Intentions of a Dark Mage

Chapter 5

Thankfully, the little fish who brought me here knew exactly what to do.

After a few games of charades, me nabbing an old rucksack full of jewels and an oncoming headache caused by a lucky slap from the fish we then dubbed 'Fin', we were finally back where we started - the pond.

It was finally time to leave - I almost didn't want to go.

But I had things to do.

"Fin, do you know how to get back to the human world?"

He swam as if he shook his head.

"Damn. Echo? Any ideas?"

"You mentioned earlier that you entered after you dropped blood onto the floor, right? A lot of ancients used blood as a gateway to their secret storage facilities and places of refuge."

"So what, I share a bloodline with someone who can get here?"

"Yes."

"That's kind of cool and weird. Does that mean my parents and sister can enter this place too?"

"Sister? Yes. Probably one of your parents though. Or both if they're related."

"Ew."

Echo squinted as he observed the weeds around the pond.

"So what - I just pour the blood onto the grass?"

"Not the grass, it has to be something that's unlikely to change too much over time."

"The dome? That's too far away, how am I supposed to reach that today? I have to be back soon or-"

Echo sighed frustratedly, "How about the pond? That's much closer." He squinted amusedly.

"Sure." I grinned.

I picked at my scab hard and blotted it all over one of the stone bricks as if I was a four year old learning what finger painting was.

Just as he suggested, the pond glowed and patterns swirled all over the surface in an old, unreadable language.

Fin waved at us before diving deeper into the pond, along with all of his friends.

I waved back, just as the light became unbearable. My arms shot to my face, but a blink later I was back at the building, though now the floor was bathed in rouge and orange hues of sunset. The dust inside had become massively displaced, and the particles rushed away from me in torrents.

The cloak Echo put on me still engulfed my body and my back was heavy with the rucksack. The obsidian amulet still hung around my neck, but I couldn't see Echo.

"Echo?" I called out into the air. I gripped the amulet tightly.

"I'm here." Echo exclaimed, "Just not visible. It's probably best for us if no one knew I was here, right? We might as well communicate through thoughts like this."

A wave of relief and amazement rolled over me. I laughed giddily.

"Damn, can I do that too? Can you hear this?" I sent him.

"Yes."

"Holy shit that's so cool. Can you hear everything I'm thinking about?"

I could feel Echo try to rifle through my head somehow, as if someone was trying to thumb through the files of a densely packed storage unit. It was almost ticklish.

"Only the outermost thoughts, or if it's strong. You can go through mine as well, it seems like."

Neat!