Chapter 4 - Common Ground

Kai watched his destroyed arm reform. First the bone mended and reattached, and then his flesh stretched over the limb and fingers until his arm was as good as new, as if it had never been blown clean off. Fascinated by how quick, efficient and painless the procedure was, he raised and stretched his arm, and then he flexed his fingers, expecting to feel somepain at the joints (or anything really), but there was absolutely none. 

He was fully and completely healed, thanks to Blood Magic. 

Despite having practiced and wielded it for a considerable while now, magic never ceased to amaze him. What humanity wouldn't give to be able to use magic. Oh, they'd give everything. Wage world wars. And now that Kai knew another intelligent species existed, it would truly be a 'World War'. Such great and terrible power. The power to heal with the wave of a hand, and the power to destroy with the flick of a finger. If left unchecked, it could cause untold destruction and mayhem. He'd seen it firsthand many, many times by now. Unnatural. Unholy. Or possibly quite the opposite.

And according to the hundreds of books he'd read, Blood Magic was considered the most powerful form of magic that merfolk were capable of practicing and possessing. Only the most elite merfolk were able to conjure and use it. Only superior to it was the Spirit of the Sea's magic, whose nature no one completely knew and understood -other than Kai. 

"There." Erasmus announced, withdrawing his arm once the healing process was complete. Then sharp purple eyes pinned Kai with an inquisitive look. Actually, the look in his eyes was more than merely curious. Erasmus was dying to know how Kai had come to wield Blood Magic. 

He considered making his mentor squirm, but he doubted that would go too well with the ancient wizard. 

"Well?" As if on cue, he demanded impatiently. He was all but tapping his foot on the ground. 

There was no getting around this now that he'd revealed his cards to the shrewd mage turned mentor.

After all, he'd already consented to confessing everything to Erasmus. "Fine, I'll tell you. But could you turn into your other form?"

A raised eyebrow was Erasmus's response. 

"I... I prefer your... other form." Kai was used to the child, not the man. More importantly, he felt that it would be easier to confess to Erasmus's child form. A child's death glare would hold less power and contempt, or so he hoped. 

Although the questioning eyebrow was still raised, Erasmus silently agreed to his request, and soon the man shrunk into a child. 

The process never failed to shock Kai, no matter how many times he'd seen it by now. And knowing that Erasmus was capable of another monstrous form made him both respect and fear the ancient mage.

"I'm listening." Said Erasmus.

There was no getting around it now. 

Kai began to tell Kai exactly how he'd discovered the existence of Blood Magic, and how he came to wield it.

****

One Month Ago

Kai stared at the sword resting against his bed. He always put it there when he came back from his training session so that it was close at hand if he ever needed it. Always be prepared. That was something Erasmus had drilled into his very skin like a tattoo. 

He should have been prepared then, too, when Hakan was taken. 

Tonight, all he could think about tonight was his kidnapped friend. 

The noose around his chest tightened once more. Despite lying in bed having just had a hot shower, he felt surprisingly winded. Out of breath. Dizzy. Sick, even. 

He was the worst friend in history. He didn't deserve Hakan's friendship. He was a scumbag and a coward. 

It should have been him that was taken. 

These were the terrible, terrible thoughts currently running amok in Kai's head, torturing him endlessly. Guilt riddled his mind and fear for his friend's safety crippled his heart. He could no longer sit around and wait for the time when he was ready (according to Erasmus) to come. 

The time was right now. 

More precisely, he would sneak out and attempt to rescue his oldest friend tonight. 

It was foolish, he knew. It was rash, he fucking knew. But any more of this guilt and he'd shoot himself in the head. The mounting guilt coupled with the thoughts of what Marius was doing to Hakan in spite as vengeance for Kai's escape, he was going to go mad. He just couldn't think about stuff like that. It would break him. 

So he would save him tonight and relieve his conscience. It was time for Hakan to go home. 

Kai now knew magic. He could do it. He could save his friend from Marius. 

A rumbling laugh echoed from the deepest recesses of his mind. The Spirit was laughing at him, mocking him. 

Doubting him. Doubting his ability to save his friend.

"Shut up," he growled, launching out of bed and grabbing his sword. The iron hilt was reassuringly cold and hard in his hand. 

Once the spark of determination was lit inside him, there was no going back.

You foolish boy. 

"I said shut up."

All you've learned so far are parlor tricks compared to the kind of magic Marius wields. 

"I don't care! I'll figure it out... somehow." Kai blurted loudly, incensed, his voice echoing in the massive chamber. He hated how the Spirit sounded so detached and chillingly logical, as if he didn't literally live in Kai's mind and know all about his suffering. Did he not care about Hakan at all? 

Never mind Hakan, did the Spirit not hold an ounce of compassion for Kai, his host? 

How utterly infuriating. 

Then you are even more foolish than your father. He would not listen to me then, either. 

Kai ignored that. Now was not the time for this. "What would you have me do? I can't stay put knowing my friend is in danger! God knows what they're doing to him! What they've been doing to him for the last few weeks! Marius must have thrown him into his fucking amphitheater of sex and horrors, I'm sure of it." 

He was met with a stony wall of uncaring silence. 

"You goddamn useless parasite-" 

If I help you, the mage will stop teaching you. His assistance has been... satisfactory. 

Kai exhaled. Finally, something. 

He thought for a moment, weighing his pros and cons. "Then help me in a way that doesn't break Erasmus's rules." 

Very well. 

Finally, common ground.