Sibby looked from the slaver to the man who'd just shown up at her house.

"No, no, no. That will not do!" The guest glared at Zehia. "I have told you before not to address me that way!" He then broke into a huge grin, that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Call me 'Riqre'. We are friends after all!"

"Of course, Riqre." Zehia strolled closer to him. "My house is yours for as long as you'd like."

Riqre clapped his hands on her shoulders and chuckled. "Nonsense! I have already made other arrangements."

Zehia tilted her head. "Then what do you wish of me?"

"Only your company." Riqre glanced back at the slave by the door. "It is also good business to see how customers enjoy one's products, yes?"

"Of course, let us adjourn to the solar." Zehia turned and walked back into her house. "I have dates, apples, grapes, and various meats already prepared."

"Oh! How fortuitous!" Riqre followed her. "Or did you perhaps have word of my arrival beforehand?"

Zehia waved her hand lazily. "Not a single whisper has graced my ears. No, the reason for my meal being ready already is due to my recent work hours."

"Ah, so it is true?" Riqre's voice rose in volume slightly. "Does the feral Djinni have a night aspect?"

Zehia glanced over her shoulder. "You heard of that, have you?" She shook her head. "I am not surprised to tell the truth. Roshal might try to impose silence, but the creature's attacks have been far too public." She paused. "And too numerous."

"So it hasn't been caught yet?" Riqre's eyes gleamed. "I rushed here as soon as I heard the news, but I was afraid I would be too late!"

"No, not yet." A door opened as Zehia approached it. A slave bowed as the pair passed. "It should be soon, but our quarry has proven most elusive."

Sibby chuckled silently to herself. She wasn't the quarry. She was the hunter. Zehia was HER quarry.

"Excellent, excellent." Riqre clasped his hands together. "I hope the bidding isn't too high. A Djinni of my own would be a wonderful acquisition." The pair entered the solar and sat down. "What can you tell me of the Djinni? How powerful is it? What are its aspects? How has it remained free for so long?"

Zehia gave a throaty laugh. "Really now, you know I'm not supposed to discuss such things!"

"Oh please." Riqre gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Everyone gossips. It's just that your gossip is better than most people's."

Zehia reclined her head and opened her mouth. A grape was placed inside by one of her slaves. She chewed and swallowed before responding. "I suppose you have a point. It's not like I know for certain." She smiled. "Fine, I'll tell you our theories."

Riqre leaned forward, ignoring the slaves at his side that offered food. "Yes?"

"While the Djinni strikes at night, she was created during the day, so we can rule out a night aspect."

"Oh?"

Zehia nodded. "On her first two appearances, she rampaged like a feral beast. The first attack was in a market square."

"Which one?"

Zehia shrugged. "A minor one of no great concern. The damages were minimal, but I am told a promising [Slaver] lost an arm and his eyes." Riqre hummed and Zehia continued. "The second one was at the docks later that night. She killed a good number of [Sailors], including half a dozen Stringfolk."

"Killed? Not injured?"

Zehia shrugged again. "While she possesses no fire magic, her attacks are strong enough to kill one of us if she strikes our heads. Or fatally injure us if a healing potion of sufficient strength isn't soon applied. But what Djinni is not capable of such a feat?"

Riqre leaned back and stroked his chin. "Yes. You are correct, of course. It's just so surprising to hear of a Djinni related death. The tamed ones are incapable of turning on their masters."

"Yes, yes, and owners aren't supposed to use their Djinni to attack other [Slavers]. I know the laws too."

Riqre bowed his head. "A hundred apologies. I did not mean to interrupt your... gossip."

Zehia smiled. "No, you have the right of it. If the Djinni's rampage had continued like that, then Lailight Scintillion would've called on the Emirs of other cities to lend their aid - despite the cost."

"You have only spoken of rampages." Riqre leaned back. "But from what I hear, she still stalks the night."

Zehia nodded. "She's snuck into people's houses and maimed them more than a dozen times. Serious injuries. People had lost eyes, or had entire limbs ruined, but no one else has died since that first night."

Sibby smiled to herself. She had so much self control.

