10.
Cedric had refused a carriage, but now he was regretting the decision. But really, it was a good thing. He would never have been able to wait outside the tower for the appointed time. No, walking was better. The cult had planned for it that way. The question was, how did they know about him and Sofia? What did they know? Why they wanted him to come alone was obvious, one sorcerer against a cult of black magic practitioners was hardly a fair fight. He gingerly touched his arm where a scar could always remind him of that.
He couldn't fight the questions, but he couldn't answer them either. He kept moving until he grew so tired he had to sleep, and then he would only doze in a simple sleeping bag under the stars. He forced himself to eat, but everything tasted like sand.
Guilt was gnawing at him. He had brought the book, but he didn't want to give it up, not even for her. Despite his earlier promise he wanted the book for himself, which made him sick. He had been able to fool himself before, but that was while the text was in his possession. But, what he wanted didn't matter. He would hand over the book and save his librarian, there were no other choices.
#
Two nights passed, and he knew the next night was the full moon. He could see the tower in the distance. A tall dilapidated stone structure with hardly a roof left stuck out awkwardly among the trees. Its outer walls draped with weeds and ivy. He was so close. He stopped and nibbled at the hard loaf of bread he had brought along with him. The book was a heavy weight in his small pack, and he removed it. The text was open before he could think twice and he began to page through it. Without his translation materials there wasn't much he could learn from it, but he was able to pick out a few things from what he knew and with contextual clues.
There were a few spells that caught his eye and he felt anxious about never knowing what exactly they were. The temptation to stop and try to work some of them out shocked him, he had to bring the text to trade for Sofia. And he would trade it for her if it came down to that, wouldn't he? He shook his head, and continued walking. His legs were sore, his feet ached, and his robe was quite tattered.
He would trade it for her. He repeated the thought until he fully believed it. Until he couldn't remember what had even caused the doubt to begin with. But then he remembered the way the king had looked at him, spoken to him after the monster had fled. Why hadn't he been able to stop it? The blame had escaped him then, but now he felt it fully without distraction. No one in that room thought he was capable of protecting the kingdom, and maybe that was why he spent all his time preforming magic shows for children.
Cedric sneered then, and found that he was almost able to hear the roar of criticism that had been in their thoughts. Of course, he knew that the spells he had attempted hadn't worked properly because he was still so unfamiliar with dark magic. It was just like that burn on his arm, he had spent so long trying to heal it when all along he had only needed a counter-curse. In truth he was fortunate that Sofia had thought to suggest it.
The sun was falling, he would arrive at the tower in the morning if he stopped to camp now. He clenched his jaw and tried to clear his mind. He needed a plan. He needed a way to save Sofia and keep the book for himself.
#
The door opened, and Sofia lifted her head to view her captors. They had decided not to take any further precautions and had shackled her wrists together. The chains connecting her wrists were then fixed to the wall of her cell that was furthest from the door.
They stopped bringing her food, and she felt weak with hunger. But they continued to bring her water, and one of the pair of hooded figures held a cup meant for her. She watched them set it just within her reach, but instead of leaving her they stood and watched. She glared back at them. Eventually she gave in and reached for water. It smelled clean and looked clean as far as she could tell, but her throat was so dry it hardly mattered. She scooped it up and took an experimental sip. They continued to watch her, so she downed the rest of the glass and threw it at them. They flinched, but still just stood there.
"If you're planning to free me, go right ahead," she snapped.
They didn't speak, but one moved forward. She braced herself, if they were foolish enough to come closer she could try to gain some kind of upper-hand. Even if she was weak with hunger and exhaustion, she would try.
"Wait," a feminine voice said, it came from the cultist still at the door. She muttered some words and then Sofia found herself frozen again. She watched with growing rage as the other cultist was able to unlock her restraints from the wall and then pick her up and carry her out the door. Her wrists were still bound, but if she hadn't been magically frozen she could have fought them off. Probably. She would have tried anyway. The sun had started to stream in through the windows, cracks and holes. This meant it was already morning. Were they plotting to sacrifice her to some crazy god or something? Why were they moving her? She doubted it was to free her as she had sarcastically suggested.
She eventually found herself bound to another set of chains in the main room, directly across from the door. The chains allowed her to walk a few steps from the wall, but that was about it.
The cultists, there were almost a dozen of them, were pacing about and whispering amongst themselves. Something was happening, and whatever it was it couldn't be good. She watched them prepare symbols on the walls and floor. They used chalk, blood, and paint. It made her shiver, but she tried to hide it. Sofia couldn't endure the thought that they would know how it disturbed her. It would be like giving them what they wanted, and that was the last thing she would do willingly.
She looked down at the floor, and bit her lip. They ignored her, and she wasn't sure why they had brought her down here to begin with. Then she heard a familiar voice and it all made sense. Cedric stood in the doorway. Her heart soared. For the first time in days she smiled. Despite what it meant for him to be here, she was overjoyed.
"I assume you were expecting me?" he said stiffly. He briefly glanced at her, but then looked away. She must look like a total mess, and wanted to laugh at herself for suddenly feeling so vain.
"Yes," they said, almost in unison. The cultists had all stopped what they were doing to face the sorcerer.
