Book of Venoms - 17. Escape from the Citadel

“It is believed that the first Shifters to ever be created were members of the ancient Tudoro civilization, which occupied the western lands near the Cerebon Plateau. According to legends, Umnios noticed that many of Tudoro people kept large cats, such as panthers and pumas, as pets. It is then no wonder that these were the animals the first Shifters could morph into.
Unfortunately, what Umnios saw as a blessing, humans saw as a curse. Out of fear that they were being punished by gods and turned into monsters, people started capturing everyone who they believed was 'cursed'. Thus, the majority of the first Shifters were either murdered or driven out of their towns and villages and left to fend for themselves in the wilderness.
Patient and stubborn, Umnios did not want to give up on his new creations. In order to teach people a lesson, he turned every single member of the Tudoro civilization into a Shifter.”
--

“Let us out!” Jarin yelled as he banged on the door, one hand repeatedly clutching the doorknob. It was useless, though - the tall and heavy wooden door wouldn’t budge, and Cassandra was long gone up the astronomy tower, looking for Xaviel.

“She’s not going to let us out. I knew that wench was up to something,” Dymia said bitterly, walking over to the door along with Cyr.

“Let us try and break it open,” Cyr suggested. Sawyer and Castor joined them, ready to rush the door. “On three. One, two, three.”

The five of them all ran forward and slammed into the door as hard as they could, but to no effect. It was still firmly locked from the outside.

“Can you use your magic to unlock it?” Castor turned to Sawyer, who was already drawing his magic wand.

“I can try,” the sorcerer said, motioning for everyone to clear out. “Move away from the door, just to be on the safe side.” He then pointed his wand at the door and focused, firing a beam of green light. As it hit the doorknob, the light turned into a vine that fell on the floor uselessly, coiling around itself.

“Yeah, that’ll help us,” Dymia rolled her eyes, struggling to suppress laughter.

“Oh, shut up, he’s trying!” Cyr shot her a death stare that made her pipe down.

“Sorry, I’ve gotten so used to nature magic. I haven’t used this spell in a while,” Sawyer looked around, his cheeks turning pink. “Let me try again, I know I can do this! Ok, how did that spell go, focus…” he pointed his wand again, whispering the last part to himself. As he closed his eyes, Sawyer tried to remember Esthor’s instructions. He visualized himself opening the door and soon felt a surge of magical energy shooting through his wand and hitting the door right at the centre, unlocking it.

“You did it!” Castor exclaimed, rushing over to his boyfriend and giving him a congratulatory hug. This time, Sawyer beamed with joy, looking proud of himself.

“There’ll be time for celebration later, let’s get out of here first,” Jarin said, leading the group out of the room. As they went out into the hallway, they all looked around in different directions, unsure where to go.

“Now what?” Sawyer asked. He and Castor were new to the Citadel, so they had no idea where anything was located.

“We should go find Macarius,” Cyr said, Jarin and Dymia nodding in agreement. “I think the room down below where Xaviel was kept is the best place to start.”

“I agree, let’s go already,” Jarin called out, already heading down the stairs.

“What about his laboratory? I’ll go and check on that,” Dymia suggested, pointing to the staircase leading up.

“I don’t think splitting up is a good idea,” Castor said. “You heard those screams, we don’t know what that was.”

“I’ll be fine. If anything happens, I can shift and easily slip out unnoticed,” Dymia brushed him off, shifting into a wasp and flying away.

“Should one of us go after her?” Sawyer suggested, looking at the other three guys. Even with magic on his side, he didn’t feel comfortable going alone.

“What we need to do is hurry up,” Cyr gestured impatiently, waving them over. “If she wants to play a hero, let her. We can always catch up with her later.”

The rest of the group followed him down the stairs and into the hallway on the floor below. The torches illuminated the halls with purple light, casting eerie shadows as the group passed by.

“The last time we saw Macarius was when he entered that room, and we haven’t seen him come out. I know he was the one who brought us all here, but I believe he wouldn’t harm us now. He said he’d teleport us back home, so we need to find him,” Cyr explained. “There, that’s the room,” he pointed to a door on the right side of the hall, rushing toward it. As he opened it, he froze in place, letting out a loud gasp.

“What?” Castor asked, rushing over to his twin and peeking over his shoulder into the room.

“Look over here,” Cyr pointed as he moved away from the door so everyone could follow him inside.

The room was empty, but it was immediately clear what had made the boy so upset - the ivory white carpet was stained with what looked like a pool of blood.

“It’s blood alright… and it’s fresh,” Jarin said as he knelt down and touched the stain with his fingers, leaving a dark red smear on his skin.

“But Xaviel and Cassandra are both clearly fine, so whose is it? Macarius’?” Sawyer asked, his eyes still fixed on the carpet.

