The Dungeon

by June Leung

  It’s not that I think Terry has no reason to stab me in the back, but I think he is smart enough to see the better option. Maybe Adrian would also like an extra hand in fighting Evelyn.

  “That will do. Thanks, Helen.” Lia squeezed out a smile, her brain running at full speed, trying to come up with something to say that would convince Adrian. That’s if he still wanted to talk to her. Not to mention she was still worried what would Adrian be doing now that he met William at a time and place he never expected.

  You two please stay safe… Please don’t kill each other…

  Chapter 40

  Adrian

  Inside the comfy cafe, the barista served Adrian and William their drinks. Adrian took a sip of his coffee, trying to stay focused. The gentle and light-hearted music of the cafe was playing in the background, the smell of coffee and bread filled the air. He took in a deep breath, setting the mug down on the table. Despite the pleasant environment, his stomach stirred, the tension building up in his shoulders.

  “What do you want to know?” William glared at him, his fist on the table, clenched tightly.

  Adrian took another sip from his mug. Drinking coffee that late in the night probably was a bad idea, but he needed some caffeine in his system. There were a lot of things he wanted to know, there were even more he wanted William to know.

  Why do I still care what he thinks?

  Adrian raised his brows. “There’s nothing you wanted to know about me? About what happened?”

  “I… I thought I killed you. How?” William frowned, gripping his mug.

  “Let’s just say you killed someone else. How… how did it feel, driving the blade into my chest?”

  “Satisfying, knowing you couldn’t kill anyone again.” William’s voice was cold. The bitter words stung. Adrian sighed, staring at his mug. Was he expecting a different answer? They fell silent.

  William said, “The celebration was great, and the following few days were as great. But then it felt empty. You may not believe it, but I missed our fight, I missed… the time before our fight.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “For what it’s worth, I never intended to kill you or anyone, it was… difficult for me…” Adrian sucked in a deep breath, pushing what was welling up inside him down. He remembered the last time they drank and chatted in an old bar. It was a happy chat, but it was a long, long time ago, and the memory had almost faded.

  If only that lasted…

  William scowled. “Lia was with you, right? The day with the fire? The way she struggled on the ground, the look on her face, how she disappeared under my nose. It was you all along…”

  “She was. I cannot afford her not to be. I wanted to help her. So what happened to me won’t happen again.” A pained look flashed through Adrian’s face.

  There was no forgetting the day that was burned into his mind. It was great weather, and they were outside making sure the merchants were safe on their journey. Well, the robbers didn’t agree with that. Yes, he dashed for William, wanting nothing more than his blood. He couldn’t help it; he lost control of himself. In his struggle against his own body, instead of reaching for William’s throat, he managed to run into a tree, knocking himself out. Apparently, William didn’t think he tried to not hurt him.

  Since that day, things had changed. He was still in the fog, not knowing what happened. He was scared of himself. He wanted to talk to William, but he’d avoided him like the plague. Before he knew it, other magicians tried to kill him in his sleep. He barely made it out alive. Of course, they were scared, he also had no idea what happened to him. But nobody cared, those magicians were after him since that day.

  Wherever he seemed to have fled, they would always find him. He was forced on a journey of hiding in the shadows, fighting people he thought were close for his life. He managed to be with the person he loved, but they were still behind his back. Then they found her...

  William scowled. “Well, I guess I should have known seeing Lia that day. It wasn’t just a heat stroke by any means. I had no idea she has dark magic. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t do it to her… Lia…”

  “If you’d known it, you would. I have no doubt. You would kill her on the spot, if not torture her to death just to locate me. Must I remind you that we knew each other much longer than Lia’s been alive, yet you did what you did. Speaking of which, with what you had with Ariel, why the hell did you do that to her?”

  “I… you… Can you tell me what happened to you? I tried to find out, but… there’s nothing to study.” William frowned deeply, averting Adrian’s gaze.

  “You are avoiding my question.”

  “I… Give me some time first?”

  “It took me a while to figure out what happened. In simpler terms, what you called ‘the dark power’ took over me. Ariel helped me finally stabilize myself… As soon as we did that and I finally was safe to everyone… you burnt her alive. I know you hated her for running away with me, but seriously?” Adrian bit down the fire in his chest. Maybe it was his wild guess, but William surely did that because she ran away from the clan, from him, for a loser.

  William’s eyes widened, he choked on his drink. “I… I’m sorry.”

  “You should be… With the first blood spilled, our war was inevitable. My girl that you burnt, sadly, was the tipping point. You asked for a war, I delivered.” Adrian put up a fight for his life, for Ariel while William fought to keep the Elements safe from his wrath. It didn’t end until William thought he killed Adrian.

  He tried, outside from fending off whoever sent by William, trying to kill him, he reached out, wanting to explain what happened. William wouldn’t listen, the Elements had their heart set on spilling his blood. It was inevitable. The only thing that kept him alive was to bring justice for Ariel the only way he could. In the end, nothing mattered. She was still dead…

  They fell into another silence. Adrian shifted in his seat. The past was back again, confronting him in full force. Wouldn’t it be easier to just battle it out and be done with William? Why was he even here? The soft music in the cafe still dangling in the background, awkwardly seemed to be from another world.