"I won't give you the book," he said harshly. He still avoided her eyes, and she felt both joy and sorrow at his proclamation. She reminded herself that she didn't want him to give it to them, it was too much power.
"Don't be so impetuous, you haven't even heard what we have to say." One of the cultists had spoken, the figure stepped forward. The voice sounded feminine, but unfamiliar. She had an unusual accent.
"Why should I listen to anything you people have to say?" he snapped. Sofia felt a sense of dread sink into the pit of her stomach.
"Because, we know all about you. The bumbling sorcerer who is stuck living in his father's grand shadow. You can't tell us that the opportunity to stand out against such disrespect doesn't appeal to you?"
Sofia watched Cedric's features grow hard. She knew how much those things bothered him, but he couldn't possibly be tempted by anything they offered him. She had expected them only to demand the book back, but now they seemed to want more. She remembered hearing the cultists argue before, and it all made sense. They were planning to offer him a place among them.
"I can't accept such an outrageous offer!" Cedric said. She felt herself relax, but she couldn't help but catch the can't as opposed to wont. His face was quite pale, but he stood quite bravely.
"You are a perfect candidate for our order, aren't you curious about what we do? About what we can do?" the feminine voice continued to speak for all of them. The other cultists around her stayed still and quiet.
"Of course I'm curious," he admitted, "but I won't let you hurt Sofia."
Sofia found herself shaking her head, but he still wouldn't look at her. She bit her lip to keep from crying out and begging him to leave. He was curious, he had always been curious. Still, she couldn't just stand there and let him be seduced by the cult.
"We will happily let the librarian go, but then you should stay. We can show you the other six texts, we have them. We've been collecting them for years."
"The other texts?" Cedric echoed. His face relaxed somewhat then, and he glanced off as if thinking.
"Don't listen to-" Sofia started to shout, but another spell was cast and her mouth fell silent. She could move it, but no sound came out. She continued to silently shout at Cedric, hoping he would understand. Don't listen to them. Don't give them the book. And especially, don't join them.
"Yes, we only lack one book, and I believe that is in your possession?" she asked, and he nodded. "Stay with us, Cedric. We can show you the other texts. We can teach you magic beyond your understanding."
"I can't join you…" Cedric hissed, he held up his wand, and in return the other cultists showed their wands. No spells were cast.
"Yes, you can. Cedric, Enchancia doesn't appreciate you. We would appreciate you, we recognize your talent. You tried one of the spells from the book, didn't you?"
Sofia felt helpless, she struggled against the chains and continued to shout silently. She wanted to tell him that she appreciated him, she knew he was talented, she loved him.
And the word sank in and she knew it was true. She hadn't spoken it, or thought it before, but now that she had she knew it was genuine. And she couldn't even tell him. Tears began to form and she blinked them away. Why wouldn't he look at her?
"Well, yes, but-" Cedric took a step back, his shoulders fell slightly.
"And it worked didn't it?" the cultist took a step towards him.
Cedric opened his mouth, but then closed it. He reached into his robe and then pulled out the vial. He looked at it curiously. Sofia watched as a small smile tugged at his lips. She remembered the joy he had shown when the spell had worked. And she remembered how reluctant he had been to promise her to stop. But in the end he had promised her. He couldn't break the promise he had made to her, could he?
"It did," he said slowly.
"Then you belong with us, Cedric. Do you think those spells are easy? Only a few sorcerers can manage even the simplest spell within that text. But you succeeded after only one attempt. Don't you want to force everyone who ever doubted you, whoever laughed at you, to realize just what you were capable of all along?" the cultist asked.
He looked at Sofia then, and she felt the world stop. She told him she loved him, told him that she believed he was a great sorcerer, told him that she knew he could do anything, but the words died in her throat. She moved her lips but nothing came out because of that damn spell. But, he had to know. He had to sense it from her at the very least. She tried to communicate everything with her eyes, and tried to stop trembling. She held her breath, waiting.
He tore his gaze away and looked at the cultist who had been speaking to him. He straightened his posture and took a few steps into the room, one hand clutching his wand and the other the small vial. Finally, he spoke.
"You're right." He said it so easily. "Let her go," he waved a hand at her, but kept his eyes on the cult leader. "And I'll stay." He placed the vial back within his robes and pulled the forbidden text out. "I want to know more."
Sofia's breath caught and suddenly she found herself falling forward to her knees. The chains were gone. She ran to Cedric, and grabbed his arm, looking up into his eyes and hoping the silencing spell was also removed.
"Cedric?" her voice squeaked. So she could speak again. "Don't do this."
He took her hands, and said quietly, "Sofia, go."
"No! I won't leave without you!" She stomped her foot, and decided she would drag him out of here if she had to!
"I'm staying." He looked down at her, frowning.
"Please, Cedric." she reached up and gently touched his cheek. "I love you."
He pulled away and shook his head. She was suddenly surrounded by black smoke, and when it cleared she found herself standing right outside the castle. Alone.
~To be continued...
Sorry for how rough this is, I feel like I've been writing nothing but crap lately! So i'll be taking a brief break. Not sure If I should continue this here or create a "Librarian 2" or something? Anyway I hope you enjoyed. I would like to see them have a happy ending but I can't seem to get to it! Thank you for all the reviews and follows! :) You guys are great! sorry i've been making you wait and then some of the chapters were bleh.