Tanas frowned as he watched the rachnid pierce the boy’s side. He usually enjoyed the spectacle of the pit, and since Lord Kaldon had allowed him the spell, he would soon reap the benefits of a higher level. There was satisfaction in watching his hard earned powers come to life. Not so now.

  Somehow the curse had failed once again. He’d need to dissect it and figure out where he’d gone wrong. The Agony Spell was not supposed to be this hard.

  The boy in the pit did not seem to suffer. Tanas grimaced. In fact, he had appeared to welcome the rachnid. It made no sense. Nothing else seemed to be wrong, and he had done the spell correctly. He still had the orb the boy was wearing in the hut, and he took it out of his robe, and gazed at it. He would have to give it to Kaldon and he was hoping to unlock its mystery by questioning the boy.

  The boy’s resistance was impressive. Little good it did him in the end, he scoffed. He pocketed the treasure. It was a small token for the work and risk he put in.

  He wouldn’t have to undergo punishment for his failure, he hoped. The boy was unmoving within the pentacle Tanas had drawn. It seemed to have worked. He turned his gaze inward and felt a rising panic. [Voidpath Tier 30] It was exactly the same as when he started. His chest tightened, and he struggled to breathe.

  He had done something wrong. It was only a matter of time before High Archmage Kaldon noticed, and sentenced him to punishment. He needed to see the boy’s body. It would be removed and noted that his spell had not worked as planned.

  Tanas had spent many days gathering his energy, and working on his craft in preparation for a moment such as this. He had done everything right, and yet… He gazed at his inner sight again, unbelieving. His level had not changed, and he had not grown in power.

  The clean up was always done by underlings. The young acolytes vying to be accepted yet into the Order’s inner workings. He could be banished for this failure, and that was a fate worse than death.

  “Hail Argor,” Felep called. Though Felep was younger, they were both on the same tier, and both were at war for the number one spot. There could only be one that advanced to the inner circle.

  Tanas smiled victoriously. Appearances were everything. “Hail Argor!” He inwardly winced when his voice cracked.

  “The boy is dead,” Felep said, gazing down into the pit. “Well done with the Agony Spell.” His eyes never wavered from the bottom of the pit.

  He knows, Tanas thought. He knows my spell has failed.

  “Our Lord will no doubt be pleased.” Felep smiled again. He lowered his hood and ran a hand over his freshly shaved scalp.

  Tanas froze. His rival had a new ink on the side of his head. He had been training with Kaldon behind his back. Panic bubbled up again. He couldn’t have passed him. Felep was two tiers below, and Tanas was his superior.

  He used his inner sight and drew in a ragged breath. [Voidpath Tier 32] He was Tanas’s superior and now with the failure of this spell, would soon be his master. The dream of entering the inner circle was slipping away. There was nothing else for him if he didn’t have this.

  “Would you like to help me with the retrieval?” Tanas motioned to the lifeless body below. If he could get Felep alone, they could perhaps come up with a deal.

  “Leave it to the acolytes” Felep scoffed. “Let them do the dirty work.”

  Tanas peered out the small window at the growing light. Their master would soon call them to him for recounting.

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  Felep’s back was turned. Tanas had a moment to decide. He was of royal blood and Felep was a commoner. It made sense for him to sacrifice for the greater good. The fastest way to gain power was through sacrifice. It was still the void, but it encompassed something much more feral and powerful.

  Tanas fingered the blade hilt on his belt. He had spent many hours inscribing the runes that praised Argor, their god of the void. It would work. With only a moment of hesitation, he thrust the blade into Felep’s back, right at the heart.

  It sliced through clean, just as Tanas had intended. He had studied the human anatomy for many sun cycles, and knew the body’s limitations.

  Felep didn’t know what hit him. His body crumpled to the floor in a heap of robes and limbs.

  Slowly, he recited the prayer to Argor, circling the five points of mastery with his blade, and letting the blood drip from the tip. He bit his tongue as the power surged through him. Argor had accepted his sacrifice. Yes, it was the easy way on the voidpath, but Tanas long suspected the Grand Master had gotten there, not by hard work but by this very means.

  Excitement rushed up within as he checked his inner sight. [Voidpath Tier 34] It had worked. He would be that much closer to gaining power within the Order which only occurred at Tier 40. Soon he would be the master, and he would be rid of Kaldon.

  Tanas froze when he heard footsteps outside. The acolytes were coming to clean up the boy’s body. He looked over at Felep, and swore under his breath.

  He picked up Felep under his arms and dragged him to the side, covering his body in a few rough hewn cloths. It would have to do for now, until he could be rid of it.

  “Hail Argor!” the young acolyte called before stepping into the sacred alcove. He inclined his shaved bare head to Tanas.

  Tanas said nothing in reply and only gave the young acolyte the curtest of nods. These young acolytes hadn’t even reached a tier yet. They were beneath his notice.

  Voice hesitating, and eyes wide, the acolyte swallowed. “We were told to clean up, Master Tanas.”

  “No need,” Tanas said, raising his chin. “You are excused.”

  “Yes, Master Tanas,” the young acolyte bowed, and backed away, eyes wide with awe. Power still flowed through the room from the sacrifice.

  Tanas smiled to himself. Argor himself had been pleased. His good mood soured when he looked down at the boy’s body. A nasty rachnid bite oozed poison from his exposed skin. Clean up was beneath him, but he had to know why his spell had failed.

  He pressed his hands together at his chest and bowed his head to the statue of Argor. The gold eyes of the statue glittered back at him. The stairwell was to the side of the altar and Tanas took the steps down into the dark.

  “Lumenas,” he whispered, and a light flickered in his palm, illuminating the ancient paintings on the walls, leading down. A millennia of battles and victories won by the Order of Argor, a testament to the void path’s power.

  The wooden door stood at the bottom, and there was a foul stench of death and mold. This was beneath him. Sighing, he inscribed the spell to unbind the lock. Sparks flew from under his finger as he traced the lines.

  Metal hinges creaked as the door opened, and Tanas winced at the odor as he set foot into the pit. His pentagon lay untouched at the center, and the boy’s body lay within at the center. The boy looked peaceful somehow. He kicked a boot into the body’s side, prodding. He glanced up at the top and wondered once again where he had gone wrong.

  Turning away from the body, Tanas stretched his hand down towards the ash he’d drawn, when he heard something behind him.

  By the time he turned, it was too late. He felt the pierce of a blade into chest, deep and sharp, and dizziness swept over him. He’d been attacked. Impossible. He spun, but a well place leg kicked him hard in the thigh.

  The world swirled, and Tanas fell to the ground, unable to breathe, and looked up at his attacker in disbelief.

  The pain was excruciating, and he sucked in what little breath he could. Then he saw the face. It was the boy he’d cast the spell on, standing over him. He’d never forget that face. Those amber eyes bore into his soul. They were not the scared eyes of a mere boy but something much deeper and dangerous.

  This was impossible. The boy was a simple moonpath nab. He had to be dreaming. The pain at each labored breath told him differently. He was going to die at the hands of a mere moonpath. Rage filled him, but his body would not cooperate.

  “Rigoras,” Tanas gasped.

  The boy held up his hand, inscribing the motion of protection. It was a high tier spell, and before Tanas could respond, another kick to his wound made him lose focus. He screamed, but his lungs had no more capacity.

  He watched in utter shock as the boy calmly searched through Tanas’s own pockets, extracting the gem, and a few coins. Humiliation burned through him. The edges of his vision blackened, and the last thing he saw was the boy’s face. He memorized every line and held it to memory. With his last breath, he vowed revenge.