Magic Weaver

Chapter Forty(v2)

Chapter Forty

Death Takes Its Last

            Cedric cried out in alarm, recoiling against reality as it hit him. Cedric’s eyes snapped open, and frantically took in its surroundings. Normally he would be overjoyed to be alive right now-he should be dead-but as he studied the wall around him, he knew he was in a worse place than hell. He was in the king’s throne room. He longed for death’s delicate fingers to take hold of his fragile life and squish it. He would do anything to be anywhere but here.

            Above him, a man was touching his back and shoulders, heat flaring from his fingers. Far from painful, it was actually comfortable. It seemed to help his wounds. Cedric sat up, abruptly, crying out automatically as he did so. The man, garbed completely in white, pushed Cedric back to the ground and continued treated him as though there was never an interruption. So, Cedric decided that the only thing to do was to sleep. Strangely, he still felt drained and tired. Cedric closed his eyes, ignored where he was, and eventually dosed off into a blissful rest.

            The next time he woke up, Cedric could sense that everything was different. There was an aura in that room, and Cedric could feel the king watch him with a patient stare. It was the stare of a spider, waiting for a fly to wiggle its web so that the spider can pounce. Part of him was reluctant to move, claiming that if he stayed as still as stone forever, he would avoid the unavoidable. But the rational side of his brain knew that wasn’t true.

            It was best just to get it over with. Cedric lifted his head, and shifted into a sitting position, his legs folded underneath him. What he saw made his skin crawl, his heart flare, and his teeth clench. Rafe (surely, the king) was on his throne, and in his lap, was Emily. An arm of Rafe’s was around her waist and his chin was resting on her shoulder. Emily was trembling in his grip.

            “Let her go you arrogant bastard.” Cedric snarled, standing. He wobbled, but overall he seemed to be in amazingly good shape.

            “Ah, I see you’ve recovered from your rather nasty spill. You have me to thank for that.” The king in Rafe’s body said casually. This voice was Rafe’s, since he was using Rafe’s vocal cords, but there was a slightly different accent to the words that the king used. “Do you know who I am?”

            Cedric spit on the ground. “You’re the man who’s leading this country into destruction, and a disgrace to real leaders like Shining King Henry.”

            The king laughed. “So you do know who I am. Very impressive; you catch on quickly.”

            “It was your eyes.” Cedric replied.

            The king smirked, and kissed Emily’s neck tenderly. Emily closed her eyes as tightly as she could, her shoulders clenched in a terrified manner.

            “Stop it.” Cedric warned him. Although he didn’t have his gun, his hands were unbound. The king must be confident that he could control Cedric. “Now.”

            The king looked over at him with Rafe’s dark impenetrable eyes. His mouth curled into a sadistic grin. “I can see why you like this one.” He teased Cedric, and kissed Emily’s collar bone. “She’s an exquisite creature.” He gave Cedric another alluring glance, and continued, “I may have to keep her for myself.” He nibbled on the lobe of Emily’s ear. A whimper escaped from Emily’s throat.

            “Stop it!” Cedric screamed, and he placed a hand against the wall behind him. An enormous pillar of rock shot out from the wall on Cedric side and extended to the opposite wall before it broke off. It nearly took off a side of the king’s head.