The door opened and Wayte entered. Dmitri looked up from his work with the cadaver, “Ah Wayte, good afternoon, what can we do for you?” he asked congenially.

Wayte walked over to Dmitri and beckoned Claudia over as well, when she reached them; Wayte recounted the morning’s events. Throughout the telling, Claudia gasped and her anger was building. After Wayte was finished, Claudia stormed, “That monster! How can he do such a thing?”

“Don’t forget that this is the man that wants total destruction of the French. Pardon me for saying so Wayte, but this is a small thing beside what that man is capable of if that’s his plan.” Dmitri reminded her.

“He what?” asked Wayte shocked.

Dmitri looked at Wayte, “You didn’t know? That’s what they have us doing in here.”

“And you’re doing it?” Wayte asked incredulously.

“Not as such,” explained Claudia, “They’ve provided us with an abundance of resources. Tomes and manuscripts, shelves of reagents, have a look around. So what we’re doing is buying time. We’re researching.”

“Researching?” asked Wayte.

“I’m trying to find a weakness in this disease,” explained Dmitri, “It originated from Akahaziel, so if we find a weakness in this we could be a step closer in finding a weakness in the demon himself. Claudia is trying to find a way to actually expose the demon and defeat him.”

“Can I interrupt your research for a special project?” asked Wayte.

“Of course,” said Claudia, “What do you need?”

“My wife, Marianna, has gone into hiding. She wants me to help the both of you to escape and defeat the evil in the city. But while I can be controlled, I’m putting all of us in jeopardy.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Dmitri and Claudia turned to each other and discussed it. There were wild gestures and Wayte overheard words like ‘link’ and ‘receptive state’. Claudia finally turned to an expectant Wayte; “We can perform a special type of magic called Spirit Linking. This means that we can share magic and skills. But without extensive training on your behalf, we can’t link with you immediately. Now obviously, time is critical so we don’t have time for training so I am making you a potion.” She went over to the reagents and started taking down jars and vials, “If you drink from it regularly, we will be able to link with you from afar. But in the same respect, Draycott may be able to control you easier. If we link with you before he does, your mind will be locked and he won’t be able to get in. So we will rotate linking with you for periods at a time. And because our link is spirit magic, it should break any control that Draycott has over you.”

“What should I do?” asked Wayte.

“When around other guards, act like they do, try and blend in,” suggested Dmitri.

Wayte nodded, taking it all in, “anything else?” he asked.

Dmitri looked towards Claudia, who nodded, “Do you think you could free us?” he asked.

Wayte shook his head, “No, I don’t think so. To get out of the castle from here is too long a route; you would be seen and stopped.”

“What about if you had a distraction?” asked Claudia, coming back to the pair, carrying a vial which she handed to Wayte.

He took it with gratitude, “What type of distraction?” he asked.

“Like fire, but more volatile,” replied Claudia.

Wayte raised his eyebrows in surprise, “How would you do that?” he asked.

“Leave that to us,” she said. “Now, I would recommend you leave now. Don’t forget, take two drops every hour. If you are running low, come and see me for more.”

Wayte nodded and started to leave.

“Wait,” said Dmitri and grabbed his sleeve, “wear an angry expression. We’ll find something to make it appear as though you have beaten us.”

Wayte nodded again and left the room.

“Clever thinking,” said Claudia after Wayte was gone, “about the beating I mean.”

“Thanks,” said Dmitri, “What did you mean about the fire though?”

“Ah,” she said with a smile, “I’ll show you in the morning, my mind is too exhausted to think about it at the moment, I think I might go to bed.”

“You don’t mind if I continue working do you?” asked Dmitri.

“Actually,” she said, her smile getting bigger, “I was hoping you would join me.”

“Oh,” said Dmitri blushing and he started towards Claudia.