"How... odd." Riqre drummed his fingers on the table as Zehia was fed more food by her slaves. "What happened at the end of that first night? There must be a reason for the change."

Zehia shrugged. "She displayed impressive physical strength by all accounts, and disintegrated a bridge before vanishing."

"Teleporting?" Riqre said with obvious interest.

"Perhaps. No wards have worked as of yet, and all of our mages and Djinni have failed to detect any traces of dimensional magic. At least, any traces that haven't been accounted for." Zehia sighed. "In fact, that's the most frustrating part of all of this. We think that one of her aspects is anti-magic."

"What?!" Riqre shouted before controlling his voice. "A Djinni is a creature of magic! They cannot possibly have an aspect that is such an anathema to their very nature!"

Zehia shrugged again. "You know more than I do, but that's the current theory."

Riqre stood up and started pacing back and forth while Zehia ate some more. "Tell me." He stopped and sat back down. "Tell me what evidence you have that supports such an outrageous claim."

"Let me see." Zehia tapped her lips with a finger. "The first would have to be that the [Slaver] she first wounded struck her with an [Anti-magic Strike]."

"And it had no effect?" Riqre frowned. "It's not unheard of for a Djinni to be only slightly injured from such an attack, but it should have at least wounded a newly formed one." He glanced up. "I hope the fool was properly punished for such a potentially wasteful action."

Zehia snickered. "Oh yes. The Djinni seemed to have taken a personal interest in him. He has lost his eyes three times now, and beggared himself from the expense." She shook her head. "But it was more than resisting a powerful attack. The whip that he hit her with was disintegrated."

"I say." Riqre raised his eyebrows. "A disintegration aspect is quite potent, if narrow."

Sibby laughed to herself. That was what all the capes back home used to think of her too. 'Just a Brute.' Albeit, the most powerful one in the world. She shrugged. If they only knew what she was really capable of...

"We thought one of her aspects might be that after she destroyed the pier." Zehia paused and blinked. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention that she disintegrated an entire pier during her second rampage."

"Yes." Riqre replied with a flat voice. "I could see how such a minor detail slipped your mind."

"In my defense, she hasn't used that ability since."

"Ah."

"Where was I?" Zehia tilted her head and looked to the side. "Oh, yes. The main reason we think she has an anti-magic aspect isn't what you think. Every time she has been struck with a spell, she vanishes."

"Fascinating." Riqre mumbled to himself. "An interaction with her own disintegrating aspect? Perhaps she's dying and has a rebirth aspect? Or she is incapable of containing much magic at all..."

"Like I said." Zehia smirked. "It's been a most interesting time recently."

Riqre gave a full belly laugh. "Oh Zehia, how I've missed your dry sense of humor." He smiled another smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Please allow me to change the subject. Tell me, how is Laila doing? She was one of my most... promising experiments."

Zehia's eyes lit up. "She's been wonderful. You won't be able to guess who I have molded her into now... The Djinni! Isn't that amazing?" She laughed. "Let me call her, you must have a look!"

Riqre looked at the ceiling before grimacing and shaking his head. "Zehia, it truly pains me, but I must leave at once."

She blinked and looked up at him. "So soon? You only just arrived." She motioned to the large platter of food before her. "You haven't even eaten anything!"

"Yes, I must away." He started to turn around before pausing and looking back at her. "If I offer to buy the Djinni before she's even caught, I might be able to outbid any other interested parties." He drummed his fingers on his chest. "I promise I will return. I couldn't keep myself away from visiting Laila again. Not after seeing how taken with her you've become!"

Sibby frowned as she watched the fat man leave. He was going on her list.

...

Sibby crept up on her latest target. He was asleep, and finally alone. Not that no witnesses was a requirement, but she had an experiment she wanted to perform and people seeing her meant the capes that could pop her would arrive sooner.

She frowned. Their response time was improving. If she wasn't tied to her summoning spot, she'd consider moving somewhere else. That would be a pain.

...Plus she hated losing.

Sibby shook her head. She had some prey to... inflict justice upon.

The Siberian lifted the sheets off of her target's sleeping form. They didn't make a sound, not even the slightest whisper. Her power made sure of that.

