59 Results in the "A Thread of Corruption" category
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Chapter
Chapter 58 – Breaks
When Valentina woke up, Innogen had already propped herself up in bed with pillows behind her back and was repeatedly flexing the fingers of her left hand. The swelling had already gone down significantly, but her skin was still covered in multicolored bruises. "Does it still hurt a lot?" Valentina asked cautiously. "It should actually be better by now." "It just aches a little still. And my fingers feel like I borrowed them from someone else." Innogen let her hand drop. Her eyes were still red, but…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 57 – Old Enemies
It took about an hour for Faustus to return. There was a soft knock on the front door a few times. Valentina stood up, went to the front door, and pressed her ear against the wood. "It's me," said Faustus' muffled voice from outside. She opened the door, let him in, looked around again, and then locked it. Faustus looked even more exhausted than before, which she would hardly have thought even possible. He was carrying a bundle under his arm. "Your things from his bedroom," he said, setting the…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 56 – You Can Go to Hell
First, Valentina carefully helped Innogen up the stairs to the bedroom. Then she would deal with the ring. Upstairs, she gently covered Innogen and placed her mangled hand on a pillow. "I have to go back downstairs and take care of the ring," Valentina said. "Just for a moment. I'll be right back." Innogen nodded without saying a word, and Valentina brushed the sweaty strands of hair from her face and kissed her on the forehead, tasted the salt on her lips. Then she went back…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 55 – Old Debts
Johann shouted a command into his ring as he uncorked his vial of Corrupted Essence. "Narzoz! Help me neutralize their patterns, now!" Narzoz obeyed, guiding Johann's weaving so confidently that it almost appeared as if the demon himself were steering Johann's hands. Visible only to Valentina through the Sight, he formed from the Corrupted Essence a flawless yet geometrically unsettling pattern of terrifying elegance, which the demon fed into him and which, in the geometrically inverted logic of…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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The door slammed against the wall, and standing in the doorway was the hooded figure in a tattered cloak, the hood pulled low over its face. It was the same figure Valentina had seen so often in recent weeks but had never been quite able to catch. In one hand he held something bronze, and in the other he held an open vial, whose oily, iridescent contents the figure was already pouring into a raw and malevolent Viur pattern. Valentina felt as though she had seen that exact pattern before, an eternity…
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459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 53 – Breaking
"Valentina?" Terror gripped Valentina's heart. What was Innogen doing here? "That complicates things." Johann's hand tightened around her shoulder. His grip wasn't brutal, just firm. He knew, after all, that his captive couldn't go anywhere. Valentina could feel him tense up, like a foxhound that had caught the scent of fresh game. "Damn it," said Vyxara. Innogen came down the stairs, barefoot, in her nightgown, holding a small essence lamp. "I fell asleep while waiting for you. I wanted…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 52 – The Trap Closes
The wool blanket had slipped down to her hips, and the warm light from the Essence Lamps cast a soft glow over Valentina's bare skin. Johann lay beside her, one arm folded behind his head, breathing calm and steady. "That was fantastic" Vyxara remarked, and the demon sounded sated and content. Valentina didn't answer. She was too pleasantly exhausted to form even a coherent thought. Her body was heavy, and she felt flushed and satisfied. Johann sat up, swung his legs out of bed, and reached for…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 51 – Honey
The house on Midriver Row was indeed in a completely different league from the university housing. Three stories of neatly grouted limestone, narrow windows with glass panes, and a red door with brass hardware that almost glowed in the dark from a distance, illuminated by the Essence lamp above the entrance. Johann opened the door before she could even knock, as if he had been standing at the window waiting and looking for her. "Right on time," he said, stepping aside to let her in. "I appreciate…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 50 – Angles of Attack
The tavern was always nearly empty in these early morning hours. Only at the bar sat two old men over their first ales, silent and seemingly lost in thought. They were probably there every morning. The innkeeper was polishing mugs and nodded wordlessly to Valentina as she entered. She didn't have to look for him at all. Hobkin was sitting in a corner, his feet propped up on the bench across from him, and was relishing bread with cheese and pickled onions. When he saw Valentina, his face began to form…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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Chapter
Chapter 49 – Closer
A few days later, Valentina sat next to Crispin in a lecture by Professor Veilford, trying to concentrate on his obscure explanations, even though her mind was still half on Johann's idea regarding the boundary conditions, which she had been calculating late into the night the previous evening. The approach actually worked, at least for the outer two rings of the cascade, and the elegance of the solution made her cheer inwardly every time she thought about it. At the end of the lecture, Valentina…-
459.3 K • Ongoing
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