Chapter Eight

Revealing the Big Secret

VALLOKEN

Frankly, Val was surprised that they had been allowed to live. What he wasn't so happy about was the fact that his entire kingdom and home had just been invaded by the Southern Isles. He was still reeling from what he'd seen just minutes ago. General Laskar Bjorn had used some kind of sorcery against the Valquerson Rifles and killed Colonel Torrein!

Though his sister had seemed taken aback as well, it was almost as if she had been shocked by something else entirely. Talya had called Bjorn a "Blood Mage". What the hell is a Blood Mage? Val had so many questions that needed answering. What else did Talya know that she had been keeping secret? Could she have known this was going to happen?

Slowly, Val found his shock being replaced by bafflement and indignation as the Southern Isles commandos hauled him, his sister and Prime Minister Johan away. He thought of putting up a fight, then realised it would be futile. Between him, his sister and Johan, none of them had the strength to escape unharmed. Johan was a tired old man, his sister was…well, what could she do? And as of himself, Val had to admit he wasn't much good apart from technology and science. Sure, he was a decent sprinter but how far could he possibly get now that his entire kingdom was overrun by invaders?

While Johan seemed rather flabbergasted and pale-faced as he was taken away to be held captive somewhere else, Val had to give his sister credit. She'd reacted to the whole situation rather well, and was going along quietly with the soldiers. Talya's features were troubled and Val noticed that she had a faraway look in her eyes as though she were deep in thought, contemplating her next move. When one of the soldiers pushed her a little too roughly, Val had to bite back a shout of anger. He had to remind himself that they were in enemy hands now, and they weren't going to treat their prisoners like the royalty they were.

The ancient dungeons below the palace that had been used centuries ago had been converted into a more modern like prison with holding cells. At some point of time during the last two hundred years, someone had decided that it would be a good idea to fortify this part of the palace and turn it into a more secure facility to house criminals and offenders before having them officially incarcerated in Stillcreek Prison on the other side of the kingdom. Val's mind went to work the moment they descended into the depths of the dungeon. His eyes flicked about, surveying his surroundings. Never had he been down here before, and he was now seeing that this place had been modernised all right.

The holding cells which were spread out over a huge room were furnished with strong, stainless steel bars that were thick and spaced apart at long intervals. The cells themselves were etched deep into the ground, and there was nothing but miles of solid rock beneath them so escaping further underground was out of the question. Closed-circuit television cameras were embedded in almost every nook and cranny in the walls, and there was even a world-class laser security turnstile which blocked out the way they'd come, making escape impossible. The doors to the cells were impenetrable as well. Instead of the traditional sliding bolt and lock that had been used in times past, security was entirely digital, built and guarded based on biometrics.

The prison, for some reason, hadn't been used for a while it seemed, for they were the only ones in it now. Apparently the Southern Isles' natives had no qualms about using an enemy prison as their own. Talya and himself were roughly shoved into a cell together, and one of the commandos used his fingerprint and voice to lock the cell. Val watched silently as the soldiers who had escorted them left promptly, talking and laughing as though carrying out an invasion was nothing more than another day's occurrence to them. He narrowed his eyes. Now what?

TALYA

Nursing her forearm where one of the commandos had roughly gripped her, she watched as the invaders left the prison to return back to the surface. The laser slid back into place over the entrance of the prison as they left, leaving her and Val trapped in the prison all by themselves. Talya turned to Val, who'd been silent the whole time.

"Any ideas?" Talya asked.

Val glanced at her. "What?"

So still a little hostile. Okay. Talya swallowed. "Any idea how we're going to get out of here?"

"How would I know?"

"I don't know, you're the tech guy."

Val seemed to be rather annoyed at that, and he sat down in the corner of the cell where two walls met. "Does it look like I have any of my stuff with me? I can't get us out of here without them."

Talya blinked. "So you're saying you can't hack our way out of here?"

He didn't even dignify her with a response apart from the mere shake of his head. Chuckling, he looked up at her. "You can sit down, you know. We're going to be here for a while."

Resigning to the fact, Talya lowered herself down to the stony ground. She was vexed that there was no furniture at all. No bed, no table, nothing except a sink and a toilet bowl. The floor was dusty, but she settled down opposite Val, immediately sullying her hands and the seat of her dark green dress. Not that it mattered anymore anyway.

"That's more like it, Your Majesty." Val said with a dry chuckle as he began cleaning his spectacles. "Get used to it."

"We're not going to stay here." Talya said firmly, dusting her hands on her dress. "We're going to find a way out of here."

Val looked amused, popping his spectacles back on. "Well, unless you know something I don't, I'd wager we'll be here till Bjorn comes to get us." He leaned forward slightly. "And I'm sure you know more than you've been letting on."

Talya's heart skipped a beat. Does he already know? She instinctively folded her gloved hands in her lap. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy with me." Val growled. "I'm not in the mood for games. You obviously know about Bjorn's sorcery or whatever the hell that was. Why did you call Bjorn a Blood Mage? What is a Blood Mage, and why do you know so much about it?"

Internally, she heaved a sigh of relief. Her own secret was safe for now. She met Val's eyes and saw a little fear and confusion there. Her brother had always been one to chalk sorcery up to fantasy and fiction. But now he'd seen it with his own eyes - blood sorcery no less - and it made complete sense that he would be discombobulated. It had to be utterly nerve-wrecking to be in his position; to have his entire belief system crumble before his very eyes.

