The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 22

Red pulled her sword out of Tristan's back. The sword went clean through, all of the way to the other side of him. He bled like a normal human would. Powers or not, he could still bleed. He could still be killed. If she let him go then he would die from the wound, but Red had other plans. Tristan fell to his knees and Red raised both of her swords towards his neck to sever his head.

Before she could go through with it, Tristan said, "Kill me now and then you will have no chance of saving Logain. He will die."

Red looked towards her friend. Prince Casimir held the warlock. From what she could see, it looked like Logain was already gone. She heard him cry out in pain and then she saw him close his eyes. It looked liked Casimir was trying to wake him, but it seemed to be hopeless. Logain wasn't opening his eyes.

"Kill the Undead King and you shall receive his powers. He has to kill me so that he can live. You knew about this part of the tale, didn't you? That's why you want to be the one to kill me. You will receive my powers along with my immortality. But will you really be that selfish and do it yourself when your friend is on his deathbed?" Tristan could feel himself growing weaker. Red would receive his powers if he died this way, but then Logain would die as well. The decision needed to be made quickly.

Tristan didn't want to die, but it was better this way. If Logain lived, then maybe he could be happy with the prince. He could be happy with the one that he loved, unlike Tristan. He still believed in true love after all that he went through.

Red seemed conflicted, but she knew what she had to do. She didn't want to see her friend die. If there was a chance to save him, even a small chance, then she would take it. Red grabbed the back of Tristan's shirt and forced him to his feet. It was painful for him, but he didn't fight back. He let Red drag him over to the prince and the warlock.

Logain still had his eyes closed and it looked like he was barely breathing. The prince had tears in his eyes as he held the man. He hardly noticed that two of them approach them.

Red forced Tristan back on his knees before the two of them. She asked, "What do we do now? Logain can't kill you while he's unconscious and I doubt that he would harm you even if he were awake. He's not that type of person."

"Take Logain's hand and force him to kill me. Whoever is holding the blade will be the one who gains my powers." They had to do it fast, though. Tristan could feel himself starting to slip away.

"Before you go through with this, think about it for a moment. You will be giving Logain life again, but this time he will be immortal. He will never die unless someone kills him. Casimir, on the other hand, will one day die from old age. Logain will lose him. He will be broken from that loss. Do you really want to subject him to that sort of pain?" Sebastian stepped in. As a warlock himself, he knew that living forever wasn't easy. Many people that he came to love eventually passed away. Logain would have to suffer the same thing. Everyone that he loved would one day die and he would be forced to watch them leave this world.

One day Logain would lose Casimir, but the prince was thinking about now. The future would have to wait. He responded, "I can't lose him."

"Then that settles it." Red grabbed Logain's hand and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of her blade. She had to hold his hand to keep the blade in place. Before she forced Logain to stab Tristan, she asked, "Why are you so willingly giving your life away? You aren't fighting to survive."

Tristan smiled at her. "Let's just say that I am a romantic. I want Logain and Prince Casimir to be happy together. We all have to make sacrifices sometimes. This is mine. You should probably get on with it. I'm in a lot of pain and I can feel my life ending."

Prince Casimir was about to thank him for giving his life to Logain, but before he had the chance to Red already had the sword aiming for his heart. She held Logain's hand around the sword as tightly as she could. She never missed once and now was no different. It was the perfect shot to the heart. She waited a couple of seconds before pulling her sword out once again. When she let go of Logain's hand, the sword fell to the ground.

It seemed as if time slowed down in those moments. Tristan soon let out his last breath as his body fell towards the ground. He was dead, but Logain hadn't changed. Despite forcing him to kill the Undead King, he didn't open his eyes. Red didn't feel any different so she knew that the power didn't go to her. Was it possible that Logain was already too far gone to be saved?

They waited for awhile, but nothing changed. After a long time went by, Casimir couldn't stop himself from crying. Logain wasn't waking up no matter how long they waited.

Eventually, Logain stopped breathing.