CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN—DISTURBANCES
“Come…” the voice said ponderously. “Come… to me….”
Raz growled with annoyance and frustration, though he simultaneously realized he had a body, that he could walk.
How strange.
Before he had felt as if he were simply suspended in midair. Or was it that he felt like he was floating in water—and yet he could breath.
Scowling, he turned toward that voice. It was difficult to make out the direction from whence it came. It seemed to come from his relative east, but… who was to tell? It also came from all over.
“What do you want? Do you not see you are disturbing me?” He turned. “Leilyn I—“ Where did she go? “Leilyn?” Nothing. “Where are you?”
“Not… real.”
“What?!” he barked. “Who are you?”
The voice waited ponderously before answering. It was so annoying. Raz was one, and never had been, a man of patience. When he wanted something, he took it, and he did not intend on waiting.
Just like when he went the Palace of Darshuun to help Shiro and Ali. He hadn’t done it out of kindness. Certainly, he did not have any contempt for them or their plight, but had he not been interested, he would never have gone.
It had been fun.
“Friend,” the voice said all around him.
Raz crossed him arms. “Yeah, right. Of course you are my friend, that is why you took Leilyn from me, yes?”
“Not… real.”
He growled. Not real my backside, man. “Where are you?”
“Here…”
“What does that even mean?”
“Prisoners…”
“Ha! You might be a prisoner, but I can leave anytime I wish!”
The voice said nothing.
“What, you have nothing to say about that?” he yelled. This place seemed to have no walls, no discernable anything. It was simply a bright green void, warm and liquid-like. He stepped forward intently.
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There must be a wall nearby.
When he took several more strides forward, Raz made a fist and swung it at what he thought could be a wall in front of him, but his hand moved through the air without hitting anything.
“Hmm.”
“Told you…” the voice said. “Prisoners.”
Raising an eyebrow skeptically, Raz said, “All right—then how do we get out of here?”
There was a long pause, when after a while the voice came to him. “Magic.”
“Magic? What does that mean? How about some instruction, yes?”
Raz grunted. Now that he thought about it, when he attuned himself to his own gifts, he realized he felt incredibly weak—and getting weaker.
“That is not good.”
“The monster…” the voice came. “Draining… our auras.”
“Hmm,” said Raz as he scratched his head. “What monster?” He glanced about. Is there a monster? I can’t remember any monster.
He felt at the pain in his chest, and suddenly he felt an aura come to him. It was strange—like he had sensed it before.
An image flashed into his mind, an image of someone looking down. There was a sword in his left hand, and his other was covered in blood as whoever’s eyes he looked through coughed and spat blood forward as a large green and spiny thing stuck into his—
He felt at his chest.
“Was that me? I do not remember dying…”
“Prisoners…”
“You said that already!” He glanced around. “What do you want me to do?”
“Monster… steals magic…”
“Yeah—and what do you say I do? You still have not told me anything, man. Why am I even talking to you? How do I know you are not the monster, eh?”
An aura approached him again and again the images of his death flashed within his mind. “All right, all right! Enough! You are a friend, I think.” He paused. “Unless… you mean to use fear to trick me, eh?”
He tapped his forehead. I am Razul Al Bashur—and I am a clever adventurer.
A sardonic feeling came over him, but it was not Raz’s feeling. It was… from outside of him.
Ah, it is him…
“So!” he spat, nodding wildly as he meant to challenge that strange voice, “you do not believe me?”
“Fool…”
“Hey! I am no fool! Take it back!”
The voice was gone—the aura was gone.
“Damnation—answer me, or I’ll…”
He glanced about for something to hit. But of course, nothing was there. He wanted to see Leilyn, wanted to touch her, talk to her, to feel her breasts in his hands.
“Hmm.” If I do not get out of here, I won’t be able to do that ever again…
“Correct…”
“Hey!” he screamed. “Stay out of my thoughts, you perverted spirit!”
There was a pause. “Communication…”
“Ha!”
Something like a sigh came to him, and Raz, for the first time, realized the communication he was hearing was not so much around him, but within his own head.
“Oh…”
“Power…”
“What of it, man?”
“I need… your power.”
He laughed. “Yeah, right. Like I am going to give you anything. I do not even know who you are, man. You could be this monster.”
Another sigh.
“What?”
“Stupid.”
“I will cut you to pieces, fool!”
“You can… do nothing… prisoner.”
Raz growled, swung his arms in frustration as if he could hit something, but nothing was there to hit. He jumped, flying through the air. Well, “air” was not quite correct. It was more like a green void of—
He gasped.
“Void!” he screamed. “So this is the void?!”
The voice came.
“Yes… and no…”
“Hey—tell me what you want? How do we get out of here? I want to get out. I want out now. I’m ready, okay?”
“Power…”
“No—I do not think so, man.”