Chapter 12 - The Lab (2/2)

”I am doing great. How are your studies? Have you found a way to return to your magical 'Earth' yet?”

”Stop being a prick, Emmyth. Go prepare the circle. We have a interesting new subject - er, person - to check.” Ash called from across the room. He was already busy flipping through many books.

Xavier stopped. ”I did not agree to have magic cast on me.”

”Come on, Xavier. It's harmless. Besides, with the three of us here, nothing could go wrong. Trust me.” I ȧsserted.

Xavier shook his head adamantly. He stood up, his eyes sweeping the entire room, and turned to leave. With his brisk pace, he was already through the door before I could tell him to stop.

”What a sourpuss. Ash, I'm sorry about today. I'll try to bring him back, but don't expect much.”

I chased after Xavier, which took a considerable amount of time. By the time I caught up, I was out of breath. ”Why… did... you run?”

Xavier stared blankly at me. ”I have a bad feeling about your friend.”

”Don't worry about it. I've known him for almost 9 years now. He's an odd one, but harmless. Trust him if you trust me.”

Xavier snorted and continued to walk away. I kept pace with him and extolled the benefits of working with Ash. But they all fell on deaf ears, Xavier's mind was already made up. We returned to the inn and Xavier went straight to his room and didn't come back out. After testing the door knob, I found that it was locked. I sighed and returned to my room to study.

Solskin

”Well, this is extremely awkward.” Ash shouted from across the room, breaking the long silence.

Persephone and I sat at a nearby table, debating our next move. After staring into the lovely brown carved patterns on the table that resembled various objects, Emmyth came to us and began to perform various tricks, trying to impress us. After a while, I realized he was just trying to hit on Persephone. She also came to the same conclusion. After quickly stating that a cleric of Thanatos can not marry, she left.

As I got up to excuse myself, Ash called out, ”Tell Mordred that I can meet him again tomorrow. Thanks for coming, even if it was only for 5 minutes.”

I nodded and left. Persephone slowed down to meet up with me. We made some idle chit-chat as we slowly walked back. We passed through an open courtyard as we neared the inn. I saw Xavier looking out the window. I waved, but he seemed lost in thought.

”That went… poorly.” I sighed in disappointment.

Persephone nodded in agreement. She crossed her arms and nervously tapped her fingers against her arm. ”Look, I think there is more to this. Xavier is definitely hi-”

There stood a familiar sight, a man wreathed in eerie black smoke. My legs turned weak with fright. Two piercing yellow eyes glared at me. On the man's cheek was the well-known crown of the Three Kings gang. There was something different about the symbol. It was moving. As his skin turned black, red lines spread out from it. It formed a large rune, covering one half of his face.