Her target shifted in his sleep. She had to act fast before the chilly air woke him up. It was starting to get colder, and the rain outside didn't make things warmer.

Sibby smirked. Her target slept without any clothes on.

Foolish.

Not that it would've stopped her, but it might have bought him a few precious seconds if she had been forced to removed more impediments.

Sibby reached for one of the black threads on his ankles. It felt strange, but not the same sort of strangeness that would pop her. She was getting better at differentiating between such things. While there was something odd about these 'stitchfolk', she could still effect them with her power.

Or she could target their stitches themselves.

It took only a reduction in friction to allow her to pull out the thread. She smiled as his foot deformed into a pile of cloth.

One by one, she pulled his threads out until he had only his head and torso left.

She could leave him like that, but he'd soon be back on his feet and doubtlessly taking his misfortune out on his slaves. However, Sibby had found a good way around that - apparently eyes were expensive.

All she had to do was repeatedly destroy them, and he'd either relent to being blind, go broke from repeatedly buying new ones, or move out of the city. It was a shame she couldn't do anything about the third option, but that was how this game worked.

As a bonus, it was very hard for a slaver who was a blind torso to hurt his slaves. Who knew, perhaps THESE might be the slaves that finally exacted some form of revenge of their master.

Sibby had given them other such opportunities in the past, and while there had been more than one slave that had gripped a weapon, not a single one had raised their hands against their masters.

She might not know the details of all of their lives, but it still seemed strange to Sibby that not a single one sought vengeance. Very odd indeed.

Sibby shrugged. Whatever, she didn't really care if they chose not to take advantage of the gifts she'd left. She was still winning her game.

Right, time for the final part.

Sibby dangled one of the threads she'd pulled out over Torso Boy's closed eyes with one hand. The other hand went around his mouth to keep him from making any noise. This next part would hurt, and he wasn't going to be sleeping through it.

One by one, she lowered the strings into his eyeballs before letting them interact with the rest of the 'waves' again.

She was halfway done when the wall exploded.

Sibby blinked. The capes were here sooner than she'd expected. Plus they hadn't even knocked this time!

A wing made of shadow swept across the room.

...

Sibby appeared.

Something tried connecting with her, but she brushed it away.

How annoying. Not whatever it was that persisted in trying to latch on to her. It was second nature for her to dismiss most everything the exact moment it encountered her. It was a reflex that only she was capable of making use of - everyone else was just too slow.

No, the annoying thing was how many capes there were here that could pop her!

In the past, the ones that could pull that off were few and far between. Each one offered a novel experience and a fun game, especially since William's rule of not being seen meant that she'd had to quickly kill off anyone who'd managed to witness her disappearance.

Kevin hadn't had an opinion on the matter, so Sibby had decided that William still had made good points. It was a lot more fun to downplay what she could do. Admittedly, it was also fun to play games with her 'new' powers too, but that was beside the point.

Oh well, at least being re-summoned so often kept her from being hungry. The cloth-people were horrible tasting. They turned back into fabric as soon as she took a bite!

It was disgusting. Even worse than eating stuff the grew from dirt.

AND THEY WERE SO BLAND!

That was it. Her next target had to be a regular person... or at least not a fabricfolk. She'd seen plenty of strange looking people by the docks. One of them had to be edible!

Besides, being part of a system that utilized slavery was plenty of justification for her. It didn't matter if they owned slaves personally or not.

Sibby frowned. Kevin MIGHT be a LITTLE disappointed with her flawless logic, but now that she'd thought about it, she was starting to get hungry.

...

Sibby watched her latest prey.

He was definitely not a clothling.

...Well, probably not. She didn't see any stitches, but they could be hidden under the barnacles that covered the right half of him.

So many holes. Sibby could use that when she enacted her punishment.

The problem was that he was looking right at her. In fact, he was moving closer to her while unsheathing the sword at his hip.

Sibby frowned. She had to let a little light in if she wanted to see. Most people wouldn't even notice. Those that did never paid any attention. Her current prey was different.

Sibby smiled. This would be fun... except that she had to silence him. She hated not being allowed to play properly, but the strange looking capes were showing up earlier and earlier. She couldn't let them coordinate with someone who could see her.

