Chapter 60

**Merianna**


I sat quietly in the back of Noch’s office and listened closely to what was going on around me. It had only been one full day since the incident at the village, but I was surprised by how much has been done in that amount of time. It made me develop a newfound respect for Councilor Ferina. She maneuvered between giving input and sending out fire messages effortlessly; I marveled at how quickly she could switch between the two. I breathed a sigh of relief at the knowledge that Junnie was out and about on Ferina’s orders. It left me free from harassment.

Although Junnie was out of my hair, Zerial stuck to me like tree sap on a branch since we got back. He even insisted in guarding my bedroom door while I slept, which I obviously refused adamantly, and he ignored. It still made no sense to me why Zerial would be my Guardian and act the way he always did, even though he explained to me how it happened, it still didn’t feel real.

Currently, his bulk was taking up much of the corner I decided to inhabit. I didn’t feel like being so close to the discussions this time around since the plan I hatched the last time got so completely thwarted.

The surrounding scene this time was just about the same as it was previously, many more senior members of the Order were in the small space this time around though. Which made the office feel even smaller. Noch had managed to use Dermon’s blood in a locating spell and found him. The biggest problem that we faced right now though, was the fact that someone within the Order or the Council was clearly feeding our information to the target. And no one around us could think of a way to find out who it was exactly. 

I was also at a loss as to what needed to be done in order for us to be able to move forward without getting stepped on again.

A plan was being formed for members to scout out the location that Dermon was currently in. Obviously Raska and Jasnine would be a part of that team. I was mostly just sitting in the back, thinking of the encounter I had with him. He was strong, it made me realise even more just how much Noch and Raska had been holding back in their training sessions with me.

I couldn’t wait till I was able to fight on the same footing as the rest of them. I wanted to be able to fight against Dermon again. Losing that first fight was hurting my pride.I didn’t mind losing against Noch and the others, but it hurt to have lost against an outsider.

“My Lady?”

I jerked in my seat and looked up at Zerial. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“I did not, my Lady, but Nochtandriel has been trying to get your attention.” He said with a smile.

I looked over to where Noch was sitting with everyone else and finally noticed that they were all actually looking at me. “Sorry…” I said sheepishly.

“Now that I actually have your attention. I have something for you to do as well, Demon Spawn. While Raska’s team heads out to scout Dermon’s location, I need you to go back to the village and see if you can pick up on anything else he might have left in the area like that marker from last time. You might pick up something I missed.” Noch said in one breath so I wouldn’t have a chance to object through his explanation. 

“Alright, when do you want me to go?”

“You have good senses and should be able to -, wait what?” Noch asked in surprise. I gave an irritated smile at the realisation that he had expected me to rebel at the request.

“Noch, you constantly forget that I am actually very reasonable. You just frequently tend to rub me up the wrong way.” I snipped.

Councilor Ferina let out a laugh at Noch’s exasperated face as everyone else snickered. They all knew how things tended to go between Noch and I. Noch gave a little smirk. “Well, there is one thing I forgot to mention.”

I gave him a questioning look, usually when he said that it tended to be something that I wouldn’t like. “What?”

“Thyrion will go with you.”

“I am fully capable of doing something like this on my own.” I cut with a glare. He knew fully well that Thyrion was not one of my favorite people.

“I know, but I also don’t know how much trouble you might run into. So in order for Thyrion to have someone keep and eye on him, for him to be out of my hair and for you to have someone that could be of help to you, this will be the best for everyone. If need be, you can use him as fodder for the enemy so you can escape unharmed.” He explained with a sweet smile.

“That’s terrible Noch, what did I ever do to you to be used as fodder?!” Thyrion exclaimed from one of the couches.

Noch didn’t even bother to give a verbal answer. He only pinned Thyrion with a disdainful glare.

Thyrion instantly deflated. “Never mind.”

I heaved a sigh. “Alright, I’ll take him with me, under one condition.”

Noch raised his eyebrow at me. “And what would that be?”

