The moment my foot crosses the threshold of the stone circle, reality warps. The forest around us dissolves like watercolor in the rain, replaced by a dark void spangled with distant, unfamiliar stars. The standing stones remain, but they've grown taller, more imposing, their runes pulsing with malevolent light.

  "Master!" Nerk shouts, his voice strangely distant though he stands right beside me. "Magic trick! Not real place!"

  "Oh, but it is real, goblin-thing," the hagraven's voice purrs from everywhere and nowhere. "Just not the real you're used to."

  The air before us shimmers, and she materializes, a nightmare fusion of woman and bird. Her upper body might once have been human, but now it's covered in patchy black feathers that don't quite hide the sickly gray skin beneath. Her arms end in wicked talons, and where her face should be, a raven's head perches atop an elongated neck, complete with curved beak and gleaming, intelligent eyes. From her back, tattered wings extend, not large enough for flight but perfect for adding to her unsettling silhouette.

  Around her neck hang dozens of twisted fetishes—dried eyes, mummified fingers, tiny skulls, and things I can't (and don't want to) identify.

  "A pleasure to finally meet you, tamer," she says, her beak not moving but the words forming clearly in my mind. "I've been watching you since you arrived in our world. So interesting. So... unexpected."

  Nerk growls, moving protectively closer to me. The hagraven's head tilts, those bird eyes focusing on him with disturbing intensity.

  "And this one," she continues, circling us slowly. "You've changed him. Enhanced him. Made him more than his pathetic kind ever becomes naturally." She makes a sound like bones grinding together—laughter, I realize. "How delightful."

  I focus on her aura, that sickly purple-black energy shot through with crimson. It's powerful, chaotic, but potentially compatible with my taming ability. I need to get closer, establish a connection.

  "You know what I am," I say, taking a cautious step toward her. "What I can do."

  "Of course." She fluffs her feathers, preening slightly. "The old powers return to our world after so long. The question is, do you know what I am? What I can do?"

  Before I can answer, she flicks one taloned hand. The starry void around us shifts, and suddenly we're surrounded by multiple copies of the hagraven, each identical, each watching us with those unblinking bird eyes.

  "Can you find the real me, tamer?" they chorus, their voices overlapping in a cacophony that makes my teeth ache. "Or will you waste your precious bond on a shadow?"

  Nerk snarls, spinning in place. "Illusions! All illusions!"

  I concentrate, trying to focus on the auras rather than what my eyes see. Most of the figures are empty, magical constructs with no true life force. But one...

  I lunge suddenly toward a hagraven slightly to my left, hands outstretched to establish the bond. My fingers pass through empty air as the illusion dissipates like smoke.

  The real hagraven's laughter echoes from behind me. "Too slow, tamer. Too trusting of your new senses."

  I whirl to face her, but she's gone again, replaced by more copies circling us like vultures.

  "Fuck this," I mutter, reaching into my pocket where I'd stashed some of the strange roots Nerk had harvested earlier. Acting on pure instinct, I crush one in my hand, feeling its bitter juice stain my skin.

  "Root of truth," the hagraven hisses, all her copies speaking at once. "Clever man-thing."

  The juice burns on my palm, but suddenly I can see through the illusions. Most of the hagravens fade to transparent outlines, while one—perched atop one of the standing stones—remains solid.

  "There you are," I say, moving quickly toward her.

  She shrieks, a sound that somehow conveys both anger and delight. With a flap of her tattered wings, she launches herself from the stone, talons extended toward my face.

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  Nerk intercepts her, his enhanced strength and speed allowing him to catch her mid-air. They tumble to the ground in a flurry of feathers and growls.

  "Careful!" I shout. "I need her alive!"

  "Alive but not unharmed," Nerk grunts, struggling to pin the surprisingly strong hagraven.

  She screeches, and suddenly Nerk is thrown backward by an invisible force, crashing into one of the standing stones hard enough to crack it.

  The hagraven rises, her feathers bristling with energy. "You think to make me your pet?" she hisses, advancing on me. "I who have devoured the hearts of warriors? I who have cursed kings to madness? I who speak with the dead and command the shadows?"

  I stand my ground, focusing on that connection I can feel trying to form between us. "I don't want a pet," I say firmly. "I want an ally. A partner."

