Saved by the Mysterious Beauty, but at what cost?

The demoness rushed Heidi to her secondary safehouse. It used to be the private study of a dark elf sorceress but she had been slain in battle over a century ago, leaving the hideaway to gather dust. It wasn't even large. There was a single room with a pile of dusty, worn out books on a table, a bed in the corner and a painted portrait of the late sorceress on the wall. She placed Heidi on the bed.

Heidi had taken the brunt of the magical attack. Her injuries were severe. If they were left untreated, she wouldn't be long for the world. The demoness tapped the healing draught in her belt. She hesitated. She only had the one. Surely, she should save it for herself. Surely. But... the small human had saved her life. 

She knelt beside Heidi. "Human," she whispered. "I am Moricia Shadowclaw. I have a draught which may be able to save you. But you must be aware, I do not fully know how it will affect a human. It may cause you greater pain and kill you anyway or shift you into something inhuman. If you would take the risk, I will give it to you." 

Heidi weakly reached a hand towards the offered bottle but she couldn't keep her arm up very long. Regardless, Moricia noticed the gesture. She uncorked the bottle and poured it down Heidi's throat. 

Heidi managed to gulp down the concoction. It felt warm going down her throat. Then she spasmed once and went still. Moricia checked her breathing to make sure she was still alive. Then she covered the small human, trying to make sure she was comfortable. 

After that, Moricia left the safehouse. She made certain no one was around and quickly made her way back towards the compromised safehouse. It was dangerous, but there was something she needed to retrieve from the boxes. A rare glyph that definitely shouldn't fall into the hands of the celestials. 

*****

Heidi was troubled by strange dreams. Images flew through her mind faster than she could get a grasp of what she was seeing. All while a soft voice chanted in a language she couldn't begin to comprehend. All she could make out were four words: "Alras, Genjoil Tuvaris Magilos."

It felt like her mind, her very soul was being torn to shreds and the pieces were desperately trying to reform while she couldn't do anything but helplessly watch. 

*****

Moricia crept up to the hole she'd blown in the safehouse. The celestials seemed to be gone. Save for the body of the one she'd slain. Had they left in pursuit of her and the human? Hopefully, they wouldn't be able to follow the trail. She'd tried very hard to keep from leaving hints of her passing. If she'd left something, the human would be on her own. Not that it mattered that much. After all, she'd repaid her debt to the human... right?

She hurried inside only to sense a burst of magical energy. She nearly froze in her tracks. They'd trapped the building to alert them as soon as she tried to enter. She rushed to the basement, tore open the box she needed, grabbed a handful of glyphs from inside (making sure the one she wanted was among them) and ran back for the exit. It took her less than a minute but it was too long. By the time she emerged, eleven celestials were arranged around the safehouse. A teleportation spell, undoubtedly. 

Moricia's mind raced. She could surrender, and die painfully. She could try to fight her way out, and die painfully. Then she thought of it. There was a slim chance she could get out of this alive. A very, very slim chance but she had to try it. She quickly looked through the glyphs and sighed with relief. She had the three she wanted. She pressed two of them together, shot a bolt of magical energy through them and used them on herself.  The third she crumbled and tossed into the air, activating it with a low power firebolt. A heavy fog spread through the building and into the outside. 

She rushed through, her body was both invisible to the naked eye and incredibly light. The speed boost and invisibility wouldn't last long, but they might be enough to get her out. 

She glanced back. A few celestials were peering inside the building but then it happened. A few of the celestials detected her and called for the others to pursue. "Damnation," she swore. How was she supposed to lose this pursuit and reach her secondary safehouse without bringing the entire unit with her?

*****

Heidi went from lying completely still to sitting perfectly upright. She was covered in sweat and her clothes were still stained with her own blood. But the wounds had closed. Her mind raced with newly found thoughts and impulses.

 She stared at the portrait. Feeling compelled, she walked over to it. At first, it just looked like a very pretty but haughty lady. The kind of woman who would never talk to her back at home. But, as she stared, she became increasingly convinced that the painting hid something. She spoke without thinking "Invitatium reversati." The painting glowed and the wall opposite it slid open. Inside was a treasure trove of ancient books. She began picking out the spell books and hurriedly reading through them. 

*****

Moricia burst through the door. They'd seen her, she knew they'd seen her. Then she got distracted. The human wasn't on the bed. Had she gotten up and wandered off? That's when she noticed the new opening in the little lair. She found the human hunched over a pile of opened books. 

There was something strange about her. Her red hair was disheveled and her eyes... They'd changed color completely. When Moricia had first seen her, she'd had greyish blue eyes. Now she had a very bright, aqua colored right eye and a deep green left. 

The human glanced from the books to her. "Oh, hi..." she said. "I'm... I'm Heidi" she scratched her head. "It's nice to meet you, Mom... I'm sorry... Miss Moricia Shadowclaw." 

Moricia ignored her outstretched hand. She was trying to take in this treasure trove of ancient books. They looked like they covered everything from history to art to magic. The rebellion could make use of these. 

Her train of thought was derailed when the door was blown off its hinges and the delestials rushed in. 

They spoke in a chorus. "Criminals. You will surrender and submit to punishment. Failure to submit will only result in a more painful death." 

Moricia backed away from them, but her back was to a wall, literally. Her heart sank, there was no hope. 

Heidi frowned and stepped forward. "I can't die here." Her hands erupted with raw magical power. More than Moricia had ever sensed before. "Chain Lightning!"

 A bright sapphire bolt pierced the first celestial and quickly traveled through its body, branching off and journeying through the entire group and back through the first. It took about thirty seconds of the celestials writhing in agony for them to go down. The acrid scent of their burnt flesh spreading through the entire lair. 

Moricia didn't even need to check them to know that all eleven of them were dead. She glanced in shock at Heidi but the human didn't notice. Instead, she went limp and began falling over. Moricia quickly caught her. She made up her mind. She would take the human, the books and the recovered  glyphs and return to the rebellion's base. She needed some advice on how to proceed.