Chapter 42 BLOOD, SMOKE, AND REGRET
The doors that sealed the second room were obviously pretty light if these two thin men could pull them open. Xyra was just watching, waiting to see something either amazing or horrific. She was nervous, full of anticipation. The anxiety was going to kill her pretty soon if she didn't see what was kept behind those doors.
When they were finally open, when she was finally able to gaze into one of their deepest secrets, she found herself frozen from confusion and fear. The room wasn't all that big at all. All it had in it were a few chairs and very thin tubes, but that wasn't what was so disturbing. It was what she could see on the floor and on the walls.
The brightly lit room didn't hide anything, so the splatters of red were as plain as day. There were puddles on the chairs and stains on the walls. The scariest part was that it didn't look to be old. This was fresh, and there was no doubt in her mind that this was blood. Someone had been killed in this room.
"That last one sure was violent," remarked Jex with a sigh. "Better take extra precautions this time."
"What is this room?" asked Xyra, her voice shaking a bit. The three men just put on smiles in hopes of calming her. They didn't need her backing out after coming this far.
"This is where we get the raw material to make our spells," explained Lambert. "One of our employees got hurt here and began thrashing around, so forgive the blood. We haven't had the time to clean it up."
She began to calm a bit when they said that. It made sense to some degree. She would much rather believe that than any of the bizarre conclusions she had come up with. Hopefully they weren't lying though, or she was going to be in trouble. If these men did anything to harm Magnus, even though they had promised not to, he was going to kill her when he woke up.
"Gian," said Lambert, drawing the fatter man's attention. "Stick him in that chair." Without hesitation, Gian brought Magnus over to one of the three chairs in the room. With Jex's help, they got him in it.
"What are you doing?" asked Xyra, her eyes filling with concern. When Lambert noticed the way she was staring at Magnus, he quickly spoke up.
"Just a precaution," he told her. "When he wakes up, he'll obviously try to get out. Don't worry though. We simply wish to speak with him."
Something about the way he had said it didn't sit well with Xyra. These men were no longer capable of being trusted. They were going to do something, but she just wasn't sure what. Whatever it was, if they hurt Magnus, they were going to pay. She would willingly use her Khukuri on them if they broke the promise.
Jex and Gian situated Magnus properly on the chair and then strapped him to it. Two went around his upper arms and two around his ankles. He was still in a deep state of unconsciousness. The smoke was probably used to knock people out, so that made sense, but he was supposed to be stronger than this. Magnus was an insanely powerful sorcerer, so why could something so simple defeat him?
Xyra watched in curiosity as they moved his arms so that his wrists were facing up. She wasn't sure just what it was they were doing, but she didn't feel like getting in the way right now. With Lambert standing so close, anything she tried would undoubtedly fail. However, depending on what happened next, she was going to step in.
"Would you like to know," began Lambert, "just how we do our magic? Just what are the materials?" She perked up at that thought.
"Yeah, of course," she answered, turning her attention away from Magnus and to Lambert. The idea of being able to produce her own was an incredible thought. If she knew the ingredients, she would be able to create whatever kind of spell she wanted.
"It's a secret though," he said with a smirk.
"I won't tell anyone," she promised, eager to know. However, when his eyes narrowed, she got the feeling that she wasn't going to like what she heard. They were too dark, too disturbing.
"Do you know where a sorcerer's magic is stored?" he asked. "Haven't you ever wondered why only a few can learn it?"
"Yeah…" Now she knew she really wasn't going to like this.
"It's in their blood, and I don't mean their heritage. I'm talking about the blood itself. Everything you see here, all of that red liquid…is blood rich in magic."
Xyra's eyes widened in disbelief, instantly seeking out the huge beaker she had seen. In it was nothing but a thick, rich red liquid. There was so much of it that they had probably killed quite a few people to get it…quite a few sorcerers.
She whipped around, her eyes landing on Magnus. During her conversation with Lambert, Gian, and Jex had taken the tubes near the chair and had inserted them into Magnus's wrists using a rather thin needle. The sorcerer had just the slightest sign of pain in his face.
"Start it," commanded Lambert. Gian walked over to a small lever near the wall and flipped it. A soft humming was soon heard, but Xyra's attention was all on Magnus. The second the lever was switched, she saw him flinch, and his eyes quickly opened. There wasn't time for him to enjoy his moment of consciousness though, because the needles began drawing blood from him, and he moaned in pain.
