His Experiment

Chapter 8

"My intentions," Zachariah started, staring now at the hood that Tzorak lived in. "are for good. I have been patient. I am..." he spit out, pausing to look for the right word.

"Good?" Tzorak tossed out, pulling his hand from the flame. He held his own flame there, the fire crackling around his skin yet causing no harm. "A patient man, I'm afraid, does not always mean a good man."

...

"I'm sorry, but how does one become a secondhand warlock?" I limped down the narrow hallway after Kai, my newly healed leg usable but incredibly stiff. "Also, are you trying to tell me warlocks actually exist?" even as I asked, I knew the answer. Maybe I could write off the transportation; they could have drugged me to make it seem like we had magically floated from one place to another. However, I knew I was plenty conscious when he healed my leg.

"What is your gut telling you? Better yet, what is your leg saying?" His voice floated to me as I turned left into the doorway he had slipped through. My retort died on my lips as I entered the room. I was momentarily speechless as I scanned the walls which consisted of shelves upon shelves. The room itself was the size of a normal bedroom but it was tightly packed. Most of the shelves were weighed down with jars – most were clear enough to see into, but that did not help me identify their contents in the least. The remaining shelves had other strange containers. Big and round, tall and cylindrical, circular, and flat; you name it, and it seemed Kai had it. A table was placed dead center in the room. There were carvings along the top, and what looked like a carving of an eye in the center was almost completely covered with a deep dish. Kai had stopped to watch my reaction. I swallowed deeply before replying.

"My leg," I muttered, stepping further into the room. "is telling me I'm not in Kansas anymore." He smirked at my remark, scanning the room with his eyes as well.

"Welcome to my... for a lack of a better term, potions room." I slowly walked along the shelves, trying to identify what I could as he explained. "Warlocks depend just as much on herbs and substance as they do on their physical energies and powers. More-so the herbs with me," he added on the end.

"Does that have anything to do with you being a "second hand" warlock?" I asked, studying a jar that I was 87% sure contained tongues. Looking away, back to Kai, I watched as he contemplated before answering. Like Zachariah, his was skilled at hiding his reactions and thoughts. However, on the flip side, one of my skills had always included reading others.

"Maybe," He studied me just as I did him, watching for any type of reaction.

I glanced around the room again, feeling a strong sense of curiosity, but also feeling like I was too curious to even know where to begin. I was also exhausted and did not know how long I was going to have to make that apple and water last. In addition, I also felt –

"-disgusting." My head snapped up to look at him. I saw him try to repress a smile as he gestured to the door. "You, I'm sure you feel disgusting. I am a little more civilized than my friend. I have a room you can sleep in and a shower." I kept my eyes leveled with his, fighting off the aged old feeling of being insulted by being called disgusting and processing through his offer and the consequences. No matter my comfort level with Kai, the truth was still the truth. I was still kidnapped and being held against my will; trust was not something that I could be freely handing out now. So, the question was not if I trusted him or not; it was a question of what would benefit me the most. If I took a shower and got some sleep, I would be stronger when I – theoretically and hopefully – woke up. Strong enough to put up a fight against whomever decided to cause me harm next. I could be falling into a trap, being led by the so called 'good cop', but I didn't really have much more of a choice. There was also the simple thought that kept floating through my mind; if Kai was going to hurt you, he would have by now.