Outside the Mirage

#33: Bolts

Merlyn and Vanessa sat at the bottom of the circular staircase, Merlyn rubbing his bruised arm. "We should go through this door," Merlyn said, looking at the door across the hall. "If Layfield's up those stairs handling Honorfall, we should see what's happening up there."

Vanessa gave him a worried look. "Will we be okay by ourselves?"

"Of course we will," Merlyn said with a confident smile. "I'd never let anything happen to you."

His words washed over her like a blanket of reassurance. "Alright," she replied, "let's go."

Walking to the door, Merlyn placed his hand on the knob and twisted it, easily opening the door. The two of them exchanged confused looks, but walked up the circular staircase beyond the door, both of them being careful.

"Your grandpa's a big fan of ominous staircases," Vanessa noted.

"The family of Merlyn is known for its bigotry and gothic aesthetic, it is true," Merlyn confessed. "When we were kids my brother had this little gargoyle toy. I hated it but it was the only thing my grandfather ever got for any of us. Benedict cherished it."

Vanessa nodded uncomfortably. "That's cool, yeah."

The two of them reached the top of the staircase, finding themselves in a circular room much the same as they had discovered Gethon Honorfall waiting in. However, instead of an armored Dwarf, they found themselves staring at the square-jawed Tyler Winget.

"We meet again," Merlyn said.

Tyler smiled. "So it seems. The nice one."

"You seem far more on board with the Cultist agenda now," Merlyn replied. "Actively doing grunt work for Nicholas Mavus, are we?"

"I don't know who that is," Tyler said, "but what I do know is that these guys are all I've got right now. They fed me and clothed me and showed me how to use my powers."

"Powers they forced on you," Vanessa said. "You're a warlock, we all know it."

Tyler shrugged. "That may be, but they could've given me these gifts and ran. They came back for me. I don't know if they're really the good guys, but I'll help them if I can."

Merlyn nodded his understanding. "I must say, I was expecting Quinn to be here."

"Quinn's not here," Tyler said. "Her and Goldbeard went to enact the plan."

"The plan?" Merlyn said.

"The ritual," Tyler said. "The one Quinn was supposed to do that night she was captured. We all just stayed behind to keep the only people who could stop us busy."

Merlyn's eyes widened and he exchanged a quick, panicked look with Vanessa.

"You're bluffing," Vanessa said. "They couldn't possibly."

"They could possibly," Tyler rebutted. "I don't think you understand the grandiose nature of Goldbeard's plan."

"We know, you're revolutionaries," Merlyn grumbled. "You're going to tear down B.R.O.M. brick by brick so that the little people are on top."

Tyler shook his head. "I don't think you really understand what's going on, Special Agent. They're not going to tear B.R.O.M. down, they're going to make it obsolete."

"Good luck," Vanessa chuckled. "As long as there's a secret to protect, I imagine there's always going to be a B.R.O.M."

Merlyn closed his eyes and sighed. "So he's going to make sure there's no more non-mages."

"Bingo," Tyler said. "If everyone's a mage, there's no reason to protect the secret."

"If everyone's special, no one will be," Merlyn growled.