Emily stood alone in the center of the tower, the laboratory walls shifting brick by brick. Their porous texture created a grating sound as they slid against one another, revealing an opening that led deeper into the structure.

  Ariandel and Genevieve stood at the edge of the room with Connor, their expressions caught between fascination and unease. They had all decided to watch Emily prepare for the next step.

  Since her task was to keep their subject alive, she needed a large amount of life force, but, as agreed, Ariandel would supply the needed energy. The sound of an animal bleating came from the opening as a small herd of cream-colored winter mules made their way into the chamber, led by Citta.

  There were quite a few of them, and Emily glanced at Genevieve.

  “Are you sure you want to stay? This will get gruesome—I’m going to drain them completely,” she warned, her tone flat.

  Zila and Neal had excused themselves from this part, opting to have tea in another room.

  Ariandel’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

  “Miss Emily, surely you jest. I was under the impression you wouldn’t allow us to observe, but if you’re willing, I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

  His gaze flicked to Genevieve, whose determined smile wavered slightly.

  “We’re sure,” Genevieve affirmed, though her voice had lost some of its earlier confidence.

  Though Connor never spoke, Emily could see he was just as curious as Ariandel. She glanced at them all and sighed.

  “Alright, but I gave you a chance. My method is a little different from my counterparts, but it is far more effective. As a bonus, it isn’t limited to human life force.”

  Emily wasn’t lying. She knew blood mages required runes and spells to extract life force effectively. The more extensive their knowledge, the more fruitful the extraction. One thing was certain, though: blood mages rarely allowed outsiders to observe their hard-earned spells.

  The reason Emily didn’t mind was that there was nothing for them to learn.

  She didn’t need all those extra steps. She simply lowered herself beside the first mule and buried her hands into its thick fleece. Coaxingly, she cooed in its ear as the fur brushed against her face and nose, tickling her slightly. The animal tensed but didn’t cry out—her power ensured that.

  A single cord of blood slithered from her palm, snaring its limbs and mouth in silence. Emily leaned in, her breath warm against its ear as her teeth pierced its vulnerable point.

  It tried to resist, but Emily didn’t allow it to struggle, knowing it might frighten the others. As it was, they had already begun backing away, searching for an escape that didn’t exist.

  Genevieve flinched as the first mule sagged lifelessly in Emily’s grip, her determined expression faltering. Ariandel, in contrast, leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with scientific fascination. Connor remained still, though his gaze followed Emily’s every move.

  Once Emily began, she was systematic, moving through the frightened herd quickly and quietly. Each mule’s life force was equivalent to that of two humans, and with plenty available, she didn’t hesitate. Gorging herself on power, she only stopped when the room fell deathly silent.

  Breathing deeply, Emily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The room buzzed with the raw energy coursing through her veins—a fleeting, intoxicating high that left her wanting more.

  When Emily turned back to look at everyone, their expressions were as expected. Both Connor and Ariandel held an unnerving fascination, while Genevieve looked mildly sick, though she hid it well.

  “Right, I’m ready. Is the subject?”

  Ariandel nodded and called for Citta to fetch the others and remove the dried corpses from the room.

  “Well, that was quite the process. I’m glad to have witnessed it. But on to our main mission. If you would, please bring in Mr. Golard.”

  An older gentleman in tattered robes entered the room. His eyes carried a hollow expression, and he looked malnourished.

  “This man has agreed to help us in our endeavors in exchange for a reduced sentence. Let’s prepare him and get to it—we’re burning daylight.”

  Emily didn’t have much to do at this juncture, so she simply watched as Neal and Zila performed the initial checks, helping the unresisting man onto the table.

  Zila handed the man a small clay jar containing a powerful sedative which he drank after some hesitation. It would help numb the pain and keep him unconscious, something Emily had demanded to avoid splitting her attention while healing him.

  When he was ready, the two stepped back, and Emily approached the table with Genevieve close behind. Genevieve carried a box containing their latest prototype. The relic had changed slightly since Emily had last seen it. It was now shaped to fit perfectly over a bridge, with four claws designed to hold it in place.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  As Genevieve brought it closer, the relic’s small arms trembled, as though trying to pull itself toward the man’s neck. Ariandel ran a hand through the fur on his neck and glanced at Emily.

  “Alright, are we ready for application?”

  No one spoke, but Emily glanced at the man lying face down on the table. By now, he was unconscious. She placed her hands on either side of his head and triggered Blood Price.

  “Ready,” she said.

  “Alright, apply the implant.”

  Genevieve brought the small piece of metal near the man’s bridge and set it down. No sooner had she done so than the relic bit into his flesh. Its four claws locked into place as it fixed itself over the bridge, and a series of runes lit up along its length.

  Emily felt it the moment the bridge was covered. His blood pressure began to fluctuate wildly, but stabilizing it only required a small amount of power. She rattled off the changes for Neal to record.

  Genevieve pressed her lips together and glanced back at Ariandel, who nodded.

  “Begin the melding process,” he said emotionlessly.

  Genevieve swallowed but began with a series of long hand gestures as Ariandel joined her. When they finished, the relic emitted an ominous hum.

