Supreme Magus

His cheeks were still bright red, since Lith had slapped him multiple times to force him regaining his senses. Puke still dirtied his mouth and uniform, giving him an even more wretched look.

”Will you let me go if I tell you?” His voice trembled, mustering the courage to look in his captorʼs red eyes.

”Of course not.” Lith laughed.

”It would be useless, since you are all already infected.” He lied through his teeth. According to Life Vision, the three of them were still healthy, even without the masks and after having been scratched and bitten by the undead.

- ”Either the parasites do not handle well the coldness of the morgue, or they die shortly after their host. Too bad I have no time to infect them and study the plagueʼs progression. I need to get out of here fast, before someone else comes in.” –

”Then why should I tell you? If I have to die, Iʼll bring my secrets with me in the grave!” The certainty of death seemed to have rejuvenated Vickas spirit.

”Excellent question!” Lith clapped his hands.

”Eat him alive, starting from the feet.” His orders were meant for the prisoners to understand their fate, rather than for the undead.

The mindless zombies were like puppets, and Lith needed but a thought to make them move according to his will.

Vickas tried to fight back, twisting and kicking every time he could, but the creatures ignored his pitiful attempts. One covered his mouth with a rotting hand, while the other managed to grab his legs, filling the air with muffled screams and chewing sounds.

The other two prisoners tried to avert their gaze, but the zombies kept their heads blocked and their eyelids open.

”As you can see, they are avoiding all the major arteries.” Lith explained with the same voice he would use to explain math to a dumb kid.

”Iʼm a healer, after all. You canʼt expect me to kill you by accident. Youʼll die only when I say so, and in a way of my choice. The first one to talk will win a swift death. The others will join my ranks.”

The two first tried to scream, but their mouths were sealed as well. Lith hated to be interrupted by hysterical cries when he was speaking.

When Vickasʼ feet disappeared, leaving most of the bones bare to see, puke seeped through their noses and the zombiesʼ fingers, preventing them from talking and allowing Vickas to make his move.

Lith noticed his hands waving madly, so he stopped the zombies, using at the same time light magic to briefly relieve his pain.

”Yes?”

”Duke Selimar arranged everything, with the complicity of General Lizhark and Mage Fernath.” Vickas blurted as soon he was able to speak, pointing at his accomplices, that managed to stop puking, shocked by his betrayal.

”I never heard of them.”

”But they know you. They know that yesterday you said something to Varegrave that forced the King to declare the national emergency. Itʼs the first progress in over a month.”

”But why kidnap me?” Lith couldnʼt see the logic behind their actions.

”Because they are scared of the plague. One of their associates, I donʼt know who, is the responsible. But he did it behind their backs, they didnʼt even know it existed. When they understood what had happened, they couldnʼt trust him anymore.

They donʼt want the plague to be eradicated, itʼs an all-powerful weapon. But without a cure, they will be forced to either flee or submit.”