John's eyes snapped open.

  A woman sat on top of him, straddling his hips. Her weight pressed him down into the mattress, pinning him in place. His arms lay useless at his sides, completely unresponsive. His legs wouldn't shift no matter how hard he tried. Even his fingers wouldn't twitch.

  The woman smiled down at him in the darkness. She was beautiful in a distant, detached way that made her seem more like a painting than a person. Dark hair, pale skin, elegant features that might have belonged to a noble, or a courtesan, or someone's wife.

  Except for the gem.

  It was embedded directly in her forehead, nestled above her eyebrows like some grotesque third eye. A purple crystal, large enough to cover most of her forehead, glowing with a sick internal light that cast strange shadows across her face. The skin around its edges was red and swollen, angry-looking, and John could see it had been forced deep into her skull, past the bone.

  And through the translucent crystal, John could see her brain. Pressed against the underside of the gem like a grotesque anatomical display, he watched it pulse with each breath she took, living flesh visible through the translucent surface.

  His stomach turned.

  "My master is most upset with you," she said, as if sharing disappointing news about a mutual acquaintance. Her tone was almost conversational. "The orphanage. The children. Carefully laid plans, disrupted by one inconvenient stranger."

  She reached down and traced a finger along John's jaw slowly. Her touch was cold.

  "He has asked of me one last service, then I am free." She tilted her head, studying him with eyes that didn't quite focus properly, like she was looking through him rather than at him. "To know all you know. And for you to die screaming."

  The gem pulsed brighter for a moment, and John saw something flash past inside it, serpentine and translucent, moving through her brain tissue like it was swimming through water.

  "Such a shame Lia is not here. My master had hoped to show her brother the consequences of his actions." She leaned forward slowly, her hair falling around them like a curtain, blocking out what little light remained in the room. "But this will do."

  The gem in her forehead grew brighter, the purple light intensifying with each passing second. Purple light filled John's vision, overwhelming everything else until he could see nothing but that sickening glow. He couldn't look away. Couldn't close his eyes.

  The light consumed everything.

  John felt it immediately. Something foreign trying to force its way into his mind. Like fingers prying at the edges of his thoughts, searching for a way in, probing for any weakness or crack in his defenses.

  The woman's eyes went distant, unfocused. The gem flared brighter.

  The pressure increased. Probing. Invasive. John could feel her trying to dig through his memories, his knowledge, everything that made him himself. Trying to tear through it all and take what she wanted.

  But she couldn't get in.

  Her brow furrowed. The pleasant smile faltered. "What..."

  The pressure intensified dramatically. It felt like someone was driving nails into his skull from the inside, pushing deeper with each passing second. John wanted to scream but his jaw still wouldn't move, locked in place.

  The woman's eyes widened in anger. "No. No, that's not—" Her voice rose in pitch. "Let me IN!"

  The gem blazed like a small sun, the purple light becoming almost painful to look at directly. The pressure in John's head became pure agony, like his skull was about to split apart. He could feel her pushing harder, clawing desperately at whatever barrier was keeping her out, trying to break through by sheer force.

  She screamed in frustration and leaned forward, bringing the gem inches from his face. The room started shaking around them, objects rattling on surfaces. The parasite was going insane inside her skull, writhing in a frenzy. Small cracks began appearing in the gem's surface, spreading like spiderwebs across the crystal.

  "My freedom demands it! You will BREAK—"

  [Spell Resistance Upgraded]

  John felt his fingers twitch. Then his toes.

  His jaw unlocked.

  The woman was too focused on the gem's assault to notice the change, her entire being concentrated on breaking through his defenses. She pressed harder, the purple light consuming everything around them, the cracks in the gem spreading further—

  John snapped his head forward hard.

  His forehead cracked against the gem with a sound of breaking glass, and the woman jerked backward violently, a strangled sound escaping her throat. Her eyes went wide with shock and pain. Thin lines spread across the gem's surface rapidly, racing outward from the impact point, and fluid began seeping from the fractures, running down her face.

  The parasite inside went berserk.

  John could see it slamming itself against the crystal, over and over, each impact harder than the last. Each impact widened the cracks further. The woman clawed at her forehead frantically, trying to hold the gem together with her bare hands, but it was too late.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  A piece of the crystal fell away and hit the bed.

  The parasite's head emerged through the opening. Pale, segmented, writhing with desperate energy. It pushed further out, wriggling as it tried to escape, and John could see it pulling brain tissue with it as it moved, trailing gray matter behind it like ribbons.

  The woman shrieked.

  The parasite flew from the woman's ruined skull in a twisting spiral, trailing slime and chunks of gray matter like streamers. John saw its eyeless head clearly, saw the circular mouth opening and closing rhythmically, saw it heading straight for him with single-minded purpose.

  John's body finally obeyed him completely. His hand snapped up and caught the thing inches from his mouth.