  The man's body began to tremble against its restraints, but Emily watched closely. It appeared to be an involuntary reaction, so she let it happen.

  By this point, the wards on the relic were glowing with Source, and suddenly, they all turned a deep blue—the same color as the man’s bridge.

  Blue Source began to flood the man's body—or at least that was Emily's assumption, as the energy was difficult to see. She called this out to the room, and an alarmed look appeared on Ariandel’s face.

  “That should not be happening yet. Genevieve, move directly into the stress test! We can’t lose out on this data!”

  Genevieve’s face grew more worried, but she methodically moved to the next series of spellwork.

  Emily only needed to maintain a small stream of life force to the man, but she could see in real time as his bones began filling with power.

  “Guys, he’s reaching his natural limit,” Emily said firmly.

  The room had dropped by several degrees, and the air grew thick with moisture.

  Source kept flowing in until the man's bones could hold no more. Then it began overflowing into the rest of his body—that’s when Emily had to step in.

  The overflowing power seeped into his muscles and organs. When it couldn’t find a place to pool, it created one, burrowing into the vertebrae of his spine. Emily couldn’t stop this from happening, but she could alleviate the symptoms by helping with more life force. Of all the organs, the man's heart seemed to be failing first, so Emily directed a dozen lives' worth of enegy there to protect it.

  His lungs were working three times harder than they should, so she shored them up next.

  “Finish the stress test and move to the sealing phase, or this man will die,” Emily said in a firm, unfeeling voice.

  She had already burned through almost a third of the life source she had just gained. The process was just too destructive to the human body.

  Ariandel hesitated, watching the power tremble in the room. Droplets of water began to gather in the air, and the man’s form shimmered on the table. His body churned like waves in the ocean.

  With a sigh, he nodded to Genevieve, who immediately began closing the wards.

  No sooner had they completed the final gestures than the lights on the relic dimmed.

  The room went quiet, but Emily did let up, she sensed something stirring within the man. His Source rippled, and, as though given a mind of its own, it began behaving irregularly.

  Everyone appeared calm until Emily’s voice broke the silence.

  “We have a problem!”

  The dull glow on the relic reignited as the Source within the man pulled in more power.

  Emily’s eyes widened as she realized the Source was acting autonomously. Not only that, but it was overwhelming the safeguards Genevieve had built into the relic. Like a dam unable to hold back a flood, Source began rushing into the man’s body at terrifying rates.

  “Shit! The relic is failing—he’s still taking on more power!”

  Genevieve cursed and tried to perform additional hand gestures, but it was too late. The power inside the man had reached a tipping point, evident by how his body began to change and warp.

  His skin took on patches of red, green, bark, and even scales. His organs shifted, unable to settle on a size. Emily was quickly overwhelmed—she couldn’t fix what she didn’t understand. It was as though the man’s species was changing by the second.

  The Source within him continued pulling at the Source outside, and even Emily felt it encroaching on her body. It tried to siphon the blue Source from her, but Emily knew that losing it would mean her death.

  Without hesitation, she cut the connection and stepped back, leaving the man to his fate.

  Unfortunately, his fate was grim. His form shifted through several shapes and sizes before it could take no more. His body disintegrated, scattering into countless drops of pure water that splashed onto the table, the floor, and everyone nearby.

  Emily made a disgusted face as she spat out some of the water that had splashed into her mouth, then frowned at Ariandel.

  Genevieve’s hands trembled as she tried futilely to shake the droplets from her robe. Her face remained stony, but sorrow flickered in her eyes.

  “Blast it all, we were so close. All I could tell was that the relic’s Source walls collapsed. Emily, Neal, what did you sense before his dissolution? How can we fix this inconvenience?” Ariandel broke the silence with little tact.

  Genevieve swallowed and walked toward the door leading to the next room.

  Emily glanced after her retreating figure before answering.

  “It was the Source. It began drawing power when we tried to stop it.”

  Ariandel scratched his chin.

  “Are you sure? It’s widely regarded as impossible for Source to act outside its nature. Red Source might gather together, but blue? Certainly not.”

  Emily shrugged.

  “I saw what I saw,” she said, crossing her arms.

  When she glanced at Neal, she noticed he hadn’t spoken a word since the man’s death. His face was a mask of shock.

  “She’s right,” Neal said at last. “The moment you shut down the relic, the Source inside him took over. But it was strange—the only reason it drew the Source in was to fight itself.”

  That made everyone turn their attention to Neal.

  “It’s difficult to explain,” Neal continued, “but it was like two different bodies of water mixing—like salt water and fresh.”

  Emily snorted.

  “Clear as mud, my friend.”

  Neal frowned and shook his head, refusing to elaborate further.

  Ariandel cleared his throat and called the experiment to a close but not before addressing Emily.

  “We need to consolidate our findings, but, Miss Emily, if you will, I wish to speak with you in private about your end of the request.”

  Emily glanced toward the door Genevieve had disappeared through, then back at the Silvaren.

  “Lead the way.”

  Blood points: 338