The Lover's Cost

Succumb

The moon had risen and with it, colder winds blew. Heather stood before the twin doors buried in the ground. Pale light of night shone down on them, the lock mysteriously open once again.

Heather barely believed she came back to this hell, but she also wasn't surprised. For the past weeks she had fervently missed the witch's beauty and her effective teachings. And now, her delicate sorrow and thick envy served as the final guide. She could think only of one entity which understood pain like this – death herself.

Slowly, Heather wandered into the frozen passage until she reached the pit. The black sphere welcomed her, still chained. That soft voice whispered in her mind, "Ah, there you are...I knew you'd be back..."

In the reflection of the sphere, Heather saw something sinister in her own eyes, but she couldn't quite place it. All she truly felt at the moment was ruined. "Come closer..." The voice cooed. "Let me help you..."

The wicked aura of the obsidian sphere which usually repelled Heather now drew her in. It tempted her, and she slipped into the prison.

In the shadowy confines of the void, Heather fell to her knees. She shed more tears onto the scarred floor. All redness had faded, but the ground remained twisted and ripped, like a wound which healed into a crooked scar.

While looking down at the ground, a pair of familiar black boots stepped into Heather's view. "So," their owner rasped, "why did you return to me?"

Heather slowly looked up at the dark mage. "I just..." Heather sniffled. "I need you." Her speech was cut off by sobs.

The witch dropped to her knees as well, leveling herself with her student. She wrapped her bony arms around the wailing Heather and stroked her hair with spindly fingers. "Shh, it's okay," she cooed. "I'll set all of this right..."

Heather collapsed into the goddess's skeletal frame and buried her face into the soft, milky skin of her neck. Dark, silky hair draped over her like a veil. "You're evil..." Heather gagged. "But...I can't stop...I can't stay away..."

The lovely purple hair swayed, its owner shaking her head. "No," she murmured, "you've got it all wrong. The sages rule, hm? They're the ones who let their universe spiral into unfair chaos. I've been trapped for nine thousand years; how could I be responsible for any of your poor fortune?"

Heather froze, gulping. "That makes sense..." She muttered, realization glazing over her eyes.

"Of course it does. You're smart," the witch praised, nuzzling her student's head with her cheek. Shivers raced down Heather's spine.

Hesitations quickly returned, tugging at Heather's nerves. She squeezed her eyes shut. "But...but what if..." She stammered. "What if something goes wrong? What if I..."

"Then I'll take all the consequences," the dark caster whispered. Her cold, sweet breath caressed Heather's ear. "I'll be the villain if I must. You won't take the fall..."

The young mage shuddered and leaned into her corrupted mistress. Black wings unfurled and curtained Heather like a blanket. The feathers were even softer than Aldous's fur, and they hugged her closer to the reaper. "You've got nothing left to lose," Violet continued. Her voice lowered and froze as cold as her eyes. "Release me..."

A spindly finger caressed Heather's chin with grace and lightly lifted her head up, where Heather met the eyes of the dark sorceress. Sages, they were enchanting. Heather couldn't look away. "Let me out, and let me swallow the souls of all those who wronged you..." Violet whispered.

That sinister promise should have planted fear in Heather's stomach, but it only rang enticing in her ears. Why did something so horrible sound so wonderful? Why did it resonate so perfectly with the spreading toxins in her chest? "...When?" Heather asked through quivering lips.

A fanged grin stretched across the witch's pallid, delicate face. "Why not tonight?" She moaned, leaning into Heather's ear where she breathed, "Let me out tonight..."

"T-Tonight?" Heather repeated. Her gaze remained locked on the spellbinding blue eyes.

"You know you want to..." Violet hummed. "It's not too late to keep your promise."

Breathing slowly, Heather pushed her hands into the mistress's wide sleeves. Inside, she felt the supple, perfect skin which blanketed fragile wrists. Heather rubbed them gently, savoring the softness. Violet was gorgeous; to have her out in the open and to continue training with her would be utter bliss. Fixing the unfairness in the universe would epitomize justice. Heather nearly salivated at the possibilities.

Violet continued to whisper, evaporating every remaining drop of hesitation which dampened Heather. "None of them get it, do they? They've never faced hardship, so they don't take it seriously. I understand your frustration. Girls like us need to stick together, hm?"

Heather nodded, dizzy. "Right..." She clung tighter to the reaper. The ungrateful didn't deserve to keep living their sweetly ignorant lives. Something had to change.

"Good..." The dark sorceress's voice lowered and inky tears trickled from each eye. "Then let us begin..."

The witch spent a brief time explaining how to tap into the darkness, how Heather had to give herself over to it entirely for it to emerge. The discussion soon shifted to the student's exact course of action. "Bring the void close to the moon," Violet instructed as she paced. "Haven't you ever wondered why the doors only open at night?"

"I have," Heather answered, no restraints on her dangerous curiosity.

"Via enchanted water, I can push a bit of my magic outside the void," Violet explained. "It wasn't enough to unlock the doors on its own, so I used the moon as a mirror...and sent my magic to it instead. It amplifies what it reflects. So, when moonlight shines down on the doors, it carries my will with it."

Heather let her eyes widen at her mentor's cleverness and magical prowess. "That's amazing, but how do I 'bring' the void anywhere?" She asked, eagerness in her voice. All hesitation had been abandoned, devoured by the acidic sensation in her chest.

"Simple; the same way you move anything with teleportation."

"Okay...close to the moon, close to the moon..." Heather rubbed her chin, trying to think of a place she's witnessed that she could teleport to. Tall, red spires plunged into her mind. "Oh! How about the top of the god's palace? It's high up and I've heard there's a garden up there. Plenty of space to place the sphere."

"Perfect," trilled the dark mage. She smirked. "With the void so close to the full moon, I can let much of my magic cascade onto the chains. They'll be weakened, Heather. Just an ounce of your darkness will break them!"

The uncontrollable excitement in her voice infected Heather as well, and she soon shared her mistress's grin. Not a single worry clouded Heather's mind. She hadn't summoned any dark magic yet, but the ability was in her blood and she could already feel a blackness spiraling within. When she remembered the vervain around Leon's neck, the dangling of her mother's feet, the scowl on her father's face, and the years of work for nothing, that small spiral grew into a voracious vortex.

Violet's eyes narrowed. "I can tell you're ready," she cooed. "Go. We'll make everything right."