Magus {Complete}

1

He woke to the hum of several voices. It was cold against his back, a hardness that wasn't right. It brought him out of the haze just enough to realize that he was surrounded by several hooded and cloaked figures. The words they were speaking didn't register in his foggy mind. They were too guttural to even attempt to understand anyway. His confusion spiked to fear as he tried to reach up with one of his hands. A sharp breath filled his chest as he looked to see his body bound to a large gray rock. It was the source of the hard, cold feeling beneath him.

Glowing against the gloom were symbols carved into the rock. They were pale blue in color and pulsing. The air seemed too heavy to take in. A crushing weight was taking over and he groaned in pain. Tilting his head back, he stared up at the ceiling. The rock walls said he was underground somewhere. Probably beneath an old house. A place where no one would think to go snooping around, like an ancient neighborhood that was too spooky to adventure through, but the thrill of doing so was always there.

The thrill, though, wasn't what filled him. Terror gripped his heart as he lay there, feeling an odd pressure against his skull. It was like someone was trying to get in, a soft voice just starting to edge into his conscious. It was sickening and his stomach twisted so violently that he gaged. The pain increased the longer he fought the increasing pressure. It had him arching on the stone as far as his body was allowed with the leather restraints. Nails bit into the soft skin of his palms.

A cry hit the air, short and strangled. He struggled against his bonds, twisting and yanking. There was no logic to what was going on, he was confused and terrified. All he knew was that he needed to get away. Far away. Something dangerous was trying to poke at him, a darkness that wasn't natural. Tears burned in his eyes, his jaw pulsing as he ground his teeth so hard he thought he'd break a few of them. A pitiful whimper fled from his lips just as something began to glow up overhead.

Above them a swirling tempest grew. The pretty blue and purple colors mixed together. It looked like storm cloud bubbling and writhing as they twisted and clashed together. From its center a hand pushed through as if trying to tear at a thin film. Once it broke free, the rest of the body fell from the strange pool of color. He landed on the stone slab, straddling the young man who was still fighting off the painful pushes of a dark presence that threatened to tear him apart.

A wild grin spread over the stranger's lips. His long trench coat splayed out behind him. Underneath it he wore a black shirt with leather straps crisscrossing over his chest and black gloves to match. His boots were tall, reaching just under his knees with the glitter of silver handles that told of knives strapped to each leg. The humming slowly ebbed away and the youth strapped to the stone altar fell still, panting heavily from the ordeal.

"My timing is impeccable," the stranger mused in a thick accent.

"Warlock!" One of the hooded figures shouted. He sounded fearful despite the way he snarled the word.

"Ooh, you're good."

The warlock stood with a flourish, his grin wider and far more deadly. His voice was sweet compared to the low hum that had filled the room just minutes before. The language was foreign, but fluid. He spoke it quickly and swept his hand out in front of him. Three of the figures were thrown off their feet and slammed into the rock wall behind them. Changing position, he stepped carefully over the young captive and made another flourishing gesture. That time he spoke two words and from the darkness, a brilliant light flooded the room. The orange fire sparked and crackled as it simply materialized from the corner of the room. It stood tall and resembled that of a wolf. It opened its maw and let out a rumbling growl that vibrated the stone around them.