The Price

Back in the red general's manor, silence pervaded the comely kitchen. Veretta, Tomas and Yona sat waiting at the table, each in their own contemplative reverie. The sun was setting through the window casting a humble orange light tinged with pink. Yet was as if the twilight had already snuck into the grand manor and rendered it in eerie repose.

Finally, the silence was broken as Ace returned to the kitchen.

"He's gone," he stated flatly, "my men have searched as far of the college but there's no sight of him,"

"What does that mean?" Tomas asked apprehensively, "he's run away?"

"No," Ace shook his head gravely as he took a seat at the table, "it means Silthus has taken him,"

Veretta's eyes widened in horror, "How can that be possible?! Isn't Michael is stronger than Silthus?"

"On his own, yes," Ace said thoughtfully, "but...he doesn't know about Cora,"

"Cora?" Veretta blinked in confusion.

"The green general in Silthus' army," Tomas answered by way of explanation, "but even that woman should be no match for the black wizard?"

"Cora has strange magic," Ace frowned, "under certain conditions, she can control others, but even then, her magic doesn't last forever. Michael will break out of it and then..."

"They'll kill him before that happens," Veretta let out an unhinged breath, "we have to go after them!"

"He's not dead," Ace said carefully, "I can sense it. And if he's not dead by now, that means Silthus must have some use for him. I just don't know how they're keeping his powers in check...unless..."

Suddenly Ace jumped up from the table and raced up to his office. A few moments later he reappeared and set down a tattered book on the table. He began to flick through it hastily till he arrived at a certain page. Upon it was an inscription pertaining to a metallic ring.

"This!" he breathed uneasily.

The others stared at it uncomprehendingly.

"What is it?" Tomas asked with uncertainty.

Ace inhaled deeply, "A long time ago, Michael created this metal ring. It had the power to seal demonic magic. Only, the reverse was also true. It must have survived somehow and Silthus got hold of it,"

"So, Michael can't use his magic?" Tomas concluded, "then he can't escape?"

Ace shook his head gravely. For a moment, he appeared lost in deep thought.

It was Veretta that broke the silence once more, "We have to save him!"

"It's a trap," Ace answered at once, "Silthus wants us to go there. He wants me to go there..."

"If we don't go there, Michael is going to die!" Veretta protested.

"I know," Ace said slowly, "but if we go there, we're just going to die too,"

With this Veretta grew quiet once more.

"What should we do then?" Tomas asked in the interlude.

"I don't know," Ace sighed, "I need to think,"

He disappeared upstairs once more and did not return. It was then Tomas realised a strange expression had come over Veretta. Her green eyes fluttered in deep concentration, almost painfully so.

"Are you alright?" he asked apprehensively.

"I...i'm fine," she said quietly, "I need to go lie down,"

Tomas gave a nod and watched her disappear as well. He rose as if about to follow, but Yona caught hold of his hand. He stared down surprised.

"What's wrong Yona?"

Yona didn't meet his gaze, "don't..don't go," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Tomas's brow creased and he looked at her with a pained expression, "I'm sorry," he said slowly, "I need to see if she's okay,"

"Do you love her, Tomas?" Yona finally met his gaze seriously.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Tomas' face, but still, he answered, "Honestly, I'm not sure. Maybe,"

"And me? How do you feel about me?" Yona asked quietly.

Tomas smiled sadly, "I like you, Yona. You know I do, but..."

"But you do not love me," Yona interceded, "not as you love her?"

"It's not that simple, Yona," Tomas shook his head mournfully, "Veretta and I have been friends for years. I can't just stop caring about her..." he started. With this, Yona released him and her eyes fell with a deadpan gaze.

"Then go, Tomas," Yona said flatly.

Tomas gave a dissatisfied frown but did as he was told. He set off after Veretta who had reached the upper room. He came to her door, then stopped. Was this really the right decision? He didn't know. All he could do was as his heart told him.

"Veretta, are you in there?" he called.

Veretta came to the door almost instantly, "Tomas, quickly I need to tell you something,"

She pulled him inside hastily and closed the door behind them. Her eyes were wide and slightly frantic as she paced the room.

"I'm going to go after Michael,"

"Veretta, no!" Tomas exclaimed, "It's too dangerous,"

"I know," Veretta returned quickly, "but what other choice do we have?! Silthus will kill him!"

"Veretta, he's already dead," Tomas answered gravely, "you are still alive. You can't risk your life to save him. Just give Ace time. He will think of a plan. He knows about these things better than either of us,"

"I don't trust him, Tomas!" Veretta argued, "don't you remember everything he did before? He's the reason why Errik is gone! He doesn't care about the black wizard. He's just using Michael to get what he wants,"

"That may be true, but I don't think he is a bad person, Veretta. He helped protect us from Silthus and he seems to genuinely care about Michael," Tomas countered, "at least wait to see what he says,"

"And if he decides not to help Michael?" Veretta asked quietly.