  William took a sip of his drink before sighing heavily. “What were you doing all these years? After I thought I killed you? Why weren’t you trying to kill me?”

  “Something creeped up that needed my full attention. Then, my people wanted peace, seeing they weren’t being hunted anymore. If my people want peace, it is peace they get.” Adrian took a mouthful of his coffee, leaning back on his seat.

  After another long silence, Adrian looked at his watch and stood. “I guess it’s almost time. I suppose we will finish the unfinished outside?”

  William remained seated, he lifted his chin, meeting Adrian’s eyes. “This may come off as strange, but must we fight? I… I mean, you showed up only after all those years, why? Why don’t you hunt us from the shadows? If you wanted peace, why would you show up?”

  William will be gone very soon, so may as well…

  Adrian looked at him, hesitating. He huffed, pushing down the bubbling tightness in him. “You were useful until I tried getting a deal with Lia. She turned out to have the same power as me. I am not letting her suffer. Knowing how you will treat her, I have to do something.” His eyes narrowed with determination, glaring at William.

  “I really am not going to hurt her. But I don’t understand why you would help her.” William stared back at him, his gaze intense, as if he could see through him. Adrian swallowed, fighting himself to keep eye contact.

  “I am just after her power,” Adrian said. He shivered, his words colder than he expected. Luckily Lia wasn’t around, or she would be upset. He did feel for her, but he wasn’t sure whether he wanted William to know.

  William raised his brows. “I don’t believe that. You don’t run around doing charity work. And if she already joined you, no way she was in the clan until you picked her away in the fire. It had to be going on for a while longer. Do you ha
ve feelings for her?”

  Adrian flinched, the tip of his ears warmed up. “Why is that a guess? An Elements’ magician, huh?”

  William sighed, shaking his head. “You do realise we go way back, huh? From what I know about you years ago, you’d never care about anyone, until you care about them. Then you go all in. And… I am sorry I used that part of you to want you dead.”

  There was no hiding when he’d spent decades living with William and the rest of the clan back in the days, William did know a lot about him. Adrian narrowed his eyes as his resolve built. “Yes, I do feel something for her. There is no way things will go down right. Even if I convinced her to leave the Elements, you would be on my tail. That is not how I want Lia to live. Our fight is as inevitable as our war in the past.”

  “If I let you have her, would we still fight?”

  Adrian’s heart skipped a beat. Shouldn’t William be eager to slit his throat? “You aren’t in a place to negotiate. You stand no chance before me.” He leaned closer, towering over William. “Seeing you just have hours left, I’m telling you this. My old enemy wants Lia dead. You want both of us dead. The last thing I need is for you two to join forces, or for you to backstab me. So you are going down, then Eric. For the years we knew each other before our war, I will do you the mercy. I won’t kill any Elements unless they turn on me. I will honor my promise.”

  William’s eyes widened. “So you know who wants to kill her? I am also after them.”

  “I’ll make sure Lia is safe. You can rest in peace without worrying,” Adrian smirked with a stern look.

  “If someone is your old enemy, they must be strong. Let me help.” With a shaky hand, William gave Adrian’s shoulder a squeeze.

  Adrian’s eyes widened. This was the last thing he expected. Was William buying time just to kill him when he wasn’t paying attention?

  “I know what you’re thinking, Adrian. I know apologizing probably won’t cut it, but I think I should take up the responsibility of our past bloodshed. After I knew you were still around, I thought about everything. At least everything I know of…

  “In fact, I’m the reason for the war and for how my fellow magicians all died… For a very small part of me, I was worried about your strange power. I told them what happened with you, and I added quite a few things… I wanted the attention you got… I was selfish to want the ruling power of the clan. I… I could have stopped after you left, but I sent everyone after you. For some time, I lost track of you, but I insisted on hunting you down… I knew you loved Ariel… and I also knew she chose you… I’m the one who made the decision and actually killed her. In the end, I drove you to fight back, resulting in more deaths.

  “Don’t let me repeat my mistake with Lia. I already left you fighting the dark power alone, and made it even harder for you, hunting you down at every turn. I don’t want to leave Lia alone, although I know she has you and would be fine.

  “And… as outrageous as it may come off, I… hope to make up with you. I thought you became a monster, but it turns out I was dead wrong. There were years I hated you, disappointed at what you’d become, the version I imagined in my head. Then I saw myself, especially after I killed you. I’m the one driving you to the corner with others, mostly people you knew. If you were a monster, I would be the bigger one.”

  Adrian froze, stunned. His long-gone memories rushed back to him, the days when they learned magic together, when they fought over who should get the honor t0 hunt down the beast that attacked the village. The day his dark power first creeped up, making him kill a man near him, the day he tried to kill William. The day that magicians he knew and considered as friends came after him, William leading the way.

  Before Adrian could react, William came around the table and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. “I’m sorry. I’m the one teaming up with others, making up things about you. Because the high Elder always favored you… I turned everyone against you without letting you have a chance to explain yourself. You don’t have to take my apology, but know that I am sorry for what happened.

