Chapter 52
Chapter Fifty-Two
Ender
At first, a part of my brain tried to reconcile why David would cuff me, voiding me of magic, why his eyes would look like the devil’s, and why the symbols on the wall meant to ward off evil had turned to ash.
The first theory was that he had been controlled, but my gut instincts said otherwise.
I might not have been fond of David from the start, but that was how I was with everyone. He had become an acquaintance.
Ouch.
Had he made a deal with the dark mages to give him power?
“Is Selene really here?” I nodded toward the oak doors leading to the basement.
“No.” He tucked his hands behind his back. “She’s comfortable in her own bed. That is, until I tell her dark mages are attacking and you are lying on your deathbed.”
The thought of him being near her enraged me.
“Leave her alone.” I was going to paint his khakis and collared shirt with his own tainted blood.
“That would be foolish.” He waved his hand over his left palm as he said an enchantment. A black circle revealed itself.
“You did take a deal with the devil,” I ground out. “Your flesh will start to rot, and you’ll be a walking corpse—until I put you in a grave for doing this.”
His void expression turned malicious.
“I took that deal a very long time ago.” With a flick of his wrist, the doors leading to the library opened behind him.
A figure in a black cloak walked through, their pale, black-veined hands poking out of their sleeves.
They bowed to him before straightening. “I would take your power myself, but it will better serve both me and my consort once she is turned. Our reigning companionship will be built off your magic.”
My breathing quickened as realization struck. The other dark mage had bowed to David. Consort? Reign? David was the leader, and he wanted Selene by his side as a dark mage—a level five ether mage. I needed to get to her and needed to warn Headmaster John.
I strained my wrists against the cuffs, trying to break them, but it only caused them to bleed. David’s gaze flitted to my bloodied wrists, the black in his eyes pulsing as he licked his lips.
“You were a pleasant surprise—one I was happy to drain, until I learned of your bond with my consort.” The edges around David’s eyes hardened.
“It slowed my own paradigm yet quickened its advances. I couldn’t let your bond strengthen over time, but it also needed to be handled delicately.
Now, the dragon. That was unforeseen. However, it should be a small inconvenience.
” He pulled out a dagger from an unseen sheath on his back, its black and grey swirled blade the length of a book.
“It took a moment to mask my scent with a smoke fragrance to deter the little nuisance. It’ll soon never be allowed to procreate. ”
By that, I assumed he meant killing Chaos.
“Your bond is a pesky little thing.” He leaned in close, his face inches from mine. “It’ll soon be broken.”
I held his glower, feigning pulling my face back away from his. Instead, I was rearing it back and then slammed my head against his face.
He jumped back, one hand flitting to his gushing nose and the other shooting out.
I went flying, crashing into the unforgiving oak doors behind me. Pain shot up my spine and my head throbbed.
His chest rose in a slow breath as his nostrils flared, crimson-black blood seeping from his nose. “If you weren’t ether and a testimony to Selene’s alliance, you’d be dead.”
“The only testimony Selene is making will be when she says ‘I do’ at our wedding, and that’s because she wants me, not you.” I rose to my knees.
He glared at me, his eyes eerily unwavering for a solid minute. Good. My remark got to him.
“Watch him. Concuss him. Do whatever you desire to him as long as his heart still beats and you do not touch his magic,” he said to the other dark mage.
The black hood moved up and down with the dark mage’s nods, and David left.
I slowly stood, leaning against the doors behind me. I spared a glance at the unconscious guard, his chest slowly rising.
“So you get left with babysitting duty, huh?” I raised my hands. “Any chance you could loosen these a bit?” The shadowed face was pointed in my direction, unmoving. “Worth a shot.” I shrugged and then messed with the cuffs. They wouldn’t budge.
Every second I was stuck was every second David was closer to Selene. I glanced at the door handle and an idea struck me.
“Well,” I proceeded to the door, “maybe these door handles will be more personable and helpful.” I set the metal bar connecting the cuffs against the handle and started making a sawing motion. “Do you know what happens when tungsten goes against tungsten?” I didn’t. “It withers away.”
By the looks of it, it didn’t do anything. The dark mage stepped forward, shooting out a hand, fire extending in my direction. Its searing heat melted the hair on my arms as I stepped away from the door.
At least they thought it did something.
I chose that moment to clutch my heart, feigning some sort of illness from his attack. The only two orders they had was to make sure my heart still beat and that my magic was off-limits. Swallowing, I dropped to my knee, forcing myself to take deep, unproductive breaths until I felt my face redden.
