Spellscribed: Denouement by Cruz Kristopher

Author:Cruz, Kristopher [Cruz, Kristopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty Three

It took some convincing to have the group move the conversation to their ship, where Valzoa set the crew sailing away from the demon’s den as fast as possible. Only once they were safely aboard, and the body safely stowed in an empty bunk, would Endrance finally allow himself to be questioned. He tried to relate what happened inside the vault as thoroughly as possible, leaving what happened outside of it to the rest of his allies to explain to Valzoa later. He felt his throat tightening when he started trying to explain the comatose body they had stored below decks.

“It was the damned strongest sensation.” he said, spreading his hands and trying to keep them from trembling. “The woman’s body started to fall and I didn’t even realize I had moved to catch her until I was on my knees and the tears were already flowing.”

He sat on the floor, unwilling to find someplace more comfortable to rest for the moment.

“For the briefest moment, I thought she was Anna.” he murmured,

Tanya exchanged a glance with Selene. “That Anna?”

Selene nodded. “Yeah.” she said, her voice muted. “That Anna.”

“She died protecting him.” Bridget stated, her voice almost booming in the quiet that followed. “He… We never really got over it.”

“That still doesn’t explain why we have a naked woman stuffed in one of our bunks.” Joven replied. “Did the demon give her to you or something?”

“Something.” Endrance replied, trying to put his thoughts together into an order that they would understand. “I told him I was going to take it, and he did not try to stop me.”

“But why?” Joven asked, confused.

The mage took a deep breath before gesturing to the unconscious woman. “She’s Mercanian, Joven.” Endrance stated. “One of hundreds in there. Less now, because of the Shatter, but still quite a lot of them.”

Hands flew to weapons, and Endrance had to hold up a hand to stop them. “It’s okay.” he protested. “She’s not actually there, in the head. From what I can tell, she and the rest that were stored there are… empty. Blank slates, waiting for a Mercanian imprint to be planted on them.”

Joven stared at the female shape in the bunk for several seconds, and Endrance could see the man’s mind calculating through the look in his eyes. “How many did you say there were?” Joven asked.

“That vault was supposed to contain five-hundred, but they were down to a little over a hundred.” Endrance explained. “And from what I can tell, there were at least two more vaults.”

“Two more?”

“During our conversation he mentioned ‘other vaults’. This means that there are at least two more, since he spoke in plural. There could be just two, or there could be fifteen, or a hundred.” Endrance replied.

The big man shook his head. “I don’t like this,” he stated. “Why would they want thousands of blank slates?”

Tapping his chin, Endrance pondered. “I think it has to do with the war they were fighting with your people, Joven.” he said.

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