"I read a lot about it as a kid." She said truthfully. "There's a lot of stuff written about sorcery in Anna's Library."

"You didn't answer the question. What the hell is a Blood Mage?"

"Blood Mages are rare." Talya explained from memory. In truth, she'd thought that maybe they had ceased to exist because of how few of them there were, but apparently that was not the case. "Look, I don't know if you're going to believe what I'm about to tell you."

Val had an intrigued look plastered across his face. "Go on."

"Well, apparently during the War of the Exonian Empire, demon hosts that were previously imprisoned were unleashed upon the world," Talya went on, feeling foolish just talking about it. She could understand how absurd it all sounded in this day and age. "These demon hosts scattered throughout the continents and hid themselves. When they had children with regular humans, Blood Mages were born. I didn't know they even still existed today."

Her brother still looked confused and disconcerted, so she continued. "Blood Mages have some of the powers of demons without needing to be possessed by one. Their abilities are so vast that it's hard to pinpoint what exactly they can do. But they have a weakness."

"What?"

"Blood Mages suffer from bloodlust," Talya told him. "To keep it suppressed momentarily, they need to kill and make physical contact with their victim's blood, otherwise they'll be in agonising pain that almost cripples them. It's different for each of them. Some of them have to kill once a week to keep the bloodlust at bay. Some once a day. Some every hour."

Val looked disturbed. "Hell."

"Yeah." Talya felt a chill go down her spine as she described blood sorcery, and she rubbed her arms. "They are the most deadly among the other types of sorcerers."

"Other sorcerers?"

"Yeah." Talya swallowed. "There are more of them out in the world. Look, I know you probably don't believe me, but-"

"And this General Bjorn, he's-he's one of these Blood Mages?"

"Apparently." Talya nodded with dread. "He shows the strong abilities and traits of one. It's hard to imagine what else he could be."

"So what you're saying is, we have a monster on the loose in our home, who's liable to kill us whenever his bloodlust strikes?"

"Essentially." Now that she thought about it, she suddenly realised the urgency of their predicament. She hadn't even considered the fact that either Val or herself could be Bjorn's next victim. Or perhaps both. A sudden surge of determination gripped her, and she looked up at him. "We have to get out of here."

Val snorted. "And how the hell do you propose we do that? We're stuck in here, unless you have some sorcery of your own up your sleeve."

He'd meant that sarcastically of course, but if only he knew how right he was. And she was going to show him. Talya bit her lip. Could she really do it? Come out with her secret after two decades of hiding her powers? She considered the situation in her mind. If she didn't use her ice sorcery to try to get them out, Bjorn would come down here sooner or later and slaughter them both in cold blood to tame his bloodlust. But if I do…

Talya closed her eyes. What was the worst that could happen? Her kingdom had already fallen, and everything she held dear was being threatened. What else could she lose at this point? She had to try to make things right, even if she died trying. But even if she could escape with Val, what then? Her sorcery was unrefined, and it was more likely going to get them both killed in battle than keep them safe. She couldn't face Bjorn, not without training. And then it hit her like a flood tide. She knew exactly what she had to do now.

"Val." Talya said slowly. "Do you trust me?"

Her brother narrowed his eyes. "What are you-"

"Answer the question. Do you trust me?"

"Honestly? I don't know."

"Then I'm not giving you a choice. But I'm trusting you to keep this quiet."

Val looked at her strangely. "Keep what quiet?"

Taking a deep breath, Talya stood up and slowly tugged off the gloves from her hands, shoving them in the pocket of her dress. "This." She wriggled her fingers and grasped the steel bars in her hands. She could barely wrap her fingers around the width of the wretched bars because of how thick they were, but she tried her best nonetheless.

Shutting her eyes tightly, Talya tightened her grip on the bars and tried to focus. Deep down in the darkness, she felt about with her mind for something. The sorcery was there, she knew it. It'd flowed through her at random throughout her life, and she'd always had to fight hard to suppress it. But the signature of the ice was there, and she knew exactly how it felt like. But here in the darkness as she groped about for it, she felt…nothing.

Gradually, despair began to creep over her. What if she couldn't find it? What if she couldn't harness her sorcery at will? It would mean not being able to fight Bjorn and save her kingdom. And worse, it meant that they were going to be stuck in this cell till Bjorn decided to come murder them, and she would be powerless to stop him. And then, a spark that glowed light blue, deep within the abyss. That's it!

Before she could lose it, Talya grabbed ahold of the tiny spark in her mind, and reached out. With every fibre of her being, she managed to locate the source of it all, and began to scrabble about as though she were trying to find buried treasure in the sand. Bit by bit, she was able to dig deeper until the tiny spark became a constant glow like a lightbulb. It was much stronger now, and there was no hiding it. Mustering up all her strength and willpower, Talya wrenched it free, uprooting the sorcery within her.

Her hands began to feel cold at first, like someone had lowered the temperature in the room. And then she could feel the sorcery flowing through her body, and into her palms. Focusing and with gritted teeth, Talya forced the ice to flow forth from her being. To her relief, the steel bars began to freeze, and soon, the two bars that she had been holding were partially frozen. That was all she could do, for the sorcery escaped back into her like a frightened animal, going back into hiding once more. But at least there was something.

Talya glanced over at Val, who'd backed further into his corner. He had gone pale, eyes very wide and his mouth gaped open. It took him a long moment before he could speak, and his words came out as a deathly whisper.

"Talya. You-you are-"

She nodded slowly. "I'm a sorceress."