Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ Revenge of the Descent ❯ Seven - The Return ( Chapter 7 )

Kai stood up quickly and opened her mouth to shout, but she closed it when she saw Kyros standing next to the glowing girl with his hands clasped together as he chanted an ancient spell. She blinked a few times, then looked back down to see Guren whimper and start to sweat. Her heart beating faster than ever, she set her hands above Guren's chest and murmured a charm that she learned from her brother.

 

`Wow, brother! How did you heal me so quick?' asked Kai, her chocolate eyes sparkling with wonder. Tai grinned, patting the girl on the head.

 

`It's easy,' he replied. `Let me show you.' Tai took Kai's small hands and put one atop the other, placing them down on his forearm. `Now all you have to do is concentrate and say…'

 

“O Goddess of Water, help this one recover from thy pain, take away thy burn and replace with thine essence of cool spring water.” Opening her eyes, she was relieved to see the light blue glow dissipate from her palms as Guren's face was no longer contorted with pain. She sighed in relief. “Thank goodness,” she muttered, looking over to see Kyros bending down to check Midea's pulse.

 

“Well, she's still alive,” he said matter-of-factly. “But she was performing some sort of curse. What did you see last night, Kai?” He turned toward the water elementalist with an expectant look.

 

Kai folded her arms and replied, “I saw her facing Guren and chanting in a dead language. I couldn't understand any of it, but she claimed to be putting up a barrier spell.” Kyros looked thoughtful as he glanced back down at Midea.

 

“There definitely was no barrier up last night. I was still half asleep, but I do recall a bright light waking me up a bit.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

 

Realizing that Kyros had made the glow disappear, Kai was now curious as to how strong this Lord Kyros really was. “What did you do to her, just now?” she asked curiously.

 

Kyros smirked arrogantly, folding his arms and looking satisfied. “I cast a rather complicated reversal spell that reverses any spell or curse, whether it's in the same language or a dead one.” Kai rolled her eyes at his smug tone. He laughed, then glanced back to see the others sitting up in their beds.

 

“What just happened?” Candis asked groggily. “I saw a bright light and then heard you talking.”

 

Eryk tensed, for he had been up for the last half and had seen Kyros reverse the girl's spell, or whatever she was doing. We may have underestimated his powers, he thought wryly.

 

Kyros caught his eye and grinned a bit, feeling pleased. Florian shook his head as the two then tried to stare each other down, saying, “Knock it off. You're acting like children.”

 

Eryk snorted and looked away toward Candis, subconsciously scooting closer to her. “In any case, it obviously has something to do with that Midea girl. She sure plays innocent well,” he said sardonically.

 

Kai nodded. “Last night when I saw her, she was glowing as well. Guren wasn't awake or hurting then, but just now he fainted and started whimpering,” she said, looking very worried.

 

Chi, more awake than the others, crawled a few paces towards Kai and put a reassuring hand on her. “Don't worry, Kai,” she said confidently. “I'm sure he'll be alright now. And I saw the last few seconds when you were chanting that charm your brother taught you.”

 

The water elementalist smiled sadly, ruffling the younger girl's hair. “Thanks, Chi.” The girl grinned and then turned back to Midea.

 

“We should probably put an anti-magic spell around her,” suggested Feng, running a hand through her long blue hair. “That way she isn't able to cast any spells without being awake to do so.”

 

Florian and Eryk nodded, standing up and slowly walking toward the girl. “I wonder how hard this will be,” muttered Eryk, looking unhappy.

 

Kyros rolled his eyes, stepping up next to the two sorcerers. “Eryk, as you have just seen, I'm a lot more powerful than you all give me credit for,” he said proudly. “And you two aren't the worst I've seen, so I'm sure it will be a piece of cake with all three of us.”

 

Eryk advanced to punch Kyros but once again Florian had held him back. Or so he thought it was Florian, until he saw the bright white-blond hair of Candis. “Candis?”

 

Candis shook her head ruefully. “He is powerful, Eryk,” she said. “We all know he's cocky but if we want to get anywhere we have to deal with it and work together.” Eryk looked disappointed but nodded, his shoulders loosening up.

 

 

For the remainder of the night, Eryk, Florian, and Kyros conversed about possible ways to strengthen a normal anti-magic barrier just in case the girl was stronger than she was letting on. After a few hours, they finally came up with something and stood in a triangular shape around the girl. The three men chanted in a foreign language known only to sorcerers, spreading leaves and spring water over the girl as to strengthen the barrier.

 

Once they were done, Chi asked, “How does spring water and leaves strengthen the barrier?”

 

“Nature in itself strengthens the most powerful barriers,” explained Florian. “If all the elements were used, it would have created an indestructible barrier.”

 

“Then why didn't you use our powers?” asked Candis.

