Page 192 of The Last Syphon

“You lured them to you.”

He nodded, seeming quite pleased with himself. “I needed more power to wake, and at the rate at which people were coming to me themselves, it would have taken far too long. So, I planted the seed. A whisper here of the untold treasures hiding within the kingdom, a whisper there of power, just waiting for someone to claim it. Humans are inherently selfish, and will do whatever they can to get ahead. I convinced quite a few people, and the moment they crossed into Tolanaa, their power was mine.”

“You syphoned it, even from hibernation?”

“My magic has always been great. Even from youthhood, my magic would syphon power from everything around me, without any conscious thought or effort from me. It would just take, as if it had a mind of its own. I grew to control it and then one day, I thought, why should I? Maybe this was the Fates way of telling me I was meant to have it all.”

That was utterly delusional to think.

Balthus continued, his hands behind his back, pacing slowly up and down. Inara watched his every step with the focus of a tiger, her magic sizzling at her fingertips, waiting to strike.

“Even deep in hibernation, my body, my magic, continued to do what it did best: draw power. It took over 1,000 years to finally gain enough to wake my conscious mind, but my body remained trapped, unable to break free. I needed more. So, I got more. I astral projected across the Borderlands, tempting anyone within reach to come to me.”

The ghost stories she’d heard all her life suddenly made so much more sense to her. They were not stories at all. They were him…haunting people.

“No matter how much energy I drew, it was never enough. I was still trapped, thousands of miles beneath the surface. I realised I needed more than energy. I needed a connection through power.”

“You needed another Syphon.”

“It was worth a try, wasn’t it? Nothing else worked. So, once I finally had enough power to astral project across vast distances, I searched the kingdoms.”

“And you didn’t find anyone until me,” she guessed.

Balthus stopped pacing and looked at her. He burst out laughing.

It caused Inara to frown. She wasn’t sure what was so fucking funny.

“You think you are the only Syphon out there?” He laughed harder this time. “And I thought I was self-centred.”

Inara stilled. For a moment, all her other thoughts flew out of her mind as she focused on what he just said. “There are others?”

“Of course there are!” He shook his head, disappointed. “My, my, you silly youthen. Try as they might, the kingdoms could never eradicate us. Once it became clear what the kingdoms were attempting, a number of Syphons went to ground, hiding, and it has been where they have remained ever since. Astral projection provides many advantages. I can allow people to see me, or keep myself hidden, like a spy. It didn’t take me long to find their colony. Unfortunately, they were far too smart to abandon their home. No matter what I said, they would not come. They’d been taught their whole lives the outside realm was dangerous. That it would be their death, so it was only logical it would take much more than a tempting voice for them to risk themselves.”

Inara’s mind was reeling. For so long, she had thought she was the only one, but there was more. A whole village of Syphons out there. People just like her. Where was it? How could she find them?

“I thought my luck had indeed run out, that I would be trapped forever. Until this beautiful presence stepped into my land, searching for answers…for you.”

Inara’s gaze flew to him. “What?”

He gave her a bone-chilling smile. “Your mother.”

Panic clutched her tightly in its claws. Her magic pounded beneath her skin. “What about my mother?”

“Oh, she was so worried about you, Inara! So worried. She came looking for a way to help you. Thought maybe there was something in the land of Tolanaa that could help you control your Syphon side. She’s how I found you. Don’t worry, I made her death a quick one. It was the least I could do.”

Inara’s whole realm tilted. At first, she found it hard to process what it was he was saying. Shock. She was in shock. Then, when his words finally registered, an avalanche of pain and anger washed through her like a raging tidal wave. Her eyes heated, her power shining out through her eyes bright golden.

She screamed and called forth her magic to manifest in her palms. Two shield discs appeared, and she threw them, aiming for his head. Fuck any more conversation. She was going to kill him. She was going to⁠—

Balthus raised his hand. Both shield discs halted in the air and then she felt it, him drawing the power right out of her magic. The shield discs faded away into nothing, and he consumed their energy, funnelling it into himself.

“Uh, uh, uh.” He tutted, a smirk on his lips. “I’m not done talking yet. We’ll have a chance to battle, don’t you worry. I have waited so long for this moment, and I will not have you ruin it.”

More anger beat in her chest. Inara couldn’t fight him with magic. He would simply syphon it into himself. She needed to kill him another way.

“Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Your mother. She was concerned for you and desperately wanted some way to help you. I liked her. She was strong. Kind. I offered that help if she told me where you were, and she did. I watched you for a while. I had to. You were my only chance, and you were strong. Every time I tried to tempt you to take more power, you never listened. You beat me back. It was…fascinating.”

Inara was only partly listening now. She was far too angry to take his words in properly. Was it true? Did he really kill her mother? Yes, it had been a while since she’d last seen her, but her mother travelled all the time. She was gone for months, sometimes years, but she always came back.