replied, not keen on staying any longer.

  ?Better to gather as much information as possible?

  ?I'll set up camp out here?, Bugra announced, leaving the house. ?Tuatha, could you give me a hand??

  Kora nodded and followed him. Nene looked at Nila in disbelief and felt the urge to cry. Was she the only one who feared that place? Didn't the others understand how much danger they were in?

  ?Oh, anyway?, the witch continued. ?The book mentions the Lightbringer Knights. It seems they once lived here?

  ?The Lightbringers? What else??

  ?Give me some time, I have to keep reading?, she grumbled.

  ?Oh, yes, the Knights of legends?, Maria said.

  ?Do you know them??, Nene asked.

  ?Sadly, no. Mine father quoth that they abandoned the Church ere I was born. I hast only known stories about their heroic deeds, when they served mine mother?

  A shiver ran down Nene's spine. Her mind was starting to put the pieces together, and the conclusion she was reaching filled her with such profound terror that she didn't dare voice it. She was one step away from acting on impulse. Part of her wanted to shout at the others to get away, the other wanted to question Maria further. Nila anticipated her. She crouched down in front of the little girl and smiled. Maria grabbed the hem of her shirt.

  ?What lovely apparel!?, she commented. ?Are ye haply a princess??

  ?I’m not?, Nila laughed. ?Tell me, Maria, what’s your father's name? Do you know??

  ?Undoubtedly. His name is Geiserich. Geiserich Hammerschmid. Mayhaps thou met him during thy travels??

  Nila hesitated and glanced at her sister. Adanara stopped reading and was following the conversation attentively. The fawn behind her took the opportunity to come out of its hiding place behind the bed. It walked warily next to Maria and crouched behind her. The crow did the same and perched on Ifeo's back.

  ?No, I'm sorry?, Nila replied. ?He... came from v-very far away, right??

  ?Yes, he did so! He told me about his homeland. Ubermann, he bid it. He quoth it is a dangerous place, where people of faith are persecuted! I was recommended to ne’er thither?

  ?Ubermann??, Adanara repeated.

  ?Do those instruments belong to him??

  Nila pointed to the table where Alfonso, the squirrel, had been sitting until recently. Maria anticipated her, ran and picked up one, an object consisting of a metal hook with a smooth wooden handle.

  ?Well yes. Art not they fascinating? Unfortunately, I know not of their use?

  ?That's… an obstetric tool?, Nila explained. ?It’s used to help babies be born?

  ?Oh, is that so? Doth ye wot these objects? Art thou a scholar like mine father? School me about!?

  ?Yes, y-you see, my father… Our father?, she said, pointing to Adanara. ?He was also a s-scholar. I think he also came from…?

  ?Ubermann?, Maria repeated. ?Incredible! What a jolly coincidence meeting ye, mydame!?

  ?Wait a minute?, Nene interrupted them, increasingly uncomfortable. ?First, I have another question for you, Maria?

  The little girl put the instrument away and smiled enthusiastically. She seemed happy to answer whatever. She wasn't trying to hide anything from them, she was just ecstatic to finally have company, someone to talk to who wasn't a fawn or a crow.

  ?Your mother. Tell me about your mother. You said she's very devout?

  Maria covered her mouth, amused. She looked at the fawn, which wailed faintly. The animals were way too receptive to their master, too much for it to be natural.

  ?Inquisitor, if ye wot the legend of the martyr Ifeo, thou shall undoubtedly hast also heard of mine mother. She's Holy. Blessed by the Angel with a gift to heal demons and the sick?

  Goodness… The world around Nene seemed to slow down, every sound muffled. Nila's surprised expression confirmed that she hadn't gone crazy, that she wasn't the only one hearing those absurdities. Maria was mentioning with extreme casualness one of the most revered and feared names in the Principality, a name that should have gone down in history by then. A name that did not bode anything good.

  ?Arianna?

  Silence fell, so deep that Nene could hear the noise of the pages Adanara was browsing, the chirps coming from the woods, the distant voices of Kora and Bugra preparing the camp for the night. Maria kept smiling, but her smile began to fade when she saw that nobody else was.

  ?Mydame? Mayhaps ye hast ne’er heard of her??

  ?Are you kidding?!?, Adanara shouted. ?Your mother is Saint Arianna??