  “I really want to help. If you want to kill me after beating whoever your enemy is, that’s fine. If you think I will harm Lia or you and you want me dead now, just do it. I’m OK with it.”

  Adrian found himself tearing up, but he blinked them back. He tensed up at the warmth and dampness on his shoulder. He didn’t know what to do. After some time, though he couldn’t tell how long it had been, he slowly came back into his senses and pushed William away.

  “You really think I’m accepting your lame excuses? I don’t know what’s in your mind, but I’m not going to believe someone who tried to kill me for at least a century or two. Maybe stabbing me in the back later on will be more enjoyable?” He glared at him, not caring about William’s remorseful face. He didn’t want to leave everything in the past alone. William killed Ariel and murdered his life in the Elements. He wasn’t going to be shaken by those pretty words.

  “I… I guess you’re right. If I were you, I probably wouldn’t believe it either.” William let out a heavy sigh, his shoulder slumped, flicking his eyes at the floor. After a moment of silence, he lifted his chin. “I’m not fighting it anymore. Just keep it brief, OK? And leave the newer ones alone. They have nothing to do with all this.”

  Adrian snorted a humorless laugh. “Of course, I’ll leave them alone. You don’t have to worry. I’ll treat them very well.” He reached out, grabbing William on the top of his head. William flinched, his face twisted in pain as Adrian raided his mind, robbing the power of his life out of him.

  All of William’s memories and emotion played in Adrian’s mind as he turned it into his power.

  “Good work, huh?” Someone patted William on the shoulder. He shuddered, nodding faintly not sure whether he really heard the words. He stood by the charred metal pillar, staring blankly at the pile of burnt stuff on the ground. A surge of pain hit him in the chest. Before the tears escaped him, he pointed to the side, at the nearby building.

  “Do go search for him. He has to be around.” William fought to keep his voice straight. Whoever was beside him left.

  He had no idea what he had done. His throat tight, his vision cleared as the brewing tears fell. The chains were on the ground. The woman he once cared so much of was gone, he was the one killing her. He swallowed.

  Shaking his head, he cursed under his breath. Blame the devil. Ariel… you chose him, right? Why…? If you stayed, you know we could have everything we want. Not only did you run away for him, but you also took the magic from him. Why?

  It pained him when he threw the torch, hoping Adrian would come save her, but he didn’t. William’s throat tightened. Whatever he was thinking, she was dead, because he was jealous of Adrian. The bitterness lingered in his mouth.

  Adrian had to be in town. When he caught him, the devil wasn’t escaping anymore.

  William made his way closer to what was left of Ariel, the charred ash painful to see. He kneeled, picking up every bit of it into a pouch. His heart hammered in his chest. I am not sorry. You know he is a devil. You know we are not leaving him alone. Ariel… you picked your own fate.

  Still the load was in his chest, he sighed. He straightened, scanning the scene. Everyone had already left the clearing. When the drama ended, the bystanders were gone.

  He went to the countryside the next day, his eyes puffy from crying through the night. None of his men managed to find Adrian. Maybe that disgusting devil had already left. William shrugged, gripping the reins tight in his hands. Did he kill Ariel for nothing? Or was it just his frustration about what Adrian managed to steal from him?

  The Elder already liked Adrian, even though he was the rando that came out of nowhere. Ariel chose him and left the clan behind… She knew William felt something for her, but she still left. If William remembered right, she left the day before the Elder would pass him his crown. The bitterness in his mouth was hard to bear.

  Regardless, he looked around. The forest was qui
et, as if birds also were also hiding from his anger. Amidst the trees, he picked the strongest one. He stopped his horse and got off. He took out a metal box, his hands shaky. What was done was done. Now he had to come up with another way to pull out the devil and put an end to him.

  He untied the shovel from the side of the horse, digging a hole by the tree. He took the metal box, kissing it before lowering it to the grave he dug. Every shovel of soil he put over the box pegged another shot of pain in his heart. He gritted his teeth. Before others found out he buried ‘the dark magician everyone should hate’, he had to head back. All the magicians were there waiting for him, the Elder.

  Another piece of William’s memory flashed into Adrian’s mind as he dug deeper.

  William was sitting alone in a very noisy bar. Everything still looked old. Though there was no way for Adrian to know the date, it felt to be sharper than the memory of William burying Ariel, so it was probably closer to the present.

  “Cheers! Happy we finally did it?” Eric beamed as he lifted his glass of beer. William shuddered, yanked out of his thoughts. He pulled himself up, forcing a smile. He clanked his glass with Eric and they took a sip of their drinks. “You don’t look happy.” Eric raised his brows.

  “You’re thinking too much. How can I not be happy? Finally the devil is gone.” His heart hammered in his chest; faking happiness sure was tiring. He had had enough in the past week. The music was too loud, and he had to stay until most of the others left.

  Eric didn’t seem convinced, but he shrugged. “OK, I suppose there are still things to be planned now that he’s gone? If only we could have killed him when you burned that woman, it would have saved us a lot of lives.”