“We don’t know that. Maybe there was someone else in the Citadel that we didn’t know about? Some other prisoner? In case you haven’t noticed, this place is huge,” Jarin said.

“There’s more blood here, look,” Castor pointed out a few small droplets near the sofa placed against the wall. As he approached it and lifted the pillows, his eyes went wide with shock. Carefully, he picked up a dagger hidden beneath the pillows, its blade tainted with blood. “Look!”

“Someone was definitely attacked here, but who?” the young sorcerer asked, approaching his boyfriend and placing a hand at the small of his back. Castor appreciated the touch, calming him down and making him feel more secure.

“I don’t know, but I’m willing to bet that annoying servant girl had something to do with it. Why else would she lock us up there?” Cyr narrowed his eyes, glancing at the dagger in Castor’s hand and the blood on the carpet. He needed a theory, but he was missing so many pieces.

“Maybe she killed Macarius and now wants to kill his son too?” Jarin suggested as they left the room and went back where they came from. His guess was as good as anyone else’s.

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that,” Cyr mused, the wheels in his head turning as he was trying to think. “Xaviel was lying defenseless in that room for weeks. If she wanted to kill him, she had plenty of time to do it.”

He tried to remember everything Macarius told him about Xaviel and how the boy was bitten by a spider. Something was off, but he couldn’t figure out what.

“I’m not sure of anything anymore, but I suggest we find Dymia and get out of here,” Jarin proposed.

As the group reached the end of the hallway and entered the grand hall, they abruptly stopped as they saw Xaviel and Cassandra standing on the other end, holding hands. Castor quickly tried to hide the bloody dagger behind his back, but it was too late - Xaviel had already noticed it.

“I see you’ve gotten yourself a little souvenir,” he said, sounding amused. “Didn’t you know it was impolite to snoop around in someone else’s home?” An evil smirk spread across his face as he scanned the four boys standing at the other end of the large chamber.

“Considering we were brought here by force, I think that gives us the right to snoop,” Cyr shot back, looking unimpressed at Xaviel and Cassandra. The pair stood bold and confident, as if they owned the place.

“And where is your other friend? The girl?” Xaviel asked, noticing her missing.

“And where is your father?” Jarin responded with a question of his own, cocking an eyebrow and drawing a mocking scoff out of the boy.

“I’ll go look for her,” Cassandra whispered into Xaviel’s ear and turned to leave.

He grabbed her by the hand and she stopped. “Be careful,” he told her, letting her go as she nodded.

With Cassandra disappearing up the stairs, Xaviel turned his attention back to the four boys standing together, observing him with suspicion. He was intelligent enough to know they must have figured everything out. If they had been to his room and found the dagger he left in the couch - something he was now regretting - then they have surely seen Macarius’ body lying on the floor where he had left him.

Now, he would have to dispose of them too. His eyes scanned each of them as his dark, thin lips drew into a wicked smile.

“Well, now, where were we?”

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Cyr exclaimed, as the picture finally started to become clearer. Seeing Xaviel and Cassandra together, holding hands, he realized they were in this together all along. “You killed Macarius, didn’t you? And she’s helping you!”

“At least one of you is smart,” Xaviel chuckled, eyeing Cyr. “I hope smart enough not to cause any more trouble.”

“Why?” Jarin asked. Looking into Xaviel’s eyes, he saw cruelty and greed. It reminded him so much of his own father. It was one of the reasons he had left. “Why did you do it?”

“Freedom. Power. I don’t expect any of you to understand,” the boy scoffed bitterly. “You have no idea what it was like being the son of the great Macarius. An insignificant prisoner, isolated my entire life.”

“Power? What kind of power?” Sawyer, who tried staying quiet together with Castor, dared to ask.

As if he had been waiting for that question all night, Xaviel smiled proudly and took a step forward.

“Why don’t I show you? Behold - the greatest shifter that has ever lived!” he exclaimed as his eyes started glowing yellow. His human pupils started morphing into narrow vertical ones, like those of a snake.

He started shifting, but he was still not used to it. Once again, the pain was overwhelming. With a horrifying scream, he fell to his knees as his body started transforming. The group of four boys looked in horror as huge wasp-like wings spurted from Xaviel’s back, tearing his skin.

“I think we should go,” Castor whispered, backing away into the hallway and pulling Sawyer with him. “Cyr, come on!”

Entranced with the transformation happening before their eyes, Cyr and Jarin stood in place, observing as the boy shifted into a massive black snake, its dark scales glistening under the light of the torches. It was nearly identical to Castor’s, only about three times the size, and with a large scorpion tail raised over its head, its deadly stinger pointing in the boys’ direction.