  ?That's not possible!?, Nene stammered. ?She would be more than a century old by now!?

  ?Yes! Mine father was ne’er able to discover the reason for this miracle?, commented Maria. ?He quoth ‘twas a benison from the Angel, and to pray for her good health. I recite prayers every night, see??, she added proudly.

  Nila and Nene looked at each other in shock. That little girl claimed to be a descendant of the most recent Saint of the Church, excluding Elora, who had been excommunicated for heresy more than a century before. Nene thought back to the church in the woods, to the damned priest she had purged. She remembered the words of the general of the Lightbringer Knights and compared them with what Adanara had read in Maria's book. A disturbing but likely picture was forming, made even more distressing by the nonchalance with which Maria was speaking about it. The girl was born and raised within a heretical Church, founded by Arianna and her followers, who had worshipped the Evil One for decades.

  ?Where is your mother??

  ?At the Vesper, yet she receives no visitors. I also explained it to mysire Tera. I wonder, hath he been rejected by her attendants and went back??

  ?Can you take us to her??, Adanara asked.

  ?Forgive me, I promised mine father not to go to the tree?

  The witch approached the table. She left the book on it and smiled at the little girl, who did the same.

  ?Your father wrote this, right??

  ?Yes, mydame?

  ?Girls, this Geiserich was studying damnation and other similar stuff. Just like dad?

  Nila stood up and looked at the dusty tome. There seemed to be a recurrence, an interest that Ubermann's scholars shared towards the Evil One and its practices. Eidelhan, as well as Maria's father, had tried to protect their loved ones from an unstoppable force, the most terrible of monsters, when the Church had failed them.

  ?W-what did he discover??

  ?It will take me longer to read it all. Probably all night?

  ?Thou should stay, then?, Maria proposed, enthusiastically. ?Ye shall be mine guests! After all, Vesper is close to setting?

  ?What do you think??

  ?I-I'm going to tell the others. Ada, w-we can take turns, so you can get some sleep too?

  ?No, I wanna do it?

  The sisters exchanged a nod. Nila left the house, leaving Adanara and Nene alone with Maria and her friends. The little girl ran to the fireplace, picked up a flint abandoned nearby and tried to start it.

  ?What a benison to receive ye! Shall we have sup together, Inquisitor??

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Nene looked at Adanara, who shrugged. Unlike her, her companions weren’t particularly afraid of Maria. Maybe she was being paranoid, but with the Evil One involved, she couldn't do otherwise. Maria's expectant gaze, her hopeful expression that darkened with every moment of silence, distressed her to the core. Could it be that she was overreacting? Was she shattering the dreams of an innocent child, a poor victim of the circumstances she was born in, out of fear?

  ?Can I help you??, she replied.

  ?I could ne’er?, Maria smiled. ?Thou art mine guests. I shall doth mine meetest to accommodate you?

  ?Oh great, we really needed a baby Nene?, Adanara commented.

  ?Hey, what do you mean by that??

  The witch gave her a playful grimace, then went to the fireplace with Maria. She pushed her away, looked in the cauldron with disgust, then reached out for the flint.

  ?We'll take care of dinner, Maria?

  ?Yet... thou are guests!?, she protested.

  ?And you're a brat. What are you, seven or something? Leave it to the adults?

  ?I inform ye that I shall anon be ten!?

  ?See? What did I tell you? Nene the Second?

  ?I'm going to get something from our supplies?, Nene grumbled.

  As Maria predicted, the false sun, the “Vesper” as she had called it, began to fade. Unlike the sun on the surface, which sank behind the horizon, thus announcing the end of the day and the beginning of the night, the Vesper gradually decreased in brightness, similar to a flame about to wane. Nene spent a lot of time cleaning Maria's dirty and encrusted cauldron. Most things in her home were dirty, as was to be expected in a house run entirely by a child. Having finally relaxed a bit, Nene felt sorry for her, and admired how she was able to survive on her own despite her young age. Once the pot was ready for use, Nila prepared soup for everyone, using some stale bread and dried meat they brought with them. They hadn't had a hot meal in days, which made wonder for the morale of the group.

