Page 102 of The Warlock's Trial

“You don’t have to save the coven alone,” Edgar assured me, shooting a glance toward my friends. “One man can’t change the world, Lucas. He can only change himself, and then the world changes around him.”

My breath wavered. “What if I’m too late?”

Edgar took a step back, releasing his hands from my shoulders. “I believe in you. Now, you must believe in yourself.”

The weight of the magic I’d been holding on to crashed down on me, and I sank to my knees in the mud. The power I’d used to control the dead dispersed, freeing them from my control. Behind me, the townspeople muttered words of confusion, but I barely registered it.

I gazed up at Edgar. “Tell me what to do next.”

“I cannot. That answer alone lies with you,” he replied.

I didn’t understand why he couldn’t simply name me part of the Reaper Order and pass over the Wand. Surely he had power over such a process, and once I joined the Order, the spell binding the Wand to Edgar would release, until the Wand was bound to me.

Unless… it didn’t matter one way or another. I could become part of the Reaper Order, but if the Mortana Wand didn’t want to work with me, I couldn’t wield its power. Edgar had no control over the Wand’s decision. My friends had undergone their own trials to obtain their Wands, and none of them had been acquired by force.

I already knew what I had to do. I got back to my feet and stood tall. I hadn’t realized until then that my friends had approached and were standing beside me. “If I am to wield the Mortana Wand, then I must earn it properly, or it will not honor me as its master. I must return to Earth and continue my work to pass the Warlock’s Trial, as that is the only way I will rightly earn the Wand. I will guide you out of the Abyss, Edgar, if you are willing to trust me.”

I reached out a hand, and Edgar took it. “I trust you, Lucas. I pray that you will trust me to return when you are ready. We will see each other again. That, I can promise you.”

Edgar and I shook on it, sealing our promises to one another.

Nadine came to my side. “You’re not giving up.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a question or not.

I glanced toward my other friends. Grant and Talia shared a crestfallen expression, and Chloe appeared disappointed. My gaze traveled to the Mentalist Wand in her hand. We got one Wand today, and that was worth walking through hell for.

“No, I’m not giving up,” I said. “One way or another, we’ll get that Wand, but not today. Let’s go home.”

I took Nadine’s hand, and the others followed as we trudged through the swampy forest, the sounds of tortured screams fading behind us. We found the black river the Ferryman had brought us here on and followed its bank downstream.

The forest thinned, until the landscape ahead turned black with volcanic rock. The river became a stream of lava. We stood upon a tall hill, overlooking the hellscape. From here, we could see the lake of lava far in the distance, and the sound of monsters echoed across the realm.

We continued following the river of lava, until we came upon geysers I recognized. We passed by them, until we found the bubbling pits of sludge we’d come through. Grant squeezed Talia’s hand, and Chloe approached one of the pits with cautious steps.

I stood at the edge, staring into the dark liquid. Getting through those pits hadn’t been fun the first time, and I certainly didn’t want to go through them again. But I also didn’t want to remain in this hellscape any longer.

“This is the way out,” I told Edgar, and he replied with an understanding nod.

Nadine squeezed my hand. “You ready?”

I shuddered to think what the sludge might have in store for me this time. I drew Nadine close. “Hold on to me, okay?”

“I won’t let you go,” she promised.

I reached out for Edgar’s hand, and together, the three of us jumped into the pit. The darkness of the sludge surrounded us once more. I held my breath, but the thick tarry substance still filled my nose. Nadine’s arms tightened around my neck as we sank deeper.

You failed the trial, and you’ve failed your people.

Death follows you wherever you go.

Everyone leaves you. Even Helena didn’t say goodbye.

You’re better off dead.

You should end it right now.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t already said all this to myself. The words barely seemed to faze me now.

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