Present Day
Bondy insisted on going home alone but I tagged along to his dismay. We planned on telling the government what the Lachlan brothers were up to but realized it was past working hours so we decided on tomorrow instead. The walk home was silent; Bondy was still bothered about his magic being gone. You could tell by the way his head hung low and the way he dragged his feet. The flame within him was extinguished, replaced by anxiety and fear for the future. Nothing I say or do will ease his nerves. I figured the best thing to do was to let him wallow in sorrow because that's how you get over it. You must face the waves and let it crash over you before you can get to the other side.
We reached his flat and Bondy dug into his pocket for his keys. He stuck the key in and turned it before pushing the door open. When he was under the memory charm, he didn't take in the state of his flat. Now that he's awake, his eyes scanned the flat slowly. Memories flooded his mind as he remembered the day he stepped out never to return again. He bent over to pick up the stack of letters that accumulated at his door and he quickly sifted through them, keeping one and discarding the rest in the bin. He then made his way to the kitchen and groaned at the stack of dishes he'd have to clean.
"I'll take care of it," I told him.
With the flick of my wrist, the sink came to life. The faucet turned on, filling the sink with hot water and detergent was poured in, creating bubbles. A small towel began cleaning the dishes one by one, and once done, the dishes went under the water to be rinsed before flying to the drying rack. For a brief moment, Bondy was back to his normal self in awe of magic but was quickly reminded that he lost his so he stepped out of the kitchen. I followed him keeping my distance as he made his way down the hall to his bedroom. He pushed the door open only to see his room as he left it.
"I owe you an explanation, don't I?" Bondy spoke. He didn't turn around; his eyes were fixed on his bed and I stayed quiet wondering what he meant. "I didn't tell you everything Will told me that night."
He didn't need to say what night it was. There was no doubt he was referring to the night he turned into Willow. I knew he was holding back information but didn't confront him about it. Now he was ready to tell me the truth.
"Is that so?" I questioned softly, urging him to continue. Bondy sighed and turned around to face me.
"He told me the Lachlan brothers figured out how to extract magic. It took them several wizards to figure out how. You don't understand how bad it was, Van. They were operating on wizards like guinea pigs, cutting them open while they were still alive. They enjoyed seeing the life leave their eyes, they enjoyed the pain and fear."
Looking into Bondy's eyes, you could see how deeply affected by it he was. There's no doubt the horrors of their experiment were on display in their house, their bodies drained of blood and their carcasses hanging as a reminder. Their bodies were placed in a meat locker and Bondy feared he'd end up being one of them. Bondy took off his cap and ruffled his hair before putting it back on. He became ill at the memory, his lips trembling as if he was about to cry.
"I honestly thought I'd be one of them," he said, his voice barely audible. "They quickly overpowered me. The whole thing was a trap and I'm glad I didn't tell you because you could've been hurt as well."
You could tell it pained him to recall what happened to him and I wanted him to stop but curiosity got the better of me.
"I did everything I could to fight them off but it was no use. They tied me to the table and put me to sleep. I thought I was dead but then days later, I woke up, dazed and delirious. They told me in detail what they did to me but I couldn't comprehend what they were saying. There was a thick fog in my mind. They said they were going to kill me. That should've made me run but I couldn't." I stayed silent listening to him.
