Better not ask that last one. She’ll freeze like a frightened deer or think I’ve lost mywits.
Footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Evariste leaned his head against the glass pane of the mirror and watched when Liliane emerged from thedarkness.
His muscles tightened when he saw she didn’t carry her canvasses, but a black jewel.Notagain.
“Good day to you, Lord Enchanter Evariste!” Liliane cheerfullycalled.
Evariste stood and edged his way back as far as the grayness would allow. “Buggeroff.”
She smiled serenely. “Now, that is hardly a cordialgreeting.”
“Hardly cordial? Obviously I wasn’t trying hard enough. Please allow me to rephrase that: I hope you choke in your sleep and die,” Evaristegrowled.
“I know you’re testy because of this.” She held the black jewel—which was the size of a small apple—up for inspection. “But I’m afraid I must drain you regardless of your bad humor. One of my underlings is in need of your power to strengthen aspell.”
Evariste’s fingers twitched again. He was desperate enough that he tried to reach for his magic, but as always, there was only the numb embrace of his sealingspell.
Liliane and her minions frequently used Evariste as a power pack, draining him of his magic and using it to forge potent spells. Getting drained was a pain Evariste had never known before. And he recognized the black gems—Liliane had drained him months prior to charge up two similarjewels.
He clenched his jaw and sat down hard—as far away from the pane as he could get.I’m not going to give her the satisfaction of my pain.I can’t win much in this state, but in this Ican.
He took a deep breath as Liliane dragged a stool in front of the mirror and sat down. She sat primly with her feet tucked under the hem of her dress, her skirts pooling over the sides of thestool.
But sitting this near to her, Evariste saw the tightness around her eyes.Something happened. Something big—for she’s never shown signs of strain before.“One of your plans failed,” hesaid.
A corner of her mouth briefly twitched down, but it was the only sign Liliane gave that indicated just how right he was. “Your insults are going dull, Lord Enchanter, if that is the best youhave.”
Evariste chuckled as he leaned back on his hands. “It’s not an insult but rather an observation. Everything isn’t falling into place as you had planned. You’relosing.”
Liliane chuckled. “Hardly,” she said. “I can admit there have been a few hiccups, but nothing worth troubling ourselves over. We have much in store. Centuries of planning won’t be disturbed or ruined by a few lucky fights.” She made a show of settling in and sniffed alittle.
Evariste wasn’t fooled. He actually considered getting up and running around of the inside of the mirror,cheering.
Liliane may not be losing, but whatever is happening out there, it’s unsettling her. Which means there is great potential to damage her plans. That she called them lucky fights is even moretelling.
“Chin up, Enchanter Evariste,” Liliane said consolingly as she cradled the black gem in her hands. “It’s only one jewel this time—though I’m afraid I’ll require quite a lot of power for this one. Lightning, thunder, high winds, all cost much in power when done on such a large scale, even if it’s only to get thingsstarted.”
Evariste frowned. “What?”
“This will only take a few minutes,” Liliane said sweetly before she flicked her magic atEvariste.
She used a combination of her mint-green powers and foul black magic that oozed liketar.
Evariste shifted uncomfortably as the swirled mixture coated the glass that separated him from theoutside.
It oozed in around the edges and crawled towards him like a snake. He tried to kick it away, but it encased his foot and climbed up hisleg.
The pain wasunimaginable.
Even though Evariste was walled off from his magic, it still was a part of him, and it was getting dug out and sheered from his soul. For the spell forcefully drained his magic from him and used it to power whatever Liliane wascrafting.
It made his heart spasm and his lungs ache. His body shook from the pain, his vision blurred, and the unsteady thumps of his heart filled hisears.
He clenched his jaw, unwilling to release the roar of pain that clawed at his throat. The pain consumed him, ripping through his body with the savagery of asword.
The gray around him dimmed. Desperate, Evariste reached for the darkness and the comfort of unconsciousness. He retreated to his memories, retreated to a happier time andplace.
“And that was when—Evariste, are you even listening to me?” Emerys growled. Pookie, his black war unicorn, pawed at the ground and snortedred.
