Page 2 of A Soul to Embrace

The magic was forbidden to the rest of his Elvish kind, but he’d long ago thrown the morals of a prudish, uptight species to the wind.

I can survive this...

He had to.

The second time he opened his eyes, he knew it had been too long.

The smell of his blood perfumed the air, and he utilised his ability to boil it. Nothing happened except for an intense wave of sickness and wrongness overcoming him. Light-headed, sweat-slicked, and weak, the reality of what he’d done was slow to digest in the fuzziness of his mind.

The heat that engulfed him fought against the intense cold shivers that trickled through his nervous system.

So I’m down to a choice, am I?He chuckled into the darkness, while his eyes rolled in delirium.

He clicked his fingers and the tiniest spark came from the motion. Not of flame, but of essence. The very last tendril of it.

A magical spark which could reignite, or there was a chance he could snuff it out with potentially ever-lasting consequences. The outcome was uncertain, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

The scrape of stone against stone above reverberated through the layers crushing down on him. The sound sent goosebumps along what little of his flesh remained unscorched, but he swallowed down the fear.

Jabez closed his eyes in disquiet.So be it.

He focused on any remaining traces of his spilled blood and boiled them until the scent dispersed. In doing so, he pushed out the last of his magic until he completely emptied the well within his body. A rush of coldness bled through his veins and behind it came more lava.

Tears of agony dotted his eyelashes, but he clenched his fangs through the pain when another shift of stone came from above. His throat clamped up, his body quaked, but he refused to let the sickness of magic depletion be the reason he passed out again.Ookmanik,the Elvish called it.

Stay awake,his mind whispered.

He would greet whatever was digging for him amicably, rather than deliriously. He would fight, even if his attempt would be pitiful, and utilise every ounce of life force he had left. Even with two limbs missing, he would show them how formidable he was.

He was no victim, and nothing to be pitied.

No Demon was a match for him, and he would make sure they knew that.I must use their fear of me.Just as he used it to make sure he was kept on a useless, self-proclaimed throne.

When dim light peeked through cracks, he swiped his face constantly of falling dust. A scent came to him, but he only distinguished one thing from it: a stranger.

He didn’t know this Demon. It wasn’t one of his direct minions, which could either be a blessing or a curse.

When the worst of the weight was removed, he was able to slide the slab of stone above him just enough to wedge himself into a seated position. The more rubble the stranger removed, the more he was able to shove out of the way until he could manoeuvre what was left of his injured body towards freedom. He chose his movements carefully, ensuring that nothing shifted suddenly and crushed him further.

Then a single hand gained freedom.

Someone sniffed at his clawed fingers, spreading hot breath over them, and he grimaced. He said nothing, despite the urge to shout callous commands in disgust. He wasn’t a piece of meat to be smelt, and he made sure to kill all those who considered him food.

He and his potential rescuer shoved a large slab to the side, and Jabez was able to squeeze his shoulders free of the rubble.

Freedom,he thought with relief. But at what cost?

Who had come to free him? Friend or foe? These days, everyone had been considered foe. His minions placated him out of fear, while many others did so because of the hope he promised: the chance for a true life beyond the borders of this barbaric forest.

Blinking against the bright light after being in the dark for so long, he was thankful for the setting sun. He didn’t have the magic to cast a skintight barrier against it.

A moving shadow drifted above him, just as a black clawed hand came into view when it pressed down next to his head.

His wavering, dizzy gaze drifted up. He struggled to focus through the fuzziness and blinking dots to see who had come to be either his rescuer or his demise.

All the fight he had left in him gusted out in the wake of the being before him.

He couldn’t defeat it. Not in the current state he was in, and perhaps not even before that.

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