Original - With Wrath, the Fall

Randal - Chapter 10: No-Rule Arena 2

"About time you guys made it back here," an average young man with glasses that I had come to know as Sal spoke.

I turned to look toward the door. Keagan and Lane had come through.

"I need to check your magical energies. Lay in your beds please."

They sat.

"Okay. Just letting you know I need to touch you. I'm going to place my hands on your chests and your foreheads. Please try your best to clear your minds and don't move. I'll take care of you first. What did you say your name was?"

"Keagan."

"Alright. You ready?"

He nodded. Sal took his hands, placed them on his chest and forehead, then closed his eyes. There was a faint orange glow like a fire. I felt a warm sensation come across my body that started at my forehead and seemed to flow between it and my chest, right where my heart was. It was a comforting sensation similar to the sun of a summer day or on a tropical beach.

"Hm..." The sensation lifted from my body.

"You're next. And you are?"

Lane shook his head, "To hell as if I'm going to let you touch me."

"Listen, it's necessary. It's the only way I can get an accurate reading of your soul's magical energies. Believe me, I'd love to do it another way but there are no techniques that allow me to."

Lane stared at Sal for a moment. He studied his face for a moment. With a sigh he said, "Screw it. Let's just get this over with."

Lane laid back in his bed. Sal took his hands and placed them exactly how he did on Keagan. He closed his eyes.

"You need to clear your mind."

"I am," he squirmed under Sal's touch. He seemed bothered. As the magical energy began to flow I felt...

Cold.... And... Scared? This wasn't the same feeling as before...

Fear welled up inside me. The energy flowing between my forehead and chest was as cold as a frostbitten wind.

"You need to calm down," Sal insisted.

"I am," Lane snapped.

"Hm..."

The energy flow seemed to increase becoming much more rapid and unstable.

Sal's face became as stone, "What is this..."

My body became so cold it stung. My mind felt as if a freezing fog had fallen upon it. The magick flow that was being produced between Sals' hands was not orange but a dark, dense red.

"Lane, take a deep breath. Try to focus yourself," I saw beads of sweat collect on Sal's forehead.

My heart beat at a thousand miles-per-hour. I felt my chest tightened. I tried to breath taking deep breaths but it didn't help. My lungs felt as if they were being pressed down by a boulder the size of a house. My entire body felt frozen. I was sweating like a hog. My vision blurred. Everything I tried to say came out as an inaudible croak.

What's going on...

"Sal, you need to stop," Kalvin shouted as best he could. He looked as bad as I felt.

"I... I can't... It's as if someone or something is draining all my magical energy. It's... I can't break the bond between our souls without severely injuring him and myself, the connection is too unstable."

A sudden impenetrable dark night fell upon the room, my consciousness was slipping.

Suddenly everything stopped. My vision cleared. I could breath. I could talk. It was as if nothing had happened.