Heroes Never Die ✓

Chapter 23 Soul Siphoning

"No, but I bet you're going to tell me," Gawyn grunted, still wrestling against the leather belts tying him down.

Once the sorcerer turned his back to her, Skylar took out a long narrow pin from her boot and started to pick up the lock on the barred doors hastily. Many years ago, she learned it during long nights patrolling the border. It was amazing what unexpected skills people had. When she showed it to Gawyn one time, she was unsure if he was more proud or disgusted with it.

Kadir prattled on about making a correct incision in the chest to reach to where supposed to be the root of the soul that could be dug out, so he hadn't heard the soft click of the lock. Skylar crept silently toward him, closed her hands together and rammed them straight into the sorcerer's nape.

He fell forward on the table with a surprised and painful scream, a scalpel falling off his finger, but he did not lose consciousness. He started mumbling a spell, but Skylar grabbed the long knife from the utensil tray, and she stabbed him three times before he fell to his knees. Kadir gasped in a panic, trying to take a breath, but his punctured lungs were not working anymore. He reached for the lost scalpel, but the strength was quickly leaving his body just like blood. After a few moments, he wheezed for the last time, and his body stopped moving.

"You took your time," Gawyn grumbled from the table. "Wanted to see that root of my soul out of my body?"

"Wouldn't that be fun?" Skylar grinned and slashed the leather bounds setting him free.

Gawyn sat on the table and massaged his wrists. "That was unexpectedly easy."

"Yeah, I didn't even have to distract him," Alarat said, appearing right beside Skylar. She jumped, surprised, bumping into the little table and sending the trey flying to the floor with a loud clatter.

"Can you please stop doing that?" she growled, glaring at the ghost. "It's unnerving."

"Sorry," Alarat replied. "I forgot that humans are so jumpy."

"We are in the middle of the fortress of evil mad sorcerers," Gawyn said drily. "Can you blame us?"

"Guess not. But at least everything works according to plan." Alarat smirked. "I must say, I was rather worried about your sanity when you told me you are going to let them apprehend you just like that."

Gawyn raised his brow. "And that's why you always left the planning to me. It was the only logical move. They were watching our movements, and there was no way we could waltz into the throne room and try to kill the Emperor."

"Besides," Skylar said, walking to the alchemical tables and watching the bubbling liquids intently, "if he's been feeding on magic for centuries, I don't think killing him would be a trivial matter of stabbing his black heart."

"Exactly." Gawyn nodded. "But as this is the main lab that feeds him with those siphoned magic...."

Skylar turned back to them with a glass vail full of steaming yellow liquid in hand and a smirk on her face. "We can fix his dose up a bit."

"You have to be careful, though," Alarat said. "You've heard what he said. Pure magic is very combustive. It would be a shame if you went all this way just to blow yourselves up."

"That said," Gawyn jumped off the table, "Have you seen any stored magic here?"

"I can't see anything like that," Skylar said, looking around. "All those things on the tables look like a chemical adhesive. Do we know what the magic looks like?"

"No idea." Gawyn shrugged, walking around the room. "When you were a beacon for the Spirit, you were glowing brightly. So, something shiny, I would assume."