Treading as lightly as she could on the wooden floor, Sinda carefully made her way across Thezon’s shop. It was well after closing time. The door had been locked, and the troll guards dismissed. She’d seen the Magus leave for the tavern minutes ago, and had sprung into action the moment he’d been out of sight.

Sinda had no magical abilities of her own, but her talent for picking locks bordered on the supernatural. She’d been taught by an aunt who had been imprisoned for numerous petty crimes, but had repeatedly escaped through a combination of her seductive guile and her lockpicking expertise. Sadly, that aunt died when Sinda was young - otherwise she’d have chosen a tempestuous childhood in her care, rather than remaining with her callous mother.

She’d always resisted the urge to use her skills, wanting to avoid a life of crime herself. But current circumstances more than justified their use - it was the only way to save Zallia.

The brainlessly subservient... imitation of her lover had mentioned that Thezon had transferred the rest of her consciousness - her mind, her spirit, her very essence - into a jar, stored away on one of these shelves. On display, just like any of his wares, as if to be sold! Was he planning to sell it? Who would want to buy such a thing, and for what purpose, other than as some kind of grotesque trophy or curio? Or was that why he’d put it on a shelf, not to sell but to show off as his trophy? Either option was despicable, but Sinda had to be grateful for either his greed or his vanity, because it would make it much easier to find...

In fact, the glass jar was even more obviously placed than she’d anticipated - back on the small wooden table next to the ‘treatment chair’ at the back of the store. And to her horror, it was empty. In desperation, she opened the lid, hoping that perhaps the essence of Zallia was inside but invisible, and would make its presence felt. But there was nothing.

She cast her eyes around the room, studying the shelves, praying that the Magus had more than one jar, and that the one containing Zallia’s spirit was elsewhere. There was no sign. She blinked away yet more tears. What had he done with her? Where could he have hidden her? She began frantically rifling through items on the nearest shelf, trying to delude herself that he might have hidden her behind one of them, not caring any more if she moved them out of position and gave away the fact that an intruder had snuck into the store. Her hands brushed over all sorts of cheap knick-knacks and lucky charms, available to purchase for someone with a couple of spare coins - a pot of herbs, a rabbit’s foot, a pendant with some kind of runic design, a wax doll...

Sinda!

She almost leapt out of her skin. That was Zallia’s voice! But where had it come from?

“Zallia?” she called out, quietly. “I-is that you?”

There was no answer. Now that she thought about it, the voice hadn’t seemed to come from somewhere else - it was as if she was hearing it inside her own head... Perhaps the missing pieces of Zallia were still here, but contained within something else! She’d been touching that doll when she’d heard it...

She took hold of the doll again.

Sinda, can you hear me?

She gasped. “Yes! Yes, Zallia - I can hear you!”

Oh, thank the Gods! But... what are you doing here?

“I - I came to rescue you,” Sinda stammered. “I broke in to get back the parts of you the Magus took away...”

Gods, Sinda - that’s so risky... If you got caught -

“No, it’s fine - he’s not here, the store’s closed, and no-one saw me. Besides, I had to risk it. You - the other you, the altered you - she was like a completely different person. A stranger...” Her voice shook as she continued, “Sh-she broke up with me. She was trying to be nice about it, bu-but seeing her - seeing you - like that... it was so fucking painful...”

Oh, Sin... Zallia’s voice was full of sorrow. I’m so sorry. Believe me, it was nothing to do with the real me. It was all what the Magus did to me - probably with a big helping of Lord Prick’s influence. I dread to think what he’s making me do - making her do, I mean...

Sinda shuddered. “She... uh, she mentioned a couple of things. Trust me, Zal, you really don’t want to know.”

I can guess, Zallia said bitterly. I saw what Thezon got me to do before he sent me away - don’t ask. If I could throw up, I would. I expect it’s been more of the same with that bastard...

Sinda kept her silence on that subject. But Zallia’s words raised an interesting question. “You could see? While you were in that jar?”

Oh, yes. I was in the form of a sort of... cloud of magical essence, I suppose. But I could manifest a human shape - just not one tangible enough to smash the glass. I could see and hear, but I couldn’t talk aloud. Same thing now I’m in this doll.

“You... you can see me?”

The tone of Zallia’s telepathic voice was tinged with sadness again. I can, Sin. I’ve never seen you so despondent... It must have broken your heart, seeing what that - that monster did to me.

Sinda nodded miserably. “It did. But I knew it wasn’t really you.” She caressed the doll’s tiny face with her thumb. “And I promise, I’m going to restore you. I’m taking you home with me, and then I’ll find a way of putting you back in your body. And then, we’re leaving together, just like we planned.”

Zallia didn’t say anything in response, but Sinda imagined the little wax mouth smiling.

Picking up the doll, she turned away from the shelf and made to cross the store - but her foot wouldn’t move. It refused to be raised from the floor. Nor did the other foot. Not only that, but she couldn’t look down to see what the problem was, because her head wouldn’t move. Nothing would. She was suddenly, completely frozen, all her muscles locked, only able to breathe and blink. Even her eyes were fixed in place, staring across the room.

Sinda? What’s happening?

She tried to speak, but all her paralysed vocal chords could muster was a barely audible croak. Her breathing quickened as she began to panic.

Sinda, come on, we’ve got to get out of here! Why aren’t we moving? Talk to me!

With her efforts to reply verbally proving fruitless, she resorted to thinking her response, hoping Zallia would hear her in the same way she could hear Zallia. I can’t! I’m frozen! I can’t move!

There was a long pause.

Oh, no, Zallia finally whimpered. Oh Gods... The Magus must’ve put a hex on all his property to stop anyone stealing them... Sin, you’ve got to fight it. You’ve got to move. If he catches you, we are both fucked!

