“Well, you are most welcome,” Demetri replied warmly. “And I hear Miss Mira has already been sent to see to my niece. Wonderful!” He paused, looking down at Tobias apologetically. “I do hope you’ll excuse my rudeness with my late entry. I had an important matter come up just prior to your arrival.”
Tobias scoffed, waiving his hand in the air. “Oh, it is no problem. We barely waited five minutes.”
Demetri nodded, before taking notice of the rest of us. “And do tell Tobias, who have you brought with you?”
“Ah,” he replied taking a step back. “I’ve hired the services of a mage to escort us while we made this trip.” He laughed. “Never can be too careful. But excuse my rudeness, this is Magus Eliakim.”
The count wasn’t looking at Eli anymore though, he was focused intently on me and Risa. His eyes brightened as he studied us like someone might study a painting. Or, as I immediately realized, like someone might evaluate slaves up for auction.
“Tobias, good friend,” the count said cheerfully, taking a step off the podium finally and moving towards me. “Do tell me you brought these exquisite beasts for me to purchase.”
“Count Demetri,” Eli snapped, holding up his arm to prevent Demetri from moving any closer. “Please refrain from touching my pantherians.”
The count looked at him in surprise. “Of course,” he replied, taking a step back and bowing slightly. “My apologies mage. I assumed these pantherians belonged to our dear Tobias here, since the slave-trade is part of his business.” He paused then, before taking another step back to look at Tobias. “Not to mention,” he added, “I do believe we had discussed that I would be interested in purchasing any pantherians from you who were exceptionally appealing.”
Tobias held up his hands. “Apologies for the misunderstanding Count Demetri. I didn’t realize your comment on that subject was one to be taken seriously. I will keep that in mind for future reference, but as already noted, both pantherians do in fact belong to Magus Eliakim.”
The count nodded somberly. “A shame, really. But no matter.” He then turned slightly and took a large step in order to climb to the podium again. “I am still very much interested,” he continued, facing us from his lofty position. “Name your price. A thousand gold, perhaps?”
Eli gawked at him briefly at the mention of such a ridiculous amount of money, before clenching his jaw and speaking through his teeth. “I’m afraid I will have to decline, Count. They are both more valuable to me in my pursuits as a mage than money could buy. Neither are for sale.”
Demetri raised his eyebrows at that. “Really?” He asked in disbelief. “I can’t imagine what use pantherians might serve you in such pursuits.” He scoffed. “But no matter. I have a number of magical artifacts that a mage like yourself, Master Eliakim, would find invaluable. Many of them are worth far more than a hundred-thousand pantherians, never mind two. Perhaps a trade then?”
Eli crossed his arms, his tone sharp now. “There is nothing in this world of equal value to me, so again I will have to decline.”
“Not even for a ring that renders a mage capable of using concealment magic?” The count pressed.
“No,” Eli snapped. “Although I doubt such a thing is authentic anyway.”
Just as Tobias was about to interject again, Demetri shrugged the black cape off his right arm, revealing a golden gauntlet. As he held it up, we saw that the back of the gauntlet was full of embedded magicite, each one with a line in the metal leading up to one of his fingers. There were four rings on his hand, with his ring finger being the only one lacking a ring. Each of the pieces of jewelry were in a different style along with a different colored gem.
With a large grin, Demetri curled his fingers, holding out only his thumb with a clear diamond set into a silver ring. One of the magicite crystals glowed slightly in response to the motion, and unexpectedly Demetri vanished entirely.
All of us took a step back in surprise, completely baffled that a normal human had just used magic – at least, all except Eli. He stared straight ahead, his eyes moving to the left.
After a second, Demetri’s voice appeared from the spot Eli’s eyes were trained on. “You can see me?!” He exclaimed in disbelief. Demetri immediately reappeared, crossing his arms over his chest, his fingers on the gauntlet-hand relaxed. “Well, at least now I can see why you wouldn’t be interested in a concealment ring. Only a mage capable of using this type of magic could see through it.” He paused, seeming pensive. “Perhaps a summoning crystal then? I hear they can summon any creature required of the user.”
