The Undead Sorcerer

Chapter 15

There is nothing but an ache in my belly as my limbs are rotting and my head- it feels like the world spinning when I'm standing still. I try to grab my head in my hands to try and still the world, but my fingertips miss. My balance, sense of self – nothing feels right. The worst part isn't the pain; no, that's not quite it.

"Can anyone hear me?" I call out. Nothing. Not a soul answers. Why can't anyone hear me? I yelled as loud as I could. Someone should have heard me. Am I really alone? Sleep threatens to latch on. What's the use of fighting any longer? I want to let go for once. And in letting go, there is a sense of falling, my consciousness slipping away from me. My exhaustion finally fades away, but that bliss I've longed for is absent as I slip into nothing and something else takes over. The ground trembles again, perhaps to crush me for good this time. A wave of exhaustion hits my head. Roots wriggle and writhe through the ground. A dim light suddenly graces my face, with it, the scent of human blood and flesh. "Hungry," I murmur to myself, my tongue flicking over my crusted lips. I scramble and thrash to move forward out of this disaster I've fallen into and toward life. Eyes land on me the second I break free.

"Dear. God," Morgan breathes, reeling back. She smells like soil, herbs, and a hot-blooded magic.

"Vincent, what in God's name is this?" Edward cries.

"You're just in time. A minute too late, and I would have been in trouble," Vincent comments.

"What are you talking about? What happened to Alistair? Why does he look like that? Avery? Henry? Are you fighting them? Someone answer me please?" Edward pleads for answers.

"I'll explain in due time, my friend, but for now-," Vincent starts when I creep forward. That blood, I want that. I start forward.

"Alistair," Justina breathes my name. Grief darkens her features on her soft face. The wind rustles her loose, flowing clothes. "Stop this," she pleads. Wiping her hand across, she draws a shield. Justina snaps into motion, painting a boxy construct like Henry's around me. I claw at it, threatening to rip it open at the seams. As I tried, Justina kept rearranging her design to keep me at bay, but have to eat. "God, what's happened to his body? He's withering away," Justina points out.

"It's the magic. He's breached the void and can't stop the undead energy," Vincent explains.

"So then what do we do, purify him?" Justina inquires.

"No- that would kill him," Edward worries.

"Then how do we save him?" Justina snaps back.

"Save him? He's become a monster!" Morgan gasps. I slam my hand into the shield. My claws break through, though several bones in my hand fracture. I groan and start tearing at the raw energy with my fangs. The power stings and burns my flesh. I hiss and snarl.

"I can't hold him back much longer. What do we do?" Justina demands.

(Change to Justina? Justina makes more sense since she has the opposoite magic, she should be more sensitive to Void magic?)

"Justina, do you think you can close the voids with your magic?" Vincent suggests.

"What? Our magic are complete opposites. It's-," Justina protests.

"Exactly. I want you to use your magic to cleanse Allistair of any external void magic. Trust me," Vincent assures her. Justina's shield fractures and rains like glass shards. I dart forward. Vincent narrowly dodges his throat from being torn out. I hit the ground, claws raking through the dirt. Crouching down, my muscles tense up to spring.

"Vincent!" Morgan calls, casting flames and sending me feeling back – saving Vincent and giving Justina a window. The fire swells, and smoke and heat burn my eyes. I stumble back until I can go no further, backed into a trap. Justina pants for her breath, murmuring incantations under her breath. The more she whispers, the more I am seized in a bind until I am paralyzed.

"My word," Justina gasps. I fidget, fighting to free myself.

"He's breaking free," Edward worries. Morgan's flames are spreading, closing in.

"Wait, I can figure this out... Give me a minute," Justina pleads.

"He doesn't have minutes. Just break it," Vincent urges, and something snaps – like an old, sticky bandage suddenly ripped off. I drop to the ground, drooling and twitching. Voices call distantly, muddled, and vague. My chest aches, spreading across my chest until my eyes snap open, and I gasp for air, and it burns like fire in my lungs. I grip the grass and anything within arm's reach for dear life as I pant for my breath until that burning goes away.

"Gah!" I gasp, trembling; I bring my fist to my chest and curl up.

"He's breathing again," Justina cries over me, and I groan. I blink at the world a few times. She's right – I am breathing. I really breathing again.

"Alistair?" they're calling my name.

"I'm... alive," I find my voice and start to sit up.

"Thank the heavens, you're alive," Justina gasps. Is she crying for me?

"I am... I don't understand. I feel like I fell asleep..." I groan between coughing. It feels odd – breathing again.

"How do you feel?" Justina inquires. Sore, aching, tired, and a few other things.

"I'm breathing," I notice, though she gives me a look. I slap my hands on my chest, feeling my chest expand with my breath coming and going on its own as if it were natural – because it is natural, it's normal. "I haven't needed breath in the last two years.... What did you all do?"

"I analyzed your magic as intended and noticed your ability to absorb void magic unto yourself, an ability you probably developed during the war," Vincent suggests.

"That's right. It started when I nearly lost my head. I was exhausted and desperate for any trace of magic energy I could will for, and suddenly I found it in me," I recall.

"Yes, you started absorbing void energy, but you never stopped. And the abundance of void energy was turning you into a creature from the void. So, I concluded that you lost the ability to control this ability you gained," Vincent explains.

"And that's been rotting my body," I realize, facepalming. Oh, dear God.

"So what I broke was that connection to the void," Justina realizes.

"Will... will I- be able..." I wonder and find myself at a loss for words.

"I don't see any reason you shouldn't be able to use magic again. The endless flow of void energy was broken, not your ability to use the magic. Your curse has been cured," Vincent states. I'm at a loss for words. I spent years trying to figure this out, and it feels so simple, yet it is so difficult. Never mind that – it's over. It's finally over... I guess I should be asking myself what that mean now? "Anyway. How did you all end up out here?" Vincent wonders

"Peter saw you leaving and asked us to follow. He was worried-," Morgan starts,

"He what? Then who's-... Where's Henry and Avery?" Vincent starts wondering, giving the group a once-over. Henry and Avery are gone. They must have slipped away during the chaos. Shit.