8. Seeking Answers

If only he had gotten to the door quicker. If only he hadn’t walked down the corridor. If only he had a different course of action. 

However, it was all just speculations. The truth was that Daidh was on the ground, writhing in pain, gripping to his robes as he gasped for air. It wasn’t the first time he had been cursed with fel and shadow magic, but this was much more intense than the other spells cast on him. He closed his eyes and grunted, trying hard to avoid yelling. Yelling would give him away and that was the last thing he wanted. He wasn’t supposed to be in that chamber, and yet, there he was, suffering. He gasped for air and felt the effects of the curse wearing off, leaving him breathless. 

The footsteps around him got closer and Daidh turned to look at the black shoes standing beside his head. His fel green eyes climbed up the legs and toward the face towering above him. “Now, Master Daidh, I do hope we can come up with an understanding that will satisfy your curiosity and my desire to be left alone. I was under the impression Master Zanien had specifically said that no one was to enter this chamber.” The man chuckled. “And yet, here you are.”

“What are you doing to Lexi?” Daidh muttered out. He knew it was coming; he was going to be in pain shortly. Sure enough, he felt the burning sensation in his veins and the blood boiling within him. He winced and twisted on the ground. He opened his eyes and between gritted teeth, he managed to say, “Answer….me…Raziel.”

Raziel knelt beside the pained Daidh and he rubbed his chin. “What does it matter to you, Master Daidh? She is my apprentice, not yours. This is why you shouldn’t be here.” He clapped his hands together and smiled down at the pained warlock. “Simple as that, isn’t it?” Raziel laughed softly, patting Daidh’s head before he rose. “Get out.”

The excruciating pain ceased and he only felt the soreness afterward. Raziel had released him. Crawling up, like a pathetic animal, Daidh tried to dust off his robes. “This won’t end this way. There are many of us concerned for her well being.”

“Concerned? Or in line to fuck her?”

Daidh’s body was engulfed with shadows almost immediately and the silhouette of a demon covered him. The demonologist formed and blasted a large shadowbolt at the other warlock, but Raziel shielded the attack and he too transformed into a demon, the fel energy oozing from him.

“Get out!” growled Raziel.

“This isn’t over,” snarled Daidh. “I will figure out what you’re doing to her!”

“All this for a woman!” Raziel blasted Daidh into the wall, which only took him a few seconds to recover and straighten his wings. 

“She’s my friend and you’re hurting her!”

“She deserves everything she gets if she can’t protect herself!”

Daidh found himself attacking Raziel’s demonic form once more. Raziel shouted, “Enough!” and stomped his foot on the ground, making the ground tremble and dropping Daidh back on the ground. The hit caused Daidh to lose his own dark form. He looked up as Raziel approached him, his fel-infused eyes dancing with madness. “I should kill you now,” he growled. 

“Kill a master. You’ll be removed from this place in an instant,” Daidh spat out. Raziel grinned widely, showing his bright white teeth against the violet and green energies around him. He grabbed Daidh, opened the door to the chamber, and threw him against the wall. 

“Next time, you’re dead,” Raziel growled and slammed the door.

Daidh winced as he tried to move. No one was around and he was glad for it. Perhaps he would find a healer to help him. Perhaps he would go drink it off. Either way, he knew that Lexi was in trouble and he couldn’t find a solution.

Not yet.