Page 100 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
The acolyte begins to climb to his feet, moving so slowly it’s like he’s aged sixty years. He can’t straighten fully, staying hunched over as he looks up atthe Grand Bearer with his inflamed eyes. A trickle of blood runs from his right nostril.
“Now, I’m told you are an aquari,” His Grace says to the boy. “What form do your powers take?”
“I can absorb water, or double its quantity, Your Grace,” the boy croaks, his voice nothing more than a rasp.
“Impressive. How much water?”
A few tears trickle from the corner of the boy’s reddened eye.
“The most I’ve ever managed is a gallon, Your Grace.”
The Grand Bearer glances at me with a pleased expression.
“Then why don’t you come through to the reflecting pool, and we’ll see how much you can absorb now?”
The boy shuffles behind us, every step seeming to pain him. Frankly, I’m not sure how he remains standing. We reach the edge of the pool, which stretches nearly fifty feet long. I’m reminded of being a small child, swimming in the river with my sister. I used to love to hold my breath and stay underwater as long as I could, relishing the way the water muffled the rest of the world. I wish I could climb into the water right now and not have to see or hear any of this.
Instead, I watch as he gestures for the boy to go ahead.
The acolyte bends, dangling his fingers into the water, then he closes his eyes, soothed by the chance to commune with his element. The fizz of magic radiates across the surface, making ripples in the otherwise still pool.
There’s a slap as water starts to move, swelling against the marble sides. These small waves turn into circles and begin to spin, until the water is drawn downward into a whirlpool centered around the boy’s hand.
I watch in awe and fascination as the liquid disappears beneath his touch, draining the entire pool in less than a minute.
“Marvelous,” the Grand Bearer smiles. “Isn’t it marvelous, Sophos?”
“It’s incredible, Your Grace,” I say.
But the acolyte has no reaction to his amazing feat. He simply stares at the empty marble box in front of him, head slumped slightly forward.
“Now your other power, boy,” the Grand Bearer orders.
The boy obediently flexes his fingers, then water starts to gush forth from his hand like a faucet, spurting out at such a rate that it throws mist into the air. The stream soon becomes a flood, a huge wave rolling across the pool and hitting the other side with a spray of droplets. The boy keeps going, the water rising up the sides until the pool is filled to the brim. Even then, the Grand Bearer says nothing, his eyes bright as the water floods over the edge, running across the floor.
Only when the water seeps beneath our feet does he speak.
“That’s enough.”
The acolyte pulls back his hand, cutting off the flow of water. Despite the immense power he just demonstrated, when he stands, his body seems even more frail and pained than before.
“You see, Sophos? Morgana Angevire had to take this potion for years before it amplified her powers. But we have managed to accelerate the process so that it works after just one dose.”
“Astonishing,” I murmur, my eyes flicking to the boy’s bloody face. “Are there any adverse side effects?”
“Well of course,” His Grace sighs, as if I’m a fool for asking the question. “Taking such a powerful concoction at these concentrated levels causes the organs to tear themselves apart. Most die within two days—no one has lived longer than four. But that doesn’t matter much for our ends. An ordinary person with so much power would be an abomination to the gods, and therefore we must cleanse them and send them to their rightful resting place.”
He turns to the acolyte. “Thank you, my boy,” he says, and before the youth can answer, the Grand Bearer lays a hand across his head.
The boy screams, and I look away. I have seen this done before, back when I believed the Grand Bearer was undergoing a great sacrificehimself. It disturbed me even then, when I thought the victims were heretics deserving of punishment, but that was nothing compared to my horrornow. This poor child…he was condemned the moment that potion touched his lips.
I steady myself against the nearest wall as subtly as I can, trying not to hear the splash as the boy hits the floor, counting the moments until his body stops twitching. I stare straight ahead, attempting to soothe my horror with prayers, until I realize the Grand Bearer is speaking to me.
“It may seem excessive to you, Sophos, but I assure you this was necessary,” he says, brushing his hands together as if to wipe off some residue after touching the boy. “Our enemies are only becoming more powerful. To follow the will of the gods, I must prepare myself to face this new evil.”
“And this potion is the first step, Your Grace?” I ask.
“One of many, dear Sophos. With it, we will defeat the heresy in our land. Even right now, our clerics are scouring villages and towns from the northwilds to the southern coast to gather all the components we need.”
