Seth instantly looked down, avoiding looking at the woman's face entirely. Instead he focused on a spot in the middle of her abdomen, where the vapor seemed to be spiraling out from.

"What can I say? I got stuck in traffic." Seth spared a glance at Kendra, only to find that the woman had blocked his view of her completely.

"Don't worry," The woman purred, taking a step forward. "I think your sister is strong enough to survive this ordeal."

"Why am I not entirely convinced?" Seth resisted the urge to step back, knowing that he couldn't afford to appear weak or scared.

The woman chuckled. "Your sister appeared to be stronger when I brought her here. I thought she would provide a bit of a challenge when I decided to break her."

Seth bristled at the words. "She's stronger than you think."

"Mmm," The woman hummed, as if acknowledging the idea of a child. "You, on the other hand, would be an absolute delight to break. Difficult, and yet so rewarding."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Seth didn't dare glance behind him. He had no idea where Kylie or Elise were. They could be behind him or they could be miles away from the cave, hopefully getting help.

Was it wrong of him to hope for the former? At least he wouldn't be alone. Besides, if Lili wasn't the true threat then Trask had most definitely led his friends straight into a trap. There probably wasn't any backup to find, unless Kylie organized an army of untrained campers.

"So you're not scared of me?" Seth asked, squaring his shoulders and daring to lift his gaze a fraction of an inch higher.

He heard the woman laugh, loudly and clearly. "Why should I be? I'm not the one who can't dare to make eye contact."

Seth considered meeting her eyes, but if she tried to corrupt him it could be game over. Somehow, she was on the verge of corrupting Kendra, if she hadn't already. Seth had thought that was impossible. Where was Bracken, the walking mythical knowledge encyclopedia, when he needed him?

"I have proven I can remove your control over other people." Seth shifted to his right, hoping to just glance at Kendra so he knew she was still breathing. He couldn't tell if the blackness was still directed at Kendra or if it had been redirected now that the woman had turned to face Seth.

He wished he could watch the woman's reaction, so he knew how to push this angle further. He had never been the best at verbal manipulation, he had always been the guy who got things done by taking action, usually without anyone's permission. Okay, scratch that. Always without anyone's permission. He wasn't used to playing mind games with people, and that was certainly what this was.

"Yes, I've been meaning to ask you about that." The woman's voice was calm, uninterested.

"Well, how about we make this a civil conversation? I clearly know something that you want to know." Seth fought a grimace, knowing his next words were risky. "What can you give me in exchange?"

There was a tense moment of silence, in which Seth panicked, worrying he took it too far, but the woman laughed again, sounding shocked. "You're even more audacious than your sister," She remarked. "What do you ask of me, in exchange for you telling me how you freed the narcoblix from my control?"

Seth could almost hear Bracken warning him in his head that giving up that information was not a good idea, that if the woman didn't know how Seth freed Vanessa than that was something he could use against her. A plan slowly formed in his head as he considered what exactly he should ask for.

After a moment, he took a step forward, lowering his dagger. "For starters, I want this to be a fair conversation."

"How?" The woman sounded intrigued, which had to be a good sign.

"You can't lie to me, and I won't lie to you."

"Did you assume I would lie to you in the first place?"

Seth hesitated, but figured that he heard curiosity in her voice. She didn't sound offended. Yet. "I know nothing about who you are or where you come from. I believe it is only fair, since you obviously have the physical advantage in this situation, to speak honestly to each other."

There was another moment of silence, and then the woman said, "Alright. I-"

"I wasn't done." Seth took another step forward. "I want to be able to look at you as I talk to you."

"Why on earth would you care about something like that?"

Seth shrugged. "You can look at me. Why can't I look at you?"

The woman hummed. "You realize that if I allow you to look at me, I can-"

"Take control of me through eye contact, yes, I know." The woman's hand curled into a fist at her side, and Seth made sure he sounded more respectful as he continued. "How about this: if you let me finish this conversation in which I tell you how I broke your control of our narcoblix, I'll make you a different deal that will give you a chance to try to control me through eye contact."

"So, if I let you look at me, and we're both honest with each other, you'll tell me how you took the narcoblix back and allow me to attempt to control you through eye contact?"

