Julius woke with a ragged gasp, the sound tearing out of him like he'd surfaced from drowning. He sat bolt upright with his chest heaving, his eyes darting wildly around trying to make out where he was. His body trembled with a primal fear he couldn't name. He had collapsed out of nowhere and had been trapped in his own mind till now.
He sighed in relief seeing as he was still in the warehouse but something was odd, it was quiet. Too quiet. No Devan pacing around, no Travis mouthing off, no Larry sharpening a blade just to pass the time, it was just empty.
"What the fuck happened to me?" he muttered aloud, clutching his head. His memories were still a hazy. " What the hell, I can't remember anything…"
A sound behind him made his entire body jolt away. A faint scrape, like something shifting against concrete. He turned left and saw nothing but when he turned right—
He shouted in fright.
Someone was standing there. Someone he hadn't seen in over a month.
"Well, hello there, mate," the man said with a lazy grin.
Julius's eyes went wide. "Boss…"
Kai chuckled darkly, stepping into his personal space. "You should've seen your face."
Julius ignored the jab, words tumbling out fast. "Where have you been, boss? We, we've been looking for you. We thought maybe…"
Kai raised a brow. "That I was dead?"
"What? Of course not—"
"Don't lie to me, Julius. It's a waste of breath. Especially in here."
"In… here?" Julius repeated, frowning as he looked around the barren warehouse space. "As in where, exactly?"
Kai smirked. "Oh, we're in your mind."
Julius froze. "Wait… what?? How the fuck—"
"Relax. Not really." Kai snorted, clearly amused. "I'm just fucking with you. Don't get your hopes up, you're not that interesting."
Julius swallowed hard. "…Then where is this?"
Kai tilted his head. "A Chambre de Chasse. A hunting lodge for the mind. Easier to talk without… distractions."
Before Julius could push further, Kai's tone shifted. "So. Tell me. What's been happening out there, Julius, what's the progress?"
Julius hesitated. "…Not much, boss. But Travis, he found the girl."
Kai's eyes gleamed. "Good. And the invocation? How close are they to the summoning?"
"I don't know," Julius said, voice dripping with attitude. "I got pulled in here before I could find out."
Kai's smile faltered, cold settling in his expression. "Lose the attitude, Julius. It doesn't show respect."
Julius clenched his jaw. "Respect? You've had us babysitting, boss. We can't do
anything at all except sit all day. You made sure of that. We literally can't."
Kai's smirk returned. "And I'm assuming you've tried something… haven't you, Julius?" His tone was playful, but his eyes became sharp and serious.
Julius didn't respond.
Kai stepped closer. "Perhaps I should rip it out of you."
Before Julius could react, Kai's hands snapped to either side of his head, fingers digging into his temples. Julius gasped as Kai's consciousness dove into his mind, peeling back layers of memory with brutal precision.
Then, just as suddenly, Kai let go. He laughed, the sound jagged and cruel.
"Oh, Julius. You actually tried to leave? How precious." He sneered. "But did you really think I'd let a street-mugger like you loose in the world? No, no. You'll always need a few switches across your back to be turned off before that can happen… maybe ten."
Dread washed through Julius. The realization that he would never be free of Kai clamped down like a vice.
Kai leaned close, mock-gentle. "Hey, hey. Don't look so grim. It's not all bad. You're more than you once were, Julius. We're connected now my man." He circled Julius like a predator, his laughter echoing across the magical space enough to chill bone.
"And because you're connected to me… you'll be my key to getting back safely."
Kai stopped in front of him, smiling wide. "Isn't that wonderful?"
Julius tried to speak and say anything but surprisingly he found himself frozen where he stood, his voice and body locked tight.
"Well then," Kai whispered, stepping closer, "enough chit-chat, my treacherous little minion." He reached out, tugged a jagged piece of broken metal from the warped warehouse door. "Let's get to it, shall we?"
Julius's eyes went wide with terror as Kai pressed the shard against his forehead. Slowly and deliberately, Kai carved a symbol into his skin.
The Chambre shuddered and gave a low vibration that rippling through the space.
Kai stepped back, admiring his work. Smirking, he said, "The connection is established. Now… time to get out of here."
---
Kai's eyes opened back in the real world. He inhaled sharply, back in the quiet of the library. His gaze flicked around, but Alice was nowhere in sight.
He rose and frowned, then blurred away. He searched around until he found her in the deans office.
Before he could speak, she asked, "Did it work?"
Kai exhaled. "Yeah. Yeah, it did."
Alice stood, nodding once. "Good. Then let's get started. Time to get you home."
She brushed past him, her expression was unreadable. As she moved close then out of the room, something felt… off. Kai's brow furrowed. 'What was that about?'
He watched her disappear from the office and he sighed, then followed behind her.
---
Hours later, in the empty fields of Brakebills.
At the center lay a wide circle of ash, black and grey, smudged into precise lines. Around it were objects chosen for this particular spell. There was a crushed bone from a magical beasts they had found in the laboratory, ground fine and mixed into the ash.
A silver mirror, cracked, to serve as a conduit between reflections of worlds. And in the middle, etched into the soil, the inner circle had a six-pointed knot, each point connected by weaving sigils representing binding, passage, and return.
Alice wiped her hands, satisfied. "Stand in the middle," she instructed.
Kai stepped into the circle. Without hesitation, he dragged a sharp blade across his palm, letting blood drip into the ash. The lines drank it in, before darkening.
Something slipped from his other hand as he pulled back but he paid it no mind.
"How sure are you that the tether will hold?" Alice asked, her back still turned.
Kai smirked. "Don't worry. It's durable. Stronger than you think."
Alice nodded once. She faced him, raised her hands, and began to chant.
Kai joined her. Their voices rose together as they chanted the spell in latin.
"Sanguis ligat, anima trahit,
Via aperitur inter mundos.
Vinculum aeternum, fractum non erit,
Per hunc circulum, redeo domum."
(Blood binds, spirit pulls,
The path opens between worlds.
The bond eternal, never to be broken,
Through this circle, I return home.)
The ash circle pulsed a glowing green. Without warning the light flared, brighter and brighter, until the field was consumed by it.
When it faded, there was nothing left.
Only silence.
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