The Villain Wants to Quit

A New Mission (3)

This chapter contains depictions/implications of suicidal ideation. Please reach out if you or someone you know needs help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 or http://www.crisistextline.org

Marc's townhouse had been turned into a laboratory for Eloise and James.

So much of the house had been taken over with alchemic and magical tools that there was hardly any room for Marc to exist in his own home.

He had considered staying with his family while Eloise took over his home, but he was too curious about her experiments to leave the house any longer than he had to.

He was also still a bit worried that the divine dagger would misbehave and burn down his home.

"I think I've got it!" Eloise screeched and jumped up excitedly. "I needed to isolate which bit of spell work to cut; it's embedded in your skin, after all, so I can't just slice it all up. But I think I've got it."

"Can you do it now?" Marc asked.

"Not quite." Eloise sighed. "I've already been brewing an elixir that I'll need for the process, but it looks like I'll need a bit of the caster and castee's blood to help the divine dagger cut through the mana without harming yours. It's a bit like a key to help him recognize what's foreign versus native mana."

"How much blood do you need?"

"Just a couple drops would do." Eloise shrugged.

"I think I can get that," Marc said. "I should be able to get it today." Theo had already contacted Marc and asked to meet.

"Really? I'll go ahead and prepare everything to do the procedure this evening, then." Eloise was practically beaming.

"Great. I'll head out then." Marc rubbed his neck.

He couldn't believe it had only taken Eloise a week to figure out how to break the oath. Of course, he supposed she had been working on this long before she got her hands on the divine dagger.

Marc was in such a good mood that he stopped to buy snacks on his way to the fountain. He even bought extra for Theo and Scourge.

He had to admit the little dragon was growing on him even if the unicorn wasn't.

Marc only sat at the fountain for a short time before Theo arrived.

"Hey!" Marc waved to Theo before faltering. Something about Theo's complexion looked extra pale and sickly. "Is something wrong?"

"My new orders. I-"Theo choked as the oath around his neck tightened. His eyes seemed hollow. "You know, I've been trained to be immune to most types of poison."

"What are you talking about out of the blue?" Marc dropped the snacks.

"But I haven't quite mastered the reselden root. It's a big weakness of mine. Killing me with a weapon would be disastrous because of all the blood, and most poisons only make me a little queasy, but reselden root could be my downfall."

"Theo!" Carrot stamped a foot. "Stop talking like this."

"If I did happen to be done in by reselden root, my body would need to be cremated immediately so there's no risk of my blood getting spilled; I don't know what would happen if my blood spilled after I died."

"What's your new order? What's wrong?"

"I'm supposed to kill Owen and Marie." Theo collapsed at Marc's feet. "Please help me."

Marc swallowed. "What type of deadline are we working on for this assassination?"

"I have two weeks and four days left," Theo said. "Incidentally, reselden root is tricky to get, but I happen to have some friends in the black market that can purchase it in about ten to fourteen days. Another fun fact is that I've been forbidden from knowingly feeding it to myself. Knowingly is a key word, though."