Black Magic

Trust Me

Chapter 31: Trust Me

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When Tao arrived in the year 611 A.C., it was easy enough for him to find the girl in the purple. He stepped into the School of Magic just as the sun was sinking toward the horizon, and he caught the flick of the girl's brightly colored cloak from the corner of his eye as she darted down the hallways toward the entrance of the Catacombs. He hung back in the shadows and followed after her.

When she reached the entrance, Tao let her disappear downwards, knowing it was only a matter of time before she came back to the surface in possession of the thing he was after. He exhaled slowly, rolled his shoulders out, and then leaned against the opposite wall to wait.

It took maybe around 20 minutes before he could detect the sound of her light footsteps approaching the doorway again. Tao glanced around the empty hallway, released a heavy breath as he prepared himself for what he had to do. He was honestly quite surprised that the girl didn't have her friends with her. He'd expected to have to deal with more than one person, but maybe they were waiting to meet with her somewhere else. Regardless, there would be no witnesses, which would work in his favor.

When she reached the doorway, Tao was ready for her.

She stepped through, and Tao slid behind the girl, bracketing a strong forearm across her throat, the other grabbing her hands and pulling them tight behind her back. Tao had expected her to buck against him, writhe and struggle, but she did none of those things. Instead she just exhaled heavily, throat working to swallow against Tao's firm grip.

"I know what you're after," she managed to croak. Tao jerked in surprise and loosened his grip enough to let her speak comfortably. "You're that collared slave boy," she continued, "and you're going to try and steal the Air Heartstone from me."

Tao considered what he knew of this girl in the purple cloak and took a wild guess. "Can you see the future?"

"Just bits and pieces."

"Then you must also know that I'm going to be successful, right?"

"That, I'm not so sure about."

She stiffened in his arms as he shuffled them closer to the wall, braced her against it so that he could free his arm from around her neck and pat at her pockets instead. The left side of her robe was heavy against her thigh, and Tao wasted no time in slipping his hand into her pocket to grab the object that was weighing it down.

The Air Heartstone was small enough to fit into the cup of his palm, clear as glass, emitting a gentle white glow from within. It was beautiful, and for a second, the only thing Tao could do was stare.

"Allow me to ask just one question though," the girl huffed, her face pressed against the wall. "Why do you want the Heartstone?"

And Tao could only exhale a quick breath of laughter behind her. "I don't want it. But this is how it is supposed to happen, so..." Tao paused. "Why do you want the Air Heartstone? You're planning to secretly move it, aren't you?"

"I only want the stones to be with the factions with which they belong. Peace and stability should be spread across the land like a net, not sequestered away in one city like a useless harpoon. The Heartstones belong to the dragon factions, not the School of Magic."

It was a nice thought, an idealistic dream...one that wouldn't happen anytime soon. Not with what Tao was about to do.

Remember, don't think too much about it. Don't stutter, don't hesitate. It has already happened, Tao, and regardless of what you may believe, it's for the greater good.