Page 1 of The Syphon King

CHAPTER ONE

With every slow blink of Zodak’s eyes, the tall figures before him changed colors and textures. Random sparks shot across his vision, similar to the beginning of a storm in his Voltorium or the end of one.

He encountered a cold bite of metal on his left wrist. A rush of panic came with a memory. The woman. The malevolence he’d sucked from her.

Sounds now moved in and out of his head, bouncing off and bending around the waves of chaotic energy inside him. With each breath and second, his auditory nerves connected with meaning. These were the voices of his Brothers. And they came from the body statues before him.

Where was he? What place was he in?

Another spark meandered across his vision as he realized exactly where he was. The Voltorium. Chained to the wall of repentance. Not just one chain but all ofthem, indicating the level of danger he’d become.

He turned his sight inward to assess his condition. The relief at what he found was greater than his shock. That he’d sucked such wickedness from a single human was unfathomable. But had he gotten it all? He needed to see the girl to know. Blood pooled on the floor in the containment room filled his mind. Her blood. More panic. Where was she? The thought of her brought a wicked response in his body that made him grateful for the chains. He was far from safe which meant nobody was. “I need...to see her.”

“He’s awake,” one of them said as he got full control of his ocular gates back.

“No closer!” he warned, his breaths already growling with dark hunger. “I must see the woman. I have to look.”

“She’s still resting, Brother,” Nidev said.

“She’s secure in the infirmary, we’re running tests,” Vex said.

“Do not...let her free until I see her,” he breathed, pulling on his chains to test their strength. At discovering their power, he released a sigh. All were safe as long as he was there.

“What is your condition,” Thakx asked.

Zodak closed his eyes. “Saturated. Beyond capacity. Where...is the Seer?”

“He was informed and is coming,” Rukem said.

“I need his help. To...cleanse. Something stronger than the...Voltorium,” he growled.

“Where would he find such power?” Nidev wondered.

Zodak’s lips slowly rose over his teeth in a hungry snarl. “He’s possessed with it. We cannot let him near us.” He gasped, fighting to regain control of his mouth. “She was...a reliquary, Brothers,” he forced out. “Made...to carry much evil. She was ours!” he bellowed, clamping his jaw shut till every muscle shook from the effort.

“Don’t try to talk. Seer will be here soon.”

“They...raped...her soul,” he ground out, needing them to know what she’d endured. “I need...to protect her.”

A scream split the air and Zodak jerked his head, only managing half an inch in the bonds.

“She’s awake again,” Rukem said, hurrying out.

Zodak fought his restraints. “Why is she screaming!”

“She’s in no pain,” Nidev assured,as if reading his mind.

“She didn’t want to leave you,” Vex said. “She fears for your soul and life.”

His words brought a hunger into his circuits till they sizzled. “I must see if she’s fully clean.”

“Seer is here,” Feral announced.

Zodak waited, heaving through a sudden onslaught of wicked bile. “Brother,” he shot out when his blue eyes appeared before him.

“I came the moment you called me,” he said, lowering his gaze over his chained body then meeting his stare. “It was a smart move.”

“I needed more light,” he strained. “It was too much...for the Voltorium.” Zodak’s face twisted, and he fought to hold his jaw shut as the evil attempted to use his mouth.

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