The man's sword was pointed right at her eye. Sibby didn't want to touch it. It might be one of those things that could pop her. So, she tore his hand off instead.

He dodged!

She couldn't believe he dodged!

The barnacle covered arm flinched to the side just as she was about to wrap her claws around it!

She lashed out at his face. She needed to blind him if she was going to have any fun.

He dodged again!

Sibby narrowed her eyes. Fine. She had more tricks up her lack of sleeves. The wooden floorboards of his room were normal. They wouldn't pop her. That meant she could do whatever she wanted to them, like removing their friction.

Not all their friction of course. She didn't want to make the floor fall apart. Negating it on their upper part would work well enough.

She lunged, and the man dodged again!

That was impossible. No one could remain standing on a frictionless surface!

...Oh, there he went. Sibby smiled to herself. Her prey might have powers that allowed him to see her, or to foresee what was about to happen to him. He might even have some sort of super-balance thing going on.

It didn't matter. Zero friction was zero. He might've been able to move. He might've even been able to dodge. What he couldn't do was stop.

He crashed into the wall and yelled.

Sibby let light interact with her once more and pounced!

Ah... crunchy!

A nice texture. The flavor was different. It was strange in a similar, yet distinct way that some things around here were. Still, it wasn't bad. In fact, it faintly tasted like some of the food Kevin made...

A shout came from behind her. She'd made too much noise and the rest of the people in the building were swarming in. They shot numerous projectiles at her, which she ignored.

Interrupt her meal would they?

The Siberian smiled as she stood up. She allowed some of her prey's blood to cling to her. She also let light pass through the back of her head so her eyes glowed. The capes that could pop her would be here soon, so she'd have to make this quick.

...

Sibby appeared.

Something tried connecting with her, but she brushed it away.

Once she was safely away from her summoning place, Sibby frowned. Something felt 'off'. Her third big fight had ended the same way the second had - capes had appeared that could pop her. Although, they hadn't done so immediately. There were some strange powers that she'd dodged, and others that sought to contain her.

She, of course, avoided such things with ease. So it couldn't be one of the capes responsible for the strange feeling.

Could it have been the crunchy guy she'd eaten?

Sibby supposed that was possible. She'd never had a problem from eating before, but she knew other people could. If there were so many people that could pop her, did that mean that there were also people that would make her sick if she ate them?

What a horrible thought! Truly this was a twisted mistake of a world that never should have existed in the first place!

Sibby sat down and thought. She'd definitely had felt the change during the fight. In fact, it was before the capes had arrived. There had been dozens of people shooting at her with all sorts of things. The glowing things she avoided - those were more likely to pop her. The swords, arrows, and other assorted weapons she mainly ignored.

...Unless they glowed. Better safe than sorry with those.

Her stomach felt fine, so it probably wasn't the worst case scenario. Instead, one of the people attacking her must've been a less flamboyant cape.

How interesting.

She would have to investigate the dock area more thoroughly if it had hidden opportunities for fun like that. Plus, the food had been nice.

Now wasn't the right time. She needed to lay low and find another victim. It was important to draw these things out.

Laila yawned as she woke up. It was dark, which sent a bolt of panic through her brain for a second. Zehia had changed her schedule recently, which meant that all of her slaves had to adjust theirs as well - sleep during the day, go about their duties at night.

Some of the other slaves... commented on the difficulties of performing some tasks like that. Mainly shopping. Not that any of them actually dared complain. You never knew who would be willing to sell word of your misdeed to their Mistress for a slight favor.

She looked around the room frantically. If it was dark, that must mean that she had overslept! Laila cringed. She couldn't take another punishment. Not now. Not so soon after having skinned herself to alter her appearance!

She started breathing heavily before noticing the slight drumming.

Rain! It was dark because it was raining outside! She hadn't overslept!

Laila frowned. It was POSSIBLE that she hadn't overslept. She needed to hurry to make sure that she was ready for any... activities that Zehia might wish to partake in before she left for the day.

...

