Dank cellars reeked of mildew. Bound to a splintered beam, Jack glared at his captor—a wild-eyed hermit sharpening a bone dagger. "Where's your world's magic police?" Jack growled, spitting blackened blood.
"Call me Orlan," the mage cackled, igniting a blue crystal. Purple runes erupted. Jack's chest burned—the star-pattern flaring like a supernova.
"Enough! I'll rot here!"
"Try it." Orlan flicked his wrist. The runes coiled around Jack's ankles. "Three days to master firebolt, or the Sanctum gets a new lab rat."
Jack's fingers trembled as he leafed through Elements of Arcana. A dog-eared page revealed forbidden text—Instant Casting: Forbidden Technique.
"Cheater," Orlan spat, but Jack was already experimenting. He snapped a hair tie, releasing kinetic energy. Three crackling bolts tore through a straw target fifty paces away.
Orlan's single eye bulged. "Impossible! Your veins—"
"Worked, didn't it?" Jack grinned, sparks dancing up his now-golden-armored arms. The watch fragments throbbed in time with his heartbeat.
Dawn broke. Outside, infected wolves gnawed stone statues. Somewhere, a church bell tolled thirteen times.