"You're a pretty hard person to find, you know that?"
I never heard the door open, nor did the bell that signaled a new customer make its pretty little noise. I looked up from my perch at the register to see a woman clad in white, a hood pulled up over her head. Her skin was rather pale, almost like my own. Piercing blue eyes hinted that she was something... else entirely. Her figure was shapely and attractive in a way that forced you to drink her in and savor every second you were in her presence. In her hands, a thick tome bound in wood whose pages were yellowed and tattered.
"That was a joke, by the way." Her perfectly sculpted face twisted in a smirk. "Briarheart Books? Really? I know you're bad with names, but..." She trailed off, making an awkward gesture with her free hand.
"Hello, Advencia," I said flatly.
There was a reason the woman could be considered a perfect ten; Advencia was a succubus under the employ of one Lichensith Ulroke, master assassin and leader of the motliest crew of assholes, vagabonds, and lost souls in Salvar. The Crimson Hand--a band that, until recently, I had been involved with myself. Nobody was really sure what her true purpose was in the Seventh Sanctum; I've heard whispers of all sorts. Some said that she was the one Lye would task with getting the most secretive and important tasks completed. Some said that she was there to pat him on the head and tell him that everything was going to be okay as he cried into her neck every night.
Ever muscle in my body tensed up as she took a step closer to my counter. "What are you doing here?"
"Relax," the demon cooed, "I'm not here on his orders."
That did little to calm me. Ulroke was never fond of anyone abandoning their post within the Hand, and always swiftly and violently dealt with deserters. Something that was on the back of my mind ever since I locked up my lab for the last time, grabbed my most important notes and books, and got the hell out of there.
This was... a month or two ago? I left shortly after I made my pact with Maladim for a fresh start in life in exchange for servitude for an unspecified amount of time, traveling the world and gathering books and artifacts that tickled his fancy and making sure certain knowledge got into the hands of those who needed it in order to advance the grand plans that otherworldly forces had for this plane.
And considering that I never informed the assassin of my findings regarding the thorns I planted around his heart years back and how their magic was slowly integrating with his own, I expected someone from the Sanctum to forcibly take me back at any time.
Advencia suddenly showing up unannounced would put anyone on edge, considering those circumstances.
"Then why are you here," I warily asked.
The demoness took a deep breath, apparently unsure of how she should best answer that. "I'm here for Red," she said, a note of apprehension in her voice.
Red--the slave girl that Ulroke brought in, abused physically and mentally, and enslaved. She was one of the few things that I regretted leaving behind in the frozen wastes. I could have helped her be free of his venomous grasp, but she didn't want it. She foolishly thought she could change him for the better, like I did. Had she succeeded where I failed?
"What about her?"
Advencia's eyes began to wander around the shop, taking in the neatly-organized shelved packed with books and the general lack of decoration on the walls and floor. "A lot has happened since you left, Madison. Some good, some bad."
I caught telltale hints of conflicting emotions in her eyes. "I know you don't care about the details, so I won't trouble you with them. But there's been a shift in power within the Sanctum. No matter what he might think, Lichensith is again losing control. Of everything and everyone."
I stifled a sour laugh.
"What's so funny," she asked with a slight cock of her head.
I waved away the question. "Sorry, sorry," I apologized half-heartedly. "I'm just not surprised that shit's going south again, after repeating the same mistakes that got him locked under a mountain for a year to begin with."
Advencia stiffened for a moment before relaxing again. Her thin fingers played with the corner of the book she held. "Well I won't trouble you with Hand matters any further," she said curtly. "I'm here for something more personal. Not a request from myself, but from Red."
The way she held herself, it was clear that something terrible was consuming her thoughts. I had always known the succubus to be confident and carefree, walking through those cold stone hallways with a sense of purpose and certainty. Now, as she stood there in the middle of my bookstore, she seemed a little... less, in every single way.
She pressed on. "Red asked me to deliver this book to you." Advencia took a step closer, setting the thing on the counter before me. I dog-eared my spot in the trashy novel I was reading and tossed it aside to get a better look at the curious book bound in wood. On its cover, etched into the surface, was the same set of symbols that was tattooed on our friend's lower back.
"What's this?"
"From what she told me, this appears to be a book with the answers to every question she has about herself. The problem is, Red's unable to translate a lot of the information held within, and was hoping that you'd be able to help her."
Casually, I slid a finger up under the heavy cover of the book, and opened it. Page after yellowed page of sketches of symbols, diagrams, and notes hastily written in a script I did not recognize greeted me. None of what I saw immediately triggered anything in my mind, based off the conversations and examinations I had performed on the girl back when I was in the Hand.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. I had no reason to help Advencia, or Red, or anyone from the Crimson Hand. I left that life the moment I shed my Briarheart body. I moved on. I left that dark path, abandoning everyone who walked it with me.
And yet--I felt this sense of obligation to the girl. I watched on as she was broken by the man who I tried to break. I felt partially responsible for everything that had happened to her. If only I had killed that fucker Ulroke when I had the chance, none of this would have happened to her.
As if she could read my thoughts, Advencia chimed in. "And, we all know you love a good problem to solve."
"You're not wrong," I muttered.
I had to admit, the tattoos that Red bore had intrigued me since day one. They were symbols that I had never seen nor heard of before, and had always been in the back of my mind since that afternoon where I first encountered her.
Slowly, I closed the book. "What does she need from me?"
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