Chapter 22
"You're not coming?"
Merrilynn looked at Pagrin hopefully. Maybe having the imp by her side would take away some of the dread she was feeling. But the minion just stood there, glaring at his mistress.
"Sorry kiddo, but you're on your own the first time."
"But why?"
"Those are the rules. And don't look at me like that."
"What rules?"
"Rules that existed way before you and even me. Now go or you'll be late and then we're both doomed."
The imp grabbed hold of one half of her tattered robe, turned her around and gave her a slight nudge towards the entrance of crypt 5. Muttering under her breath she started to follow the hall towards the tomb she needed to be in. By the looks of it, the whole crypt was used very little, cobwebs adorning the walls; moss growing practically everywhere and remains of what had to be alive a long time ago, lying on the floor. With a shudder it dawned on her that this might be just the way the Forsaken like it. The strong smell of decay merely a sweet aroma for their rotten noses. Provided they could still smell of course. Though she really wished to be somewhere else right now, she knew she had to continue if she wished to stay in the village.
Trevellian had told her to come to this place, for her first lesson in dark magic and trial to see if she was allowed to stay. She should be exited, but every step she took down the winding path did nothing more than adding dread to her already frightened heart. She could hear the tiny voice in the back of her mind, begging her for control. But Merrilynn knew better than to give in. Jalane had warned her that the greatest danger to warlocks was none other than the magic they wielded. She would not succumb to the will of something she was supposed to be in control of. She would not lose herself to the shadow.
59 loomed atop one of the entrances to her right. She knocked on the wooden surface that might have been the door in a distant past. A deep, rough voice bade her to come in after muttering to himself words she did not understand. Her heart was banging wildly in her throat by the time she had pushed the rotten piece out of the way. The room, if you could call it that, was poorly lit with a few candles that looked like they could go out at any given minute. A hooded figure stood in the middle of the room.
"Sir Trevellian?"
Lowering the hood he turned. Involuntarily she put a few steps backwards. In front of her stood the one man that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Why was he here instead of Trevellian? She backed away, wanting to get as far away from this Troll as possible. But the exit was no longer there. Her back just hit solid stone and no matter where she looked, the door was nowhere to be found. A wicked smile appeared on his lips as he came closer.
"You wanted to learn shadow, didn't you?"
Frightened as she was by him, she sensed something amiss. His voice was different, void of the heavy accent. Or maybe her mind was just playing tricks on her. He was inches away from her now, that same fiery glint in his eyes.
"I asked you a question, girl."
Gripped by fear she couldn't do much more than nod. He then grabbed her by the arm and dragged her forward. He pointed to the other side of the room where a wooden puppet stood.
"See that dummy? I want you to pretend it is the person you despise the most. I want hate to be the only emotion you feel right now. Dark magic is not just spells and fire girl. You have to feel what you are casting."
His voice was right next to her ear, but she didn't dare look aside to check. She didn't dare to make even the slightest move. How could she feel hate when all she felt was fear?
"Are you dense? Or just hard of hearing?"
She didn't respond. When she felt his hands on her hips she cringed. She wished to run, but she couldn't move.
"I said; pretend that the puppet is your most hated enemy. Let hate be the only emotion you feel, let it flow through your veins. Let the shadow feed upon it."
His voice was harsher, not pleased with the fact that she wasn't doing what he asked. She couldn't stop shaking. Why was he instructing her? Why was Trevellian not here? His grip tightened painfully, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"The sooner you start doing what I say, the sooner this is over. Now do it!"
She took a deep breath, and another. She took just as many until she finally had some control of herself again. Picturing her enemy wasn't all that hard, all she had to do was look right next to her if she had forgotten what he looked like. Not that she'd ever forget. Hating him was the problem. She couldn't control the fear she felt for him and the shadow seemed to grow stronger the longer she was here. It was hard to focus and fight the voice at the same time.
"I- I cannot."
"Close your eyes."
His patience was wearing thin. The shadow had already settled inside of her, why was she making this so difficult? Others would have succeeded by now, albeit weakly. She was still nowhere.
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Squeezing her eyes shut, she could hear him breathing to her right. His hands were still resting on her hips, fingers softly touching the exposed skin. She didn't have the chance to mend her robe yet and now she was very much regretting it. As she tried to focus on the hate she was supposed to be feeling, he started walking around her, hands following her curves, always pausing a moment at the splits that ended just around her waist. Was it really necessary for him to touch her? Then again, he had done so much more on previous encounters. Why would now be any different. She doubted even luck could save her now.
"You're not trying hard enough."
For a moment his handlings stopped. Unknown to Merrilynn a faint black aura had started surrounding her. It was quite translucent and faint, but it was there. At last they were getting somewhere. She had been startled by his voice and he had to suppress a low chuckle.
His breath tickled her inner ear, reminding her again how close he really was and that this wasn't a dream she would just wake out of. His hands felt warm on her exposed skin. It was strange to her that a being so cold of heart could emit such warmth. A being that had already done so much to her, and was not intending to stop, hands that had already attempted to kill her more than once. Memories invaded her mind, strengthened by the voice inside of her. Memories she wished to forget. She tried to make them disappear, but the more he touched her, the clearer the images became. Her face was etched in fear, but he only noticed the aura strengthening. She was ready for the next step. His hands left her waist for a moment, returning on her shoulders before she could breathe a sigh of relief.
