As they passed each other face to face, William couldn’t help glancing at Malora.
Only then did he realize that, at some point, she had raised her head as well.
The corridor remained cloaked in darkness, making her features impossible to discern.
Yet her eyes shone brilliantly, a deep, haunting green that stirred unease in anyone who looked into them.
The moment their gazes met, William vaguely saw a beam of light shoot from her eyes toward him.
Then it felt as though a massive hammer had slammed into his mind.
His thoughts instantly froze.
His brain became numb.
For a split second, he could neither think nor react.
Then the unstable magic within his body responded on its own.
A surge of power snapped him back to awareness.
Cold dread raced down his spine.
Acting purely on instinct, William leaped backward with all the speed he could muster.
His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword once more as he stared at Malora in alarm.
She remained perfectly still.
Only her head slowly turned toward him, moving with an unnatural stiffness that reminded him of a puppet.
The green glow faded from her eyes, slowly, gradually, until her face became nothing but a void hidden beneath the hood.
A dark hole that seemed capable of swallowing everything around it.
Or perhaps releasing something far worse.
“Winter is coming, William.” Her voice was completely devoid of emotion.
The Stark words sounded less like a warning and more like a funeral bell.
But those words were not what frightened him.
What truly terrified William was the sudden magical pressure he had sensed moments ago.
The surge had lasted only an instant before vanishing, yet he was absolutely certain he had not imagined it.
The oppressive force had been stronger than even the ancient cold power that shrouded Harrenhal.
It was overwhelming.
Absolute.
The kind of power that erased all thoughts of resistance before they could even form.
William maintained his guarded stance.
He didn’t dare attack.
He didn’t dare flee.
Then Malora moved slightly.
William instinctively took another step back and swallowed nervously.
Suddenly she stretched lazily.
“Hehehehe…” Her familiar manic laughter returned.
“Why are you looking at me like that?
Hmm?
Looking for some fun?” Just like that, she became her usual eccentric self again, as though nothing strange had happened.
William carefully examined her.
The magical presence felt familiar once more.
The same lingering aura.
The same unsettling madness.
He quietly released a breath.
Still, he wanted confirmation.
“Lady Malora, what you just did was a little excessive.” “Excessive?
Excessive?!” She froze.
Then she exploded.
“What did you say?!” Her shriek echoed through the corridor as she charged toward him.
“I did all that for you, and you dare call it excessive?!” Firelight spilled across her face as it emerged from beneath the hood.
Whether due to shadow or simple filth, her features remained difficult to make out, but her fury was unmistakable.
Her eyes blazed.
Her hands shot from her sleeves.
Long fingernails gleamed like sharpened knives.
She lunged for him as if intending to strangle him on the spot.
This crazy woman!
William instantly abandoned all thoughts about supernatural mysteries and turned to run.
Fortunately, Enhancement Magic allowed him to move with astonishing speed.
Within moments, he had left the terrifying figure far behind.
He sprinted all the way to the staircase leading upward, then bounded up the stairs and emerged onto a second-floor corridor.
Blue skies and drifting white clouds greeted him.
The sight alone lifted his spirits.
Assuming the madwoman had finally been left behind, William slowed his pace and began reviewing what had just happened.
That mental attack…
Some powerful existence must have been controlling Malora.
She couldn’t possibly possess that level of power herself.
And it didn’t seem like she remembered any of it afterward.
But what was that force?
Could it have been a greenseer?
If so, why attack me?
What did I ever do to deserve that?
Admittedly, concluding that it was a greenseer based solely on glowing green eyes was a stretch.
But William couldn’t think of any better explanation.
Malora’s later behavior had been equally bizarre.
This wasn’t the first time she had harassed him.
From the moment they first met, she had tried to collect samples of his blood.
Later, she had shifted to bizarre flirtation tactics.
Annoying, certainly.
Dangerous, occasionally.
But she had never shown genuine hostility before today.
If the mental attack was caused by possession, then what about everything that came afterward?
The thing the warlocks brought back from Harrenhal still hasn’t been explained.
And now there’s some mysterious supernatural force with obvious ill intentions watching me.
Wonderful.
Just wonderful.
The man William had come to see was Ser Garth Hightower.
Most of the time, Garth could be found overseeing military training for House Hightower’s soldiers.
In truth, he functioned as the family’s master-at-arms.
People simply preferred using the more prestigious title of “the fourth son of House Hightower.” The Hightower’s structure resembled a pyramid.
The lower levels were broader.
The higher levels grew progressively smaller.
As a result, each floor featured terrace-like sections exposed to the open air.
The second-floor terrace was enormous.
Several important facilities occupied the space, including the training grounds.
William was almost there.
Yet his thoughts remained trapped in the mysteries of magic.
Then suddenly a figure lunged toward him.
A piercing shriek followed.
“Don’t move!” Don’t move?
Do I look stupid?
William sidestepped smoothly.
The attacker missed completely.
He widened the distance between them and stared in disbelief.
“How did you get in front of me?” Malora’s face twisted with frustration.
Then she began giggling again.
“There are more secret passages in the Black Stone than you could ever imagine.” “Oh.” William shrugged.
“Good to know.” The second-floor corridor was far wider than the one below.
Even if she spread out her arms and legs, she couldn’t block the entire path.
William simply walked past her.
Sure enough, she reached out and tried to grab him.
He shifted slightly.
Her claws sliced through empty air.
At the same time, he stepped neatly around her.
One stride later, he was already behind her.
Goodbye and good riddance.
Then her shrill voice rang out behind him.
“I’ll tell everyone you molested me in the corridor.” William froze mid-step.
One foot still hung in the air.
“Hehehehehe…” Malora laughed triumphantly.
Have you looked in a mirror lately?
William nearly choked.
Still, if she actually spread such rumors…
Slander required only a few words.
Clearing one’s name could take a lifetime.
He needed to deal with this.
Slowly lowering his foot, William forced out a smile.
“You really think anyone would believe that?” “Hehehe…” Malora extended a hand.
“You really think anyone would believe that?” William’s eyes immediately locked onto the object in her fingers.
His right hand shot toward his chest.
Empty.
Nothing was there.
The Great Bat badge that should have been pinned over his heart had somehow vanished.
Now it rested comfortably in Malora’s hand.
“My father has always wanted to find me a suitable husband.” “AHAHAHA!” “AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Her laughter echoed through the corridor.
There was not the slightest trace of shyness in her expression.
If anything, she looked downright feral.
In truth, a stolen badge proved very little.
Even if the Old Man of Oldtown indulged his daughter beyond all reason, William could still deny everything.
What could anyone actually do to him?
At worst, they might throw him out of Oldtown.
Unfortunately, that was a problem.
He still had far too many plans in motion here.
Leaving now was not an option.
This is bad.
William rubbed his forehead and sighed.
For the first time in a long while, he found himself completely out of ideas.