"Well, isn't it as Michael said? He's not Errik..." Tomas' voice trailed without resolution.

"And if there is a chance that he is?" Veretta met his gaze unwaveringly, "I...I know they are not the same, but every now and then I see something of Errik in Michael and if I let him die, then I may as well be letting Errik die as well,"

"Then...we will think of something," Tomas said with a sigh, "but not this. We just escaped this. We need to change how we solved these problems, Veretta,"

"That's why I'm telling you first this time, Tomas," Veretta answered, "I won't lie to you. I swear to you, I won't let you get hurt again,"

"I know," Tomas said with a sad expression, "but I don't want you to get hurt either,"

"I would be dead if not for Michael," Veretta entreated unwaveringly, "he may not be Errik, but I...I can't let anything happen to him. Not by Silthus. Not again,"

Tomas gave a sombre nod, "just wait, okay?"

"Okay."

*************

The next morning, everyone gathered in the kitchen. Ace was the last to arrive. As the others waited silently for him to speak, he sat down at the table.

"I don't think we should go after Michael," he said at length. His dark eyes were set with a look of quiet contemplation, "at least not yet,"

"You're going to leave him to die?" Veretta met his gaze with a blank expression.

"No," Ace said slowly, "I have a plan, but to do that plan I need your help,"

"What is that you need us to do?" Tomas asked apprehensively.

"Actually, it's Veretta who help I need from," Ace said in a subdued voice, "but..."

"But it requires some kind of sacrifice I suppose?" Veretta said flatly, "otherwise you would not hesitate to tell us,"

"It is because of how well I know the price that I am hesitant," Ace said gravely, "and it's a fate I would not wish on anyone,"

"What are you asking her to do?" Tomas interrogated.

"You have a talent for dark magic, Veretta," Ace replied categorically, "although the spell with Errik was not complete, the complexity of the magic required is not something an ordinary person could achieve. People have aptitudes for certain types of magic. I believe that yours lies in dark magic,"

"I don't understand," Veretta said quietly, "how will my dark magic help Michael?"

"You could use that magic to get a message to Michael, to free him even," Ace replied soberly, " I won't lie to you though. It could kill you, or worse. You could become something you don't even recognise,"

Tomas swallowed hard, "Like what?"

"There are dark things in this world," Ace replied with a forlorn expression, "there are gods of light and there are gods of terrible darkness. I encountered the latter. It had a purpose for me and lured me into the darkness through my magic and... I lost everything that I cared about. I'm not trying to scare you, but I just want you to understand the price for this kind of magic,"

"I know the price well," Veretta said in a low voice.

"I wonder about," Ace replied gravely, "they'll take your soul if you're not careful,"

"But you were able to recover," Tomas interjected, " you got your soul back?"

"Yes," Ace replied reticently, "but it took me years to get to where am I now,"

"If you got your soul back, why are you still a demon?" Veretta probed.

"Perhaps because...I couldn't handle the pain of being a human again," Ace replied with dark eyes.

"You make it sound like it's a choice?" Tomas's brow furrowed.

"In a way, maybe it is," Ace said in a small voice, "at least for me, it is. I chose to be like this so I would have the power to go after what I wanted,"

"But isn't this the same magic that almost killed Veretta last time?" Tomas hesitated.

Veretta swallowed uneasily, "Yes, it would be,"

"You said that creature pushed you off the tower time," Tomas stared at her in disbelief, "It obviously has no intention of helping you. You can't approach it again, Veretta! It's too dangerous,"

"Well, that creature...I think it was a god," Veretta expelled the words unsteadily, " maybe this time if I ask for help directly..."

"Veretta, it tried to kill you!" Tomas exclaimed.

"If that god wanted to kill Veretta she would be dead," Ace interceeded, "trust me. Not anyone can travel between the realms, dark magic or not. It wants something from you, Veretta. But in exchange, it could give you the power to help Michael,"

"After what you just said, I can't believe you're suggesting this!" Tomas slammed his hand against the table, "are you trying to get her killed?!"

"Tomas," Yona caught hold of him, "calm yourself,"

Tomas was about to have another outburst, but upon seeing Yona's expression, he became unusually subdued.

"I know how it sounds, but this is the only scenario I can think of where we don't all die," Ace said drily, "if you have a better idea..."

"No, I can do this," Veretta said resolutely.

"But Veretta the darkness..." Tomas began.

"I can handle the darkness," Veretta answered categorically, "the problem is you, Ace."