 

Eryk sighed as he rested his head upon Candis's lap. “Even if we wanted to use your powers, we wouldn't be able to. Only things of nature that were already here can be used to strengthen it,” he said. “On top of that, if you used your powers you would probably kill her.” He snorted with amusement. “Though that doesn't seem like such a bad idea.”

 

Feng smirked, folding her arms and closing her eyes. It was nearly dusk, and the group had a long day ahead of them. The Ministry wasn't too far away, but they had been awake nearly all night and were barely making it on only four hours of sleep.

 

When the sun finally decided to rise, Guren offered to carry the girl back to the Ministry. Kai was surprised by this, as on their missions within the past three years he would never offer to carry a captive back to the Ministry. He almost always made Florian or Eryk do it, and sometimes even Ilias.

 

They reached the Ministry around noon, and the girl was still fast asleep. “It may be the barrier,” suggested Captain Skyler as he examined her in the hospital wing. “Well done, we may be on to something here. She does seem like quite a suspicious one from what you've told us.” He nodded to the group before turning to a lieutenant and giving him specific orders.

 

Ilias frowned, glancing at a rather grumpy Guren. The elf looked more stressed than he usually was, and Guren tensed when he asked to speak with him in private in the foreign language that the girls had heard three years prior.

 

The apprehension in the room that Ilias had led Guren to was almost excruciating. They stood facing one another for a few moments, though Guren refused to make eye contact with his closest friend. Ilias sighed as he shook his head, sitting down in an abandoned chair. “Guren, you're not yourself,” he said quietly. “You never offered to carry anyone home on any of your previous missions. Why is this girl different?” He eyed his friend skeptically.

 

Guren held his head, struggling to grab a hold of the wall before he fell over. Ilias rushed over and helped him into the chair that he was formerly sitting in. The man sighed, rubbing his temples and looking quite confused. “I… Ilias, I don't know what's wrong with me,” he said truthfully, his eyes holding bewilderment in them. “I barely even recall what happened last night.”

 

Ilias stared at his friend, his concern increasing. “What do you remember, Guren?”

 

He sighed, shaking his head. “Not much. I just remember… I snapped at Kai, I think, and then I came to and apologized. After that I passed out, and I vaguely remember offering to carry that little brat back here.”

 

The elf chuckled, sensing his friend was back to normal. “Kai told me that she woke up and saw Midea placing a spell on you. Is that true?”

 

Guren shook his head. “I don't know. I remember two days ago hearing a strange language being chanted and a bright light, but I didn't think it would be a curse.” He snarled in frustration. “That damn girl better not have put a curse on me.”

 

Ilias shook his head, frowning as he replied, “I'm afraid she has. You're lucky that Kyros and Kai were able to stop it in time before it was sealed. Though…” He sighed, his eyes holding fear within them. “I have a feeling this is not over yet. The curse is still upon you, but it has been postponed… for now.”

 

Guren looked down at the ground. “I can't stay here,” he said quietly, his red hair shading his eyes. “I can't risk being under a curse. I might hurt…” His eyes widened as he started coughing, holding his chest as the force of the cough jolted his entire body. Ilias jumped up and grabbed Guren by the shoulders.

 

“Guren! What's wrong? Guren!” The last thing that Guren saw was Ilias's bright red eyes, and then a forboding darkness claimed his vision.

 

 

Darkness. Shadows of missing trees loomed above the girl as she made her way through the darkness, following the shaded path that led to her master. Her long, silver hair was tied up in a ponytail and her eyes were clouded by revenge. She quickly dodged the branches of the trees that were really there, finally coming upon the Dark Castle of Merdith.

 

The castle was darkened by the deep night sky, its moldy gray stones only visible when the thunder clapped and lightning stroked across the stormy sky. The wooden door was barely hanging off its hinges, and the girl was careful not to make any noise as she swiftly made her way through the entrance and toward the highest tower.

 

She reached the top in minutes, stopping at the doorway to kneel and bow to her master. The figure in the old, red cushioned chair breathed heavily, its bony arms resting idly on the armrests. It regarded her with slight interest, slowly bringing a clawed hand up to motion for her to come closer. The girl obliged, slowly walking towards the strange creature and stopping to kneel before here.

 

“Cas…siel…” it croaked, the black veil covering the rest of its body except for its equally bony feet. “Have… you… brought… food?”

 

Cassiel nodded and stood up, digging through her cloak to bring out a live and squawking crow. “I'm sorry, My Lady,” she apologized, handing the figure the squealing bird. “This is all I could find for now.”

 

The figure ignored her apologies and tore apart the bird, eating the meat hungrily and greedily. Cassiel cringed on the inside; she was never fond of how her master ate her meals. When the figure was done, it licked its fingers clean, its tongue slimy and deteriorating. “Cassiel,” it murmured. “Bring me…the one they call… Guren.”

 

Cassiel nodded, bowing lowly as she replied, “Yes, Lady Rika. I shall have him for you soon.”