“My new weapon that you promised me. I want it.”

Noch gave a satisfied smirk. “I wondered when you would actually start pestering me about it. Even if I said it would take me a week to make it, I knew that you wouldn’t be able to wait that long.” I only gave him a pout in reply.

“Yes, yes, it’s completed. Once we’re done here, we’ll go straight to my smithy for the final touches, and so that you can be on your way.”

“Looking forward to it.” I said with a sweet smile.



***



The moment Noch led Thyrion and I through his wards into his smithy, my nose curled in on itself. It reeked of sweat, metal and dust. “How on earth are you able to work in this space?” I muttered under my sleeve.

Not only did it smell horrid, it was also dark, stuffy and cramped. Tools and instruments were scattered all over the place, and made walking look like a hazardous pastime.

“And you lot ask why I never let anyone in here. It’s so that I can have my privacy and don’t have to listen to others whine about how I go about my work.” Noch said haughty as he disappeared into a doorway at the back of the smithy. I slipped a glance over to Thyrion to see what his reaction was.

“You are completely unfazed by all of this, aren’t you?” I asked sourly.

“It’s not the first time that I’ve been inside Noch’s smithy. I wisely think that each works best under their own circumstances. If this is his way of making those fantastic weapons, then I am not one to judge the manner of how he goes about it, or disrupt it.”

“I would also stick your face into the forge if you did.” Noch said as he re-emerged.

“Yes, that is also the other reason.” Thyrion agreed without hesitation.

“Either that has happened before, or nearly happened.” I muttered. Thyrion’s tone when he answered suggested something along those lines, and considering his personality...

“I will not answer that.” Thyrion sulked.

Noch smirked as he brought a neatly wrapped scythe out along with him. “And here we go. Brand new scythe especially made for the Demon Spawn.” He unwrapped the cloth from around the weapon and held it out in front of him for admiration.

“It’s beautiful!” I breathed. The scythe’s blade was silver with small runes engraved on the blade’s dull end. The dark shaft was made of Sylvan wood and the runes on it were branded in with silver as well. A light coating shone on the shaft, which gave it an uncanny sheen when the light hit it. Intricate decorative metalwork also adorned the blade’s runework. It looked like a weapon you would find in a mystical story.

“Ha! It better be! I would say that this scythe could count as a better version of the Rune Reaper itself. It’s high time that you received a weapon that was made especially for you. There is only one last thing that needs to be done to bond it to you.” He suddenly whirled around and grabbed something from a table behind him. When he whirled back, I saw that he was holding an athame. “Your blood, my dear.”

He knew how I felt about blood magic. I had absolutely no qualms about making people bleed or bleeding myself. But, as soon as magic became involved where blood was needed, things could go very bad for the person whose blood was being used if things went wrong.

“What is my blood going to be used for?” I asked while eyeing him suspiciously.

“Your blood is going to be used to tie the scythe to you. If anyone else were to wield it without your permission, we can spell the scythe to give them a nasty surprise. Your lightning energy will be infused into the scythe as well, I made it especially with your element in mind after all. The shaft isn’t only made of Sylvan wood, you know.”

I stared at him sideways while I digested the information. At least this didn’t seem like something that could be turned against me at a later point. “Fine, where do you want the blood to go?” I asked while grabbing the athame from him. There was no way that I was going to let him do the bloodletting.

“In here if you please.” He said while shoving a small empty vile under my nose.

I grabbed the glass and proceeded in slashing the flesh on my palm by my thumb. It made me glad once again that I was a witch and that most injuries weren’t life and death within the Order. Especially with people like the Ga’s and Nelia hanging around.

After filling the vile with enough blood, I handed it and the athame back to him as I used my energy to clot the bleeding. Noch then proceeded to scurry around the small space like a rat who knew his way around a kitchen and dipped a well-worn metal stylus in my blood. As he started to write over some of the engraved runes with my blood, I could feel a link of energy starting to form between me and the weapon. For a moment I forgot that we were standing in Noch’s stuffy old smithy and shivered slightly at the feeling that was beginning to become more solid. 

