Chapter 121: Chapter 121

“So he hunted you down for years? How old are you?” Alex asked.

“I’m 24.”

“Wow, that means you’re the oldest here,” he answered, and made her realize something crucial—these vampires were smarter than Elena had thought. They had taken every possible precaution to ensure they were able to keep the witches and wizards under control. Picking young and inexperienced ones whose magic had yet to develop was a good strategy—older and stronger ones could have caused mayhem when fighting the vampires. Elena remembered Grace, who was well over 100 years old and in a different league. Her aggressive dark magic had wiped out an entire clan within a single night—Elena had never heard of such a powerful witch, as they were undoubtedly rare.

She looked at the floor and bit her lip. “Do you know why we’re here? Why is all of this happening?”

“Have you heard of the Philosopher’s Stone?” Alan asked and prompted Elena to glance up at him.

“Yes, I have. Isn’t it a myth made up by human alchemists centuries ago?”

“It’s not a myth, unfortunately. The Philosopher’s Stone is an artifact made up of all seven magical elements and can only be created once they are combined. The ritual necessary for this has been lost and forgotten for centuries, safely locked away… until Louis discovered a scroll in the depths of an ancient library in Europe. He’s the leader of the clan and wants to use the Stone’s power for his own gain.”

An ominous sensation crawled into her heart. This did not sound good at all. “What’s so special about this stone?” Elena asked.

“It has two functions, depending on how you wish to use it—you can either gain power and immortality, or you can resurrect someone from the dead,” Alan elaborated.

Elena felt sick. No wonder the scroll been locked away—it should have been destroyed. The idea of resurrecting someone from the dead was tempting even to her, but she knew it was wrong. The living and the dead had to remain separated. Messing with this balance was dangerous and could cause unthinkable disasters.

“Louis is the very last person who should wield such a powerful artifact,” Wendy growled. “The bastard wants to become the strongest vampire to ever exist… Nobody could stop him at this rate, not even the council. They wouldn’t be able to kill him, no matter what they would try.”

“We can’t let this happen.” Elena burst out. “It’s messed up. Every human, witch, and even vampire will suffer if he succeeds.”

“We can’t do anything to prevent it,” Alex answered in a somber tone of voice. “And besides, we will all be dead by the time it happens.”

His words were a punch to Elena’s gut. “What do you mean?” she whispered.

Tears glimmered in the fire wizard’s eyes. “The ritual necessary for creating the Stone will drain all of our magic away. We’re doomed as soon as it begins because we can’t survive without magic.”

Raw panic gripped Elena. Now she finally understood what awaited her—if she didn’t find a way out, she would be sacrificed so that this bastard of a vampire could become immortal. And if she died, Ryder was doomed as well. He would eventually starve to death without her blood. She couldn’t let this happen. She would fight with all that she had. Elena refused to be the cause of her soulmate’s end.

“We have to escape, we need to get out, we can’t stay here,” she rambled in full panic and let her magic sweep through their prison, searching for a link to nearby plants. If she found one, then maybe she could lead Ryder and their clan right here. However, her effort was met with fear and horror from the others.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Alan exploded and grabbed her wrist. His eyes blazed with anger, fear, and deep regret; emotions of such intensity that Elena was paralyzed by merely looking at him. His calm and reserved attitude was gone, and she was facing a different person, a stranger.

“Elena, don’t.” Alex hissed. She could have sworn his eyes glowed like the fiery sunset for a moment.

Confused and unsettled by their reactions, Elena let her magic simmer down and vanish—she had been unable to establish a link anyway, so it was futile to try any further. “Why not? We need to get out of here somehow.”

Alex grabbed her shoulders, his eyes bearing into hers. “There is no way out,” he said, emphasizing every syllable. “Do you think we haven’t tried? We can’t get out of here. It’s impossible. Don’t waste your strength.”

“Huh?” Tears burned in her eyes upon seeing the bottomless desperation on his features—Alex had put up a strong front this whole time, but deep down, he was just as scared as all of them.

“We’re trapped deep underground. The walls are thick and reinforced; they can’t be broken with magic, and the sole exit is locked and guarded at all times,” Alan chimed in. He was a picture of defeat, his posture slumped and eyes cast to the ground. His voice was quiet when he continued, “I already tried to get out, and we were punished severely because of me.”

“You don’t have to talk about it, Alan,” Alex whispered and put his hand on his friend’s back to comfort him, igniting Elena’s curiosity and apprehension.

“No, she needs to know because she’s one of us now, and it’s important she understands what will happen if she tries to escape,” Alan said. He stared at the ground in shame. “I wanted to get out no matter what, just like you, Elena. My plan was foolish, but I was desperate. When one of the vampires arrived to bring us food, I used a concealment spell on myself. I slipped out of the basement while the door was open and made my way through the building. Even though my spell prevented them from sensing me, dodging the vampires was difficult… They noticed I was missing and searched the entire house for me. When they couldn’t find me, they started playing their usual cruel games and got John from the basement.”

Elena knitted her brows since the name wasn’t familiar. None of the wizards in the basement was called John—so who was he? Where was he? Biting her lip, she dreaded Alan’s next words.