The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 57

The church was dark and quiet as they entered, but Logain could feel that dark presence stronger than before. There was Meredith's divinity, but it wasn't as powerful as this dark feeling. How she was able to keep it under her control, Logain had no idea. He could tell that whatever it was, it was much stronger than him. Even Amaris led him through the chapel cautiously.

But there was no turning back now. Logain was determined to see this through. Whatever she was summoning was still chained to whatever prison was holding it. Hopefully, Meredith didn't lose control and accidentally set it free. The closer they got to the High Priestess, the stronger that presence became. If it weren't for Amaris' divinity, Logain wouldn't have been able to approach. He could feel the darkness trying to drain him. He didn't know how the High Priestess was able to get away with this for so long without the queen or Casimir noticing. They had the most powerful divine magic in the whole kingdom. They would have been able to sense this.

Amaris stopped in front of a large door that led into the sanctuary where Meredith was waiting. He opened the door a crack to peek inside. Logain joined him to see what was going on as well. He covered his mouth to stop the audible gasp, and his eyes went wide. Amaris knew the High Priestess was up to something, but he was surprised as well. He wasn't expecting this.

She was on her knees with candles surrounding her in front of an altar. They could hear her chanting something, most likely an incantation to keep the beast from escaping. There was a portal with something reaching out to the priestess. They couldn't see a face, but the hands that reached out were long with ink black skin, patches of white and gray fur, and long razor-sharp claws. There were symbols carved into the monster's exposed skin, and they were dripping with blood. Logain had never seen something like this before, but he knew it was a demon. Now Logain understood why Amaris said that Meredith would be imprisoned if the royal family ever found out.

Logain grabbed Amaris' arm and said only loud enough for him to hear, "We have proof that she's doing something evil behind everyone's back. If we take this to the king and queen, then we can take her down."

Amaris glanced at him and shook his head. "If we do that, we won't get the ring from her. Tristan needs that if he wants to live, and I doubt the king and queen will just hand it over to us just because we asked for it. No, if we can get it from her while she's distracted now, then we have a better chance at getting the ring for ourselves."

"But what about the demon? If she loses control, then we risk letting that thing loose. I highly doubt either of us is strong enough to fight it, even if we work together," he pointed out.

"Perhaps, but we're not going to let that happen." The clergyman seemed to have more faith in their abilities. With a sigh, he added, "If you're ready, then let's do this. Meredith will be too focused on keeping her hold on the demon. She'll want to fight us, but she'll also realize that she can't let the demon free in this world."

Amaris took the lead as he slowly pushed open the door. The warlock was close behind him, carefully watching the demon as it stretched out towards the priestess. Meredith kept chanting, unaware of the men closing in behind her. She didn't notice that something was off until the chapel shook from the low growl the beast let out. The High Priestess didn't stop chanting as she turned to face the men. She glanced at Amaris, but her eyes stopped on Logain when she was the red-haired warlock. A small smile carved its way onto her face.

She stood up, continuing to focus on keeping the demon locked away, but she was no longer reciting the incantation. She smiled at Logain, but addressed Amaris as she said, "Is this the person our dear prince is supposed to marry?"

The clergyman nodded. He approached Meredith, then knelt in front of her and bowed his head. "I brought him here just like you asked."

It took Logain a moment to process what was going on, but he wasn't quick enough when chains appeared and locked themselves around his arms to keep him in place. They were magical chains that sucked the energy out of Logain's body. The moment they latched onto him, he felt himself growing weaker. Struggling only drained the little strength that he had left.

Meredith approached him, the smile never leaving her face. She gently touched Logain's chin and forced him to look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, dear, but I cannot allow you to marry Prince Casimir. I have many plans for him, and you will only get in the way."

The warlock scowled at her. "Leave him alone! You've done enough to ruin Casimir's life, so just leave him in peace already!"

She chuckled. "Now that wouldn't be any fun. If I were to stop now, then everything would have been for nothing. Why would I stop when I'm so close to taking down the royal family?"

"You're an evil bitch. You have no reason to target them like this. What did they ever do to you?" Besides being power hungry, Logain didn't see why else Meredith wanted to take down the royal family.

She glared at him. "Why should those demon lovers remain on the throne? The princess is already married to a filthy warlock, and the crown prince was about to do the same. If I continue to let this happen, then Ambria will be overrun by you monsters. Once I claim the throne, I can bring people to light and show everyone the vile creature that you are. I will rid this world of warlocks and witches. Your kind has done nothing but be a blight to this world."

"You call us the monsters, yet you're no better. You're summoning a fucking demon because you were cursed for harassing a magic user in the past. You constantly want to hurt my kind while we just want to live in peace. Who is the true monster here?" Logain retorted.

Meredith was growing tired of entertaining this conversation. She turned her attention back to Amaris and said, "Let's rid the world of this warlock. Since you obeyed and brought him to me, I'll make sure I go easy on Casimir for you. As promised, I'll leave the prince to you."

The clergyman nodded. He kept his eyes down, unwilling to look at the warlock's face. Logain glared at him and shouted, "You're a traitor! You said you didn't want to hurt Casimir, but you're a damn liar!"

Despite the chains tightening around his arms, Logain tried to struggle out of their grasp. It was hard to with how the magical chains drained him of his energy, but that didn't stop Logain from trying. This couldn't be the end for him. The queen's prophecy predicted that he would die by Meredith's grasp. Logain wasn't ready to die.

But no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get out of the chains. The warlock was pulled forward towards the demon's waiting arms. There was nothing that he could do as the creature grabbed him and pulled him into the portal. The portal shut behind him.