"Woke up, did he?" said Gian with a smirk. He walked over to the chair and hit a small button. Before Magnus or Xyra could register just what was going on, a surge of electricity erupted from the chair, and Magnus was unable to bite back the pain. He cried out in agony, and when the needles began to draw his blood faster, it only added to the pain. He couldn't take it anymore, and just as quickly as he had gained consciousness, he lost it again.
"Stop!" Xyra demanded, taking a step forward. She turned and glared at Lambert, a smile on the man's face. "You promised! You said you wouldn't hurt him!"
"I'm afraid I lied," he stated calmly. "These were our orders from Mr. Nixon. That boy is a powerful sorcerer. We'll be able to do a lot with his magic."
She couldn't believe this. These men were actually enjoying their job. They didn't care at all that they were killing him. All three were smiling. They're monsters… No wonder Magnus hates this place so much. He must have known that they…oh God… She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. She couldn't allow this to happen to the sorcerer. She had to do something, and she had to do it fast.
She quickly thought through her options. She knew exactly what she couldn't do. She couldn't use her sword. Drawing it would be obvious, and they'd probably stop her before she could get to Magnus. Not only that, but they weren't concerned with his life. They'd kill him before she could reach him. All they had to do was turn the electricity back on, and he would die easily.
The more time it took her to think of something, the closer Magnus was approaching death. She couldn't waste time anymore. Think! There has to be something I can do! Maybe I have a spell that…wait, that's it! She reached into her pocket, pulling out a vial. It was dark, similar to the one these three men had used on Magnus to knock him out. It would provide her with enough time and enough cover to get to the sorcerer, and from there she knew exactly what to do.
Without hesitation, she threw the vial down, the glass shattering and the spell activating. The area was instantly filled with smoke. All three men began coughing, but Xyra just held her breath and moved forward. She could see just enough to make her way over to Magnus. She quickly drew her sword and cut the tubes. She had to keep herself from retching when the smell of blood caught her nose. The sight of it dripping from the tubes didn't help the matter any.
She quickly began to get the straps undone and then pulled him from the chair and onto the floor. She removed the two needles from his wrists, which hadn't been the smartest idea. Blood was still leaking, flowing down his hands. She couldn't take this anymore. She needed to get them both out of here. Once again, she reached into her pocket and drew out a vial. It was the one they had given her to seal the deal. All I have to do is think of a place and throw it down. God, I hope this works.
She smashed the vial onto the floor while it was still in her hand. The glass cut it a bit, but she didn't have time to care. The second the liquefied magic hit the ground, she and Magnus were gone, traveling through time and space to the place she had pictured. In an instant they were there. It was a grassy field, and in the distance she could see a town. It was the town at the base of the mountain, the one where Christian was. Thank God.
Xyra glanced down at Magnus, and all of her relief disappeared. He looked rather pale, and his body harbored a few burns from the shock they had given him. He was deathly still, his chest barely rising. They had managed to take quite a bit of blood from him. Anymore and he probably would have died. The worst part about this was that she was solely responsible for it. She had trusted those men, and they had intended to kill him.
With tears in her eyes, she slid an arm under Magnus, lifting his upper body to her. She threw her other arm around him, embracing his limp form. His skin felt a bit icy, which was definitely not a good sign. When she thought about just how close she had been to causing his death, she started to sniffle. She was fighting back her tears the best she could, but nothing was going to stop them.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him, knowing that he couldn't hear a word she said. "I'm so…so sorry." She hugged him tightly, cradling his head near the crook of her neck. She began rocking back and forth slowly, trying to comfort herself even a little. This really felt horrible. No amount of money was worth what she had just put him through. She didn't even care that she had never been paid her sum. Escaping with his life was reward enough.
Xyra was so caught up in her own dilemma that she failed to notice that someone was approaching. She doesn't care about too much of anything right now though. Magnus's life was her only concern, and although he was safe now, she wasn't going to let him go anytime soon. He was safe as long as she kept holding him, so she intended to do just that. She was completely unaware that she was being watched, and the person, who was now no more than a few yards away, was continuing to get closer.
"Xyra?" questioned a very confused voice. She raised her head, her sapphire eyes meeting a very familiar pair of dark ones. They were currently looking over Magnus, staring at the blood coming from his wrists. "Well, looks like I missed quite a bit while I was gone."
"Darren…?"
"Mind telling me what the hell's going on? Looks like you've got a lot of explaining to do…"