Laila raised the glowing stone above her head before moving around the pleasure room. It was an additional difficulty to ensure that not a single speck of dust remained in the dark. At least she didn't have to use fire to illuminate the inner room. She wasn't as afraid of it as some, she had other things to fear, but it was still a relief to not have to have the additional stress.

Not that fire would be allowed in the Mistress's home. The risk of flames was for lesser people. The Mistress was rich enough for light-rocks in every room.

Once she was satisfied that every sheet was secured and every pillow was in its place, Laila exited the room with her cleaning tools. She stored them in the closet before wandering to the kitchen.

No one liked the kitchen, but the fire there was well contained. Stitchfolk ovens and stoves were created with an emphasis on safety. It also wasn't like any of them would go up in flames from a single spark, but it still was a persistent fear in the back of her mind.

Golge was already there - putting the finishing touches on Mistress Zehia's meal. Ranve watched patiently. The [Butler] was one of Zehia's favorites, and he was in charge while she was out. He looked up as Laila entered before subtly shaking his head.

No extra food then. She'd have to wait to eat the leftovers along with everyone else, or until Golge prepared the less expensive meal for the rest of them.

Laila turned to leave. The Djinni that she currently modeled after wore no clothes, so she needed to strip before Zehia came back. She shivered at the thought. It was cold and wet, despite not yet being Winter, but she would survive.

Ranve's head twisted and he stood up. He strolled out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

Laila frowned. The Mistress must be home sooner than expected. She needed to make herself presentable immediately.

She hurried back to her room. It didn't take long, but she might be called upon immediately. She had no time to waste.

Minutes passed. She looked at her new, mono-chromatic skin. It was a nice enough look.

Not worth what she had gone through. No other Stitchfolk would be altering themselves in a similar manner any time soon.

Laila smiled and dreamed her forbidden dream - to be free and made of silk. She was halfway there, and it was arguably the harder half. Not that freedom was realistically possible, but it WAS more likely than any other cotton exchanging their head for one of silk.

Perhaps Zehia would take her to the docks, or send her on an errand. There she would catch the eye of a passing Gold level adventurer. It would be love at first sight. Zehia would allow him to buy her freedom after an impassioned plea...

Laila closed her eyes and smiled.

A knock on her door interrupted her daydream. She didn't have time to answer before it opened and Ranve stuck his head through the gap - not that she was expected to answer. She had no real privacy. It was a small blessing that Ranve was nice enough to knock first.

"Your presence is requested." His voice was flat and emotionless. Laila wondered at times what it was like to be him. Other [Head Slave]'s abused their position, but Ranve never had.

Was he content with his life? Or was he like her, and dreamed of freedom?

Laila stood up and followed him to... the drawing room? That was strange. Mistress Zehia only entered that room when she was receiving guests. That was why it existed - to allow them to rest in comfort before she saw them. That meant...

Laila entered the room and froze.

HE was there.

"My lovely girl." Riqre'ma Medaale spread his arms wide and smiled. "How I've wished to see you again. Truly, you are one of my best creations!"

Laila bowed her head. Not because it was proper, but because she couldn't bring herself to look Rigre in the eyes. She didn't have a skill like [Sense Evil], but you didn't need one to see what lay in the heart of the monster before her.

"Come, my dear, let me see my work." Rigre cupped her chin and raised it until she was forced to look at his horrifying visage. Others might not see it at first, but those eyes and that smile were forever ingrained into her mind. While he hadn't done the cutting, he'd watched and smiled at her while she'd been... flayed.

"Yes, yes. Simply marvelous!" Rigre beamed. "I didn't know what I'd lost when I'd sold you." He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. "You see, none of my other experiments ever re-produced your... talents. I tried, oh how I tried! But, it was to no avail." He leaned back and looked her up and down. "That's why I must have you back."

Laila was still frozen in terror. Back? To him? To there? No! Nonononononononono! She couldn't go back! She wouldn't! Zehia might force her to do things she didn't like, but it was paradise compared to the hell she'd endured before!

Rigre smiled as his eyes narrowed. "You're probably thinking that Zehia wouldn't part with you. She does go on and on about you after all." He then whispered. "That won't be a problem soon, I think." He let her go, and she immediately dropped her head back down. "You may leave. I have seen all that I've needed to."

