The next morning the Collector stood over them as they woke. Brunel had not actually slept, but decided to keep his word to the others and wait for them to wake. There was no shock at the Collector’s presence. They packed their things in silence and allowed the Collector to lead them through the trees.

As the trees thinned about them, the Spiral Castle came into view atop its lofty perch. At the castle gates, Sorceress Umari stood proud with a greedy look in her eyes. Next to her was Brunel’s wife, Suka. Her skin was pale, her eyes cold and dark, leaving a lifeless look upon her face. They stopped ten feet from where the two stood.

“Release her,” Brunel demanded. 

“I will. She is useless to me anyway,” Umari said with indifference. “It’s simple; I will exchange her for you and she may leave with your friends. However, we will not start the exchange until you are shackled.”

Adris grabbed Brunel’s arm as he began to step forward.

“What are you doing?” he asked in alarm, his voice but a whisper. “You simply plan to go to her?”

“Yes,” Brunel replied calmly. “It is the only way to ensure Suka’s safety. Blake?”

He called over the young boy who came reluctantly. Passing him a golden key wrapped in soft brown paper parchment, Brunel smiled.

“Whatever you do, leave with Suka and follow the directions here to my home. If my wife’s senses do not return, above all else, I need you to give that key to my children. Do you understand?”

Blake nodded, bewildered by the request.

“What is the key for?” he asked.

“There is a portal in the mines. The key will lead them there. My children must go through it if I do not return,” he explained, his eyes never leaving Umari’s.

“A portal? What do you mean?” Adris whispered for fear the sorceress would hear.

Brunel ignored his question and continued, “Do not worry. I can handle her. She will not get the magic my wife so lovingly gave to me.”

Prying Adris’ hand from him, Brunel walked up to the gates and held out his arms. As the Collector placed chains about his wrists and ankles he searched his wife’s face. She was distant, lonely and fearful.

“Did she harm you?” were the only words he could muster to speak. 

Suka shook her head. 

“Quickly now and when the day is done we can have you returning home with your wife to your children; if you cooperate that is,” the old woman laughed. 

She shoved Suka out the gate and slammed it shut. Instantly the iron bars and castle walls disappeared, leaving the group in shock. Adris cursed as the other two remained silent, Blake helping Suka off the ground.

In the main hall Brunel was able to take in the full effect of the Castle’s design. The room was covered in dark carvings all along the walls. Statues seemed to grow out of the floor, representing evil demons and lords alike. An altar to worship the devil of hell and the afterlife sat before them. He was tied to the machine's chair with its spiked chains across his chest, arms, wrists and knees; the sorceress slowly collected drops of his blood in multiple vials. 

“Normally this is not part of the process, but I cannot pass up the chance of using you as a base for one of my demonic creations,” she sneered.

“I imagine you would be more than satisfied with the results,” Brunel said scornfully, “but you will never get to use it.”

“Oh, I will,” Umari assured him.

“You will die today,” he said simply.

She watched him for a moment with the faintest bit of curiosity and then replied with a wicked smile, “I assure you, I will not. Your magic power is not so strong as to kill me.” 

“How many have you killed?” he asked dully.

“Thousands.”

“And none have come close to killing you?”

“None,” she replied absentmindedly.

“That will change.”

Brunel leaned forward, the pikes digging into his flesh as the chains groaned against the pressure. Umari snickered at his attempts to break his chains, until the rings began to bend. She backed away as he groaned, his body doubling in height and size. His bindings fractured into pieces and blood poured onto the floor from his wounds. Umari froze in astonishment.

“Did you ever wonder how I got here unharmed and undetected?” Brunel now spoke with a deeper, more sinister voice than before. “The powers my wife gave me affected my strength very little. Most of it is my own.”

Umari began to back away, shaking with fear. What she sensed was now dark and sinister, powers she had never felt nor seen. Panicking, she turned this way and that, casting her eyes about the room for an escape. All the while the room grew darker as Brunel’s figure grew larger. 

“Can you not sense me?” he now mocked her, his voice harsh and raspy. “You have the power of thousands of wizards, witches, mages and sorcerers; and still you cannot sense what I am?”

The old sorceress fell to the ground. Her old frail frame is nothing but a meek existence against the creature that now stood before her. Trembling, she attempted to speak but nothing came.

 “Magic is not something for one to horde; even I know that. When it is collected in such fashion it becomes so rare many stop believing in it, and then it will vanish. Without belief there is no real power in magic.”

“You wish me to return what I have taken?” she asked in a faint voice.

“No,” he growled, “but you will die today for having harmed my wife.”

Brunel let out a long furious roar. His arms transformed into wings as his head veered and became a serpent. The clothes he had worn stripped away, his feet now claws. A pointed tail lashed about the room behind him. Umari screamed in terror while attempting to flee, but his tail easily tripped her. 

He hissed with determination, “I cannot have you hunting my children once my wife dies and I return home.”

One last plea of mercy was heard as the massive demon stretched its neck, biting off the sorceress’s head and swallowing it whole. Blood coated the stone floor, the sound of crushing bones echoing off the walls.