  After dinner, Maria collapsed exhausted onto her bed. The fawn Ifeo crouched at her feet like a mastiff, while the squirrel Alfonso took refuge in a ravine between the walls. Bugra and Kora had set up a tent outside the house large enough for everyone, but Adanara declined, determined to spend the night reading Geiserich’s book. Nila stayed by her side, and so did Nene, eager to learn more about that mysterious cave. While the witch was reading, Nila kept herself busy mending Maria's cloak. Nene, not knowing what to do, stared at the fireplace, deep in thought. The crow Guaz perched in front of the flame, and looked at her intently. It quickly got on her nerves. Its presence reminded her of horrible stories of witches and their familiars, which had haunted her in nightmares as a child.

  ?Do you believe it??, she asked suddenly.

  ?Believe what??, Nila replied.

  ?About Saint Arianna. Is she really here? Is she… alive??

  ?I bet you have a theory?, Adanara deduced.

  ?I do… But I feel like saying it out loud would make it real?

  ?Let's hear it. It can’t be that bad?

  She sighed. Adanara underestimated the nefariousness of her thoughts. Unfortunately for Nene, the more she thought about it, the more she came to the same conclusion, convinced that she was correct.

  ?Arianna was exiled about a century ago. She fled east, together with her followers, the Lightbringer Knights, other members of the Church, even common folk?

  ?We f-found a church and a priest, but no Lightbringer?

  ?True, but I think this could be the case. When I… spoke to the Evil One, it seemed to know this place, and the witch very well?

  ?Arianna was Saint because she could heal the damned, right??, Adanara asked. ?Maria described her the same way?

  ?This doesn't explain why the Evil One was interested in letting us in here, nor why that monstrosity was there to protect her. The Church has declared Arianna a heretic because her power contradicts the Archangel’s dogma, but... She is technically a threat to the Evil One, isn’t she??

  ?Nene, are you saying w-we're in danger? Ada, she... we heal the damned as well?

  ?I don't know...?

  ?I think the girl speaks the truth?, the witch said.

  She closed the book and sighed. She looked sleepy, her head was heavy and her voice deep. Nonetheless, her dedication to reading it had been such that she had managed in a few hours, and was ready to share its contents.

  ?Where do I start??

  ?What did you find out??, Nene asked anxiously.

  ?Geiserich is an Ubermann scholar, just like Dad was. This book is sort of a diary, sort of a newspaper on his studies. He says he travelled this far because there were rumours among the nomads of a witch, and he wanted to investigate?

  ?How long ago??

  ?The diary doesn't mention it. But this guy is obsessed with Arianna. Over time the notes seem less and less scientific in nature and more… worshipping? In a bad way?

  Adanara showed one of the last pages of the book. The handwriting was messy, the paper full of scribbles, crosses and crudely sketched drawings, depicting an indistinguishable humanoid figure. Adanara gestured for Nene to come closer. She glared at the crow, who was staring at her insistently, making her feel watched. When she got up and joined the sisters, the witch whispered.

  ?Geiserich was damned, just before he left?

  Instinctively, all three turned towards Maria. She was sleeping soundly, her boots abandoned next to the bed, thus leaving her dirty feet exposed. Her sweet, relaxed expression looked so out of place, given her conditions.

  ?So he left to protect her? But why lie that he would return? And why did he tell her to stay here??

  ?If he hadn't, she probably would have gone looking for him?, Adanara explained. ?Surely one day she will figure it out on her own, and she will do it anyway?

  ?Poor thing…?

  ?The book also talks about the Lightbringers. When Geiserich found Arianna, her Knights were in a riot. They called her a witch and wanted to kill her. Thus began a war among her followers, which led nowhere. They killed each other for nothing?

  ?The Lightbringer general never mentioned anything of the sort. He should have known something, since it concerns his ancestors?

  ?Maybe they have covered it up. After that, the Lightbringers went their own way. Arianna's remaining worshippers tried to settle in the moor, but met the nomads. They were too weak to defend themselves, so…?

  Adanara blinked several times, then browsed through the book again. Nila picked up her hand. The witch sighed again, before continuing the story.

  ?Arianna invoked "the angel" and created this forest to protect her people. She and Geiserich became the core of the entire community. This is where it starts to get interesting…?

  She scrolled through a few pages and showed some detailed drawings, sequences of representations of men and women gradually becoming more and more monstrous. At first, they looked unhealthy and hunched, then transformed into horrible beasts, similar to the one they had encountered in the ruins on the surface.

