Page 41 of Cosmic Power

“Oh, you have. I just looked a little different last time. Tell me, what was up with that? You blasted so much magic around I thought you were gonna go super saiyan on our asses.”

A small chuckle escaped Ryker’s lips. It was the first happy emotion he had displayed since arriving. “Goku or Vegeta style?”

Void’s brows rose in surprise. “You a DBZ fan?”

He shrugged a shoulder, his happiness fading fast. “I was, before I was taken.”

Luther motioned with a slight tilt of his head for Thaddeus to follow him out of the room. The dark mage looked down at Ryker as he continued to chat with Void, checking to make sure he was okay and comfortable first before he slipped away.

“Explain something to me,” Luther said as they stepped into the hallway just out of earshot. “That mage in there is one of the most powerful mages I’ve ever come across. When he came into his magic and learnt how to use it, why didn’t he leave? Fight his way out? He could have easily overpowered the vampires.”

“It wasn’t that simple,” Thaddeus said, shaking his head lightly. “From the get-go, he was manipulated and conditioned to not only follow their orders but to fear them, and the repercussions of his actions should he fight back.”

Luther gave a small nod. He could understand the fear Ryker would have felt, especially if it had been ingrained in him since he was nine.

But there was still something else bothering him.

“Why didn’t he reach out to other mages for help? He was out in the world, doing Ophelia’s bidding and selling Night Flare. Why not just leave her and get help?”

“Ophelia and the other vampires taught him to fear our kind. That we were nothing more than power-hunger parasites who want to steal other mages’ magic,” Thaddeus shrugged. “He’s a child, he didn’t know any better. When he was allowed out, he stayed clear of other supernaturals and just did as Ophelia commanded.”

“How did you come across him then?” Luther asked.

“It was at the Regent Meeting. He was waiting for Ophelia when Zamorra spotted him and chased him into an alley.”

Surprise flickered through Luther. “Zamorra?”

Thaddeus nodded. “She said she saw him talking with Ophelia in the woods surrounding your house one day and she wanted to find out why he was with her, so she followed him. When he opened a portal, I recognised his signature as the one enchanted with Night Flare. After a quick little fight—which, by the way, he did pretty damn good in—I took him back to my place and got the full story from him.”

“That was why she disappeared halfway through,” Luther said softly to himself, the pieces clicking together in his mind.

“Should have known you’d be able to see Zamorra through my spell,” Thaddeus chuckled. “I might be losing my touch.”

Luther grunted. “We both know that’s not true.” He blew out a breath, looking back into the kitchen to study the young mage currently eating a sandwich overloaded with ham, cheese and tomato. “I can’t believe she would do this. Not only did she murder other vampires, but she terrorised a child. She knows where I stand when it comes to children.”

Thaddeus nodded solemnly. “I’ll be honest, I was just as surprised as you were. I never thought she possessed such evil. I mean, I knew she had a bitchy personality, but never something like this.”

Luther pursed his lips. “Neither did I.” His phone rang in his pocket and he took it out, glancing at the screen. “Darius,” he answered, brows lowered and his face falling into a frown. “What’s going on?”

“My Lord,” his voice was shaky, distress laced in his tone. Screams echoed in the background, Luther’s supernatural hearing detecting Ophelia’s feminine voice straight away. “She’s awake and she’s going crazy. I-I don’t know what to do.”

“Is she shackled?”

“Yes, but she keeps breaking her wrists to try and slip her hands out of the cuffs.”

Luther rolled his eyes. “Always with the dramatics,” he said under his breath.

“What-what do I do?”

“Nothing. Just make sure you shut the cell door before you leave. Even if she gets out of the cuffs, she won’t be able to get out of the cell.”

When Luther knew he was coming to America, he had hunted for the perfect area to conduct his investigations. Not only did the warehouse possess everything he could ever need to torture someone to death, it also held iron and silver cells. Iron for the shifters and silver for the traitorous vampire in his midst. He just didn’t realise at the time that there were two of them.

It was owned by a demon called Phineus, a really dark, morbid being who thrived on the pain and suffering he inflicted on others. Luther didn’t care what he did and who he did it to. The only thing he cared about was using the space he owned for his own means. It had cost a small fortune to rent, but Luther had the money.

“Fuck!” Darius yelled. A loud, metallic clang rang through the phone, followed by a shriek. “She got out of the cuffs,” Darius breathed.

“Did she get out of the cell?”

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