"If you deceive us, if you harm Macey in any way, I'm going to make you suffer for it."
The prisoner whimpered, but didn't struggle.
"It's impossible," he whispered. "There's not enough magic."
Macey sighed. "I'm one of the Seven Wardens. I carry the magic of all seven elements within me. Trust me, I have enough power for you to use."
His eyes widened. "That's impossible. Seven elements... how are you still alive?"
She shrugged. "No idea, but that's irrelevant now. How do I give you my power?"
Slowly, his expression began to change, his despair giving way to a cautious hopefulness.
"I can siphon it from you," he explained. "It's part of my gift... or my curse, if you will. I will have to take a lot though. I can't promise you will have enough. If you don't... this could kill you."
"No way," Luc protested. "We're done here."
He got up and left the cell, probably expecting Macey to follow, but she was already sitting down next to the prisoner, ignoring the wetness of mouldy straw beneath her.
"Take it," she said, closing her eyes. "Take as much as you need. Banish the Mahoun."
"No," Luc shouted, lifting his sword, but Macey flung some wind magic at the door and closed it, turning the lock. Now she was trapped.
The daimon gripped the bars, his knuckles whitening. "Don't do this, Macey! Please, don't do it."
"I have to," she whispered, her confidence leaving far too quickly. "Do it," she told the prisoner. "Do it now."
He put a hand on her arm. His skin was callused and clammy, but as soon as he touched her, everything went black and she was ripped away from her body, screaming as unbelievable pain flashed through her mind.
Suddenly,the pain stopped. It had been going on for years, decades, far longer than she could imagine. She'd been tortured, flayed alive, burned, any torture that could be named and more. She'd been nothing but pain, and yet here she was, sitting on a chair, unharmed. There were two chairs in the small white room she was in, and a low table in between them.
A man sat opposite her, smiling. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't place where she'd seen him before.
"You've done well," he said, and suddenly she recognised him. No one. The man from the cell. It was him, but he looked at least forty years younger. Thick brown hair was curling down to his shoulders and a well manicured beard graced his cheeks. There were no wrinkles on his smooth skin and his eyes had none of the crazed and pained look she remembered.
"What happened?" she asked, confusion making her uneasy.
"I took your magic," he explained as if that was the most natural thing in the world. "I expelled the Mahoun from the minds of the world. He's gone now."
"What? How? That was too quick, too easy," she muttered.
"Believe me, it wasn't," the man sighed. "It took two days. You're barely alive. Even now, your Wardens are having to share their energy with you so that your heart doesn't stop beating. It's not clear if you'll survive, Macey. So no, it wasn't easy, nor quick."
"But..." she stuttered. "It was only moments ago. I..."
Then she remembered the pain. It had lasted for so long and no time at all. It had ripped through her body, separating it from her mind. It was a strange feeling to be free of pain after so much time, but it also felt as if there was something missing.
"What happens now?" she asked. "Where are we?"
"My mind," he explained. "A pocket of my mind where you're safe. While I defeated the evil entity, I wasn't able to protect you, but now that he's gone, I can at least shelter you from the pain you're still experiencing."
Macey rubbed her forehead, unsure of what to think about it all.
"So he's really gone? Forever?"
He nodded. "Until another fool summons him. Evil is never quite gone from the world. It's always lurking in the shadows, ready to jump on the unwary and foolish, but yes, for now, it's no longer existing as a being." He sighed. "And now, it's time for me to pay for my sins. I'm sorry for all the world has suffered because of me. I hope my final act will make up for some of it."
He got up from his chair and walked around the table. Without warning, he took Macey's hands in his, squeezing hard.
"Don't remember me," he said as the first trickles of energy began to flow into Macey. When she realised what he was doing, she opened her mouth to speak, to ask him what they were supposed to do about the Mahoun's siblings that were still loose in the world, but it was too late. The trickle turned into a waterfall that swept her under until everything went dark once more.