Serial Killers
Jaedir opened his emerald-green eyes and realized he was in an iron cage. Heart racing, he scrambled up to his feet and gaped at the deep chasm beneath him.
“Afraid of heights?” a voice whispered. A tall middle-aged man dressed in black robes stood at the edge of the chasm. The stone pendant around his neck suggested he was a warlock. Jaedir glanced around. The cage was suspended in mid-air, no doubt with the warlock’s power. Two other iron cages drifted nearby with skeletons inside. One of them had bony protrusions on the ear tips, which meant that skeleton belonged to an elf like Jaedir. The only visible exit in the cavern was a fire-lit tunnel behind the warlock.
“Yes, I had another elf before,” said the warlock. “Feisty little things. But I don’t understand why you all scream when I break your fingers. It’s not that painful.” The soulless eyes confirmed Jaedir that the warlock wasn’t joking.
“Who are you?” said Jaedir. “Why did you bring me here?”
“I am a wizard with a rather stressful life. You are here as my recreation.” The warlock waved his hand and Jaedir felt pain cut through him like knives. His body convulsed. He screamed. The warlock lowered his hand and the pain subsided. Jaedir gasped for breath as the warlock laughed.
“You don’t know how good it feels to be in power.”
“No. I do.”
Jaedir tossed his head back and laughed. The warlock was quiet. Jaedir looked at him in the eye and spoke softly. “I never thought that I would be kidnapped by someone like me. Or at least someone a bit like me. You do it for fun. I live for it. You don’t know how many I have captured, or what I did to them.” Jaedir paused for a few seconds before continuing. “Hanging over an abyss, that’s something I never thought of. But have you heard of the Gorlon Spell?”
The warlock frowned.
“So you haven’t heard of it? I can teach you, if you want. It’s my favorite. I save it for last.”
“Show it to me.”
“You know iron removes my powers.”
“If I let you go, you will escape.”
“So kill me. Or learn from me and I will learn from you.”
The warlock was silent. Finally he drew his arm back and the cage floated towards him. It landed next to him and clanged open. Jaedir marched out slowly. He stopped before the warlock, looked up at him and whispered a travelling spell.
Instantly Jaedir appeared in an elf village. He was home. Tears of joy blinded him. He couldn’t believe it. He was alive. Smiling, he wiped his face with a handkerchief and hurried off to warn everyone about that crazy warlock.
