The five of us chose to go north around the Pillar. According to Victor, most ventured south as it was the most explored area, with the notable exception of Douglas, the police officer, who took two dozen of his men in the same direction we went in one big group.

  I could think of two reasons to hunt with such large groups when each ghoul could only be bartered for three Restorations with Claire. One was the intention to hunt several ghouls, so the whole group benefitted, and the other was to do it the primitive way. Cut the ghoul to pieces and feed it directly to your buddies. And unfortunately for Douglas, it appears that Claire had banned him and his pals from her services after the last time he broke up her ceremony.

  I had another reason in mind for the unpopularity of this part of the Undercity—the mist. Except for the clear plaza, it was ever present everywhere you looked. Some places, mostly those closer to the Pillar, were clearer, while others were more heavily obstructed. North of the Pillar, as it happens to be, it became denser with every block we passed.

  "How are you doing this?" The sole girl among us asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

  An interesting side effect of the Sight was the ability to disperse the mist. It took slightly more power out of me to look through, but every time I did, it caused the whiteness to clear. It would appear as if the mist was intentionally parting in front of me.

  An entertaining sight right out of a fairytale, to be sure, the smallest member of the party carrying a monster head on a staff, leading the more imposing figures by arcane means.

  "One of many secrets we will be happy to share," I replied, giving my best mysterious smile. "For a small fee."

  The girl snorted and went to Kenny to pester him for details.

  We already discussed the information we put out for sale, and I was less worried that he would let anything slip this time.

  "No names!" I ordered back as I heard Edith introduce herself and Kenny starting to reply.

  That brought awkward silence, that is, awkward for everyone else. I was satisfied by the reprieve and the ability to concentrate more on my surroundings. They were too quick to forget how dangerous this trip was.

  "Why not?" She finally asked, baffled by my demand.

  "We had a talk with the witch's helper, and she told us they are not using names," Kenny took over for me. "Supposed to protect them."

  "Maggie told you that?" She asked. "You sure she didn't try to blow you guys off?"

  Kenny looked to me for help.

  I was amused at the ease with which she sold Maggie out moments after learning the importance of true names.

  "Yes," I answered, not intending to elaborate on a subject I knew nothing about.

  She looked irritated by my short reply.

  "Maybe it's a cult thing," Benjy guessed. "I watched a docu where a cult made them wear the same clothes and get the same haircuts. Something about undermining their sense of identity. So maybe it's more of the same?"

  "No," I disagreed. "I'm assuming it has real magical significance, and to protect yourselves, I'm suggesting you do the same."

  I looked meaningfully at Victor, one of the few people who knew my name.

  "How's that supposed to protect anyone?" Edith asked, annoyed.

  I shrugged, refusing to talk more on the matter.

  "So, how are we going to go about this?" I asked Victor, the most experienced man around, when I became too weary listening to Edith grumbling about how her former classmate was now privy to all sorts of mysteries thanks to the self-appointed witch and how she didn't want to share any of it.

  "Last one jumped us from a third-story window," he replied. "We didn't see or hear movement until it was too late. I reckon they ambush their prey, so we will have to cover a lot of ground and pay special attention to windows and roofs."

  This tracked with my own experience. The very first ghoul I witnessed stood still on a rooftop.

  "It didn't even try to run away after the attack or defend against the others," Benjy added with furrowed brows. "It had all its attention on me, but it didn't hurry to eat like it was starving. It dug in. Made it more painful like it was enjoying it."

  Benjy looked horrified as he retold his account, the mental trauma persisting long after his body healed.

  "What kind of creature does that?" He asked quietly.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Surprisingly, Benjy, the victim of said ambush, was also the brightest presence out of the three. I was expecting it to be Victor.

  It was unclear what influenced a person's natural energy level. I suspected age was a major factor from people-watching at the plaza. But I didn't have much else to go on. When an older guy got Restored at the temple, his energy levels were still noticeably diminished compared to his younger companions.

  We kept to Victor's strategy for several more blocks, but I was dissatisfied with the progress. Walking around and hoping to notice the ghoul before it notices us didn't sit well with me. And the more time passed, the more it rankled me.

  "The easiest ones to find would be those on a roof," I said out loud.

  "We are watching the roofs," Victor agreed with me.

  I had the Sight to look through the mist and the ability to notice the energy standing out among the ancient surroundings. However, my abilities were not used to their fullest.

  "I'm gonna try something," I informed them.