Seth nodded. "Yes. But the eye contact thing is through a different deal that we'll negotiate after you follow through with the first deal."

"You humans are so… detail-oriented. You never fail to miss the bigger picture for a peek at what is in front of you."

"I sincerely apologize on behalf of humanity. Do we have a deal?"

"Yes."

Seth slowly raised his head, looking first at the woman's face while avoiding direct eye contact. Her skin was incredibly pale, not even the faintest blush colored her cheeks. If Seth didn't know any better, he would bet that the woman either didn't have any blood at all, or was formed from the blood of a different, probably much worse, creature.

Finally, Seth looked at her eyes. They looked similar to human eyes, except her pupils were much larger than anyone's Seth had ever known and her irises were almost black themselves.

Her eyes seemed to brighten in triumph, although Seth didn't know why. "See?" She waved a hand, "I carried through with my end of the bargain. Now you must carry through with yours."

Seth went through the motions of sheathing his dagger, nonchalantly patting his pocket as he did so. He felt the solid lump and almost sighed in relief. His one chance at his plan succeeding rested upon something Seth wasn't sure would work.

He looked behind him. Elise and Kylie were gone.

"Your so-called 'friends' ran away when I turned around." She mocked, her lips curling in a wicked smirk.

"They're probably the smart ones," Seth murmured, before facing the woman once again. "What can I call you? Since, you know, we're having a civil conversation. You know my name."

The woman raised a dark eyebrow, stark against her skin. "Names have incredible power."

"Considering I could have been called Sergio on this mission, I would have to agree with you."

"You may call me Silvia. Now, tell me how you managed to sever my connection to the narcoblix."

Seth exhaled slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. But, as his racing pulse reminded him, he certainly didn't. He risked a step forward, trying to skirt around Silvia to see Kendra.

She rolled her eyes, stepping to the side to block his view of Kendra. "If I would have known you would take so long to tell me your little secret, I would have simply assumed control of you and rooted through your mind to find out myself."

Seth blinked, seeing an opportunity. "You can root through people's memories?"

"If I break their will, anything is possible." Silvia pursed her lips, squinting her eyes as she looked at Seth. "However, I have found it incredibly difficult to break the wills of any of your people."

Seth couldn't tell if she meant his friends or humans in general. He didn't have the time to ask. "So, the narcoblix is an old friend of mine. She-"

"Skip the elaboration, there's no one coming to save you," Silvia snapped. "I want to know what you did. Why I felt my control of Vanessa slip through my fingers like water… like someone was pulling my power out of her mind. That shouldn't be possible."

Seth clenched a fist in apprehension. What he was about to do would either save the day or get everyone killed.

But he lifted his chin and stepped forward, saying with all the swagger he could muster, "You know, I'm not really happy with our deal anymore. I wish to renegotiate the terms."

The shift in Silvia's demeanor was immediate. Her eyes widened, her body practically shook with fury, but she managed to keep her tone controlled. "You are in no position to renegotiate."

Seth made a show of tilting his head to the side. "Well, you see, you don't have any weaknesses-"

"Exactly-"

"Except," Seth interrupted, "The fact that my friends and I have a way of breaking creatures free of your power, and you don't know what it is or how we do it. That's a weakness, sweetheart."

Silvia's lips pinched into a tight line. "Who says I need to know that? I seem to be doing pretty well at this whole take-over-the-camp scheme despite that little 'flaw.'"

Seth stuck both of his hands in his pockets, the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. "You might not need to know. Who am I to see the future? But, hey, if that ends up being your fatal mistake, if my family and friends find a way to exploit that weakness and it ends up destroying you? That would be embarrassing."

"Your friends are walking into the trap I set for them, and things are going perfectly." She sneered, but Seth could see a shard of self-doubt threatening to shatter her mask of invincibility. He just needed one more push…

"Believe me, I get it. It this point, it's unlikely they'll find a way to use it against you."

Her smugness returned, and Seth leapt. "But, they've defied the odds before. Ever heard of the Demon King? We were the team that took him down. Now, I know you're probably smarter than the Demon King, but I just wouldn't want you making the same mistakes he did."

She smirked again, but Seth could clearly see the uncertainty in her eyes, in the way they moved from Seth to the cave wall and back, like she was thinking and rethinking. "I see what you are doing, Seth Sorenson. You're not my ally. Your deceit is dripped in honey. I can merely take control of you and you lose."

