The Tree of Purity and Life

CHAPTER ONE

''Demons getting in my head again.'' He mumbled, turning to the left side and marching forward. The flame following his every move, revealing more of the floor in front of him and shadow behind him while he walks to the far end. ''Do not taunt me!'' he yelled.

''Cedrick'' the deep voice spoke once more, now with a slight echo following. The voice came from behind him, but it did not feel close at all. With a swift move he turned around and raised the torch, lighting up the space behind him.

The sound of shackles being moved, chains banging against the stone walls. A cold breeze that passed him followed by the sound of finger nails scraping the floorboards. The more he focused, the more he heard the unsettling noises throughout the floor.

The voice came again, speaking slowly and silently ''Page 101, 'They who prevail, shall fight against all sworn enemies.''

The prison mage got spooked, dropping his torch onto the floor. The flame slowly extinguished by the cold stones that wrapped around it like thornes rooting it into place. The shadows slowly came closing in on him, like a mouse being trapped in the corner of a room. He had nowhere to go.

His eyes squinted, trying to see as much as possible in the dark without letting his guard down he responded. ''You read that book aswell?''

''Oh. We read it together.'' The voice responded back to Cedrick, now being closer than before. His voice was deep but soft. Fragile and caring, making sure that every word of that sentence was understood by Cedrick. He wanted him to hear him, loud and clear.

Then, a sudden warm breath piercing like the tip of a sharp needle touching the side of his neck. His eyes widened as he became completely frozen. The man was behind him where he could not reach as easily. A hand wearing a white glove placed itself on his left shoulder, pinching his skin softly and chuckling into his right ear. He was mocking him.

''Who are you.'' He said and made a swirl with his hand, preparing a small flame in his palm. With a swift motion he moved his hand backwards, landing it on the leg of the man. The flame burnt through the clothing onto the skin and sizzling could be heard.

The man laughed and stepped away from him. His tone made it sound like whatever Cedrick just tried did not hurt him at all. With a quick movement, he turned around to face the man but all he saw was darkness covering the left side of the hallway. ''Where are you!''

It went silent. The sound of chains and shackles echoeing, nails scraping, heavy breathing, slight mumbling. It all returned back to normal like nothing happened. The flame reappeared on the torch that was laying on the ground, going upwards towards the ceiling like a breeze of wind was guiding it. Cedrick picked up the torch, holding it out in front of him.

''Respond to me you damned creature'' He yelled, irritatingly and frustrated. But after moments of waiting and no response back the look on his face changed. He extinguished the fire of the torch and threw it on the ground. ''You fools are playing tricks on me, huh!-'' He grabbed the keychain from the table and separated a big rusty iron key. Quickly storming off to the end of the right hallway.

He opened the door to the storage room, and walked inside. There was a small lightbulb here that would reveal half of the place, but it was good enough for him. Cedrick looked around, scouting for anything that could give him back the confidence he just lost. He felt defeated and humiliated, it made him irrational.

From the middle shelf, he grabbed five small decorated boxes that had initials carved onto the lid. With a massive grin on his face, he hugged the boxes and closed the storage room, tucking the keys into his pocket. He sprinted back to the wooden table that was next to the chair and put the boxes on it, opening them one by one. In each box was a beating heart, some different in size but all the exact same.