Blood in the Fire

Chapter Eight Anton's Brave Move

Enlightenment Station — November 2184

Elizabeth

We still didn't know if Merador was lying. The situation justified a more drastic interrogation. Otherwise, if I didn't get the truth, I risked walking my friends into a gruesome death. I wouldn't bring my brothers to the prison until one of my agents or I set foot there first.

 My first spell provided the authorization to let down the force field. Merador stared back. I searched his eyes for any signs of fear or anger, but found none. My next spell disabled automatic environmental controls. Then one to create a small personal shield around myself, followed by one to drop the temperature in the room down to negative two degrees Celsius. He didn't move. Finally, I said one to convert the oxygen in the room into nitrogen and hydrogen at a rate of 0.75% per minute. My shield would protect me from the direct physical effects of this environment.

"Do you think we won't kill you if we find out you're lying?" I asked.

"No," he whispered. His eyes were pleading but he didn't say anything more. I wasn't sure how much oxygen wizards require per minute so I needed to monitor the effects of this spell on him. Basic life signs like heart rate and blood pressure wouldn't tell me how he was feeling the strain so I set up something more direct. I would feel everything he did.

"If you stay in this room, you have five minutes to live," I threatened. "Leave now. We'll plant the evidence so any wizards watching you will think you died. Then we can forget all about this."

"No," Merador replied. The game of chicken had begun.

Both of us stood there and waited. I was safe, but through the link to Merador, I could feel it getting hard to breathe. The biting cold air cut my skin.

"You're going to die," I said. "Get out of here while you can." He didn't respond. I wanted to bend over and lean on the chair, but I resisted. I didn't want Merador to know I was monitoring his discomfort. Merador fell to the ground but he was still conscious. He looked up at me with fearful eyes. We continued to wait. "Is killing a few of us really worth dying for?" I asked.

"I'm not trying to kill you," was all he replied. I was too dizzy to remain standing. With my gaze fixed on Merador, I took two measured steps forward and took a seat in the chair. It seemed my heart was racing. Merador's hands were turning blue. More time floated by. I was getting drowsy and my thoughts were slow and muddled.

"Run!" I yelled. It was the only word I could get out as I fought the urge to gasp for air. He shook his head no. The cold air slashed my throat; it hurt to breathe. I lost any sense of how much time had passed. Merador's body fell forward, nearly succumbing to sleep. I jerked awake and said the word to bring the environment in the room back to normal conditions.

In a moment, the fog in my mind lifted. My skin felt like it was burning as warmth and oxygen returned to my body. I disconnected the link between Merador and myself. "That was unpleasant wasn't it?" I asked, as I stood up. My head was spinning, but I didn't let him see it. "As soon as I walk out of this room, I'm going to reactivate the spells you felt a moment ago. Only this time, the temperature change and drop in oxygen levels will be extremely slow and you will be trapped behind the force field. When I come back from rescuing your son, I'll deactivate the spell. If I don't come back..." I paused for emphasis, "this is how you're going to die."

Merador stood up himself and stepped closer to me. He met my eyes and said, "I understand."

"Your last chance to escape," I reminded him. He shook his head again. I brought the force field back up, deactivated environmental controls, set the temperature to drop at 1.75 degrees Celsius per hour, and the oxygen to deplete at 1.5% per hour. Then I walked out of the room.

"Anton, get someone down here to..." I ordered as I stepped out. Anton wasn't there anymore. Mark was missing too. Shoot.

"Which way did they go?" I asked Tamer.

"Would you like me to bring someone else to—"

"In a minute. Which way did they go?" I asked again.

"Okay, I can give it another try with Merador until —"

 "Tamer!" I interrupted. I didn't have time for his games.

 "Anton asked me where the interrogation team was being quartered," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Tell me where," I said. If I had to ask again, so help me, Tamer was going to grow a black eye.

"Liz, cool it," Luke said, using his parental tone. "They went for a walk."

For a second, I thought I might punch him too.

"Anton didn't go for a walk," I wasn't yelling, but it was close. "He went to get the information Merador gave the interrogation team. Information he needs to go to the prison caves without us. If we don't stop him... Tamer, for heaven's sake, please tell me where..." I trailed off when I spotted Mark at the end of the hall, walking toward us. The blood drained from my face. He's gone.

I ran down the hall to meet Mark. Luke and Tamer followed me. "Please tell me he didn't go," I begged Mark. He stared at me and then glanced to Luke and Tamer.

"He said to give him two hours," Mark said. His voice was firm but sympathetic.

"Like hell I will. Do you have the coordinates?" I demanded.

 "He said that..." Mark trailed off.

I took a deep breath, rested my hand on Mark's right shoulder, and answered for him. "He said to remind me that if it was a trap, storming in now would just guarantee our capture and do nothing to help him." I could feel my stomach twist itself into knots. We would have to hold back, despite the risk that Anton was being tortured.

Mark took a step closer to me and squeezed my right arm for comfort. "If something goes wrong, he's going to try to relay the message to us. Otherwise, he'll send us the all clear in two hours."

He could be dead by then.

"We won't wait that long," I answered. "We take half an hour to prepare. Then we go in."

I looked at my watch and allowed my eyes to linger on its face as I composed myself. A tear began to blur my vision, but I blinked it away and looked up to meet Luke's gaze. "We'll use that time to get some spells ready and familiarize ourselves with the site," I explained. Luke's scrutiny traveled from me to Mark's face. He frowned at his brother as though Mark still held the key to making sense of everything.

"Tamer, have someone monitor Merador's vital signs. They can deactivate my spells as soon as we leave for the caves," I commanded. He could hear the lump in my throat, but I ignored it. "My threat to Merador won't do us any good after we're gone."