The dark mage took a step. Closer. I hunched over, slowing my movements as if I was falling to my own false ailments. Their steps grew nearer until their black boots came into view. I slowed my breaths and movements. A slight shift in their stance told me they were starting to lean down…
I struck, leaping to my feet and maneuvering the cuffs around their neck—an advantage of being tall.
Pulling as hard as I could, I made sure the bar dug into their neck, causing them to gasp.
Their hand flew to my arm, and I felt searing pain where they touched me, the odor of my own burning flesh striking my nose. I needed to hold on a little longer.
The dark mage’s other hand came up to my opposing arm, and my grip involuntarily loosened. They took the opportunity to escape and sent a shooting flame at my midsection. I dodged the flames, barely, and landed a blow to their face, knocking their hood off.
White hair billowed out, and her dark eyes narrowed on me. The whites had yellowed, but not so much that I couldn’t also make out the red veins they were full of. She had slender cheeks and a narrow nose, and her lips were the color of a dark red. She was wearing lipstick.
“Have you thought about just going all dark and natural?” I gestured toward her face. “I think we both can agree makeup is useless at this point.”
The dark mage snarled, lunging toward me.
I effectively worked her up. I dodged, landing a knee to her gut.
She staggered, but not before getting a hand out, shooting powerful magic into me and sending me backward against those stupid, painstakingly hard doors.
My body sizzled and one quick once-over told me a quarter of my body had been fried.
“I doubt David wanted you to cook me for dinner.” I grinned as I stood, almost wondering who was the crazy one.
The doors to the library opened and Mr. Hastings stood there, wielding a sword.
A librarian wearing trousers and a suit vest while wielding a sword was a sight I’d never forget.
His entrance caught the dark mage’s attention as well and I lurched forward, grateful for the distraction.
Again, I wrapped my arms around the dark mage’s neck from behind.
Mr. Hastings lunged, but she sent her fire magic in his direction.
He made a quick motion with his arm and an end table flew in front of him, knocking over the gold vase that had been on it.
The table shielded the flames and I pulled tighter, choking the dark mage.
When the flames ceased, Mr. Hastings attacked, slashing the sword across the dark mage’s body.
The dark mage let out a deep cry. The air began to get warmer and heat radiated from her body.
Before I could unwrap my hands and move back, a searing explosion struck me as the mage used her magic, freeing herself and sending Mr. Hastings and me to the ground.
The previous burns throbbed even more and the new ones felt like sandpaper against my skin.
I hoisted myself onto my tender arms, wincing against the pain.
Mr. Hastings didn’t fare too well on the other side of the room, half of his face oozing and smoldering.
The dark mage walked over to the sword lying on the ground and picked it up.
She began advancing toward the librarian, who was still getting his bearings together. He wouldn’t see her coming.
I tried to call to him, but between the ringing in my ears and my dry throat, I couldn’t tell if anything came out.
Mr. Hastings didn’t look up. The golden vase lay in front of me, and I grabbed it before getting to my feet.
I pushed myself, each stumbling step sending shooting pain up, down, every direction in my legs.
The vase was heavy and took a good amount of effort to raise it in the air and then slam it against the back of the dark mage’s head.
As she dropped to the floor, she used magic to send the sword flying in my direction.
It embedded itself in the side of my abdomen, and I stepped backward, somehow managing to stay on my feet.
I couldn’t fail Selene. I reached for the bond—it felt so distant, but it was there. The small glow was still fading as cold surrounded it, and I couldn’t think about what that meant. Was she okay? Was I dying? Would Selene survive David?
No. Selene would live.
I pulled the sword out, a guttural cry echoing through the room.
Trying hard not to lose my grip on the handle, I brought the blade down on the dark mage’s neck.
The impact jerked my elbows and shoulders as the blade struck bone, slicing through part of her neck.
The dark mage’s head hung at an odd angle, her dark eyes still containing deathless life as she stared at me, eyes wide.
Yanking hard, I attempted to pull the sword free to strike again, but it wouldn’t budge. She wouldn’t be dead until she was headless or burned.
Gentle hands covered mine, and I looked up to see Mr. Hastings. He gave me a short nod and I let go of the sword, stumbling a few steps backward. He yanked the sword free and swung, the blade finishing the job. The woman’s head hit the ground as my legs gave out and I fell.
I couldn’t move. The copper and cooked meat tastes and scents that permeated my senses vanished. Mr. Hastings came into view as my vision blurred. Behind him, a small shape appeared through the open doorway. It came closer and dark brown eyes came into view—or were they black?
Warmth and something soft brushed up against me and then darkness hit.