The Sage's Vow

11.2 || Desperation

Keeping her arrow trained on the man, Mara walked further into the chamber. At the same time, Cale began to circle the man, keeping his sword outstretched. He inched forward, and there was a quiet tap as the tip of his blade touched the protected column.

"You two taste wonderful." The laughter never quite left the man's voice as he spoke. "Like the air on a cold morning. Oh, how long it's been since..." He dropped his head back and took a deep breath. "Soon. Hurry, children. Hurry and take me home."

Kidron growled. I do not like this man. His energy is as unbalanced as his mind.

Cale trailed his blade upward, eyes following as the energy field rippled from the contact. With a sudden grunt, he dropped both swords to his side and walked straight toward Mara.

"I think it's time we got the Sages involved." His posture and voice were relaxed, but his expression remained hard and focused.

Realizing what he was doing, Mara lowered her bow and kept her eyes trained on him. She refused to flinch even when she caught the man's movement from the very edges of her periphery.

"I'll ask Kidron to notify them," she said as she half turned—

The man leapt then. Cale whipped around, blocking the man's stab with his own crossed blades. Cale's elbow dropped. His sword hilt was only inches from bashing the man's head when the man clamped his teeth down on Cale's wrist.

Mara's magic flared within her as she leveled her aim with the man's shoulder. "Freezing touch." Her spell thrummed through her fingertips, and the arrowhead glinted. She released the bowstring.

Unlike her last arrow, this one hit its mark. It sliced through the top of the man's shoulder, creating a stark red line against his tattered clothing. With a cry, the man released his bite on Cale and shuffled backwards. Instead of using his blades, Cale struck out with a side kick that sent the man to the ground.

The entire time, a faint mist rose from the man's shoulder. It solidified by the second to form what looked like a block of ice on his shoulder. The magic continued to creep further along to encapsulate the lower part of his neck and his upper bicep. Her capturing spell may not have been as absolute as quickly as Cale's, but it did its job, especially since so far the man had shown no magic.

"No, no, no!" The man clawed at the ice, his feverish eyes darting between it and them. "I'm so close to home!" He attempted to get up, but the weight of his left side dragged him back down.

Mara's stomach churned. The man's voice and actions dripped with a crazed desperation that matched his wild gaze. Even with his mad appearance, he looked so harmless now. Her measures suddenly seemed too extreme.

She glanced at Cale, both to assess his reaction and to have an excuse to look away. "You really think the Sages would leave someone here like this?"

He hid it well, but she caught hints of her own discomfort mirrored in Cale's expression. "I don't know," he said after a thick pause. "I don't wish to think they would, but you cannot tell me Joel wouldn't be the type to hide a mistake. Which, well, a sudden human lost in their realm would be."

The man's head whipped in Cale's direction as if yanked by an invisible string. "Joel. Oh, Joel. Hiding his mistakes?" Laughter mixed with his voice, becoming a dry, rasping guffaw by the end. "Never, never. I'm sure he'd never."

Making a low sound in the back of his throat, Cale stepped forward, placing the tip of his blade at the man's throat. "I'm very tired of you speaking around what you mean."