The Autumn Mage

Chapter Nineteen

     Aki stood mouth agape at the tall slender toned man with light brown skin and curly dark hair. His piercing blue eyes glared at him as he griped his staff tighter, his nose flaring and making the small golden hoop pierced into his right nostril rise and fall angrily. He wore an opened peach vest over a long sleeved white silk shirt and a pair of airy blood red pants tied with a black braided rope belt. A thick champagne scarf was wrapped around his neck that was covered in dirt as if it had been used as a mask to protect against the elements.

     "You look like shit," he curtly said in a crisp tenor voice.

     "Well if I knew you were coming I would have freshened up," Aki retorted in a raspy voice. He cleared his throat and then went into a small coughing fit; it was the first time he had spoken in days. "So what brings the Rose Doctor to my humble prison cell?" The energy emanating from the man was warm but menacing.

     "Against my better judgment I'm here to examine you. The Circle wants to know what exactly Rekes is doing, and I just may have a way of saving you. But before I do, we're going to get everything out in the open," he said softly but sternly, speaking slowly to let every word sink in. Aki sat down slowly crossing his legs and trying to focus even though the hunger to steal his power was returning. Aki couldn't even if he wanted to; his body felt heavy and every part burned, his breathing was heavy and labored and he struggled just to stay awake. "Do you have any inkling of the damage your fool's errand has caused?"

     "So far I've only taken the old lady's power, so you'll have to fill me in," he said bitterly. His tongue wanted to stick to his mouth making speaking difficult.

     "There's a few things, mostly sharp pointy things, I want to 'fill you in' with. First, what you're doing is targeting the kingdom's last line of defense. They have about 2,000 years' worth of wisdom and you're trying to just take it without any of the responsibility that comes with it." Aki opened his mouth to speak but the Doctor quickly raised a hand. "Shut up. Don't even think about interrupting me. The Circle of Hecate exists to protect us from threats that the army, Paladins, and Templars can't handle. Just like the first Circle that came together to defeat Tiamat and her cult a thousand years ago. And right now there's something amiss, something we can't quite pinpoint. And honestly I think it involves some of our own members. But either way we can't have you removing us out of the picture. Our strength is going to be needed very soon and without it the kingdom may very well fall." Aki glanced at his ankles sheepishly.

     "Sorry," he muttered.

     "Save it. I'm not finished. Do you know what you've done to Alpine Flats? Do you even know why the Summer Sorceress lived there in the first place?"

     "She enjoys skiing?" The Doctor glared at him.

     "A rare flower called Apollo's Kiss is found in that region and it only blooms when the temperature is exactly 18 degrees, which is usually about once or twice a year." Aki stared blankly at him. "I know, your little pea brain is asking 'why should I care?'. Each flower produces a small amount of nectar that has potent healing abilities. Because of the Sorceress' power the village was kept at a constant 18 degrees year round. They were growing fields of the flowers, and the kingdom was making huge advances in healing potions. But because of you, they have all but shriveled up and now the king has ordered that we warehouse all remaining potions until a state of emergency. People with preventable ailments are going to become ill, possibly even die now. All because you want to be a big man. As you know, most diseases are Magic-resistant. Which means healers like me can only do so much. You have endangered every man, woman, and child in this kingdom and I should let you die. But I took an oath to save everyone I could, even little shits like you." Aki shook his head sadly.

     "I had no idea. That's real bad doc. I never wanted this. I still don't; like I told the judge, I don't know why I want to steal your powers. Even right now I want to, with you sitting here. I need to find a way to fight this craving." His eyes began to sting and well up.

     "Well that answers my next question of whether or not I should even bother. It sounds like this little near-death experience has softened you up a little. Maybe you do deserve a second chance." Aki glanced up hopefully. "Nurse, please come in." The door opened quietly and a young woman entered wearing a tight white skirt that stopped at her knees, a thin white sweater over a crimson shirt and black hair tied in a bun on top of her head. She had pale skin and matching black eyes that sat behind moon rimmed glasses and deep red lipstick.

     "Well that's certainly not who I expected to be traveling with you," Aki snidely remarked.

     "Ha ha," the Doctor mocked. "Nurse, I need to inspect his blood; my bag please." She silently nodded handing him a dark ebony bag fashioned from dragon scales and a black leather handle. He dug around with his entire arm inside the bag until he finally retrieved a large needle-looking instrument that was as big as his forearm. It was light black with a grey tip and a large faded green crystal in the center chamber. He held it above a spot on Aki's left shoulder and plunged the tip into his skin forcing him to wince. He hovered his eye above the top and peered into the injection site. After a moment he sighed heavily and removed it placing his thumb over the small wound. When he pulled it away the puncture had healed. "Your blood looks like syrup," he said dismayed.

      "Rekes said that my blood would turn to sap and then I would turn into a plant," Aki sadly said.

     "Damn that's cold. He is an evil little genius," the Doctor responded crossing his arms.

     "Can you stop it?" Aki asked desperately.

     "I may have a way. I offer no guarantees that it will work, but it's your best bet." Aki lit up.

     "That's great!" he said optimistically. "How will you do it?"

     "By killing you."