"Good, now guide that emotion, guide the energy all over your body to your hands, make them your point of focus. Let your hands be the outlet. Feel the energy build in your palms. She had no idea what energy he was talking about. Her body felt tingly, like it had fallen asleep, but that was all she felt. She tried to shift that tingly feeling to her hands, hoping this whole ordeal would be over soon. In a rhythmic motion his hands moved from her shoulders down her arms and to her palms, and somehow the tingling feeling shifted to her hands. She couldn't appreciate his aid when his fingertips brushed past the side of her breasts. She took a deep breath, willing the 'energy' as he called it to her hands. The sooner she succeeded, the sooner the touching would stop. At least that is what she hoped. Satisfied with her improvement, his attention returned to her lower body, his hands encircling her legs and moving upward, guiding the energy again. Her head replayed everything as she felt his hands move on her legs, sometimes brushing bruises that still needed to heal. Whimpering again, she let out a soft no.
"Focus! Or you will never become strong."
His breath landed on her cheek. She wanted to run, to get far away from him, but he had her locked into place in fear. The voice in her head was louder than ever. She didn't wish to go through everything again; she wanted it all to end now.
"NO!"
Without realising it she had shouted out loud. Opening her eyes she could still see her hand outstretched, black aura fading from her fingers. The memories had gone from her head and she was once again in the dark tomb. Where the puppet once stood, there was nothing left but a pile of dark ash. She fell to her knees, feeling tired and distressed. Her skin pale and black veins threatening to come to the surface. She struggled to calm down, to silence the voice that hadn't ceased talking since she had entered the crypt. She could not let the shadow take control. Not now, not ever.
Applause sounded from behind her. Briefly she looked towards the sound, but there was no more troll. Instead, there stood Trevellian, smiling and looking past her at the puppet.
"I must say I'm impressed girl. You're one of the few that has been able to blast it to pieces in the first cast. Your hate for him must have been strong."
She said nothing, trying hard to keep the tears at bay. The voice, it had been the same. He had tricked her, tricked her into reliving the worst days of her life. She would not cry. Instead, she kept silent and focussed on the ground. Was she going to have to go through this every time? Living through that horrid memory whenever she wished to use the shadow? Would it keep toying with her mind like this, driving her to insanity every training?
If so, then she preferred burning her hands to a crisp in the lore of the mage. At least that would keep her sane.
Taking note of her silence he turned towards her with a frown. Strange, most people would be glowing with pride right now, either from the compliment or their own achievement. All she did was look like she was a lost little child. Only when he took a second look, did he realise his mistake.
Too late he noted how much she had paled, how her eyes were rimmed with black and her laboured breaths. Had he pushed her too far? Would she fail to withstand the shadow? Kneeling he caught sight of the shielded tears blurring her vision. He put a hand on her shoulder.
Without warning she shrugged him off and backed away as far as possible. For a brief moment the veins flared and her pupils made way for pools of black. She gave him a dark look. Her voice was controlled by another, darker presence.
"Don't touch me."
As soon as the fierce black orbs had appeared, they made way for startling purple even faster. Her eyes looked hopeless and scared once more. She repeated the words, fear and despair now evident. Realisation dawned on him.
"It was not hate you felt for him, was it?"
She refused to look at him any longer, stepping sideways and out of his reach. Soon, her back touched the rotten wood, signalling her escape. Without another glance at him she turned and rand from the training grounds. Not even stopping for the cries of her imp, bidding her to halt.
Trevellian was left behind shocked. His one hand still in the air, ready to stop her. He blinked a few times and then lowered it in defeat. He had taken the wrong approach. A successful lesson, of course, but at what cost? What would her newly gained ability be to her if she was forever scared of the pain they brought? She was supposed to feel hate, hate for the enemy that had destroyed her family, her village. But it seemed other things had happened, things she hadn't told him, that he hadn't bothered asking. Things that would never enable her to feel hate, only fear. Fear was so much stronger, harder to get out of the system. It explained why the puppet was destroyed so easily. Fear always destroyed everything. This had all gone terribly wrong, save one thing.
She had passed the test…She could stay in this village, if she was still willing, that is. He sighted. What had he done?
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Bah, the construction of the floor took longer than expected, with stupid intermissions too. It's still not finished, but at least I can go back to my room. On the brighter news, I might have a new Beta! Yay, let's hope this one lasts a little longer than the others, ne:p I'm hoping this to be beta-ed by Wednesday, but I don't want to keep you all waiting until then, and past experiences with beta's tell me that I shouldn't either.
Dedicated to all my trusty readers and reviewers out there (Fgee, Orannis4, Ector, Ariluvstwlight, Someone, Mixcow, The Angel of Vengeance, Zukassi, ZabuzaHyuuga, Chaseboy04 to name only those on the first page :p )
I hope everyone who read this chapter enjoyed it. But I can't know that unless I get sum feedback huh.
Zabuzahyuuga: your vote is noted. Rest assured of that. Very disturbing mental image though…
Orannis4: No, the tauren friend has not been entered, don't know if he ever will. Sorry to disappoint you, but the blood elf might be something for when I finally enter the burning crusade in the story, about 20 years to late according to the WoW timeline…but hey I'm not complaining.
Thank you Ector and Arilvstwlight for the reviews as well, feels good to know you're still sticking with the story and its sporadic author, hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.