As Edwin drew on Daniel’s face with his surgical pen, he made sure to make the cat whiskers extra thick and not to blink. He had discarded all their weapons around the shadows and the corpses and not, he could have fun.

Sebastian was tied up like a Yule turkey and Marisa was simply lying down. But Daniel, he would humiliate fully. For all the comments he had given him over the months. For all the times Daniel had called him a charlatan.

When Edwin finished, he stepped unreachable and closed his eyes. He heard laughter and cursing. He opened his eyes and saw Daniel pointing at Sebastian and Marisa, the latter just getting up and looking for her axe. She saw it in the hands of one of the shadows and then thrown in a corpse. She charged the shadow bare handed with a wolfish grin.

“Edwin Roberts, untie me!” Screamed Sebastian and Edwin made his way slowly to him.

“I bet Harry could have gotten out of this,” teased Edwin as Sebastian send him a glare.

“I bet that when I am done with you, Harry wouldn’t be able to pick all the pieces that would be left of you,” threatened Sebastian. Edwin didn’t pay his threats any attention. They were the typical Sebastian response.

He untied the knots and Sebastian jumped to his feet. He grabbed Edwin by the arm and, just as he was about to hurl him across the arena, Edwin stopped time again. With a bit of wiggling, Edwin got out of Sebastian’s hold and went to where Marisa was brawling with his shadow to retrieve her axe and then drag her away from the shadow.

He handed her the weapon and looked at where Daniel had reclaimed his sword. He took it off the warrior’s hands and threw it in the feet of a particularly tough looking walking corpse. Then, for good measure, he unbuckled Daniel’s pants.

Walking back to Sebastian he closed his eyes. Then, he felt pain as someone punched his nose.

“Ouch, really?” Said Edwin as he stared at a grinning Sebastian.

“That is what you get for embarrassing me in front of my country man,” said Sebastian snidely. Edwin got a decisive look on his face and stopped the time again. He tied Sebastian’s shoe laces together and punched him on the nose. Then, he moved away from the red head and started time again.

Sebastian’s hand flew to his nose, and then he stumbled and fell face first. The crowds laughed at him and Edwin cracked a grin. Then, Sebastian kicked off his shoes and charged at Edwin. Edwin attempted to stop time again, but found he could not. Pale, he began to run away from Sebastian, who, once he realized he wasn’t going to be tricked again, speed up.

Edwin was in a chokehold in a minute and Sebastian was tugging his ear.

“You, unruly brat,” said Sebastian as he tugged. “What, you can’t perform your trick anymore?”

“Sebastian, I might have run out of mana. I am sorry for embarrassing you,” said Edwin, ready to plead the red head for mercy.

“No mercy shall be shown,” said Sebastian and he picked up Edwin, raised him over his head and threw him across the arena. Edwin rolled a couple of times and got up, determined to give as good as he got.

He got necromantic mana in his limbs, being surprised that he was still not out of mana, and waited until Sebastian reached him. Sebastian picked him by his shirt collar and attempted to raise him and throw him again, when Edwin zapped him with his mana.

Sebastian grunted and dropped him. An angry rash appearing on his arm and going towards his heart. Edwin blinked. He hadn’t meant to do that. Immediately in healer mode as Sebastian collapsed, he began to run standard checks on him.

“Edwin, what did you do?” Asked Marisa, worried.

“It was supposed to just stagger him,” defended himself Edwin as he began to check Sebastian’s pulse. It was feint. Sebastian groaned and bitt the inside of his cheek.

“Now your mana is even more toxic,” supplied the vampire as he trashed around. “Darn it, it hurts.”

Edwin could only think how, if this reached the heart, there could be dire consequences. So, despite the pain he knew he would bring Sebastian, he forced the vampire’s mana to attack Edwin’s. The rash stopped as Sebastian began to scream. Edwin checked Sebastian’s insides again. They were rotting.

“I need to operate on you. As soon as possible,” said Edwin, half-panicked. “You need new organs.”

“If you kill me, Edwin, I will haunt you,” promised him through gritted teeth Sebastian. Then, his eyes rolled from the pain, and he slumped down, unconscious.

“We need to go to the clinic! Daniel, carry him!” Screamed Edwin as Daniel placed Sebastian over his shoulder. Edwin was eaten away by guilt during the entire trip to the clinic. He kept looking back at Daniel who had a grim expression on his face.

How could Edwin’s mana become so toxic that it had such an effect on a vampire? Normally, it shouldn’t be possible. Were his days as a healer over? What if he attempted to try this on a mortal? Even checkups required a bit of the healer’s mana for the patient’s to be regulated. Edwin had used the same amount with Sebastian.

He had meant to only give him a rash, something to annoy him further. Not to scorch his insides. What if he had scorched the heart too? And after fixing it too. Sebastian could have died.

That realization dawned at Edwin, and he let the on-duty healers operate on Sebastian. Afraid that, if he operated himself, he could make things worse. Three hours later and Hadrian was sitting by his side, holding his hand and looking grim.

“You didn’t kill him. He’ll be fine,” murmured Hadrian. Edwin wished he was right. For, if he was not, then Edwin’s guilt would end him.