  It was warm and slick in his grip, covered in trailing strings of brain tissue that wrapped around his fingers like wet string. The parasite twisted frantically in his hand, segments coiling around his wrist as it tried to worm its way free. He could feel it pushing toward his face with desperate determination, trying to reach his lips, his nose, any opening it could find to burrow into.

  John squeezed.

  The parasite convulsed in his grip. Its thrashing became more violent, more panicked, segments rippling with effort. John squeezed harder, feeling the segments compress under the pressure. Felt warm fluid burst out between his fingers, coating his hand. Something inside it popped with a wet, sickening sound.

  The parasite gave one final spasm and went still. Slime dripped from John's clenched fist onto the sheets below.

  [Level Up] X2

  [Quest Complete: Bloody Orphans]

  [Reward: +20 Attribute Points]

  The woman's body fell forward.

  She landed on top of him, dead weight pressing him into the mattress. Her arms draped over his shoulders. Her head rested against his collarbone, still warm and wet.

  John lay there, one hand still holding the crushed parasite, the other trapped under a corpse.

  "Gross," he said to the ceiling.

  He didn't move for a long moment, just processing what had just happened.

  "Really, really gross."

  John stared at the ceiling, very aware of the corpse draped across him and the slime coating his hand and arm.

  He should probably do something about this.

  Before he could move, his door burst open with a bang.

  Leon came through, sword drawn, eyes scanning for threats. Erin was right behind him, a spell already glowing in her palm, crackling with barely contained energy. And behind them both—

  A woman John didn't recognize. Tall, severe-looking, wearing dark robes with silver trim that caught the light. Her hair was pulled back tight, and her face had the kind of look that suggested she only smiled once a year, if that.

  All three of them stopped dead at the sight before them.

  "John!" Erin's voice was sharp with alarm.

  Leon moved immediately, crossing the room. He grabbed the woman's body and pulled her off John without ceremony, letting her fall to the floor in a heap. His eyes were wide as he took in the ruined skull and bits of brain matter coating the room in splatters.

  "Are you hurt?" Leon demanded, his voice tight.

  "I'm fine," John said, still not moving.

  The severe woman stepped forward, studying the corpse with clinical interest. She knelt beside it, examining what remained of the head without any visible disgust or hesitation.

  She looked up at John. "King's Justice Miriam Vex. And you are?"

  "Gross," John said. "Very, very gross."

  "He's John Hale," Erin supplied quickly. "He's staying here. He—"

  “Resisted a Mindbreaker." Miriam's tone was flat, stating a fact rather than asking a question.

  John held up his hand, still clutching the crushed parasite's remains. "Yay."

  The woman's eyebrows rose fractionally. "You should be a mindless vessel."

  "My parents would say I already am," John said. He let the parasite's remains drop onto the sheets with a wet plop that seemed too loud in the sudden silence. "Nothing in here to control."

  The woman stared at him quietly, her expression unreadable.

  Leon sheathed his sword slowly, his jaw tight with tension. "I'm sorry, John. I heard about this too late. Torvele's last contingency. We had agents watching his known associates, but this one..." He gestured at the corpse on the floor. "She wasn't on any list we had."

  "It's fine," John said.

  Leon moved closer, his hands already beginning to glow with soft golden light. He placed them on either side of John's head without asking permission. The golden light intensified, warm and probing. John felt it wash through him like warm water, searching for damage.

  After a moment, Leon pulled back. The light faded. "You’re... fine?" He tilted his head, studying John more carefully. "You're much better than this morning. Healthier. How is that possible?"

  "Busy day," John said.

  Leon stared at him for a long moment, clearly wanting to pursue that line of questioning. Then he glanced at the brain matter still coating the walls and seemed to decide this wasn't the time or place.

  "It’s all over now," Leon said, more to himself than anyone else. "Justice Miriam is very thorough. This was his last desperate play."

  Erin was already moving toward the door. "I'll get the steward. You need a bath. Several baths, probably." She paused in the doorway, looking back at John with genuine concern. "Are you sure you're alright?"

  "I've been worse," John said.

  Leon turned to Miriam, who was still examining the corpse with disturbing focus. "Justice Vex, it's late. We can provide a room for the night. Continue this investigation in the morning when we're all less... covered in evidence."

  Miriam pulled out a small crystal from her robes. It glowed softly as she activated it with a whispered word, and the corpse, along with the parasite and scattered remains, doubled, and began to move, drawn into the crystal like water down a drain.

  Miriam stood, brushing off her robes. "Acceptable. Though I'll want a full statement from Mr. Hale at first light." Her eyes fixed on John with intensity. "What happened here shouldn't be possible. I intend to understand why it was."

  "Great," John muttered. "Looking forward to it."

  John finally sat up, looking around the room properly for the first time. Fluid was splattered across the walls in abstract patterns. The ceiling had chunks of brain matter stuck to it in various places. The sheets were completely ruined beyond any hope of cleaning. Even the window had streaks running down it like someone had thrown paint.

  He looked at Leon.

  "Can I get a different room?"