As if in slow motion, Beryl threw the two potions, and they spiraled in the air. Lucie couldn’t move to evade the potions that were heading right toward her. As the potions passed through the crystal barrier, a bright red cloud engulfed Lucie, and nothing could be seen from the outside.
Derrick cried out and tried to fight to get to her, but he froze when he looked at the disappearing cloud. Lucie was gone.
“Where is she?” Count Basil growled, looking at the confused witch.
A deep voice called out from behind them. “No place you can touch her.”
They turned around to see a man with dark hair and dark eyes holding Lucie in his arms.
“What the hell are you doing? She isn’t your master anymore!” Count Basil shrieked out angrily.
“She doesn’t have to be my master for me to protect her.” Abe smiled down at her. “She is my most important person and friend.”
“It certainly took you long enough,” Lucie spat out playfully.
“Sorry, princess. I had to get rid of the reinforcements they had coming. Oh yeah, by the way … you won’t be seeing the other army. They’ve been annihilated. I sent word to your father, who quickly ordered the Sulfur Pack to engage. And the army of goblins and orcs that were on their way … well, they won’t be making it either. The dragons invited them to a barbecue. So I was just a bit busy, but I made it back in time.” Abe chuckled as he placed Lucie back on her feet.
Derrick sighed in relief. Thank goodness for Abe. His faith wasn’t quite as strong as Lucie’s for a moment there, and he really did think he’d left them for good.
“Wait, what happened to the potions?” Beryl asked in exasperation.
“I switched them out on you back when you unbonded my servant relationship. It was actually quite easy.”
“So you’re saying even with the severed bond, you’re still here protecting them?!” Count Basil shrieked out angrily.
Abe chuckled. “You cut the servant relationship and allowed me to absorb the djinn. So, thanks.” He gave the Count a smug smile. “But like I said, Lucie is—” He turned and smiled at her. “She’s the only person I’ve ever cried for. She’s special to me.”
“What a waste. Do you know how expensive those potions were?!”
“Don’t act like you were doing me a favor. You couldn’t kill Myra and me, which is why you’re siphoning her magic now. It was easier to cut the bond, and you just assumed that was the only thing that tied us. But you miscalculated, because Myra and I are loyal to them willingly.” Abe watched a heavy scowl form on the Count’s face.
“Is it possible to break the servant bond? I thought it was impossible,” Lucie asked Abe, who smiled down at her as he lowered her to her feet.
“Myra and I could never seek out a way to break it ourselves. An outsider could of their own accord. But something that strong …” Abe’s eyes grew dark.Something that strong had special help.
Beryl clicked her tongue. She needed those potions. That was her revenge … the reason she sold her damn soul.
“Damn your family! One day you’ll be consumed by the dark where no light can ever reach you!” Beryl spat out bitterly.
Abe rubbed the back of his neck and lifted his brows at the witch. “Honestly, I feel this whole end here is a bit anticlimactic for someone who’s been brooding for so long.” He looked at Lucie and rolled his eyes. “It really is pathetic. Now, little witch, we just need that other crystal so we can free Myra.”
Beryl began to cackle as she held her sides. Desperate, insane laughter echoed in the air. “I can’t believe it’s come down to this. I can’t believe it. Well, I’m not going down like this. If I’m going to lose, I would rather go down fighting. I’m already dead … what is the difference?” She lifted a vial with black liquid and quickly downed its contents.
The moment she did, her eyes turned black and her skin turned gray. She let out a feral scream, and the voidless that had been killed rose from the dead. More voidless began creeping out of the woods, all coming toward them.
“Shit,” Abe said in a low snarl. “Necromancy. She just traded her life for the power to control the undead.” He cursed under his breath. Where the hell did she get something like that, or from who?
“So what now?” Lucie asked, licking her lips and flashing a nervous glance toward Derrick.
“We have to kill the witch. Until she dies, her undead minions will continue to live.” Abe looked down at Lucie.
“So we have no choice but to feed Erebus her soul.” Lucie sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Well, on the plus side, I really wanted to be able to kill her. I hated having to keep her alive.” She glanced at Abe, who smirked at her. “Is there no way to free Myra now?” She looked back at Myra, who was still sealed to a stone on the ground.
“Not without the crystal she has, or one like it. So killing the witch accomplishes everything. It will free Myra and kill the undead minions.” Abe looked at Derrick, who was separated from them by a crowd of voidless.
“Abe, you help Derrick. I’ll take care of the witch … or necromancer, or whatever the hell she is now.”
Abe’s hand landed on her head. “Be careful, Lucie. And … thank you for believing in me. I wasn’t sure if you would trust me without the bond.”
