Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON ONE (Completed!)

Part 2.12

I now know why the High Councillor of Kronos agreed to let Lazarus take Scion, an Ariadni child, to study on Phaedra. It was so Scion could discover the secret power the Phaedreans had kept hidden from them. And it was so the Ariadni could assassinate the High Councillor of Prometheus.

Scion was easily overpowered by the Phaedrean guards. If he'd faced Lazarus in a true battle, he'd never have won. Ariadne threatened war if he was not returned safely. He was, they claimed, a boy who didn't know what he was doing. But Amarat knew. She'd seen the look in his eyes.

Scion stands before me now, a cloud of hissing green mist with horns and eyes. I look for the boy with the injured smile. The boy who nursed bruises for wanting to study plants. I don't see him. All I see is the person who betrayed his friends to gain acceptance into a society that had shunned him.

"Let me guess," he sneers. "You don't have any new information, but you'll keep trying." His eyes are bright with malice.

"It takes time," I insist. I have to stall for a day or two more. I'm strong, but I need to be stronger to guarantee a win. And I still haven't decided whether I'll use that power or not.

"Time." Scion's face turns brooding. The mist around him shimmers, then dulls. "I have had so much time. Centuries, in fact. Centuries during which I was no more than bits and pieces in the wind, while my people fought great battles without me. But I suppose...you want me to wait a little bit longer?" He smiles.

"I've hidden the orb so the Phaedrean won't find it."

Scion snorts. "The Phaedrean could find it in his sleep. He doesn't want it. He's waiting for me to make my move."

There's an uncomfortable silence.

"He can sense my energy. He knows where I am. And yet he keeps his distance. Why, I wonder?"

I don't know what to tell him. Why would I not just go after both Scion and the orb now? Because I'm not powerful enough.

Any other Ariadni would take it for granted that I was a coward. They would be boasting right now about the superiority of the Ariadni over the gutless Phaedreans. But not Scion. Scion has figured it out.

He circles back around to me. His head is tilted almost playfully, but his eyes are dead serious. "I do have to thank you for one thing." He leans close. "Your information about the servant proved to be very useful. I found her acting suspiciously outside the house...and I killed her."

The blood drains from my face.

"You...what?"

That can't be true. There was no servant snooping around in Maya's drawers. We made that up to throw Scion off track.

"Her neck made the most delicious cracking sound as it hit the tiles. I dare say she looked a bit surprised. Almost as if she had nothing to do with this orb business at all." Scion gives an exaggerated shrug. "But oh well. If you say she's guilty, she's guilty. You wouldn't lie to me..." He smiles."Would you?"

My head is pounding. Oh no. By the Dark Witch, no. He's killed...because of me.

"Are you upset? You look slightly upset. But this is what happens when you lie to me. Your friends die."

I struggle to keep my face neutral. I need to get this situation under control. I need to think fast, but...someone is dead. Who? One of my friends?

"Now, now. Let's not dwell on the past. She is dead. It is already done."

Lazarus's chambers.

His eyes, still.

Scion. Standing there. Blank.

"It is already done."

A tidal wave of rage crashes down around me. I let out a roar. My energy slams Scion into the wall. The straps holding me down pop loose.

I sit, shaking. I can't kill him. I have to calm down.

But it's already too late.

Scion's features are twisted in shock. "It's ...you."