Page 55 of Within the Flames

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FIGURED IT OUT YET?

She swirled around, but there was nobody in the room besides Luc and herself.

"It was too easy," she whispered and the cackle of the Voice confirmed her suspicions.

IT'S TIME FOR A NEW GAME.

Suddenly, the room around her disappeared and she was thrown into darkness.

* * *

"Hello?"she called out, getting to her feet. Everything was dark; no, not just normal darkness, but a thick, foggy blackness that felt both threatening and ominous. "Anyone here?"

Silence.

She conjured a flame, but before it could even illuminate the room, it flickered out. She tried again, and again, but something snuffed out her magic as soon as she created it. It reminded her of the Mahoun's dungeons, where she'd been imprisoned. It had been impossible to do magic there as well, but it felt a little different here. The magic inside her was still there, it just didn't exist anymore as soon as it left her body.

"I tried that, it doesn't work. Save your energy."

She recognised that voice, even though he hadn't sounded as exhausted the last time she'd spoken to him.

"Izban?"

"Yes, over here."

She followed the direction of his voice until she stumbled over something soft.

"Ouch," the mage complained.

"Sorry," Macey muttered, making sure not to step on him. "What happened? Are you injured?"

"Just my pride. What happened? Is Amber alright?"

Macey nodded before she realised he couldn't see her.

"Yes, at least she was last time I saw her. They're attacking the castle as we speak. I was fighting the Mahoun but, well, he turned out to be not himself."

"That doesn't make any sense," Izban said with a sigh. "But I think I know what you mean. Hooded man, no face?"

"You've seen him?" Macey asked, surprised.

"He welcomed me in, let me tell him my story, then attacked without warning. I defeated him, saw his face, heard the Voice and ended up here."

Macey sat down by his side, noticing there was a wall just behind him that he was leaning against. "Pretty much the same thing happened to me," she said. "I wonder what Luc is doing now. He was suddenly there, in the castle, and helped me fight."

"The daimon? He's a strange one."

Macey was tempted to say that Izban was even stranger, but she swallowed that reply. The two of them were in this together now, and who knew when they'd see the others again.

"Talon came to the camp," she said instead. "He said you let him out of his cell."

"The old man?" Izban asked. "Was it just me or does he look like Malan."

Macey chuckled. "He said he's his brother. And yes, I find that just as weird as you do."

“Weird doesn’t even cover it,” Izban muttered, then fell quiet.