There was a knock at the great gate to Castle Bloodrose's keep. Rebecca had been lounging at the entrance, so she had the task of answering it.

A man opened the door, holding a woman by the wrist. She was shackled in iron chains and poorly dressed, with dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair. "I assume by your looks that you are Rebecca. Then this would be your property."

Rebecca took the girl with a mildly upturned nose. She had a dislike of slavers, but it would have too risky to try to kidnap someone from the town. She paid the slaver with several gold coins, then he departed.

"I am Rebecca. Your new mistress. Tell me, what is your name?"

The slave recoiled in horror at Rebecca's dreadful visage. "B-Botaira. I was trained as a bed slave, but I don't think you want that. In fact, I shudder to think what you need me for."

"Botaira?? Such a mouthful. We'll need to shorten it. I think Bo will do quite nicely. As for what we need you for, well... There's a spell a colleague of mine and I want to cast, but we need a sacrifice to do it. I'm sure your mind can fill in the blanks for you."

Bo let out a pitiful moan, and Rebecca stopped in her tracks. What was she doing? Killing this woman so Angharad could bring her closer to life? She was better than [i]this![/i] "No. No. I can't do this. Not in good conscience. Yet I paid too much for you already." She thought for a second, then an idea came to her. "I'll do something for you, if you do something for me. How would you like to be my familiar?"

Bo was unfamiliar with the term, pardon the pun. "Familiar? I do not know what that is."

"A servant, bound by a magical contract. At least that is the commonly accepted definition. Yet to many witches, a familiar is something more. A trusted friend, a compatriot. An equal."

This got Bo's attention. When she was born, she was property. The same as a pair of shoes, or a farmer's scythe. To say that someone would treat her as an [i]equal[/i] was beyond her wildest dream. "And what do I get out of it?"

Rebecca gave a one-word answer. "Immortality."


Several hours later, the two were alone in Rebecca's room. "Now, the ritual of binding has two parts. First, I need you to give me a drop of blood, and swear your loyalty to me."

Bo did as she was bid. Obedience was one thing she was taught early on. "And in return, I swear to protect you, provide you with all your needs and wants to the best of my ability, and to treat you with respect and kindness." Rebecca made her own offering, then placed her fresh wound over Bo's, sealing the contract. "I don't feel any different," said Bo.

"That's because there's a separate ritual for the immortality part. Now, the lichdom ritual I used won't work on you. Not enough magic in your blood. But there's another way to do it. Just close your eyes, and I'll take care of the rest. You might feel a sharp pain, but it won't last long."

Bo closed her eyes, wondering how the ritual worked. As it turned out, there was a certain irony to it. Rebecca whipped out her knife, and with a smooth, practiced motion, slit Bo's throat from ear to ear. She might not have been able to cause a human agony, but a quick, clean death... she could do that.

Now, the sigils and symbols Rebecca had drawn on the floor did their work, causing Bo's soul to manifest as a sphere of violet light. Rebecca grabbed a skull that had been engraved with more runes from a table and held it up as Bo's soul flowed into it. The eye sockets of skull lit up with violet flames as it started speaking in Bo's voice. "You know, you might have warned me that you'd have to kill my body for this."

"And spoil the surprise?" Rebecca said with a wink.

"I think I'm going to like you."