Chapter 18: Minds Destruction

Xev had slept for hours. Much longer than he normally would due to the medicinal concoction he was given beforehand which took its time to kick in but it worked well. It kept him asleep and also rapidly healed his wounded body. It was around half way through the long dark night of the Fae world, midday of the second night in human terms. He opened his eyes with a strange sensation. He felt better than he could ever remember. His right leg had been healed completely from the river attack and the wooden shrapnel from the blast. It was a shock to his mind, almost overwhelming.

He quickly jumbled through his thoughts on what should be done next. Looking around the room Valon and the other mages were gone as was Zyra. He noticed Zanir sat on the floor his back against the wall, head down asleep, hand gripped on the hilt of his sword. Zanir had been unable to trust anyone else there except his brother. He felt safer by his side as Xev was the only family he had left.

"Brother. Wake up." whispered Xev as he got out of the bed.

Zanir jumped a bit then stood up and clasped his brother on the shoulder.

"Good to see you up and moving. Zyra wanted us to meet with Valon and the leader once you awakened. Your little dragon caught the last assassin before he could escape. Although I use the word caught lightly." Joked Zanir.

Dumbfounded, Xev followed his brother to a room where they held the assassin for interrogation. Guards allowed them through the door. Inside he saw Valon stood next to the other two mages surrounding the mangled assassin on a marble table who was bound by enchanted chains that could not break. They ran over his broken legs, which had the skin healed over to stop the bleeding so they could pry into his mind, as well as his broken arms and his chest. Valon was deep in concentration as he scoured through the assassins thoughts for anything useful. Darwyn was close by with many elite body guards positioned around him. Zyra appeared before the brothers. She quickly explained how Svarturvog captured the assassin. Xev was amazed at the event.

"Where is he now?" asked Xev.

"He's been moved to a storage building that we use for supplies and guarded well. Do not worry he's in good hands." Assured Zyra.

Xev looked passed her to Valon who seemed to be back to normal. "Is Valon doing well? Does he know of the events that transpired while he was out?"

"Yes, he's all caught up on the details. I think he is proud of how we got here alive. Although barely." She said and turned to watch Valon.

They waited for a while. Lord Darwyn had a serious face clearly disturbed that this had been allowed to happen. Their hidden headquarters nearly compromised and he almost killed. Xev was curious whether Darwyn was able to use magic. He dare not try to reach his mind with magic like he was able to with Valon in fear of some ward being triggered and his mage defenders launching an attack. Who knows what type of defences they have in place around Lord Darwyn. The assassin must have managed to bypass any possible wards when she controlled his body. Lord Darwyn had come to see the assassin himself to know who the attacker was. Normally he would be elsewhere tending to other affairs.

"Anything? You've been at this for hours." Darwyn asked Valon.

"I'm afraid not. It's a delicate procedure and it doesn't help that his mind is slowly being destroyed by complex spells that I cannot stop. I've managed to delay the inedible so far but to no end. This is a lost cause." Valon replied.

"Keep searching! We need answers! Something, anything! So we can gain an advantage over Vraeza and his operations." Darwyn exclaimed frustrated.

Valon increased his efforts, creases showing on his forehead. Another minute went by. Then a sudden flash and the air crackled around them, lightning fired off in all directions. Sound became muffled and time slowed down followed by a dark, ghostly explosion emanating from the assassins body. It spread slowly at first knocking everyone backwards through the air completely enveloping Valon and the two other mages in a cloud of darkness. Their spell shields popped into existence shortly after absorbing any further damage. Xev was thrown into a wall and fell forward.

Shell shocked, almost blind from the flash and struggling to draw a breath he got to his knees slowly looking around at everyone else. Blood trickled down from his nose and ears. He saw a few of Darwyn's bodyguards closest to the blast missing limbs and unconscious. Darwyn was being dragged away by three guards he seemed okay no noticeable wounds. He looked to his left where Zanir struggled to get to his feet, unharmed. He looked to his right where Zyra had been thrown she was lying on the ground unconscious. She had been standing in front of Xev and took most of the blast.

