"You've caught the boy," Utar said, brus.h.i.+ng Sam aside to walk over to me. "Let's see, what was his name again?" he asked.

"Myles," Sam answered, crestfallen.

"And why did you disobey my orders and risk your life to catch this one? Better yet, why didn't you notify me the moment you captured him?"

Sam stayed silent. He looked at the ground, his legs still shaking.

Utar clicked his fingers and the spell Sam had put on me was released. My legs stumbled and I felt my knees heavily collided with the ground. The pain I experienced was much stronger than that of knees colliding with the floor. My head throbbed and my stomach gave out a cry for help. Worst of it all was the pain I experienced in my nether region. I clutched it with both hands as I tried to stifle a cry of pain.

"You've been torturing him for information," Utar deducted. "Are you looking for your aunt Sam?" The Priest made a sound that resembled a 'tut tut tut!' then walked straight toward the bushes where I hid Agatha. He pulled the woman from her hair and raised her in the air.

"Unconscious, must have used too much energy to escape Jory's clutches. Speaking of which," Utar looked at me in disdain, "you've killed a dear friend of mine. You've personally offended me. For that, you shall be severely punished."

He flung the woman at Sam's arms then muttered some words I couldn't understand. I felt my body levitating in the air then turn toward the Priest. His white hair was flowing in the air without wind. His brows were furrowed as he looked at me with utter disgust.

"Let's see how you'd react if I crushed your bones." He raised an arm and twisted it, but before anything could happen, a loud crash was heard behind the Priest. Utar lowered his hand and looked around.

A h.o.m.opraelia had just landed behind him, unconscious. The Priest retracted his arm, as if beckoning me to come closer. To my surprise I flew right at him and followed behind. I had lost control of my own body. His spell was stronger than the one Sam used on me. I could tell because I felt my toes brush the ground beneath me.

Utar's eyes were still fixing the monster. I felt my body land on the ground then I started walking behind him. Not matter how hard I tried to resist, my body would still move unwillingly. My headache had just become worse. I couldn't believe such splitting headaches existed. I had to stop resisting, but I couldn't. It felt like trying to move both eyes in opposite directions, impossible. (I can still remember what having two eyes felt like!)

I watched the Priest walk toward the beast as some vines began entangling my body. They magically sprouted from the ground. They wrapped around my legs and chest, binding me. I could move again, the spell Utar had cast was released. But I couldn't wriggle out of my binds. From the corner of my eye, I saw a green figure flash past Utar. Raiya, with her silver blond hair and long green dress, was standing opposite the Priest.

"The boy stays!" Raiya told the Priest in a determined tone. I let out a long sigh of relief. There was some light at the end of the dark tunnel after all. The witch was friendly. She'd gone through all the trouble to come and save me. Eli and Zoey weren't with her though.

"He's been sentenced to death!" Utar said. "Dhobor's word is absolute!"

"I don't care about your G.o.d's words," Raiya retorted. "The boy stays." Utar didn't attack. I could tell he was weighing his options.

"What's so important about this boy anyway?" Utar asked. "You'd risk offending the church for him?"

"Why should I be scared of your church anyway?" Raiya retorted.

"It seems to me," Utar said, "that you're not aware of the nature of his crime."

Raiya didn't answer. It meant she didn't.

I didn't.

Utar smiled. I could tell by the slight twitch his ears made.

"The boy harbored and hid a Listener from Dhobor," he said. "He managed to keep her away from us for one moon."

Raiya frowned. That couldn't be good news, could it? What was a listener? I strained my brain to think. Think you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! What was a listener? Why did that earn me a life sentence?

"I owe him a great deal," Raiya said. "Now, would you step aside, let me release the boy? Or does it have to get ugly?"

"A witch threatening a Priest of the Church," Utar scoffed.

"Not a witch," Raiya retorted. She raised her left hand and drew a circle in the air. I could see a golden thread following her hand then the circle started spinning. It grew larger and larger, then a dark purple cloud filled it.

A strong wind blew from the cloud that had just formed within the golden circle. It threatened to blow us all away. The vines holding me became looser. I felt as though I was going to fly away. Utar, on the other hand, didn't move. I glanced at Sam who seemed to struggle to keep a hold of his unconscious aunt.

The wind stooped howling as suddenly as it started blowing. Then, a figure emerged from the dark cloud. At first I saw a feline face. It had long white whiskers and dark gray furs. Its mouth was wide, extending from one ear to the other. It had sharp, pointy aligned teeth. Then its whole body got out of the dark cloud.

I was looking at a gigantic cat and dog hybrid. That's as close as I could come to a comparison. It had long white whiskers and a muzzle akin to that of a wolf. Its eyes shone a bright golden light.

