Prologue

I have to get out, I have to get out!

He pressed himself against the wall, panting.

Please don’t let them see me, please!

Silence filled the cavern.

Please let them be gone! Where’s Romero, where are the others?

Slow, deliberate footsteps, echoed off the walls.

They’re coming for me, coming for it!

Metal scraped on metal, steel was drawn.

They’re going to kill me; I’m going to die! But I can’t die, not as long as I have it!

The cool blade pressed to his throat. A foul scent filled his nostrils. The fumes gagged him, choked him. His throat was on fire! Blazing, flaming, he stumbled and fell.

I must fight it; I’ve got to try!

The burning sensation consumed his body, engulfing every limb. His mind began to cloud, his vision blurred.

They can’t have it, I won’t let them! No!

His body was dying, abandoning him, leaving him at the mercy of his tormentor.

“Give me the Flame,” a cruel, ruthless voice demanded.

“No!” he screamed.

A deft blow to the head knocked him to the ground. Hot pain seared through his brain. His will was breaking.

“Give it to me now.”

“N-o!” he chocked.

The world was swiftly fading, retreating to some far away land. Laughter. Someone was laughing. A cold, cruel, laugh. Light was slipping away.

“No…”