The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 20

Logain sat within a cage made of gold. The cage was made out of the same metal that Casimir's ring was made out of. Even if he were able to use his magic, he wouldn't be able to escape. This metal prevented magical beings from using any type of magic. It was almost all gone, but the little that was left within him was now completely drained.

"So you used the same sleeping spell on Casimir as you did with the bandits?" Logain asked.

Tristan smiled. "Of course. I could have used something a little more potent, but I didn't want to risk harming the prince. He will be fine. By now he would have woken up and seen that you were gone. Perhaps he will think that you left him there. Wouldn't that be tragic? Lovestruck prince gets abandoned by the one he gave his heart to."

"Prince Casimir knows that I would never leave him like that. He'll come looking for me, you know." He knew that this wouldn't convince Tristan to let him go. He was going to die here in this cage.

"Perhaps. He might come looking for you, but he will never find you. He doesn't have any clue where to find us and by the time he figures it out, you will already be dead. You don't have much time left to live." Tristan left the side of the cage and walked over to his throne. He wiped the dust off of it before sitting down.

The room they were in was obviously once a throne room. If there wasn't so much dust then the place would have looked grand like it did in the old days. Now it was abandoned. The only thing that shined brightly were the piles of gold within the room. There was more treasure than one person needed.

Logain knew where he was. He thought that this place was a myth. The only thing that didn't make sense was why Tristan brought him here. There was no way that Tristan could be the person who owned this castle. The person who owned this castle was powerful; Tristan wasn't. As far as Logain knew, Tristan was a normal human. He knew spells, but most likely only because of potions. A regular human could never cast an actual spell like he could.

"Why didn't you capture me sooner? You could have put Casimir to sleep when we were with the bandits. Why didn't you do it then?" Logain asked, mostly to break the silence.

Tristan didn't seem like he wanted to talk much. He sighed, then said, "Because I'm a romantic, believe it or not. I saw how happy you two were together so I wanted to give you a chance at love before I took you away. Yes, I could have left you alone to be happy with him before you die, but I'm also a selfish person."

"Why did you take me?"

"You ask too many questions. If you must know, I want to see what happens to a warlock when they die. It's rare for one of your kind to die. Once you're dead, then who knows? Perhaps I will keep your corpse and add it to my collection. I wonder if you will regain your powers. I doubt you will be very powerful even if you do. A corpse can only do so much. What do you say? Would you like to stay with me when you're dead? Of course, you won't have much choice in the matter. You'll be forced to do whatever I command," Tristan said.

"You're insane. How do you expect me to stay with you when I'm dead?" Oh, Logain had a feeling that he already knew what was going on. He figured it out when Tristan took him here.

Tristan smirked at him. "Stop playing dumb. I know you know who I am. Who else would reanimate corpses to protect their kingdom? It's so much simpler having the dead work for me. They can't die again even if an intruder tries to kill them. And you should know; I've wanted a warlock or a witch for a very long time. A dead one wasn't what I wanted, but you will do."

He remembered what Red told him before. Red was hunting a monster who posed as a king. No one knew how to kill him and he couldn't die from old age. He was someone very powerful, so defeating him wasn't that simple. It just didn't make sense how Tristan could be him. Logain felt no magical energy coming from the man. Powerless or not, he could sense how powerful someone else's magic was. Tristan had none.

"You can't be the Undead King. There's no way . . ."

"What makes you believe that I'm not? There is a part of the tale that no one knows about." Tristan started to explain. Logain rolled his eyes. This was going to be a long story. Tristan continued, "We all know the tales about how evil the old Undead King was. He wasn't a very good man, but there was someone who looked passed his crimes. They fell in love with him despite all of the bad things that he did. The king's lover was only a servant, but the king looked passed that, too. They had to meet in secret so that no one else found out about it, but soon after the king stopped showing up at their meeting place. When his lover asked why, the king said that he was to be married to a princess. As you know, the Undead King had many enemies. One of the kingdoms wanted to make a truce with him, so they offered their daughter. The king accepted and therefore, he could no longer meet with his lover. He explained that he did this to keep them safe. The enemy forces were strong and his magic could only protect them for so long. His lover was heartbroken and wanted revenge. Do you know that if you kill the Undead King then you receive their powers? The king's lover slaughtered him, his bride, and everyone within the kingdom. The corpses that now protect this kingdom from intruders are the very ones who lived here many years ago."

By the end of his story, Tristan sounded upset. Logain could understand why this part of the tale was left out. Not many people would have known the complete history and even if they did no one would share the tale. The old Undead King's lover was a man; something that was looked down upon.

"You killed him because you were heartbroken." Logain could understand why he was upset about it, but killing them for it wasn't the way to settle things. Tristan could have accepted it and tried to move on, but he didn't. He chose the darker path.

"He got what he deserved. I tried to beg him not to do it. If he loved me then he never would have chosen her."

"He didn't have a choice. If he wouldn't have married her, then something bad would have happened to you. Don't you see that he was trying to protect you? His enemies would have attacked if he would have refused and then your life would have been at risk." How could Tristan not see that? He was too heartbroken to see passed how hurt he was.

Tristan wasn't listening to Logain's logic now either. He stood up from the throne and walked over to the cage. "What would you do if Casimir would do the same to you? He might love you, but he wouldn't be able to be with you. Royalty needs to marry someone of the opposite gender. One day, Casimir will need to marry a princess. He won't have a choice. You won't be around to see that day, but if you were able to then you would understand how I feel."

Logain already knew what it felt like. "You're wrong. I was in love with someone before I found Casimir. He married Casimir's sister. I was heartbroken because he didn't love me back, but I understood. He found someone else and I accepted that. Sometimes, you can't be with the one that you love. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I chose to be happy for my friend. If Casimir did the same to me, then I would learn to accept it and move on."

"So optimistic of you. I guess that's what makes us different. I can't accept or forgive what he did to me." With those final words, Tristan left the throne room.