I had never been bonded to a weapon before, but I could feel the intent that Noch was pouring into the scythe’s inscriptions. This scythe was mine, and mine alone. If anyone else were to wield it without my permission, the element that I am aligned with was to shock the living Tartarus flames out of that individual and return to me.

After Noch was finished with the runes, he dipped his finger into the vile, and proceeded to run my blood all the way down the shaft of the scythe. My energy quivered with the new connection and made my body flush with heat.

“And we’re done!” Noch declared with a flourish. “Now I also inscribed the same rune into this scythe as I did with the Rune Reaper to make it smaller and easier to carry around. This little one over here.” He explained while pointing out an unfamiliar rune on the top of the scythe’s hilt.

I was glad that he included it; it was going to make carrying the big weapon around a lot easier to manage. “That’s great! Now all you have to do is craft a bag that will allow for it to carry lots of things all at once no matter how big they are.” I said with a huge grin.

“I just finished your scythe for you, don’t come in here dreaming up the impossible now of all times!” He huffed and shoved the scythe into my hands.

“The both of you are to scout out the area by the village, make sure that there aren’t any more traps lying around there for us or anyone else to stumble into. We’ll take care of the Coven from our side with the help of the Council. Don’t do anything stupid.” He preached.

I tapped the rune to make it smaller and gasped as the entire scythe suddenly shrank in my hands. The feeling was surreal, and I struggled to keep a hold of it. Once it was finished, I opened my hands and marveled at how small it actually became. It was now merely the length of the palm of my hand. An idea struck me then.

“Noch, I have a question. When we come back, would you be able to put a ring or hoop around the top of the hilt?” I asked while pinching the scythe between my fingers.

Noch tilted his head sideways. “Whatever for?”

“This would make for a beautiful necklace, don’t you think?” I grinned while holding it to my neck.

“Ha! A weapon in plain sight! I like the way you think Demon Spawn!” Noch cackled as he put his instruments away haphazardly.

“I wonder if a leather string would work fine.” I openly mused.

Noch hummed as he thought about it seriously. “If you need to pull it off and use it quickly, it should be a long one so you can slip it over your head. But, leather wears over time and can be cut.”

“What about a chain with a clasp that releases when I need it to?” I suggested with a sly smirk. I knew that getting him to talk about weapons and improving usage would steer him towards what I wanted.

“You know what, that is a good idea. I’ll make you a chain that has only one rune with one purpose. I’ll see what I can do about the ring or hoop that the chain can go through. I might just weld the chain and hoop together so the chain doesn’t slip out. We also wouldn’t want the chain to get bigger when the scythe expands its size, the hoop is fine, that will need to expand with the scythe anyway, so it doesn’t break. Maybe…” Noch glanced over at me and stopped his rambling.

“You wanted a chain ever since you first suggested this madness, didn’t you?” He deadpanned once he noticed that he was doing exactly what I wanted.

“Of course!” I exclaimed with the most innocent smile I had.

“Crazy manipulative Demon Spawn.” He muttered under his breath. He said that, but I knew he was committed to the idea now. Once he started rambling so enthusiastically about something that involved weapons, there was no way he was not going to try it out. He was also going to make sure that he succeeded because he hated being defeated by something he wanted to create.

“HA! Looks like Merianna knows all your weaknesses!” Thyrion cackled.

Noch gave a sour pout. “Alright, out with you two! Daylight is waning and you need to be out there earning your keep! If you don’t do as you’re told, you can kiss your scythe goodbye!” he said while ushering us out.

“But it’ll shock the hell out of anyone but me that touches it.” I said happily while being shoved back into fresh air.

“Don’t think that that applies to me, Demon Spawn. A weapon might be loyal to its wielder, but I’m its creator. I hold more authority than you!” He said with a smirk that made my good mood deflate. *Damn it all*.