  This gives her pause. Her head tilts again, bird-like. "Partner? Hagravens do not partner with humans."

  "I'm not exactly a normal human anymore," I point out. "And you're clearly not a normal hagraven, or you wouldn't be talking to me instead of trying to collect my eyeballs or whatever the fuck you normally do."

  A sound like rusty hinges—another laugh. "True enough, tamer. You interest me. But—"

  She moves with blinding speed, suddenly directly in front of me, her talons closing around my throat. "—interest isn't submission."

  Her talons press against my skin, drawing pinpricks of blood. I can smell her now—a mixture of decay, herbs, and something metallic. Her aura pulses against mine, fighting the connection I'm trying to establish.

  "I could rip out your throat," she whispers, her beak inches from my face. "I could curse your soul to wander these woods forever. I could turn your goblin-slave inside out with a word."

  "But you won't," I gasp, struggling to breathe. "Because you're curious. Because you want to know what else I can do. What else I can offer."

  Her grip loosens, just slightly. "And what can you offer that I don't already possess, man-thing?"

  "Evolution," I manage. "Like what I gave Nerk. I can make you more than you are."

  The hagraven goes very still, her eyes glittering with sudden interest. "More? How much more?"

  I grasp her wrist, not to pull her hand away but to establish physical contact. The connection between us sparks, strengthens. I can feel her resistance weakening.

  "Let me show you," I say.

  For a moment, the outcome hangs in the balance. Then, slowly, she releases my throat. "Show me, tamer. Impress me. But know this—if your power disappoints, I will have new decorations for my nest. Your eyes, perhaps. Or your tongue."

  I don't waste the opportunity. With our physical connection established, I push energy toward her, just a taste of what the bond could offer. I visualize her form growing stronger, her magic more potent, her wings larger and capable of true flight.

  The hagraven gasps, her body shuddering as the sample of power flows through her. For a brief moment, her wings extend, becoming more substantial, more powerful. Her feathers shine with an iridescent quality they lacked before.

  Then it fades as I withdraw the energy, not willing to commit to the full bond until she accepts.

  "That..." she breathes, staring at her talons where traces of the enhancement still shimmer. "That was but a fraction of what you offer?"

  "A tiny fraction," I confirm, feeling the power of the goblin tribe flowing through Nerk into me, ready to be channeled. "Accept the bond, and you'll have more. Much more."

  The hagraven steps back, circling me slowly, her movements less predatory now and more contemplative. "And what do you demand in return, tamer? My servitude? My magic at your command?"

  "Partnership," I repeat. "Your knowledge. Your skills. Your power, working with mine, not beneath it. I need to understand this world. I need allies who know its dangers and its opportunities."

  She stops circling, fixing me with those unnervingly intelligent eyes. "A bargain, then. Not a taming."

  "Call it what you want," I say with a shrug. "The bond works both ways. You get power; I get a partner."

  Nerk has recovered, moving back to my side. He watches the hagraven warily but no longer seems ready to attack. He can sense the negotiation is going well.

  The hagraven is silent for a long moment, considering. Then she extends her taloned hand. "I am Morrigan, witch of the shadow valley, speaker to the dead, weaver of curses and blessings alike." Her voice takes on a formal cadence. "I accept your bond, tamer, not as servant but as ally."

  I take her hand, careful of the sharp talons. "I'm John," I reply simply. "And I accept your terms."

  The moment our agreement is sealed, the connection flares to brilliant life. Purple-black energy flows between us, intertwining with my own power. I feel her mind touch mine—ancient, twisted, but incredibly knowledgeable. Fragments of her memories flash through my consciousness: centuries of life, rituals performed under moonlight, conversations with spirits, the creation of potions from ingredients that would turn my stomach if I dwelled on them too long.

  The starry void around us dissolves, returning us to the forest clearing and the lightning tree. The three goblin warriors stand where we left them, wide-eyed with fear and awe at the sight of Morrigan now standing calmly beside me.

  "It is done," Morrigan announces, flexing her talons experimentally. "The bond is formed." She turns to me, her head tilting in that bird-like way. "And now, tamer John, what shall you do next?"

  Uh, next? I haven't thought of my next step yet...