Anxiety ate at Era’s stomach. Gabriel and he stood before the castle gates, both gathering their courage and preparing to bluff their way into the castle.
“You got your sigil, kid?”
“Yes,” Era nodded, gripping it tightly within his bag.
“Then let’s go,” Gabriel said with forced confidence, taking a step towards the gates. Era rushed clumsily after him, soon falling into his step.
The guards were different than the ones who had been on patrol when Era had asked directions; he was immensely relieved at this. He strode confidently over to one, praying that his face and voice would match his posture.
“Excuse me, sir,” he stated with only a slight waver in his tone, “I need access to the castle, if you please.”
“You gots an appointment?” the guard muttered, staring at him warily.
Era flashed his sigil to him. “I have permission.”
“Oh, uh, well, sir mage,” the guard said quickly, his tone of voice and posture immediately showing more respect and humility. “Hate t’ be a bother, sir, but I gots to prove you ain’t a phony, eh? Do a wee bit o’ magic, an’ I can let you through right quick.”
“Er, right.” Era cupped his hands, making a misty apparition swirl between them.
“Right, right,” the guard said, bowing. “You go right on through. Enjoy your stay – an’ I’m sure the royal tailor can fix up your robes quick as ye blink.” Gabriel grumbled to himself about the constant insults his robes received as the guards raised the gate to the castle.
They walked up a long pathway through a pristine courtyard, but neither of them really noticed the beauty of the royal gardens; both were too focused on the task at hand for such frivolities. Silence hung between them like a dark cloud, each with their own set of worries and each eager to see their task’s completion.
Finally, they entered the castle doors. The inner castle was majestic and crowded with all manner of nobles, many of whom gave the pair distasteful stares as they passed. Era shivered, feeling the sweat beading on his back.
“You ready for this?” Gabriel asked him quietly.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied in turn, pinning his sigil to the front of his robe. “Let’s be off, shall we?”
The royal records room was as vast as Era imagined it would be, but he wasn’t intimidated by its size. It still can’t compare to Death’s halls, he mused. “Thank you very much,” he told the page who had led them there.
“Just let one of us know if you need anything else.” The black-haired youth left quickly, trotting off to the beckon of another noble.
“Holy fuck, where do we even start?” Gabriel asked, agape at the rows upon rows of bookshelves and papers wadded together on desks.
“With the mage records, of course.”
“Well, yeah, I knew that. It’s just… damn, this place is big.”
“It’s kind of small, actually,” Era noted. “I was expecting it to be a little bigger.”
“Three stories of bookshelves isn’t enough for you?” he asked incredulously.
“Death had a library, remember?”
“Oh yeah, that. Damn, if this is small, then more people are dead than I thought,” he joked.
They began to leaf through some of the books laid out on the tables before they both became uneasy. “Gabriel,” Era said, “we got in here rather easily, didn’t we?”
“Yeah… and if this is the royal records room, you’d think there would be some guards or something.” He flipped through a thick book in front of him. “And maybe these are just new books, but all the pages are blank in the ones I’ve seen so far.”
“Maybe the page made a mistake,” Era thought aloud, walking towards the door. “I’ll fetch him.”
The doorway before him suddenly disappeared as the room around them faded away to nothing.
“Shit!!” Gabriel yelled, whirling around in panic. “God damn it… Era, is this…?”
Shaking in his boots, Era nodded. “This… this is exactly like where I was before.”
“Fuck… fuck, how did he know…? And here…” Gabriel’s eyes widened in horrific realization. “Oh shit.”
“What?”
“The castle is warded from magical attacks. Only certain mages can even cast spells here.”
“You mean… like—”
“Like the Archmage, of course!!” came a booming voice that made Era cry out in fear.
“Exactly.” Gabriel grit his teeth and clenched his fists.
“What do you want!?” Era cried, “Explain what I have done!! I can’t make things right if I don’t even know what it is I did to wrong you!!”
The Archmage appeared out of thin air before him, making Era stumble back. “That’s just it,” he said, “I don’t want you to ‘make things right.’ You had plenty of opportunities to do that before.”
“Asshole!!” Gabriel shouted. “Hitting pretty low, aren’t we? Attacking a guy who has no clue what he did and whose power is obviously far inferior to yours? What else are you into, pulling the legs off insects? Stealing sweets from little kids?”
“I hardly care about the ethics of this, hedge wizard,” the Archmage replied in a bored tone. “Besides, this is a personal matter. Honor and keeping up appearances can wait for the court.”
“What are you even hoping to accomplish?” Era pleaded. “You haven’t told me a thing. You’re only toying with me! If you want to kill me, you certainly could, right here and now!”
“Kid…!” Gabriel warned.
“Do you hear that, folks?” the Archmage proclaimed, addressing his invisible audience. “He thinks I want to kill him! Well, we all know that’s only partially true, am I right?”
“Fucking nutcase,” Gabriel muttered incredulously.
“‘Partially true?’” Era asked, keeping his voice as calm as he could.
The Archmage’s eyes turned icy cold, and he yanked Era over by the throat. Letting out a strangled cry, Era scrabbled at the man’s freezing hand. Gabriel, meanwhile, let out a cry of fury and landed a punch with his entire body weight behind it on the side of the man’s jaw. He screamed in pain and fury, falling to the ground and taking Era with him. In a move too quick to see, the Archmage whipped Era in front of him as a shield, holding a finger to his neck. Looking closer, Gabriel could see a blade had formed along the edge of his finger, and he had the flat of it pressed against Era’s throat. Era whimpered and shut his eyes as the chill of the magically-created metal cooled his skin.
“Do not try that again,” the Archmage threatened, eyes locked on Gabriel as he spit blood and shards of tooth upon what passed for the ground. “And you, forgotten one!” he yelled, looking to Era. “I believe you remember what happened the last time you tried using magic in here! I don’t think I have to tell you not to try that again.”
“What the fuck is your problem, you fucking psycho!? What do you fucking want!?” Gabriel screamed in fury and frustration.
“I want you to suffer,” he said darkly and quietly in Era’s ear. “I want you to feel all the pain and misery and fear that you made me feel every wretched day that I was in your possession. You have a penance to pay, maggot, and I will see it paid.”
Era’s eyes were wide with horror. “What did I do to you?” he whispered nearly inaudibly.
“And you do me an even greater insult by forgetting your crimes!!” he screamed, making Era’s right ear ring. Era flinched, gaining a nick on his neck in the process. “Have you truly forgotten me!? Does the name ‘Caine Lapointe’ truly mean nothing to you!?” Pausing a moment, he chuckled calmly. “Then again, it never did have a meaning for you, did it?”
Have to do something, Era thought in a panic. Have to run, have to escape. How?
He recalled the last time he had used magic in this realm. It… shocked me, he thought, and electricity… He shuddered at the thought of what he was about to do, but reassured himself. It will be for the best. I need to get us both out of here.
“You’re not shaking anymore,” Caine commented, sounding genuinely concerned. “Are you having a panic attack?”
My name is Eravisté… I ask for your assist—
Both Era and Caine cried out simultaneously as lightning shot through them both. Caine’s knife cut a long slash on Era’s collarbone as he writhed in pain, but the knife and the realm faded quickly as his concentration broke. Gabriel screamed for Era, trying to make his voice heard in the panic.
And then, all was silent.
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