Eli laughed humorlessly. “If I used such a crystal, I would just end up summoning my pantherians and we would be back at where we started. Now, if you will,” he continued firmly, “please understand that neither of them are for sale. There is nothing in this world, or beyond, worth their lives to me. We are only here to escort Tobias and nothing more.”
“Very well,” Demetri sighed heavily. “You leave me no choice. At least now I know what type of magic you use. Mage or not, you will pose no threat to my plans.”
“Count Demetri!” Tobias exclaimed in disbelief. “What in the world do you mean by that?”
“A transfer of assets of sorts,” Demetri scoffed, readjusting his fingers so that his middle one was sticking out. “My niece really is ill, although it is of my own doing. No doubt your precious daughter has already discovered that her life is no longer hers. And as for your sweet pantherians, Magus Eliakim, they’ll be mine soon enough once–”
Eli unexpectedly shot out his hand, a bolt of lightning smashing into an invisible barrier surrounding Demetri, causing the energy to split and tear into the walls on either side. The force of the ricocheting blast knocked Tobias right off his feet, sending him backward and landing on the ground unconscious.
Being much stronger than a normal human, I immediately bolted forward to grab Tobias by the arm and started quickly dragging him away as Eli shot Demetri with another blast of lightning. However, it appeared that the opal gem on his middle finger was producing some kind of anti-magic shield.
“Surprising,” Demetri commented loudly, seeming genuinely shocked. “So you can use two types of magic then?”
Eli replied by blasting him with a stream of fire from his hand, only to have the flames begin to blacken the surrounding marble. There was nothing flammable close enough to actually catch fire.
When Eli paused briefly to see if his attack was doing anything, Demetri rapidly switched fingers to having his pinky pointed out with a black gem embedded in a gold ring. Before any of us could react, Eli was engulfed in a black void that looked just like what I had seen when I had summoned him.
“Eli!” I exclaimed, trying to dash over to him.
But I was too late.
Instantly, he was gone, just like that. All his clothing left behind. Unexpectedly, I felt the bond between us strengthen significantly as he abruptly traversed a great distance…not only far away, but also high above.
I gasped when I realized this man was trying to kill Eli by sending him high into the air. And while Eli might be okay, neither Risa nor myself would survive such a fall if he used that ring on us.
Suddenly, a wall of ice appeared in front of me as an explosive ball of fire smashed into it. The blast sent me flying backwards, causing me to tumble a few times before coming to an abrupt stop in a heap on the floor. I groaned as I tried to look up from my position on the ground, seeing Demetri holding out his pointer finger as he shot more fireballs at Risa using a ruby embedded in a black metal.
The entire room suddenly became ice-cold as she prepared an attack that would end him, but he shot one last fireball that blasted through the ice shield she had created and sent her sprawling backwards. She slammed her head hard against one of the metal edges of the couch, her body going limp as she slumped to the ground.
I tried to clear my head as I instantly wrapped Demetri up in my chains, but he was already holding out his middle finger again, my etherea
l magic wrapping around an invisible shield instead. I tried to squeeze tighter, to force my magic to work its way through the ring’s power, but it wouldn’t budge. I had no idea how long he could keep it up, but I realized that he at least wouldn’t be able to teleport any of us again. The magicite that had been connected to his pinkie finger, with the onyx ring, looked to be dead. However, the other magicite crystals appeared to still have plenty of magic.
Through the bond Eli and I shared, I could feel that he was already in his dragon form flying towards us, but he was so far away. It didn’t seem like he’d make it any time soon. Which meant it was up to me now.
Demetri began laughing as I tried to get to my feet. “Well now, I see why you two are so precious to that foolish man. To think there exists pantherians who can use magic! Truly, you two are more valuable than anything I had to offer.” He continued to chuckle, his posture casual since he was feeling no strain from the use of the ring.
