I stepped out from behind the tree. "Hey Alex, I heard you calling my name."
The tall woman flinched; she hadn't noticed my approach. "You scared me!" She breathed out in relief. "We caught Astrid. Come on, let's go back." She motioned to leave, but I shook my head. "I want to try and find Asher. You guys go ahead, I'll find you later."
She hesitated. "But-"
"I don't want to leave a mage out in the woods alone. I'm sure he's strong, but he can get caught off guard. I don't want to look away when there's something I can help with." I forced a smile. "You know I'll be fine. I'll meet you over at the ruins you told me about. If I don't find you there, I'll go back to the village."
She crossed her arms under her breasts. "Is everything ok, Kai?"
"Yeah. Like I said, the guy didn't seem too strong and I scared the living hell out of him. I have to make sure he gets to safety." She seemed to believe me. With a sigh, she relented. "Fine. I'll tell the others, just be careful, ok?"
"You know I will." With those words, I turned my back on her and walked into the treeline. I stopped after taking a few steps as I felt Asher's magic wash over me. I was hidden by his illusion once again.
"Well done." I closed my eyes as his voice sounded from the side. "Shall we?" He asked softly.
"You still haven't told me what you want from me." I said with a sigh. "You don't need to hold me at gunpoint." I glanced at the blade leaning against my throat. "Uh, or sword…point?" I said hesitantly.
He chuckled. "Well, I don't trust you." His magic enveloping us slowly disappeared once Alex was far enough away. "But you fooled her. I'm impressed, I didn't think you'd be such a good liar."
"What do you want, Asher?" I said with a cold tone. I didn't want to talk with him for any longer than I needed to.
"First of all, let's go somewhere the rain won't effect us." He said gesturing me to start moving. I glanced at the sky. There were no rainclouds. I felt the blade pressure my skin as he shot a deadly glare at me. I let out a shallow breath and started walking.
He led me to a cave near the ruins we were at earlier. We were right at the border of the magic-preventing area.
"Come on," He said as he pushed me inside the cave. It was a small cave with a narrow entrance. There was nothing inside. Not even the moss that covered the entire forest floor had reached this place. I slowly stepped inside. "Sit down, make sure your hands are where I can see them." He said as he circled around me. He was now standing an arms length away. I slowly backed away and sat on the cold hard stone surface.
He let go of the sword made of light. To my surprise, it didn't fall to the ground. Instead it floated right before me, with its sharp end still touching my throat. Helpless, I sat cross legged and rested my hands on my knees.
Asher raised his hand and cast a spell on the narrow cave entrance. "It's an illusion spell." He explained, seeing my curious expression. "No one can find this place." He approached me and sat beside me. "Your hands." He said as he opened his inventory.
"Look, I've already said-"
"And I told you that I don't trust you." He cut me off. "Do as I say, and you'll live. Resist, and I'll break your other wing." I flinched. Because my wings were hidden, I didn't feel the pain of the cracked bones and torn muscles. I still clearly remembered it though.
I extended both my hands with a defeated sigh. A dark coloured rope appeared in his hands. He coiled the rope around my wrists and tied them together with a tight knot. I flinched as the sturdy rope cut my skin a little. I desperately wanted to stop him – to summon my sword and attack him, but the sword leaning to my throat was enough to discourage me.
"Open your interface." He said when he was done with the rope. I hesitated, by doing that I'd be giving him access to every bit of information about me. But then again, what other choice did I have?
"Fine," I said with a low voice. I remembered how I had momentarily tricked Vixia and Delthur back when they caught me in the mountain pass. "Can you at least get rid of the sword?" I glanced at the blade leaning against my throat.
He grinned. "If you keep behaving, sure. Now – your interface."
I opened it. It wasn't worth dying or getting tortured and he wasn't as easy to fool as Vixia. With a thoughtful gaze, he inspected every single panel. As he was busy with that, I rested my head on the rocky cave wall. I wish it were Rina who'd called my name. She'd have noticed his magic all around me – she may have even been able to notice his illusion.
I suddenly felt the blade resting against my throat disappear. "You're not as strong as I hoped you'd be." He glanced at me with a thoughtful expression. "We'll have to feed you more souls before you can be useful to me."
"What are you talking about?" I asked as fear gripped my heart. What did that mean? It wasn't the implied murder of monsters that scared me – it was the thought of having to spend more time with him.
He glanced at my status panel and sighed. "I thought you'd be much stronger than this. Honestly, when you caught me off guard back at your camp, I was convinced you were even stronger than me. How did you even survive an encounter with the phoenix in such a miserable state?"
I shrugged. "I was lucky."
He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Instead, he gestured towards my inventory. "The swords, both of them. I'll be holding on to them for now."
I reluctantly summoned them. He placed them into his own inventory, along with my scythe. I wasn't surprised, it only made sense to disarm me. Honestly, it was a miracle that he even waited until now to take them away.
"What's this?" He asked, pointing at my skills. "Crystal Sage?" He read it out loud. "Why is there no explanation?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. I never figured out what it did." I glanced at him. His lips formed a thin line as he continued inspecting the panel.
A few minutes passed in silence. I felt my body tense up every time he sighed or did anything at all. Eventually he let out a long sigh and stood up. "I'm disappointed." He said as he approached the narrow entrance. "I thought the Keeper of Souls would be a more formidable opponent. And a more useful combatant."
I clenched my fists. "I did well enough for myself." I hissed between clenched teeth. "At least I am a civilised person who doesn't treat others as mere tools."
"And look where that led you." He said with a chuckle. "If you wish to return to your normal life in our world, you can't afford to be weak." He turned his back to the entrance and glared at me. "I will get out of here. And you're my key in doing so."