Crawling over to her he noticed blood draining from her right thigh. He wasn't sure what it was from until he saw a link from the chains on the ground not far from him. It was supposed to be indestructible although the spell must have destroyed the enchantments and sent links firing off as shrapnel. He quickly put his hands over her wounded leg and applied pressure stopping the bleeding as much as possible. Zyra regained consciousness suddenly and tried to sit up.

"Don't move Zyra. Your leg. Stay still you'll be okay." Xev said hearing his voice muffled inside his head.

She noticed her leg and put a hand over top of Xev's and pushed down harder. Her mouth moved but he couldn't tell what she said. Valon emerged at his side and hurriedly moved their hands away from the open wound which was about the size of Xev's palm. He cast a spell and the chain link was quickly from her leg and was dropped to the ground she screamed out and fainted. He healed over the skin which stopped the bleeding. He got up and ran over to aid the wounded guards.

Zyra regained consciousness and was still in considerable pain. She couldn't move her right leg without a wave of nausea. She sat up with effort. Xev put his left arm around her back and helped her slowly to her feet where she put most of her weight on her left leg. Zanir also helped her as they walked back to the medical bay where they laid her onto the same bed Xev was just minutes before. His hearing started to return by the time they got there.

"Thank you." Zyra said wearily resting her head on the pillow. She used her spells to dampen the pain until a proper healer could mend it.

"No worries. You should thank Valon for his quick actions." Zanir replied as he gingerly moved her leg into a straight position.

"Try to keep that leg still okay. I'll find you some of that medicine they gave me earlier to help speed up the healing." Xev said and walked over to a cabinet to get the medication.

Shortly after, Valon and the other mages brought in the wounded guards. Some of them had missing legs below the knee that were healed over by magic. Xev found the medication which was in a clear jar labeled some name he could only hope to pronounce. He then quickly rushed back to Zyra and handed her the jar.

"Valon," Xev called, "How much of this should she take?"

"For her physique, and injury only two sips. That should be enough." Valon replied as he aided one of the guards.

She did as instructed and nearly choked it back up.

"How did you swallow this Xev? It's wretched." Zyra handed it quickly back to Xev.

"Bring it here Xev." Valon called.

Xev rushed over.

"Will these guards be okay?" he asked looking at the one guard's knee which had blood drying on his thigh.

"They are strong men and have been through much worse in their line of duty. We will be able to reattach their dismembered limbs over the coming days with our mage's skills in healing. They are the best I know of." Valon replied as he gave the needed dose of medicine to the guard.

Once things had calmed down Valon went to discuss the current situation with Xev and fellow companions on the opposite side of the medical room.

"Lord Darwyn is well and has been summoned off by his advisers following the event in the interrogation room. He suffered minor injuries that were dressed on site by me. The assassin's destructive spell had temporarily bypassed his defensive wards that I and the other spell weavers had placed on him with most of the energy absorbed. Security has been raised to the highest level as ordered and the gate just outside the fortress has been shut down in fear of more spies getting through. We have lost the potential lead we had with the assassin and are pursuing others. For now I suggest you lot rest up. We'll have someone come by soon with rooms sorted for you three. Over the next dozen hours, plans will be arranged for you both to display your current skills in front of an agent to determine what you need to learn. From my observations over the last few weeks you should do well. Finally I must properly thank you three and your dragon Svarturvog for saving my life and bringing me here alive. As you know the spell I used to put me into a deep sleep was the ultimate last resort as the shades would have captured me before Zyra and the Guardian showed up. Zyra and I have worked on previous missions before which I'll share with you another time." Valon explained.

"It was nothing." Replied Xev. "It's good to see that you're back with us." He clasped Valon's arm.

"I'll speak with you guys soon. Have a good evening."

"Wait. Will you be the one to train Zanir and I how to use magic or will it be one of the other mages?"

"I'm unsure at the moment although I wish it could be me that progresses you through training. We shall see if Darwyn needs me for other matters. I wish you all a good night." Valon replied.

With that Valon left the room.

"Can we ever catch a break?" Zanir said slumping himself down against the wall as he had before. It felt to him that every single day, in human terms that was, something major had happened where he narrowly escaped death. Sooner or later he knew his luck would run out.

