Touching the Darkness

The potion only lasted an hour. Running all the way from here to Old Town could take half that time.

Jess climbed slopes, hurried up stairs, crossed canals, and followed one twisting alley after another. By the time he reached Old Town's gate, he felt ready to drop.

It was already dark before he finally had a chance to read the note.

"Across from Limited Immunity. Second floor, door on the left."

He wandered around for another ten minutes or so before finding the shop called Limited Immunity. With the sun down, even reading the signs was difficult.

Across the street stood an ordinary-looking little building. Jess didn't have a watch, so he could only guess how much time he had left.

When the potion began wearing off, his face would feel hot and his eyes would start watering. Those signs meant less than twenty minutes of protection remained.

He hadn't felt anything like that yet. There was still time.

He climbed to the second floor and went to the door on the left. Light shone through a window on the other side. Someone was inside.

Jess knocked. With his potion running out, he was far too anxious to bother with manners.

"Surena, open up! It's Jess Seso. Remember me? A week ago—"

Before he could finish, the door flew open. A middle-aged man stood in the doorway.

He was wearing long underwear and a white undershirt. The anger he was barely holding back made him look at Jess as though he were a sworn enemy.

He turned his head toward the room. "Surena Caledon, who is this?"

"How should I know?"

Surena came to the door clutching a nightgown over her bare upper body. She glanced at Jess. "Just some kid who lets us practice spells on him for money."

"Really?" the man asked coldly.

"Gakin... darling, you don't trust me?" Surena leaned against him and ran her fingers gently over his lower stomach. She didn't even have a free hand to hold up her nightgown anymore. It slipped down, exposing part of her dark chest. Jess awkwardly lowered his head.

"What would I want with some shy little boy? You think I'd betray you for an inexperienced kid? Gakin, you're the most powerful of us. Only you can lead us down the right path. I know that better than anyone."

She turned sharply toward Jess. "Get out of here if you know what's good for you. I don't know what you're doing here this late."

Jess was already furious. His potion was about to run out, and now these two were talking about him like that. Before he could say anything, the man called Gakin suddenly spoke.

"Wait, kid. You want money, right? I've got a new spell I need to test. Help me see what it does and I'll give you these two silver coins."

He let out a nasty little laugh.

Jess knew the man was planning to hit him hard. Gakin had clearly decided Jess was having an affair with Surena and wanted to teach him a lesson.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Even if that wasn't the case, it would serve as a warning to her.

Then Jess finally remembered who these people were.

In the game, Gakin was one of the leaders of the warlocks hiding beneath the Slaughtered Lamb, though he looked much older there.

Surena Caledon was both his student and his secret lover. In the end, though, she ran away with a petty thief and took a valuable bloodstone necklace with her.

In the game, Gakin would send warlock players to a farm to kill Surena and her lover and bring back the bloodstone necklace.

The poor bastard had been getting cheated on for years. It had started more than ten years before the game, and he still hadn't figured it out?

Since Jess had already taken a Shadow Protection Potion, he couldn't let it go to waste. If this warlock wanted to hit him with something powerful, all the better. If Jess was going to learn a spell from these people, he might as well learn their strongest one.

"Let's go outside," Gakin said. "Wouldn't want the little brat thinking I'm going to kill him."

"Aren't you afraid someone will see?" Surena hesitated.

"You come too," Gakin told her. "Watch what my new spell does to your little sweetheart."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Surena was shaking with anger. She glared at Jess, then went back inside to change.

Gakin threw on a shirt and walked out without waiting for her, heading straight downstairs.

All three of them ended up in the street. There weren't many people around: a few passersby and some workers drinking outside a building farther away.

Jess looked serious. He was worried that Gakin's spell would be stronger than he'd expected and burn through the potion's protection too quickly.

Gakin laughed. "You really are a coward. I'm not about to get myself charged with murder over this. Just get ready."

"Hurry up and quit talking," Jess said. "And don't forget the two silver."

"As you wish." Gakin stopped smiling. He had no staff or other tool for casting. He simply made a small gesture with his hand and muttered a short incantation.

It was brief, but Jess caught it clearly. Something like... Fuaiket.

He repeated the word under his breath again and again so he wouldn't forget it. At the same time, he watched Gakin carefully and paid attention to any pain or injury he might feel.

Before long, he began to feel restless. Looking at Gakin's confident face, he found himself worrying more and more that the man would kill him.

Jess glanced back toward the men drinking on the corner. He made sure they could see what was happening. If the spell became too much to bear, he was ready to run to them for help.

But he soon realized that no matter how much he'd prepared, he couldn't calm down.

His palms were soaked with sweat. Yet there was no pain, no faintness, and no nausea.

Had the spell worked? Why was he so nervous?

The sounds around him seemed to fade away. He kept whispering Fuaiket, Fuaiket... He was afraid he'd forget the word, afraid he'd made this trip for nothing, afraid he'd waste his Shadow Protection Potion.

Then his face grew hot and red. His eyes watered. He remembered those signs: the potion was about to wear off.

He began to fear that as soon as the potion failed, the spell would hit him all at once. He had no idea how much shadow energy the potion had already absorbed.

Slowly, Jess realized that he was afraid of everything he could possibly think of, for no reason at all. What was happening?

Fuaiket... Fuaiket...

At that moment, Gakin's confident expression froze.

He muttered something that caught Jess's attention. Jess watched him take several steps backward. Then, for no clear reason, his whole body began to shake.

Surena noticed. She ran over and grabbed his arm.

"Gakin, darling, what's wrong?"

"No..." Gakin mumbled. "No... I don't want to be here. I... no!"

Suddenly he lost control and screamed. He burst into tears and ran off down the street. The front of his pants was soaked. Had he... wet himself?

Surena went pale with fright. She shot Jess a furious look and shouted, "If anything happens to him, you'll pay for it, you little bastard!"

Then she ran after Gakin. The men drinking nearby looked over curiously, but only for a moment before returning to their conversation.

Jess was left standing alone. He thought he finally understood what had happened.

Gakin had cast Fear. Without the Shadow Protection Potion, Jess would probably have been the one running around in terror.

He would have made a complete fool of himself in the street. If Jess really had been involved with Surena, Gakin would have gotten exactly the public humiliation he wanted.

Jess had no idea how he'd managed to use shadow power to cast the same spell himself. But whatever the reason, he'd just succeeded at his very first spell.

He was so excited he could hardly contain himself. Still, something felt missing, keeping him from enjoying the moment completely.

Oh, right. The money.

He looked toward the end of the alley. Both of them were long gone. So much for those two silver coins.