I drew my pitch-black sword as I began stumbling towards him on unsteady feet.
“But I wonder what magic he used to enslave you two,” he continued to muse, not even seeming remotely worried by my approach. “It looks like I may have to keep you both incapacitated while I figure out a way to bend you to my will.”
Demetri held up his hand then, shoving out his index finger along with his middle.
My eyes widened in shock when I realized he could use more than one ring at the same time. I immediately dodged, as a ball of fire erupted from the shield and almost took off my head. I rolled into a crouched position, only to have to immediately dodge again from another blast.
A few more barely missed fireballs, and I ended up behind one of the couches, with the full width of it between me and my attacker.
He continued to assault the couch with fireballs, the blasts slamming the furniture into me each time. I grunted with every impact, sliding against the marble floor several feet along with my makeshift shield.
Unexpectedly, the attacks stopped and Demetri began laughing again. “Ah!” He chuckled. “This is fun, but clearly I’m taking the wrong approach. I bet you’ll just give up if I kill your pantherian friend here.”
I gasped, bolting up immediately from my hiding place to see his fingers pointed at Risa now. “No!” I exclaimed, dropping my sword. “I give up!”
He began laughing so hard, that he hunched over. “That’s what I thought!” He said cheerfully. “Hopefully, this shot won’t kill you,” he commented, straightening up as he held his fingers up towards me again. “Dodge and I will kill your friend.”
My body locked down solid as I watched the flames in front of his fingers swirl into a sphere of fire. My mind went blank as I watched it barrel towards me, knowing I probably wouldn’t remember the impact, while also fearing what I would wake up to afterwards…assuming I survived.
At the very least, I was about to be maimed for life.
‘Better me than her,’ I thought in passing.
My last thought.
The fireball barreled towards my head, and immediately the world disappeared before my eyes, the universe completely silenced.
Chapter 22: Rescue
I stared blankly into the void, wondering if I was dead. But then a familiar chuckle made me realize what had happened. Made me realize where I was.
I spun on my heels, and stared up at the massive ethereal body of Alabast.
She looked down at me haughtily. “So foolish,” she mused, “dying for a friend? How foolish!” She repeated. “What does that earn you? What benefit does that gain?!” She sneered.
I stared at her blankly, not really having an answer. Being here momentarily didn’t change my immediate fate. Once she sent me back, I’d still take a fireball to the face, the explosion likely killing me, especially considering what she was saying to me now.
“Well?!” She demanded, when I didn’t respond.
Her aggression made me irritated. “I love her!” I finally snapped back. “She’s my friend! It would be an honor to die in her place!”
“And then what?!” Alabast retorted. “You’d be dead! You wouldn’t even enjoy the benefit of knowing she was alive, because there is no life after death!”
I balled my hands into fists. Of course she didn’t believe in a life after death – Alabast had spent her entire existence running from death. I clenched my teeth. “Better than being alive knowing I lived in her place,” I whispered harshly.
Alabast scoffed again, but didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Is that all you wanted?” I demanded, looking back up at her, tears streaming down my face now. “Because if so, then I need to get back to dying, so Risa can live.” Though I knew deep down that Risa would never be able to truly live again. She was about to be made a slave and lose her friend all at the same time. She was about to experience what I had – having all her desires fulfilled for a brief moment, before having it torn away.
Still, I couldn’t let her die.
“I’m not done with your body yet,” Alabast hissed. “You can go kill yourself for a friend another day.”
I gawked at her. “You can help?” I wondered seriously.
She shook her head. “Foolish child, you already have access to all my power. And yet you refuse to use it.”
“And what is your power?” I demanded, wiping my eyes and then crossing my arms. “Because last I checked, you can do no more than use binding magic like I can.” I hesitated. “At least, I assume that’s what you can do.”
