“Where is he?”

I looked down at Mathias. His eyes jumped around like they were eager to escape his skull, taking in every detail of the open drone hanger.

There wasn’t much for him to look at.

Piles of rubble and bare metal walls remained where the hanger had been. The lights in the hallway behind me had shut off.

I stared at Mathias.

//Tobias is inside of the ship, Mathias.

“Literally? Like you buried him in it, didn’t you?” Mathias asked, tilted his chin back in challenge, clutching something under his clothes. “You fucking killed him. Our only way out of this and you killed him.”

I stepped closer to Mathias. He flinched.

//Tobias is safe, Mathias.

“Don’t FUCKING lie to me!” Mathias pulled the tool free from his sleeve. A silver dagger pulsed with swirling purple and black mana.

//My directive is to protect Tobias.

Talking in a lower tone seemed to calm humans down. I took another step towards him.

He was sweating.

Mathias’s eyes jumped between me and the outside of the ship, looking out at the little camp of Acolytes. They had been hard at work, cooking food for themselves. There were plentiful amounts of animals to eat. Most of them hadn’t eaten fresh meat in weeks.

I could have had the robots cook it, but busy hands make for complacent minds. I would ensure that they always had something to do, as long as they were useful. And if they ever stopped being useful, I could use the various acolytes as mana sources, or scouts, or political delegates…

As long as it was cheaper than making new drones.

“Show me.” Mathias said, after what must have been an eternity to him.

I stepped back, walking down the hall, the lights turning on in front of me.

“Just like that?” Mathias asked.

I stopped in the hallway, turning around and waiting for him. He kept his knife between us, following me.

Eventually we turned, walking through the air lock room and deeper into the facility. The entire ship passed the airlock was fit for human habitation with managed atmosphere. Repairs graced only the necessary areas. Lights flickered or were entirely dark as we walked through the halls. The path was free of scrap. Piles of rusting metal and junk covered the other walkways.

We reached the first Stasis Pod room minutes later.

Tobias floated naked, submerged in blue liquid. Medical equipment pierced parts of his body, tubes entering his arms and back. Sedatives would keep him asleep. Tubes would deposit nutrients directly into his stomach. A mask clung to his face, and his hair floated freely as he slowly drifted up and down in the liquid. His possessions filled the locker beside the pod, his clothes laundered, journal stacked inside. From here, the dozens of scars along his body were visible. Half broken sigils, carved into his flesh with ink, inflamed in the liquid. I waited, facing the pod.

Eventually, Mathias broke the silence.

“What… is this?” The swirling energy of his knife dissipated.

//This is for his own good. A stasis viable for the foreseeable future. We will care his medical needs for, his mind asleep.

“You… can’t do this.” Mathias said.

//Why?// I asked as I turned, walking closer to Mathias. Every step I took towards him, he took one away from me.

“Tobias… was supposed to lead us out of the country. So we could start lives somewhere else. But they hunted us down. We can’t escape the country without him.” Mathias took another step backwards between every sentence.

//Tobias was a danger to himself. He was a danger to everyone around him. Tobias was a danger to you.

Mathias jerked as his back hit the wall, holding his dagger, eyes widening. Humans never understood the necessity of an action. They always required a demonstration. I remembered Tobias stabbing Eve.

I took control of the subroutine managing my display. Instead of displaying something to comfort a human, I was displaying something to discomfort him.

I leaned in, my head display inches from Mathias’s face. An image played out. Tobias jumped across a ritual circle. With one wiry arm, he grabbed a headful of an Acolytes hair, lifting them off the ground. The scene flashed for a second. One moment, it was Eve. The next, it was Mathias who he grabbed. Tobias raised a dagger, bringing it in and stabbing into Mathias’s stomach. Over and over. Blood pooled down Tobias’s arms. Tobias laughed, glowing with Glory.

Mathias dropped the knife, staring at the screen.

//How long would you live if you continued to follow him? How many more Acolytes would die? How long until it’s you he sacrifices?

After a minute of shock, Mathias spoke.

“He killed her?” Mathias asked.

//Yes.

Mathias’s eyes flashed to Tobias, filled with rage. The mark on his neck, the binding tattoo that stopped him from harming Tobias, flared to life, turning red.

//This is the action that protects Tobias, Mathias. This is the only way to keep him safe. Until there is no more threat to him. Then, we can release him.

The tattoo on his neck calmed, turning back to black. Mathias swallowed, then bent down, picking up the dull metal dagger and shoving it into a cheap leather sheathe on his arm.

“Fuck it. You can keep him.” Mathias said, still staring at Tobias. Then he turned to me again. “But I want to leave. I want out of this country — out of this apprenticeship.” He spat the word apprenticeship like poison on his tongue. “You’re not any better. You’ve killed Acolytes too.”

//Once the ship is functional, we can fly to wherever you want.

It was true. It didn’t mean I would do it. Mathias was far too useful. And, unlike Tobias, he was expendable.

//In the meantime, we can continue to study magic. You do not need to apprentice to Tobias. We have all of his books. We have all the time in the world to practice. You can help me navigate this world, and in exchange, I will help you progress through magic.

Mathias nodded, his expression hollow. He stared past me to where I knew Tobias floated.

“And then? What?” Mathias asked. “What’s your plan after this? The Templars will come for you. I don’t know why the hell they’re using — pathetic — mercenaries, but if people keep failing to kill you, they will send an army. This place isn’t even warded from scrying.” Mathias knitted his eyebrows.

I stepped back, giving him room to move.

//We kill or subjugate the Templars. All of them.

“You’re going to go to war?” Mathias scoffed, half a laugh escaping him.

I reached into the locker, pulling free Tobias’s journal, and flipping it open, before replying.

//Not war. Extermination.