Soul: Book 1 (DISCONTINUED)

Jailbreak

Warden Ryan quickly inputted the four-letter word into the keypad. All cells on lockdown. Only authorized access may undo this command. A robotic voice said. Ryan crouched on the floor against the corner, his heart beating against his chest as he watched the sorcerer slowly walk towards the stairs. He seemed to be moving as though in a trance. The bat-hybrid could hear the rest of the prisoners begging him to free them, but fortunately, the sorcerer simply walked past them. Although, Ryan had to admit that he did feel a little sorry for them...

No. A little voice said in the back of his mind. They're just scientific experiments and are a danger to the rest of society. You have get that in your head. Remember what happened the last time you-

Ryan quickly dismissed the voice and concentrated at the task at hand. He pulled out his taser and carefully aimed it at the sorcerer. His finger hovered over the trigger, ready to fire, when the escapee suddenly turned his head to glare at him. Ryan's blue eyes widened in horror as the sorcerer smiled and raised his glowing hands. The bat-hybrid quickly spread his wings and took the air as the ball of energy sailed underneath him and exploded, forming a giant crater in the ground. The prisoners on the first floor started to panic; he could hear them screaming and trying to break their doors down.

Ryan cursed under his breath and barely managed to dodge several of Seto's next attacks as he flew onto the balcony in front of the broken cell. He quickly fired his taser, but Seto deflected the projectile by launching a spell in return. Ryan ducked and the wall behind him was blasted to bits. The force of the explosion made Ryan fall on his stomach, and there was an audible crunching sound as a stone block landed on his left wing, pinning it down.

Pain shot through Ryan's body as he cried out, rapidly blinking away the tears welling in his eyes. He tried in vain to push the heavy block off of his wing, but only succeeded in making it hurt even more. Ryan looked around wildly for his taser and found it lying on the floor just a few feet in front of him. His fingers were mere inches away from touching the taser, but the base of his wing began to tear, forcing him to stop. The sight of his own blood on the floor sickened him.

Seto approached him with a slowness that reminded Ryan of a cat stalking a mouse. Only now the cat was closing in for the kill, and it meant to torment its helpless prey before putting it out of its misery. Seto was clearly taking dark pleasure in Ryan's growing desperation, for the bat-hybrid could hear him laughing mirthlessly under his breath. The sorcerer formed several water whips with his magic and held them in the air, poised to strike. Ryan pulled out his enchanted diamond sword and held it in front of him. "You don't have to do this, Seto." he said shakily, his voice an octave higher than usual. "Please don't..."

At that moment, the bacca his father had been torturing let out a terrified shriek. The sorcerer paused and Ryan held his breath. Something flashed across Seto's face as he shifted his stone-cold gaze from the warden to the hallway below. With slow, teetering steps, Seto let the water whips fall to the floor as he turned around and walked away from Ryan.

The injured bat-hybrid slumped to the floor, in too much agony to feel relieved. His vision swirled around him and he took several ragged breaths as he shut his blue eyes tightly. Ryan tried to block out the pain in his crushed wing, which had increased tenfold. His head pounded intensely and against his will, he passed out.

---

Seto's unsteady gait was similar to that of a drunken man's as he walked through the hallway. He seemed ready to topple over at any given moment, which Dr. McNulty supposed was true. If a sorcerer loses control of his powers, he essentially becomes a ticking time bomb. The doctor had no idea when Seto's aura would burn out, but he hoped that it would happen before he reached the interrogation room.