Beauty and the Magician (Tales of the Red Witch Book 1)

Chapter 38 - The showdown

Eben frowned at Demelza's back hoping she could feel the hate he radiated in her direction. She could send a thousand dragons at him, but attacking his home, kidnapping his friends and threatening Rose... well that had gone too far. He recited the spell he had prepared to pull Demelza into the chest in his head as they walked. He, of course, did not know what spell Skywark had used. He had been forced to patch something together moments before they left Other. It was a long string of words and now that he saw her, he thought it an impossible length. How had Skywark done it the first time? He knew he would have to act fast when the time came or else she would be able to retaliate and break away. He only hoped that the spell would work. He had not been able to practice it before hand and he knew he would likely only get one chance to try it.

Everything was stacked against him and yet, he could not fail in this. It was life or death for them in this moment.

The air was tense as they walked down to the dungeon. There was no reason to say more than they needed to. Instead he focused on the spell and his own powers burning beneath his skin.

They crossed the courtyard and approached a tunnel by the entrance to the kitchen that lead down underground. Eben should have figured Demelza would have put them there. Perhaps they should have tried to break them out first but he knew she would know if they had tried that. No it was better to try to sneak up on her and trap her first, not like that had worked either. She had known they were there. She had known they were coming. He wondered at what magic she had put in place to alert her of their presence and how far out from the castle she had cast it.

They reached the ancient stone room located below ground and past the castle's cellars. The room was not large. It was all cold rough stone and dark because of the lack of windows. A single torch burned on the wall in an ancient iron holder. An iron grate in the center of the floor lead to a drain reminding him of this room's dark past. There were three wooden doors on one side of the room, all with a small high window encased in iron bars.

"Toby?" Eben asked towards the doors, breaking the eerie silence. He just needed to know that he was alive. That he was not going to slaughter for nothing.

"I'm here. And you'll never-" Eben heard his apprentice say in his squeaky voice from the cell in the middle.

"Enough!" Demelza shouted cutting off the boy's words.

Eben ignored Demelza and instead observed a small smudgy hand waving from the small barred window. He let out a held breath. Toby was alive and sounded well despite the kidnapping. He would make it up to the boy, he promised himself. This was entirely his fault after all. Toby deserved so much better than to be caught up in the middle of his master's mistakes.

"Give it to me and you can have them." She said as she staked out a spot in the center of the room. Placing herself between them and her captives. She held out one nonchalant hand towards Rose.

"Let them go first. They have nothing to do with any of this. I have the box. It's me you want." Rose pulled the box to her chest and wrapped her small arms around it.

Demelza turned to her and stalked up to her. She was only a few inches taller than Rose but she seemed like she was feet above them all. The room began to spark and crackle.

Eben wanted to help her but he knew the plan, he had to get them out first. He silently stepped towards the cell and began the magic spell to unlock the doors. It was a complicated spell but one he knew well, he had always fought to break Skywark's locking spells. It had become a game between the two after a while. He recognized Demelza's spell immediately, she had learned it from Skywark.