“Holy…” Jarin’s mouth was gaping in shock and wonder as he took in the monstrosity before him.

Cyr quickly pulled him by the hand, bringing him to his senses. “Everyone, follow me,” he ordered and ran down the hall, wasting no time.

His transformation finally complete, Xaviel felt the pain subside to a mild ache that he could handle. Flapping his wasp wings a few times as if to test them, he raised himself in the air and hissed, his long forked tongue sticking out of his snake mouth. Those four pests were about to escape and he could not let that happen!

Turning left, he zoomed into the hallway, gaining on the boys. The feeling of flying and being in this animal body was still utterly strange and new to him, making him dizzy. At moments, Xaviel felt he would collapse and pass out, but he tried his best to focus and remain steady.

“In here,” Cyr shouted and led the group into the terrarium chamber where he spent all of his days after being brought to the Citadel. Once everyone was in, he slammed the door and locked it with just a few seconds to spare.

Xaviel crashed into the door, falling to the ground. He wasn’t fast enough.

“I have to master this shifting thing as soon as possible!” he thought as he picked himself up and became airborne again, hissing in fury. He could not let them get away!

“Quick! We have to smash the ceiling,” Cyr shouted, looking for the largest rock he could find. Castor joined him, picking up a few large stones and throwing them, aiming at the glass ceiling just above the tree in the corner of the chamber.

“What about the gargoyles?” Jarin asked. “As soon as they notice us, we’re as good as dead.”

“Cas and I dispatched two of them when we came here,” Sawyer explained, throwing another rock and finally breaking the glass covering the room.

Once the ceiling shattered, the boys started climbing the tree one by one, until all of them were up on the roof, gasping for air.

“Oh shit!” Jarin whispered as he looked around, noticing four gargoyles in their places, one on each tower of the Citadel. “I thought you said you took care of two of them?”

“We did!” Castor nodded. “Why are they not moving? Can they not see us?”

“It must be Macarius’ doing. They no longer see us as intruders, so we get to pass freely,” Cyr guessed, his eyes still glued to the nearest stone creature in case it made any movements.

“Let’s hope you’re right. But how do we get down?” Jarin asked, peering over the edge and almost getting dizzy. “I do not intend to end up as food for desert vultures.”

“Don’t worry, none of us do. I think I can help,” Sawyer said, remembering the forest he created a few days ago. While he wouldn’t dare repeating that mistake, he figured the same spell, but on a much smaller scale, would not incur Eteon’s wrath.

The sorcerer moved to stand near the edge of the roof and pointed his wand down at the ground below, focusing his power into it. Castor stood by quietly, watching as a seedling sprouted from the ground and began growing at a rapid pace. Soon after, a fully-grown sycamore tree stood before them, its tallest branches reaching all the way to the roof where the group of boys stood.

“That is incredible,” Jarin whispered in awe, moving closer to look at the tree. He had never seen much magic in his life, so any spell Sawyer would cast was most fascinating to him. “But wait, what about Dymia? We can’t just leave her here.”

“Jarin, if you want to go back for her, go ahead. I do not intend to get us all killed because of her. She knew what she was doing when she separated from us!” Cyr responded impatiently, moving toward the tree Sawyer had created. “Come on, we have no time to waste,” he urged them, reaching for the nearest branch and starting his slow descent down the tree.

“I hope she’ll be fine,” Jarin muttered as he reached for a branch and followed after Cyr.

The others followed after him, trying their best not to slip and fall. The night was slowly giving way to a new dawn, making it easier for them to see where they were stepping.

Once everyone was back on solid ground, they took in their surroundings and felt lost - other than sand and barren, rocky mountains to the south, there was not much else.

“Does anyone have a plan?” Castor asked. “Where do we-”

Just then, a flying monstrosity came from behind the wall, its glaring eyes fixed on the four boys.

“Xaviel!” Jarin gasped as his eyes fell upon the flying serpent with wasp wings and scorpion tail. “Run!”

Nobody had to be told twice - they all sprinted off, with Sawyer turning around to quickly fire a spell at the shifter. The green beam narrowly missed, disappearing into thin air as the snake hissed and opened its jaws, showing off its huge fangs. Although still unsteady, the creature was slowly gaining on the four boys. It was only a matter of time before it would catch up with them and sink its deadly teeth into their flesh.

Just as they thought they were done for, the boys heard a loud thud behind them and turned to see Xaviel lying on the ground, shifting back into his human form as the sun started to appear on the horizon.

“NO!” Xaviel shouted in anger and desperation. He almost had them!

Picking himself up, he scurried off toward the Citadel, angry at daylight for putting an end to his shifting. Once he was back inside the fortress, he slammed the door, sealing it.

“Are they…” Cassandra asked, looking at her lover with concern.

