Sorceress (Part 2)

“Silence, witch!”

The prison guard was now back, called by her loud noises. He stopped before her cell, hitting the bars with his weapon.

“You will stop cackling once you are executed at sunset today,” he told her, his voice full of vengeance.

The sorceress went quiet.

“Move back. Now!” he demanded.

The guard poked her lightly with his spear, forcing her to back up. Once she moved, dragging herself across the floor, metal clinked. The guard opened the cell’s door and stepped inside.

“Heh… so young. Pity,” he said. “Maybe a sorceress, sure, but still a wench. Maybe I’ll have some fun with you while you still livin’.”

Once the summoned hero realized what was going to happen, he shoved himself into the bars again. He did not want to witness a young girl being violated. It did not matter that she was a witch and was to be executed according to the rules in this country.

“Don’t you dare touch her!” he screamed.

The guard laughed at his futile efforts. “Don’t be jealous. What are you gonna do about it, lad?”

The guard was right. He was still locked in his cell and was unable to do anything, after all.

“Stop it!” he yelled at him.

The guard was not listening to him. Instead, he was observing a young girl sitting on the floor. She was dressed in a simple cloak, ragged and dirty. Long, thin legs were peeking out of it, bound by metal cuffs. Her long hair was full of grease and grime. Dark smudges were covering her cheeks, a thin trail of blood washing them off.

“A bit dirty, but it’ll do,” he stated.

“Blindfolds are for cowards… care to take it off?” said the sorceress to the dungeon guard.

“Why? You excited to see a man?”

“I can’t play along if I can’t see your expression,” she purred.

Hero listened to her intently. Was she flirting with the man who was trying to assault her? That was definitely a trap. There had to be a reason why she was blindfolded, right? Surely, the guard won't be as stupid as to listen to her.

“Off with it. I want to see that pretty face as I do my work.”

In that moment, the hero realized that this woman did not need his help at all.

“Your eyes are red,” said the guard.

Not worthy enough to be his last words.

A powerful wave of magic forced its way through the air. The sound of an explosion rattled the entire dungeon. The flesh splattered everywhere. Sorceress howled like a vicious beast, excited by the smell of fresh blood.

She stepped out of her cell, fully covered in blood. Her ankles and hands were now free. She wiped her face with the dirty sleeve and stopped before the hero, who was still locked in his cell.

“Prefer to go with me or want to die as one of my accomplices?”

“We don’t know each other. How could they accuse me of being your accomplice?”

“As if it even mattered to those people. If you will be the only one stayin’ here alive, you die. Simple as that.”

“Why would you help me?”

“You cared. You showed kindness. I don’t want to be indebted to anyone. What is your name?”

“It's Leonard.”

She looked at him, absent-minded. It looked like she was trying to remember something, but it was long, long gone.

“There are no saints here, Leo,” she said. “They will either torture you or execute you. So if you want to leave with me, move back. Quickly!”

He realized she was right. Even if he agreed with the high priest’s proposal, they would surely not let him go alone, venturing into the neighbouring kingdom of Lunaria, when he already had a reputation as a deserter. What could he lose if he followed this woman? He will lose more if he stays.

He made his decision and stepped back. In a split second, the iron bars shattered like glass, their sharp splinters flying to the sides, scratching his skin.

“We also need to take care of those chains of yours, Leo,” she said.

“Surely you don’t want to break them, too? Wouldn’t it be safer to take keys from that dead guard?”

“The keys have been disintegrated along with their owner. Now, be quiet and don’t talk to me. You don’t want me to blow up your whole feet, do you?”

He closed his eyes, keeping still. He prayed to the gods of this world that once he opens them, his feet would still be left intact. It will be hard to run away with bloody legs.

A sharp crack informed him her spell was completed. He looked down and saw his own feet free of wounds and chains. He let out a relieved sigh.

“What is the plan now?” Leonard asked her as he stepped out of his cell.

“Magic is long banned in Silgorod,” she said. “I have no reason to stay here until I want to spend the whole life hiding. I would prefer to leave the kingdom, but I have no resources. We could settle in for some time in a secluded village that does not know what is happening in the capital. Then we leave.”

“Running away would mean I had rejected their offer. So if they find me somewhere in this kingdom, they will execute me.”

“So both of us do not have any other choice, right? That makes things easier. Let's go, then!”

As Leonard tried to move, his feet froze in place.

“Come on, Leo. We do not have much time. Someone must have heard that explosion just now, and they will be here soon. I don’t want to waste my mana for another useless piece of meat.”

“I want to move,” he said. “But I can't.”

She looked at him, puzzled. “Something you don’t want to leave here?” she asked.

“I… don’t know?”

She closed her eyes for a second. The deafening silence fell around them. Her eyes snapped open, glowing red. The quiet in the dungeon dissipated in the waves of whispers, maybe prayers, maybe curses. Black ink letters were running through her face, down her cheeks, and neck. It looked like someone just decided to write on her skin instead of paper and then moved her skin downwards to turn the page.

She was now looking at his body, but her gaze was much deeper, as if she could see right through him.

“You have a curse bound to your body,” she said after sizing him up and down. Her voice was now sounding even deeper and hoarser.

Her sharp eyes, glowing in red, stopped at his stomach, where he had been wounded before, during the siege. She came closer to him and pulled his dirty clothes up, revealing his sweaty and filthy skin. Her pale, thin fingers glided through his skin, sending shivers down his spine. She stopped in the middle of a big scar.

“That curse claimed you as its master. What is it?”

Now he finally understood what was holding him back. It was the blood pact he made on that day, in the sea of corpses, with his guts spilling out.

“It is a sword,” he replied.

“A cursed sword. Lovely. Despite their brute force, they are usually highly intelligent. Where is it now?”

“I do not know. They took it once they threw me into the dungeon.”

“Call it and it will come to you.”

“I do not know its name.”

“Just give it one. You are its master.”

“Does it need to be some kind of special name?” he asked her.

“Usually something you are not using in your daily manner of speech,” she advised him, “otherwise you would risk saying something during the day, not thinking about its consequences, and your sword would take it as an order, which needs to be granted. You don’t want that.”

Leonard thought for a while. In that case, the best solution would be choosing a name from a different language, which he won't be using while speaking with others. He did not study foreign languages properly, but fortunately, a lot of the pop culture things he liked were inspired by them. He remembered those.

“What about Sanguis?” he asked.

She smiled at him, red glow in her eyes diminishing.

“Go on, call it.”

“Sanguis, you bound yourself to me by the blood oath. Your master is now calling you. Heed my words and come to me,” said Leonard. “Does it work like that?” he asked the sorceress.

“You could've just said Sanguis, come here, but it doesn’t matter much. Just use whatever catches your fancy. As long as your words are clear, the sword will understand and come,” she shrugged.

“Now what?”

“Now we wait, Leo,” she said. “Does it have the broad blade or the narrow one?”

“It’s a greatsword.”

“That’s splendid.”

A heavy swoosh echoed through the empty dungeon. Sanguis appeared out of nowhere, flying down through the air, landing before Leonard. He reached out and touched its grip. Soft vibrations glided over his skin, the bloody curse prickling him like thousands of needles. Once he blinked, it was all gone, his Sanguis now happy and excited to see him.

“Would you fancy a ride on it?” the sorceress asked him.

“What?”

“No need to walk. We will ride the blade.”