Liliana woke to a feeling of lethargy and weakness. The inability to move her limbs left her panicking, the surrounding darkness adding to her fears. Feeling the ropes against her skin, she called out to her friends in subdued whispers. "Max! Amy!"
"I'm here. Amy's right next to you, though still unconscious." Max answered, his heightened senses unhindered. A body tempered by mana and the ability to control the air was the combination that had allowed him to find Liliana and Amy's sleeping figures soon after he had awoken. With a rough layout of the room in mind, he could feel that they were the only ones present.
"Ugh!" Amy groaned as she came to.
"Amy!"
"Ow! What is it? Stop screaming into my ears!" Amy complained in response to Liliana's exclamation. "Where are we?" She asked without a shred of fear or panic.
"Don't know. I can't see a thing... I'm pretty sure my wand's missing too."
"Understandable. That's the first thing I would do if I kidnapped mages."
"You're unusually calm." Max suddenly said, surprised. Under the circumstances, her mental fortitude was nothing to scoff at. After all, she was still just a fifteen year old.
"Well, this isn't my first rodeo. A Duke has his share of enemies and some of them are dumb enough to pull stunts like this." Amy replied with a sigh, "I'm sorry guys. It's my fault you were dragged into this."
"What are you talking about?" Liliana interjected as she struggled to turn and face Amy. "This has nothing to do with fault. Besides it's not my first time either."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Well -"
"Excellent! You're awake!" A sinister voice echoed through the room accompanied by the lights which illuminated its layout.
The masked man stood before the only door in the room. Their hands tied to three tall metallic rods, the three confirmed what Max had already suspected - that they were in a small warehouse with a lower than average roof. Stacks of wooden boxes lined close to the warehouse's walls, hiding any possible windows.
Amid the crates lay twelve coffins. Six placed on one side of the man and six more on the other.
Amy bit her lips and asked with a firm voice, "Who are you? What do you want?"
"The Phantom..." Max muttered as he involuntarily narrowed his eyes. Looking at the coffins, Max remembered the Phantom's victim count. It was exactly the same as the number of caskets.
"Yes, I do believe I've been called that." The Phantom confirmed Max's suspicion. "As for what I want -" Pausing, he leisurely walked past Amy and stood beside Liliana. "This girl will do quite nicely."
"What?!" Shocked, Amy couldn't help but yell out. Since the moment she had come to, she had convinced herself that she had been the intended target. Not once had she ever consider another possibility.
"If that were true, you would have left the two of us back in that alley." Max said, attempting to keep the conversation going in the hopes of discerning the man's intentions. "Besides, you just kidnapped a Duke's daughter. Do you really want a bigger target on your back?" This felt nothing like the meticulous criminal he had read about in the reports. The kidnapping felt rushed and unplanned.
"Let's just say that I'm tired and want to go out with a bang." The Phantom answered with a laugh. "But you're right. You and Miss Walker are here for a very important reason. You'll find out soon enough."
Pulling out a dagger, he walked towards Max. The spring in his steps, the joy in his palms as he played with the knife, the man was enjoying every second.
YOU ARE READING
The Envoy of Darkness
Fantasy"Everyone loves a good fantasy, but my life was turned upside down by one." What would you do if you had the ability to control the air? How about if you were suddenly brought to a world where, despite your powers, you're at the bottom of the food c...