She laughed at that – laughed at me. “Ignorant fool! Do you not realize why I’m so valuable to the elderfel? The magicless elderfel?! I grant my host the ability to use magic by creating in them the capacity to store and manifest the power given freely by the god Ephraim. I turn my host into a mage!” She scoffed. But then her grin widened, showing off her sharp teeth. “But you are no magicless elderfel,” she continued. “Those crimson chains are not my magic – they are your magic enhanced by my power.”
I kept my arms crossed over my chest. “I still don’t see how that helps me,” I chastised.
She shook her head as if she thought I was truly an idiot. “You know nothing about magic,” she hissed. “Power does not simply come from the type of manifestation, but also the volume.”
“W-What do–” I began, but she cut me off.
“You’re not trying hard enough!” She shrieked at me. “Ever since you’ve unsealed me, you’ve had more than ten times the magic at your disposal! And yet you refuse to use barely a hundredth of the amount you started with!”
I dropped my arms in disbelief. Ten times the magic? Shouldn’t I have noticed that?
Unexpectedly, red ethereal chains shot out of Alabast and wrapped around me, binding me tightly so that I couldn’t move. I gawked at her in shock. “What are you doing?!” I demanded.
“If you won’t help yourself,” she hissed, “then I’ll do it for you!”
I blinked as a ball of fire slammed into my face and dispersed into nothing. I held up my hands to see that my body was glowing bright red, a massive amount of pure energy radiating out of me.
“What in the hell?!” I heard a man yell.
I looked up at him and grinned wickedly. This was going to be fun.
I raised up my hand as crimson chains appeared and snaked around the black-haired man, stopping short around an invisible shield. The chains began glowing brightly as I forced my magic into them, causing them to slowly constrict more and more.
When the man saw that the chains were progressively getting closer to him, he looked down at his gauntlet to see that his crystals were rapidly depleting of the magic kept within. “No!” He shouted, before pointing at me and unloading a barrage of fireballs.
The explosive spheres hit the pure energy pouring out of my body and diminished before making contact. My grin widened as I reached down to grab my sword off the ground and began my approach, pouring out even more magic into my binding chains.
“No!” The man shri
eked this time. “Stop! I give up! STOP!”
All at once, the energy contained in his metal glove dissipated, and my chains wrapped around him tightly, dropping him instantly to the ground.
I hopped onto the marble podium and smirked down at the man. “Probably shouldn’t have messed with a mage with an evil spirit inside of her,” I mused.
The man’s dark eyes widened in shock. “W-Who are you?!” He demanded in disbelief.
“Your executioner,” I retorted, slamming my foot down on his arm with enough force to break the bone. This pantherian body wasn’t as strong as an elderfel, but it was definitely close.
He shrieked out in pain, before I grabbed the gauntlet around the wrist to hold up his broken arm.
“You won’t be needing this anymore,” I continued, holding up my sword.
“N-NO!” He yelled.
I slashed through the air, cutting clean through flesh and bone while simultaneously yanking the man’s arm away from his body. Being unable to move, all he could do was scream as his maimed limb began squirting blood everywhere.
I tossed the arm aside, the gauntlet still in place, suspecting this girl’s body didn’t have the control necessary to wear those rings yet. Maybe one day though.
But in the meantime…
“You know what?” I mused to the groaning man rapidly bleeding out. “I really like this body. This girl can do something none of my other hosts were capable of.” I stood over the man then, and slammed my foot down on his bleeding nub to prevent the red fluid from getting on me anymore than it already had. I then plopped down on his chest, looking over his pained expression intently, my ethereal chains still holding him tight.
“You know what that is?” I wondered earnestly, before grinning wickedly. “She can feed me souls even while alive,” I laughed.
I immediately sank my crimson ethereal chains into the man’s body and used the girl’s binding magic how it was intended to be used – for either enslaving creatures…or for stealing their energy for oneself if so desired. Whether it be thievery of magic, life, or the will, her dark magic was very rare. I never would have imagined such a magic existed were it not for her mother having a weaker variation of it – a variation that stole my freedom for a time.
Soulbound to a Dragon Page 26