Trust no one, Especially Witches - 2

Jason drifted back to consciousness gradually, his mind swimming through layers of fog. The first thing he registered was that he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet. His eyes flew open, panic surging through him as he realized he was suspended in mid-air, hovering several feet above a polished stone floor.

He was in a vast circular chamber with high, arched ceilings. Ancient symbols carved into the walls pulsed with faint blue light, casting eerie shadows across the smooth stone. Tall windows of stained glass depicted scenes he couldn't comprehend—beings with multiple limbs and eyes, landscapes of impossible geometry, stars arranged in patterns unknown to Earth's night sky.

Surrounding him in a perfect circle were thirteen women—no, not all women. Beings. Some had the pointed ears and ethereal beauty of the elf he'd encountered in the alley. Others bore markings that shifted across their skin like living tattoos. One had skin that seemed composed of flowing water contained in a humanoid form.

"He's awake," announced a familiar voice. The dark-haired woman—Morvenna—stepped forward. She had exchanged her black hoodie for elaborate robes of midnight blue, adorned with silver runes that occasionally sparked with tiny flashes of electricity.

The elf who had intervened in the alley stood beside her, now dressed in flowing green silks that seemed to whisper with each movement. "Jason Bennett," she said, her voice echoing strangely in the chamber. "I am Elyndra of the High Forest Court. You are in the Sacred Chamber of Covenant."

Jason tried to speak, but his throat felt parched. He swallowed hard. "Let me go," he finally managed, his voice hoarse and weak.

"Soon," promised Elyndra, though her eyes betrayed doubt. "First, we must extract what has been hidden within you."

"The Codex of Al'luckasyan chose you as its vessel," explained another figure, an elderly woman whose eyes glowed with inner light. 

"I don't understand," Jason croaked, struggling against invisible bonds. "I don't have anything!"

Morvenna approached, holding a crystal orb that pulsed with swirling energies. "Not consciously, no. But it is there, buried deep within your essence. The Codex is ancient knowledge, power that could reshape or destroy worlds. It was stolen from our sanctum years ago. We've been tracking its signature across the planes until it led us to you."

The thirteen formed a tighter circle around him, joining hands. The air in the chamber grew heavy, charged with potential.

"Begin the extraction," commanded a tall figure with skin like burnished copper.

They started to chant in a language that seemed to bypass Jason's ears and resonate directly in his mind. The symbols on the walls flared brighter, and threads of light—silver, gold, azure, emerald—extended from each of the thirteen, connecting to Jason's suspended form.

The first touch of their magic felt like ice water in his veins. Then came the burning.

"AAAAHHH!" Jason screamed as pain unlike anything he'd ever experienced tore through him. It felt like something was hooked into every cell of his body, pulling, stretching, and tearing at the fabric of his being. His back arched impossibly as the agony intensified.

"Something resists," muttered the water-skinned being. "The Codex has integrated too deeply."

"Continue," ordered Morvenna, her voice strained with effort. "Increase the pull."

The threads of light thickened, became ropes, and became pillars of energy piercing through Jason's body. He couldn't even scream anymore—the pain had transcended sound, transcended comprehension. Tears streamed from his eyes, evaporating in the heat of the energy surrounding him.

"I sense it," called Elyndra, her face tense with concentration. "Just beyond our reach. Push harder!"

The pain doubled, tripled, multiplied beyond mathematics. Every nerve ending in Jason's body was alight with torment. Images flashed before his eyes—pages of a book he'd never read, symbols he shouldn't understand, knowledge vast and terrible.

"It's killing him!" someone shouted, voice distant through the haze of agony.

"We must have the Codex!" Morvenna insisted. "Push through the resistance!"

The chamber began to tremble. Dust fell from the ancient ceiling. The stained glass windows rattled in their frames. At the centre of it all, Jason's body convulsed violently, his skin beginning to glow from within.

But it was too late. With one final, silent scream, Jason's consciousness fled from the unbearable pain. His body went limp in the air, head lolling forward, arms hanging loose at his sides.

The thirteen exchanged worried glances. The energy threads still connected them to the boy, but the extraction had halted.

"The codex, it isn't responding," said the elderly woman solemnly. They weren't worried that the child was no more. They barely noticed his pain and were only focused on the taking codex out of him.