  I entered a three-story high apartment building and carefully made my way to the top floor. There was no access to the roof, so I held my spear in one hand and swung to it using a one-arm pull-up using the other from the topmost window.

  An impressive display of athleticism that the half-assed use of the Force sign made a breeze.

  I stood tall and concentrated on my task, looking as far as possible through the mist and uncovering any hidden energy.

  Ramping up the supply of energy to the third eye, my field of view pushed farther until I was satisfied with it. Then, slowly turning, I scanned around until I found what I was looking for.

  About five blocks away, I saw a golden light, shaped in a silhouette, spilling out of a high window. Some glow even dimly went through the wall portion around the opening.

  I hopped down to alarmed exclamations, landing lightly on my feet.

  "Found one."

  ***

  "I still can't see it," Victor said.

  We were standing half a block away from the ghoul's hiding place. I pointed out the right window, but looking in from the side was impossible.

  "It's there," I repeated. "Follow the plan."

  I took the time to scrutinize everyone present, assessing their readiness. They looked wound up, ready for action. But I didn't see fear, not even from Kenny, who was doing it for the first time, the same as me.

  They looked more put together than I felt.

  It assuaged my worries. They were only the backup in case something failed, but having them with me, being all professional, gave me the confidence to act.

  Plucking the head from the blade of my spear, I crept towards my quarry.

  The ghoul's aura, dimmed significantly by the wall, was enough to gauge its position. It hadn't moved one inch since I laid my eyes on it.

  I stopped a reasonable distance away, just enough to have a Force reinforced throw deliver my disgusting burden to its intended destination.

  I threw the head with as much accuracy as I could manage, intending for it to fly along the wall, passing just out of reach of the window. But, instead, I cringed as it bumped into the wall and bounced, spinning wildly in a gory mess.

  Thankfully it was enough to serve its purpose, the alien form of the ghoul bound from the window after the bait, gaining on it in giant strides. It took seconds for its slack energy to flare in action. Its sudden appearance sent my heart into fast reverberations.

  I moved closer to the hunched form, hearing the repulsive sucking sounds it made.

  Just as expected, it paid me no mind, entirely devoted to its meal. Its short atrophied hands held the bait clumsily, pressing it to its maw. Despite its physically diminished looks, its energy glow was about as intense as the previous dead specimen I had witnessed. However, the energy was more structured, packed tighter, and controlled.

  Too easy.

  I didn't have to play it so safe.

  I hurried to close the distance, and in one quick motion, I swung the spear in a deadly arc aimed at its thick neck.

  The ghoul reacted immediately to my proximity. It leaped right at me, turning in the air. Because of its actions, instead of severing its head neatly and finishing the fight in one move, the spear impacted its neck with the shaft. The enhanced power behind the strike was enough to violently bend the wood and deform the attacker's neck like a bag of wet sand, sending the beast crashing to the side.

  But it did not stay down. Instead, as soon as its legs found purchase, it leaped back at me, its neck bent at an angle.

  My training session did not go in vain. I stabbed right at it, faster than ever. The blade pierced the chest, breaking ribs and pulverizing any organ it met along the way, coming out on the other side.

  But even that was not enough. It used a strong jerking motion to impale itself farther up the shaft, coming closer to me, its maw scraping at my shirt right above the pentacle, its claws digging into my arms.

  In a desperate move to protect myself, I twisted, managing to move my left arm between us but losing grip on the spear in the process.

  Its teeth sunk into my elbow in a sickening crunch, and I watched in horror as its energy used the contact to dig into my flesh.

  What followed was the most horrible pain I had ever felt. One continuous wave of agony assaulted me, almost blacking my vision.

  A stream of energy radiated out of me. Fear and pain manifested.

  It was more than I used in any attempt at magic, more than I could intentionally will out of me.

  The ghoul sucked on it greedily, my arm dimming at an alarming rate taking the rest of the glow with it.

  I was about to blast the ghoul with Force when Kenny barreled into it from the side, sweeping it away from me.

  The others were not far behind, Benjy throwing all his weight on the spear, leveraging its length to pin the creature down, and Edith kept shanking it repeatedly with one of Kenny's knives.

  The pin was the most successful strategy, clearing Victor to drop a large rock on the creature's head.

  I could sense the exact moment it died. All structure and inner pressure in the creature's essence broke. Then, like a burst heart, it all spilled out in an unorganized mess.