  ?The damned?

  ?The souls of the damned are drawn to Arianna like moths to candlelight. According to Geiserich, they instinctively seek salvation. But there is a problem... According to his observations, Arianna’s miracle is not as they say in the legends. She does not heal the damned...?

  Adanara made an unnerving pause and turned pale. Nene and Nila waited silently for her to find the strength to speak. The creaking of the wood burning in the fireplace seemed louder than ever.

  ?... How do I put it?... She "welcomes" them. This is the term Geiserich used. There are no drawings, but he describes Arianna as increasingly... bigger and... with many limbs… and faces?

  ?Oh my God…?

  ?He also says that when she became monstrous, the last worshippers abandoned her. She then invoked her angel again, who gave her this hiding place. Geiserich followed her, determined to find out how to help her, but… the damned kept finding her. Not only that, they no longer allowed her to leave?

  ?So the damned keep her prisoner down here??

  ?Well, from here on the book is difficult to understand. The notes are increasingly absurd. I think he was freaking out at some point?

  ?The book says nothing about Maria??

  Adanara nodded but did not speak. She was close to tears and didn't dare tell them. She held out the book towards them. Nene, disturbed by her reaction, but above all curious about what was happening, looked at the pages and read:

  Nene tried to turn the page, but Nila stopped her. She looked towards Maria, who was still sleeping. Her birth remained a mystery, but what that diary seemed to suggest was horrendous. Nene's mind immediately and desperately tried to downplay the matter, attributing that unlikely tale to the state of mind of its author, a bizarre scholar from a distant land, clearly mad in love and even damned.

  ?Do you think he didn't teach Maria to read on purpose??, Nila asked.

  ?He could have just destroyed the book, then. I think he wanted to tell her everything, one day...?

  ?So she... what is she??

  The sisters stared at Nene in dismay. She felt ashamed having inadvertently said something horrible. She looked down.

  ?I mean… Erm… She's not a witch, right??

  ?I think she’s one of a kind?, Adanara said.

  Nene grabbed the book and flipped through its pages. She found only scribbles, mostly incomprehensible. Occasionally she could distinguish human figures, but the only recurring word, written in an increasingly uncertain and illegible handwriting, was "Maria".

  ?From here on, I think he figured he was on his last legs. So he left and sealed the cave?

  ?And now the Evil One has brought us here?, Nene observed. ?To put an end to the witch's suffering, it said?

  ?S-so…?

  Nila didn't find the courage to voice her thoughts. It was Adanara who spoke on behalf of all three as she picked up the book once again.

  ?Luciel, the angel who protected Arianna from the Tega Urok, from the Lightbringers, from her own people, is what we call the Evil One. Arianna is not just a Saint who grants salvation, but something more. Something that attracts the damned?

  ?Yet we met almost none?

  ?Perhaps they are with her?

  ?Maria m-mentioned her mother's “attendants”?

  Adanara scrolled through the book, then showed its content again. It was an entry prior to the ones they had just read. The handwriting was shaky, but readable.

  ?Unfortunately in the following pages he became obsessed with Arianna?, Adanara summed up. ?He doesn't explain whether he managed to enter the church, but since he was damned...?

  ?“Humans and animals alike”?, Nene repeated, looking at Ifeo. ?Can animals also be damned??

  ?D-do you think that Arianna's attendants are...?

  ?The damned that Geiserich talks about, yes. Those who have never left Arianna's church. Assuming they are still alive?

  ?Maria did not mention any church?

  ?We'll have to ask her tomorrow?

  Maria turned over in bed. Her innocence would have never, ever suggested that she had grown up in such crazy circumstances.

  ?We should rest?, Nila suggested. ?T-tomorrow we will discuss what to do?

  ?Keep that book safe?, Nene recommended. ?I would like to read it too?

  Adanara nodded. She entrusted the volume to her sister, who put it in her travel bag. The fawn stared at them warily. Unlike its owner, it was a light sleeper. Nene was increasingly convinced that it was listening, that it understood what they were saying.

  Geiserich's tome contained stories even more absurd and frightening than the books Liaria used to read, especially because the source of those horrors was incredibly close, at the bottom of the valley, where the Vesper would shine again in a matter of hours.