"It's what to expect in this line of work. You must be ready for the unexpected." Zyra said with her eyes closed, hands rested on her stomach.

"It seems we've traded places." Xev said to Zyra now sitting in the chair next to the bed he had been in earlier.

"It seems we have. You'll stay here to guard me as I did you right?" she said in a joking manner.

Xev felt obligated to do so. Besides, his body wasn't feeling tired at all. He would stay with her as she healed over the next while until she woke up which he guessed would take ten to twelve ours as it had for him.

"Yes of course I will. That's plenty of time to practice and prepare myself for the upcoming testing."

"No its fine, you don't have to. I'll be okay…" she passed out from the medication kicking in.

Xev didn't want to leave her here knocked out from the medication unable to defend herself in case something happened so he stayed. Soon after, a man came by to escort Zanir to a room that had been readied for him.

"You should come so you know where the rooms are." Zanir said before leaving.

"You're right. Let's go." Xev bent down and kissed Zyra on her forehead and followed them.

"I can see you two being good together." Zanir said with a smirk as they walked behind their escort.

"You think? Thanks. I'm not sure how things will work out though. We're both in the wrong type of job to have a normal relationship." He responded. "I haven't told her how much I fancy her. Don't think it would do any good."

"You never know. Just see how things go. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

They continued outside north of the keep to a long wooden building that was three stories high with a flat roof. Entering through two large wooden doors in the middle of the building they walked up a flight of stairs to the third floor. Down the hall to the right is where the man stopped and turned around.

"Three rooms on my right have been given to you during your time here. They aren't much our apologies but we were not expecting to house three new agents. All identical rooms so there shouldn't be any issues. Here are the keys. Just hold it close to the handle and it will open. He gave one to Zanir and two to Xev so he could hold on to Zyra's. I'll be back soon enough with orders from Lord Darwyn. Until then." He left without any further word.

"Well. Let's have a look." Xev said.

He took one of the keys which was a small, thin, rectangular sheet of iron and held it close to the handle. With an unlocking sound the door popped open slightly. Zanir did the same to his room. Xev chose the room in the middle of the three. He walked in and looked around. A single queen sized bed in the far corner, a wardrobe, desk and fireplace filled the room. It was surprisingly warm and comfy inside, a thousand times better then he was accustomed to.

He walked over to the wardrobe and opened the door where he found fresh new shirts, tunics and pants that were all black. A pair of new black boots was at the bottom. With a much needed change of clothes, he pulled on the new pair of boots and put the two keys in his pocket. He decided on the black pants and long sleeve shirt. Feeling like a proper agent he left the room closing the door behind.

Xev knocked on Zanir's door to let him know that he was going to go look for the location where they were housing Svarturvog and asked if he wanted to join.

"I'm just going to enjoy the comforts of the room for a while. Haven't lain down in a bed for ages. I'll see you soon." Zanir said and closed the door.

Xev needed to bath and decided to do so before finding where Svarturvog was. He walked down the hallway where he found the bath room. He pushed the door open and found a table stacked with towels in the middle of a room with shower stalls on all sides. It was empty. He grabbed a towel and chose the shower at the far end. He couldn't remember the last time he had a proper clean with soap.

There was a circular depression on the wall which he pressed and the water fell from above warm and refreshing. He found soap and began to lather and just then he heard the door to the bath room open. Turning around he didn't see anyone enter. Thinking nothing of it he turned back to face the warm water. A girlish laugh came from behind startling him. He quickly turned prepared to defend himself and no one was there. Suddenly a woman appeared before him completely naked. She had long, straight silver hair tied back into a high ponytail. She smiled and moved closer to him.

"So you're the one she talks about all the time." She said pushing him back to the wall and kissed him deeply.

She backed away her eyes glowing silver.

"Who are…" Xev said before she vanished. "Wait!"

Xev laughed and shook his head. Can things get any more confusing? He wondered to himself. Seems I've got a secret admirer here. Afterwards he dried himself off and left to look for Svarturvog's housing location pondering who the silver haired woman could be.