“They fled,” he grumbled, rushing up the stairs, his chest heaving. “And the girl?”

“No sign of her. She’s a wasp, she must’ve flown out.”

“Perfect, just bloody perfect. And those gargoyles are useless, they just let them walk away.”

“Your father must have deactivated them when those boys arrived,” Cassandra stated, following closely behind.

“I know. That’s why I need to get my father’s spellbooks. I must gain control of those creatures somehow!”

“My love, where is he?” the girl asked and Xaviel stopped, turning to look at her. He stepped toward her and gently took her by the hands, gazing into her eyes. The truth was, he was afraid of how she would react when she found out he has become a murderer. If she decided to leave him, it would break his heart.

“My love, I… I did what I had to do. For us.”

Cassandra nodded silently in reply, squeezing his hands in support and allowing the boy to press his lips against hers in a soft kiss.

“I understand,” she replied, realizing that on some level, she always knew it would come to that.

“I knew you would.”

~~

Trying her best to stay undetected by Xaviel and Cassandra, Dymia flew around in her wasp form, inspecting the corridors. There was no one in sight, and no sounds other than footsteps in the distance, on the floor below. Whoever it is, they are too far away, she concluded.

Once she reached the chamber she recognized as the laboratory, the girl shifted back to her human form. She looked at the door, remembering the first time she was brought there by Macarius. The despicable man tortured her, making her believe her head was set on fire. Even though it was only an illusion, the pain and panic she felt at that moment were too real. She shuddered as she recalled those moments when she wondered if she would live to see another day.

Little did she know he was a desperate father trying to save his son. Not that that excused his behavior in any way. Dymia was still distrustful and wary of the old sorcerer, wondering if he would betray her and the others again. She realized he was capable of just about anything.

Still, she was just as distrustful of the servant girl. That little bitch was hiding something, Dymia was sure of it. As for Macarius’ son, he was a complete mystery. She knew nothing about the boy, but there was something about him that didn’t sit well with her. Also, she was too curious and had to go inside the room and investigate. Unless she planned to be stuck in that bloody desert for weeks, she had to find Macarius – he was her way out of there. That Sawyer guy seemed to be a baby when it came to magic; she could not count on him teleporting her back home to her grandparents.

Slowly, Dymia opened the door and entered the laboratory, only to freeze in place when a long staff was pointed at her, its golden orb emitting a faint glow. The girl gasped in shock, taking a step back as she saw Macarius lying on the floor, holding his magic staff in one hand and clutching his bleeding abdomen with the other. He struggled to keep his head up and his eyes open.

“Oh, it is only you,” he muttered, coughing as he did so.

“Wha- what happened? Who did this to you? Was it Cassandra?” Dymia asked, scanning the sorcerer from head to toe. He looked like hell – he was barely holding on to dear life.

“Xaviel,” Macarius whispered, wincing in pain.

“Your son?” she stared at the man, not sure what to believe anymore. It wouldn’t be the first time she was tricked. What if this was another illusion? A test?

Macarius nodded and closed his eyes, unable to reply. Just then, the girl noticed he was holding a small vial filled with white liquid. “I need to apply this…” he started to speak, but then coughed again.

“Uhhh,” Dymia looked at him with a mixture of pity and fear, hesitant to get any closer. As she noticed a few tears trickle down the man’s cheeks, the compassion in her won over. She had to at least try and help.

“Ah hell, let me do it,” the girl shook her head and knelt down beside him, taking the vial from his hand.

As she opened his robe, her heart sped up when she saw the large stab wound on the man’s stomach. Luckily, she was never one to be scared of a little blood, and she wasn’t about to start now. Grabbing a clean cloth from the table next to her, she soaked it in the white liquid and pressed it against the wound, cleaning it gently.

“Ahhh,” the old sorcerer panted, pain shooting through him like lightning. He gritted his teeth, trying his best to endure the pain while Dymia cleaned his wound.

Just then, a knock on the door made them both freeze. Macarius knew there was no time to waste. He grabbed the girl by the hand and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Do you trust me?” he asked, his grip on her forearm strong.

“No,” she shook her head, but Macarius didn’t care. As the orb on his staff began glowing more brightly, a magical whirlwind appeared around them, enveloping them completely. The girl shut her eyes firmly – she knew the feeling by now. He was teleporting them again.

When Dymia opened her eyes a moment later, it was clear they were no longer in the Citadel of Bone. They were now in a strange house, but there seemed to be no one around but the two of them.

“Will you stop kidnapping me!” she yelled angrily, turning to face Macarius, but as she did, the girl saw him lying on the floor, barely moving.

“Get... Parthus,” he uttered weakly before fainting.

Thank you all for reading! Have a great day!