It had a strong muscular body. Its bicep was twice as big as I was. Its forearm was longer than a great sword, which was also covered in dark gray fur. It had pink paws, about the only adorable thing about this abomination. It stood on its hind legs, thick and muscular, and stomped the ground as it walked out of the dark purple cloud.

When the beast spoke, it felt as though many people were whispering in my ear at the same time. I learned, later on, that it was a form of psionic communication. The beast spoke to Raiya. I could gather that it was asking about food. She pointed at the unconscious gorilla and the cat devoured it heartily. It started by ripping the body apart, using its sharp claws then munched the meat, pretty noisily I should add.

"You're a Warlock!" Utar muttered.

"Will you hand me the boy?" Raiya asked, "or does it have to get ugly?"

"Who is it?" Utar said, his chin pointing at the cat.

"s.h.i.+sa!" the eerie whisper of the feline creature reached my ears, or was it inside my head? I couldn't tell.

The Priest raised his hands. The vines loosened even more then disappeared. He waved a hand forward and I was flung at Raiya. I looked at the Priest who was looking at me darkly. I could tell he reluctantly let go of me.

"Are you hurt?" Raiya asked. She was smiling now. I felt safe for the first time since I got thrown in the Crucible.

I shook my head.

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Utar started backing away, casting nervous glances at s.h.i.+sa, who was still devouring the h.o.m.opraelia. "I couldn't show him my full strength until he showed up," Raiya whispered to my ear.

The Priest motioned to Sam to move away. The boy looked as though he'd lost an important fight. Utar was scowling. I looked at Agatha in Sam's arms. I knew what awaited her. Suddenly, I felt as though I had to save her.

"Can we take her too?" I asked Raiya.

Sam looked relieved at that question. Utar stopped right in his tracks. He slowly turned to look at me, then shot a brief glance at Sam, who immediately looked down. Raiya shot me a patronizing look.

"Saving you was for free," she whispered, "saving her will cost you."

"I'll pay, no matter the cost," I answered. Little did I know, the cost to a witch, or in this case a warlock, didn't imply money.

Raiya looked at Utar expectantly.

"I'm still hungry," Sisha said.

"There are two more over there," I told the cat, jerking my head toward the two h.o.m.opraelia who tried catching me earlier. The cat's eerie mouth widened. I didn't know if it were smiling or baring its fangs at me for speaking to it without permission. Sisha walked toward the monsters and busied itself, ripping them apart.

Utar and Raiya were having a staring contest. The Priest was struggling with something inside his own twisted mind.

"Dhobor won't be happy about this," he warned.

"That's your problem to deal with," Raiya retorted.

"He hates interference." Utar was now clutching his hands into a tight fist.

"And I hate wasting time over meaningless threats," Raiya said. "You know what happens here after dark, don't you?"

Utar cursed. He motioned with his head toward Sam and the boy brought the Herbologist over. I held her then placed her over my shoulder. Sam muttered some thanks under his breath then backed away.

"If that is all," Utar said, beckoning Sam near him. "I'll just – "

"Not so fast," Raiya interrupted. "Remove your imprint from this boy."

That was more than Utar could handle. He raised his hand and started muttering some spell. But before he could finish it, Raiya swiped her arms in the air. I felt a strong wind brush past us then hit Priest. Utar was flung backward at breakneck speed. His flight was brought to an abrupt stop as he hit a tree.

The tree trunk gave a threatening cracking sound as Utar stood up, brushed the dust off his white robe then looked at me then at the witch. He started muttering another spell but another wave from the witch's hand and he was flung sideways. This time, he broke several trees, going through each trunk, before his body was heard falling with a heavy thud.

"Go to your master," Raiya ordered Sam.

"Let's get the h.e.l.l out of here!" she barked. "Utar won't be unconscious for long."

"What about Sisha?" I asked.

"He'll take the meat with him," Raiya answered.

"Can't I just eat him?" Sisha's voice reached my head.

"And risk Dhobor's army on our heels?" Raiya yelled. "Take your food and disappear. I'll call for you when this is all over."

Sisha stood, blinked at the witch then started fading away. A strong gale threatened to break the surrounding trees apart, then the cat was no more.

"Let's go," Raiya barked at me.

I did as I was told. I carried Agatha and followed the witch. We ran through the darkening forest. The sky above us had turned bright orange, announcing the sun was about to set. We didn't run for long though as we quickly reached a vast clearing. A large tree, larger than any I've seen before, stood in the middle of a green field. Poppies embellished the place, their red petals gleaming as the last sun rays brushed past them.

Raiya stood before the tree and drew some strange symbols. The earth below us rumbled as the tree suddenly came to life. Its trunk opened up as though it had a mouth, large enough to accommodate a full grown h.o.m.opraelia. Raiya walked in then beckoned me over. I followed suit then found myself inside a large house. The opening closed behind us and the outside world disappeared from sight.