"But you wouldn't learn your weakness. You've already admitted you know I can't win," Seth pointed out, "So, where's the harm in letting me renegotiate a simple deal?"

She examined her nails, which Seth was alarmed to see were filed to sharp points. After a long pause, she rolled her eyes. "You're right. You lose anyway. What do you want?"

"I want you to break your hold on Kendra." There. It was out, and Seth would find out if all of his efforts would work.

Silvia turned, stepping to the side so Seth could see Kendra directly for the first time. He ran to her, kneeling on the ground beside her, placing two fingers on her neck.

A pulse. It was faint, and too slow for Seth's liking, but it was there. Her hair was knotted and tangled, her skin almost as pale as Silvia's, but she was alive. That was all that mattered.

"Free her from your control, and I'll tell you how I was able to free Vanessa from you." Seth glanced up at Silvia, who was watching them closely.

"Why can't you free her yourself? If you really have found my weakness like you said you have, what is stopping you?"

"The tool I need isn't with me right now."

Silvia scoffed, but tilted her head in compliance. "I suppose it doesn't really impact my long-term goal. I free Kendra, you tell me my weakness, then I simply assume control of both of you once again."

Seth laughed. "If you think you can catch us."

"Egotistical boy, aren't you? You won't get out of the cave before you're mine."

Seth had never been the religious type, but he sent a quick prayer to whoever might be out there, listening, that his plan would work and everyone would be safe.

"Fine. I'll make sure Kendra gets out of here no matter what."

Silvia closed her eyes, and Seth watched as tendrils of black smoke rose from Kendra's chest and returned to Silvia. After a few seconds, the smoke slowed and Kendra's eyes began to flutter. Her breathing hitched, then returned to normal.

"Kendra," Seth said, resting a hand on her shoulder and leaning over her, peering down at her face. "Kendra, wake up."

Silvia tapped a heel on the floor. "You have exactly ten seconds to start talking or I'll kill her."

So Seth retold the story of what happened in the woods, starting with how he heard voices and tied a powerful voice back to Vanessa as she approached the group. As he spoke he kept an eye on Kendra, who continued to stir.

By the time he got to the part he was wary to tell, where Kendra and Seth joined hands and Seth pulled the darkness from Vanessa's mind, Kendra's eyes were wide open.

She nodded, and, arms clasped together, they reached out as one with their minds towards Silvia.

How did you get her to free me? Kendra asked.

Long story. I used the fae stone Bracken gave me to revive your energy. Seth had made sure to press it against her shoulder when pretending to fuss over her breathing, hoping that it would revitalize any creature of the light.

Still, she leached away almost all of my energy. We don't have much time.

As one, they marveled at the complex expanse of darkness in front of them. Tendrils sprung from Silvia like branches, reaching out in every direction towards those Seth assumed she had under her control.

We need to sever her connection to as many people as we can by drawing the darkness back into her. Seth said.

Why? Nevermind, I trust you. But only you can manipulate the darkness, all I can do is guide you.

Even in his head, Kendra was already sounding fatigued. So Seth reached out towards the first tendril, envisioning it returning to Silvia, beckoning it closer to its master, like he had done with the darkness in Vanessa. But that had been different, Silvia haven't known what was happening. She certainly knew now, and was actively working against his efforts.

It might have been her power, her darkness, but Seth was a master of all dark magic. All he had to do was convince each branch of darkness that they wanted to return to Silvia, to abandon the weak host it had been occupying.

He moved as quickly as possible through the web of branches, discovering that once a tendril abandoned the people it was infecting, it couldn't return. Some were easier to convince than others.

By the time Kendra slipped away and Seth lost his control over seeing the tendrils of darkness, he had freed more than half of the people controlled by Silvia.

He opened his eyes to see Kendra at his side, unconscious. Silvia stood over him, her nails digging into her throat as she hissed, "I'll kill you for that."

Then, Seth saw a form that looked strangely like Kylie leap out from behind Silvia, pocket knife in her hand.

Seth's exhaustion hit him at once, and despite his efforts to get up and fight he drifted into unconsciousness, into a different kind of blackness that whispered all would be well.