Torn between running, crying, and being paralyzed by fear, Laila's training took over. She bowed her head and mumbled something polite sounding before turning and exiting the room.

What could she do? What could she ever do?

She felt at the collar around her neck as she meandered through the house. She'd thought about... slipping when changing her face before. The restrictions would prevent any purposeful actions on her part - either towards herself or others, but she could just... not focus as hard. Some carelessness during a sensitive procedure could easily kill her.

...Except, what if it didn't work? What if that left her in more pain?

BOOM!

Her mind went blank as the wall exploded!

"There it is! Get it!"

"No, that's not it! [Hunter's Mark] says it's over there!"

"Target that side of the room!"

Something with feathers as dark as pitch swept out, and more of Zehia's mansion was destroyed. Laila looked with eyes as large as saucers as a winged humanoid floated in mid-air amidst the rubble. She'd heard of Garuda before. Was this one of them? It radiated power so potent that she felt it from where she was.

The black-skinned creature turned to look at her, and Laila cowered under its gaze.

"It's gone." A man dressed in brown leather entered the room. "It's teleported again."

Laila blinked as she was summarily ignored. The creature that had demolished the wall wasn't a Garuda. It could only be a Djinni! She'd never seen one of their kind before, and now THREE Djinni and a score of dark-robed individuals milled about outside.

A tiger made of shifting flames and a woman created of constantly blooming flowers looked... bored?

Their faces were similar enough to regular people that Laila could clearly see the lack of animosity that everyone else in their group bore.

"This way." The man in brown leather pointed, and the group moved away in the blink of an eye.

Laila hugged herself as she sat amidst the rubble. What was going on?

Nii'mer'aud, or Nii as he was commonly called, followed the [Hunter]'s directions as he collected the group within his wings. The sun was rising, and as it did his power waned. It was no matter, as he still possessed his other aspect. It was still enough to transport such a large group.

He stoically watched as the [Slavers] figured out how to trap the newest one of his kind. It was a shame. As weak as she was in magic, she'd possessed the perfect aspects to avoid the fate of their people.

Stealthspace, if he were to guess. No one had asked his opinion, and he hadn't volunteered any information. It had been a vain hope that she might escape, but that was the folly of youth. No, not even youth. The wisdom of a baby. She threw tantrums and played games because there was no one to teach her better.

No one to warn her of what the mortals would do.

Nii'mer'aud was ancient. He had been alive when the first of the Djinni were enslaved. He was also, foolishly, one of the first to be captured so. He'd fought against Qin'tevf'al, when his prince had tried to free him of his own shackles. He'd been forced to help capture countless others as well.

Each and every one of them broke his heart.

They found the new Djinni quickly. [See Invisible] was still of no use. In fact, there was no sign that his wings had touched anything, yet the [Hunter] insisted she'd fled again.

Pursue and attack. The same scenario was repeated over and over. The intervals between each attempt grew shorter and shorter. Was she running out of mana? That would explain why she didn't teleport further away.

It suddenly made sense when the [Hunter] spun in place and pointed at a spot they'd just passed. "There!"

Nii saw her. It was for the briefest amount of time. It couldn't even be called a flicker.

He had no choice. He had to attack. He struck her again.

Another flicker.

It wasn't that she could no longer teleport. She could only move through space and reform in a single location.

Nii felt... devastated. Some part of him deep down had carried a small spark of hope. That she would escape. That she would be able to avoid his fate - the fate of all Djinni. She'd lasted so much longer than any other of their people. Her aspects were so unique that he'd subconsciously thought she'd might do the impossible. Nii hadn't even realized that he'd dared to think such a thing.

Now, that spark was extinguished.

The Firebinding tiger summoned a cage. What was his name? Had Nii known him before, or was it one of things he'd been made to forget over the years? His fellow [Slave] wove threads of flame that surrounded the black and white Djinni and held her in place.

Nii couldn't bare to watch, but was compelled by his bindings. The men began to chant. The days long spell would cover every possibility. It had been refined over thousands and thousands of years to leave not a single loop-hole.

When it was done, it would coalesce into a physical embodiment of the magic. A collars. Bracers. A belt. The form didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.