She tried, she truly did. She fought to move, but nothing responded, other than her lungs and eyelids.

I can’t do it, Sinda wept silently. It’s hopeless...

Keep trying! Wiggle a finger, or a toe - anything! Please, Sin, I don’t care what happens to me at this point, just save yourself, for fuck’s sake! Keep fighting it, come on, you can do this...

With her girlfriend’s voice relentlessly urging and encouraging her, Sinda marshalled all her resolve, focusing entirely on her little toe. After several long, long seconds... it moved.

I moved my toe! she exclaimed. Zal, I did it!

Oh, yes! Right, come on, if you can do that, you can move anyth-

The door of the shop swung open.

Fuck, Zallia wailed.

“Well, what do we have here?” Thezon chuckled drunkenly, ambling into the building. “A thief in the night, come to steal my wares, or my treasured possessions?” Closing the door, he crossed the room unhurriedly, clearly confident that his captive wasn’t going anywhere.

I’m so sorry, Zal. I really, really tried. Sinda still couldn’t move anything but her little toe, which was almost worse than total paralysis. It was like it was taunting her with its mobility - it proved that perhaps she could have broken free if she’d had enough time, but it was too late now.

No, this is my fault, Zallia replied, sounding disconsolate. This only happened because I pissed off my stepfather once too often, and because I wasn’t ready to leave with you as quickly as I should’ve been. I’m so sorry. I love you so much. I can’t bear to think what he might do to you...

The Magus moved out of Sinda’s direct line of sight, but she could still see him in her peripheral vision, far to her left. She felt him run his hand through her long brunette hair. “You walk past all the items of great value in here, and choose this simple wax doll?” he mused. “On the very same day I begin displaying it there, filled with the darkness from within my latest patient? Hmm, perhaps you are no simple thief... I recall the Lord mentioning something about a peasant girlfriend. Was that you, my dear?”

Sinda didn’t answer, obviously.

“Well, no matter, I suppose. Regardless of your intentions, you were a fool to attempt a burglary at all.” He laughed haughtily. “As if a Magus of my power and guile wouldn’t have placed protective hexes!” He took hold of the wax doll.

No! Sind- Zallia’s voice abruptly cut off as the doll was pulled from Sinda’s rigid hand. A second later, she heard it being placed back on the shelf where she’d found it.

“And now that you’ve broken in,” Thezon continued smoothly, “the law dictates that I may do whatever I wish with you. You probably would’ve been better off robbing an ordinary store or household. At least then, only your body would’ve been forfeit, and not your mind and soul as well...”

He seized Sinda by the armpits and dragged her backwards. She hung limply in his grasp, the heels of her boots scuffing against the floor as she was moved. The journey lasted only a few seconds, as he laid her down on the chair, not bothering to secure the straps.

The blue-robed figure loomed over her, grinning wickedly. “Hold still,” he sniggered, raising a hand that had turned as insubstantial as mist. He lowered it towards her, his ghostly fingers growing larger and larger until they engulfed her sightline completely - and then vanished, passing inside her head.

For a moment, she felt nothing out of the ordinary. Then - a tight grip around... what? Her mind? Her spirit? It felt very much like he’d taken hold of something inside her, but not something she could accurately describe, even if she could speak aloud.

And then... he pulled.

She caught her breath, her eyes widening almost imperceptibly. It was so hard to even understand how she felt - pain wasn’t the right word; nor was disgust. How to articulate the sensation of having a piece of her soul grasped and tugged and, eventually, torn away? She thought she could even hear a ripping sound as a chunk of the whatever-it-was inside her broke away. And once it was gone, she felt... less. Like a piece of her insides really had been torn out, and there was just a cold, empty void where it used to be. She was missing a part of herself, and she couldn’t even be certain of what part it was. Her willpower? Her wits? Her sense of humour? Her love for Zallia? No, that was still there, thank the Gods... but for how long?

Thezon raised his hand, and Sinda could see it was clutching a dark, writhing shape, an amorphous crimson mass that fought to break free of a grip as intangible as it was itself. “Thought you’d like to see the fragment of you I just removed,” he taunted her, waving the red shape above her. “Don’t worry - the first few pieces are the hardest. It’ll get so much easier when you stop caring about what’s happening to you...” He lowered his hand out of sight for a moment. When he raised it again, it was empty - he had reached into the jar, passing inside it just as with Sinda’s head, and deposited the piece of her he’d taken. Without further preamble, he reached inside her again and seized another chunk of her essence.

Again and again he tore away parts of her, placing them in the jar. She lay there helplessly, desperately telling herself to fight, to concentrate on the things that made her who she was - horses, and memories of her aunt, and Zallia... But it was getting harder and harder. The voices in her mind - her own voice, amplified into a chorus - were being snuffed out, a few at a time. She was still picturing her loved ones, but she wasn’t feeling the same emotional response as before. The tidal wave of love, desire and belonging she felt when she thought of Zallia was being diminished, into a stream, and then a mere dribble...

By the time the paralysing hex wore off, there was so little of Sinda left. Certainly not enough willpower to fight back, or even get out of the chair. But enough remained that she was aware of what she’d lost. Shivering and whimpering, she hugged herself and curled up in a protective ball. “Please,” she mumbled, her psyche so fractured at this point that she wasn’t even sure what she was pleading for. Ignoring her, Thezon reached inside her again and tore out another fragment - she stiffened for a moment as he took hold of it, and then slumped like a ragdoll as he pulled it away.

She lay there for the next two removals, as motionless as if the hex were still in effect, drool trickling from the corner of her mouth. One more removal later, and her lips twitched into a blissful smile. Three more, and she was letting out elated sighs, her eyes rolling back in her head.

One more... and she was ready.