The Sorcerer and the Witch-King's Heir

Leo woke up confused and disoriented. He couldn't see anything. The ground was hard, but he felt surprisingly warm. Everything hurt, like a dangerous amount of hurt. Someone was holding his hand. He could hear the gentle sound of another's breathing, and slowly began to put the pieces together. Michael had fallen asleep. Michael's illusion had dropped with him, and the returning pain had woken Leo up. He felt significantly better than he thought that he should have, so he must have been asleep for a while. He didn't think he wanted to try moving to find out how bad it was though, so he stayed still. Holding Michael's hand sent a pang through his heart that was completely different from the physical pain. Standing guard on Breckenridge, he had reasoned his way out of his feelings. Michael was just a no-good con artist who had used him and abandoned him. Their relationship was fun while it lasted, and Leo wasn't going to waste any time or emotional energy in mourning it once it was so clearly, definitively over. But reason didn't seem to be enough, under these circumstances. Part of it was that he believed Michael, even the lies. He believed that he had suffered and now used his skills to get by, the same as nearly every single other person who had ever lived. He used people gently, breaking hearts but not bones. Even his betrayal of Leo had been gentle. He hadn't killed him or argued with him, he'd just disappeared into the mists leaving behind the memory of a god-like smile and a few sunlight-filled kisses. Leo's life was better for having had Michael in it, however fleetingly he had stayed. But the other part of it was the illusion he'd gifted him, tricking his mind and body into believing that there was no pain so that he could finally get some rest. There was no way to use magic on a sorcerer without their knowing it. Michael had never tried to influence Leo's perceptions before that moment. Mind control was the most sinister of all magical abilities, but it wasn't meant to be used to coerce. It was meant for moments like this, to offer relief and healing. A manipulative sociopath would have at least tried to coerce him by now, maybe taking advantage of his weakness to brute force his way into control. Michael had only tried at the last extremity, to offer him some relief from this ongoing nightmare. And from as long as Leo suspected he had been asleep, and as deeply as Michael was sleeping now, he suspected that he had held that illusion for as long as he safely could before letting it drop. It was kindness, offered freely, and it broke his heart all over again. He fell asleep again, and when he woke up, Michael was looking at him. "I'm sorry," Michael said guiltily. "I held it as long as I could. I--" "Shhh," Leo said, putting a finger on his lips. "Thank you." Michael sighed. "It was the least I could do. They're torturing you and I...I put you here." He squeezed his eyes closed to try and stop the tears welling up again. "I'm so sorry, Leo." "It's not your fault," Leo said. "They used you, just like they're trying to use me." "What do they want?" "They're trying to recreate the binding rune," Leo sighed. "Without the crown. They have no idea what they're doing. They're useless amateurs." Amateurs who could conjure armies and literal fireballs, but he didn't want to dwell on that. "Maybe I can convince them to experiment on me," Michael said. "So they don't accidently kill you before they perfect the spell." "Absolutely not," Leo said. "I would rather die than be a slave again." "Well obviously," Michael said. "But maybe you can get your powers back and break us out of here before that happens." Leo closed his eyes in exhaustion. "I don't think my power is coming back, Michael." "Don't say that," Michael said, alarmed. "You just need rest. A few days with food and an actual bed and I'm sure you'll be right as rain." He frowned in thought. "I can't create anything real," he said. "But maybe I can spell a guard to bring us something." "Save the effort," Leo said. "I have a better idea." "Oh?" "I'm going to teach you a spell," Leo said. "It's very simple. It's like an illusion but with a little more specificity." "Ok," Michael said uncertainly. Leo told him the words. Michael repeated them. "And I cast this on you?" "Sort of." He brought his hand to his chest. "Do you feel my heartbeat?" "Yes..." "You cast it on my heart." Michael wrenched violently away. "Absolutely not." "Please, Michael. It will be just like falling asleep. Permanently." "No!" Michael lunged to his feet, grappling with the bars as if he could physically tear them out of the way. "No, I'm not going to kill you!" Leo sat up. "We're going to die anyway," he yelled back at him. "The only choice we have left is when and how." "I won't kill you," Michael said, crying openly. "Anything but that, Leo. Please don't ask me to do that!" Leo slumped forward, pressing his forehead against the bars. "I am so tired," he said plaintively. "And I am so afraid that I will survive this physically far, far past the point where I can survive mentally. I don't want to lose my mind again. Michael, I can't--" he broke off, biting down on his fist to stifle the sobs. He heard Michael returning, felt the soft touch of fingers wrapping around his own on the prison bars. "I can't," Michael said, his voice tight with anguish. "Not while you're still...you. Not while there's still hope, however stupidly thin. If....if it comes to that...I'll try. I promise you I'll try." "Oh stop being so dramatic." A third voice, high and querulous broke in. "Nobody is going to lose their minds and nobody is going to die. So stop crying like babies over it." Both men froze, heads turned in the direction of the voice. Light flared suddenly. Leo blinked rapidly, his eyes adjusting, and squinted at the elderly lady carrying a lantern down the stairs. His jaw dropped open in disbelief when he recognized her. "Mrs. S?"