"I was trying to get the chains off," she replied quietly, though now she knew there had never been chains. And now she did laugh. The sound held no joy, but it was better than crying. Nothing had been real, the archdemon, the fire, the magic going haywire...all in her head.

She started to wipe the blood off, hissing in pain as her hands irritated the gashes. "Blood has nothing to do with my kind of death magic," she laughed harshly, "We kill without a trace."