Evil-Lyn's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Evilin wanted her grimoire back, and she did not know who had it. The book held every spell she owned. Someone had torn it from her hands the night her coven burned, the same fire that scattered Skeletor's forces and buried her old life in ash. Now she stood in the serpent-carved castle, staring at a wall of black towers, guessing. Skeletor sat on his throne, orange eyes burning under his purple hood. "You keep chasing a thief with no face," he said. "Waste no more nights on blind guesses." "Then help me find the face," Evilin said. Beast Man leaned against the wall, arms crossed, orange fur bristling. He had carried her out of the fire himself. "I dragged you clear that night," he growled. "The book was already gone. But I saw the one who took it." Evilin turned sharp. "You never told me." "You were half dead." Beast Man's yellow eyes met hers. "Green skin. Two legs. Fish face. He swam off through the flood drains." Merman. One of their own. Trap Jaw stepped forward, purple helmet gleaming, his metal jaw clicking as he grinned. "I built the keep's cells," he said. "Merman's been locked in the lowest one since we regrouped. Caught him stealing from the armory." Evilin's chest tightened. The thief had been under her roof the whole time. She strode down the twisting stairs. Beast Man and Trap Jaw followed. Cold water dripped from the stone. The lowest cell smelled of salt and rot. Merman crouched behind the bars. His fish eyes caught the torchlight. He did not run. He almost smiled. "Where is my book?" Evilin said. Merman's mouth split wide, showing his teeth. "I gave it away." Evilin gripped the bars. "To who?" "The boy who leads the city," Merman said. "The one who burned us down and drove us here. I traded it for my life the night the coven fell. He has it now, behind his people's walls." Beast Man snarled and slammed the bars. Trap Jaw's jaw clicked shut hard. Evilin stepped back. She had wanted a name. Now she had one, and it was worse than blind guessing. The grimoire sat inside the enemy stronghold, in the hands of the boy who had beaten Skeletor's whole army. "You should have kept guessing," Merman said. Evilin turned from the cell. Her spells were locked behind the walls of the people who wanted her dead. She climbed the stairs toward the throne room, already shaping the only plan left. She would have to go into the city herself.