There was nothing fancy like the feast or truly worthwhile like the first room’s gift of knowledge. No, this time there was only one thing in the large room, illuminated by a large, glowing crystal in the ceiling above. The thing was a stone pedestal. And resting upon it was a vial of thick, crimson liquid which had a strange glitter to it. There was no doubt as to what it was, and that made it all the more tempting.
Particularly to Marceline.
“Stay back, it may be trapped,” Nicolai said, looking around for the next exit while Dylan focused on making his body look better and be less drippy with limited success.
Marceline didn’t care about that. She slowly stepped towards the bottle, a little voice encouraging her.
Was it real? Imagined? Or just her own voice?
Marceline didn’t care, for the truths it whispered were far greater than the risks she knew she was taking.
“Go ahead, take it. It’ll make you strong!” the voice whispered, gentle as a lover’s caress in her ear. “You’ll be able to protect everything. You’ll be the strongest. How could anyone take anything from you? Your friends ... your sister ... you could keep them safe, if you drank ...."