Chapter 67 SORCERER'S RESCUE
Magnus woke up with a start, shooting straight up. His breaths were coming in pants as he took a moment to register just where he was. This was his room at the inn. He was lying in bed. Everything he had just seen had only been a dream. It took him a while to figure that out.
Eventually, his breathing calmed, and his heart stopped pounding so rapidly against his chest. He placed a hand on his sweat-covered forehead, wiping it a bit. He really had been afraid for a moment that his dream had been real. He had seen everything burning. People had been dying left and right. If there was one kind of nightmare he really hated, it was those kinds. He hated seeing things burn, especially when people were involved.
After sighing to finish calming himself, he glanced over towards Xyra's bed. He had been expecting to see her sleeping peacefully, but instead her bed was empty. She was nowhere in sight.
Panicked, he got to his feet and walked over to take a closer look. That only proved it. She really had left the inn. Where did she go at this time of night? Only an idiot would…damn, I should've known. It hadn't taken him too long to figure out just where the young thief had disappeared to. He really should have been expecting it. You would think I would know better by now. You better be alright, Xyra, or you're going to be in trouble when I find you.
He threw open the door and walked out of the room, not bothering to be quiet. He wouldn't wake anyone. He wasn't quite that careless. Anger was slightly clouding him though as he stomped out of the inn and began running down the streets until he reached the governor's mansion. He was sure this was where Xyra had gone. If he happened to be wrong, then it didn't really matter. He could just take the talisman while he was there and then flee the town. It was his, and he wasn't going to leave without it.
Magnus stopped near the front door of the house. He couldn't just barge in, and he didn't plan to. He was a sorcerer. He had other ways of doing things. Slowly he brought his hands together and began chanting. This one will have to be big. There's a lot of people and a lot of ground to cover.
"Ad somnum," he whispered after the chant. A light, blue colored mist began to form from him. It traveled to the house, spreading over it, seeping through cracks and tiny crevices. Once it had had the chance to settle a bit, he reached over and pushed open the doors. The entryway was pitch black, but he could make out the spell he had cast. He could also see the form of two guards, both lying on the ground fast asleep. Guess it worked. Thank God curse-magic doesn't work on me. I'll have to thank Gareth again for that little talisman next time I see him.
He began to make his way through the house, not bothering to walk quietly or be careful. Even if he knocked something over, no one would awaken. They would eventually wake up in a few days, but until then only something truly startling, like a swift kick to the head, would wake them up. He didn't intend to do anything of the sort, so they would be left to rest peacefully.
After walking up the stairs, he realized that his mist hadn't quite reached this level yet. It still had to seep through the rest of the house. He decided to just wait then and took a seat at the top of the stairs. He didn't see anybody coming, so he was safe for now. He really didn't like waiting though, especially since Xyra was still inside somewhere, possibly in trouble. Just wait, Xyra. I'll come for you soon.
In the governor's office, Xyra found herself on the floor faster than she could blink. She was still clutching the talisman though, not planning on ever letting it go. She didn't care what they tried. This was for Magnus, and she was going to get it to him. It was payment for all the favors she owed. That and she honestly wanted to help him out. These things were important to him. He had been working so hard, and as his accomplice, she was entitled to help. This would make up for all the money she had blown on those disgusting spells.
"Give it back," demanded the governor. However, she wasn't going to listen. She only attempted to get up, but one of the guards slammed her brutally to the floor. The wind was knocked out of her for a moment, and when her mind finally came back into focus, she saw that there was a sword pointed at her throat. It was only a few inches away.
"Do what he says," the guard demanded cruelly. "If you give it back, we won't have to kill you."
"We aren't going to kill her," the governor stated with a smirk. "We'll just keep her…as a slave."
Xyra swallowed a bit hard at that comment. That was the last thing she wanted. Death would be so much better than being this man's slave for the rest of her life. She was no object, and she never planned to be with anyone. The things he would make her do…just the thought of it made her shut down. She was so caught off guard that she almost didn't notice what was coming through the window of the room. No one else had noticed yet. It was a blue mist, and if her knowledge of spells proved efficient, that was a sleeping spell.
When the mist got close enough, she took a deep breath, not wanting to breathe any of it in. The guards and the governor all looked at it strangely for a moment, but that moment was all they got before they all collapsed into a deep sleep. Xyra was just happy that the guard who had his sword near her had fallen backwards and not forwards. Such a death would have been pointless.
The sleeping spell wasn't disappearing, even after her attackers had fallen victim to it. If it stayed any longer, she wouldn't be able to hold her breath. It was already getting difficult. When she couldn't keep it in anymore, she released the air and then drew it back in swiftly. However, she hadn't been affected. She didn't feel sleepy in the slightest. That was all thanks to a barrier that had been placed around her, one she could barely see in the dark. A sigh escaped her lips, but she knew what came next, and she wasn't in any way prepared for it.
She glanced back, and in the doorway stood Magnus. She could tell it was him from his outline and his eyes. They were slightly illuminated even in the darkness. Most people were though. Right now, she was wishing she couldn't see him. He looked rather annoyed with her, and she really didn't blame him. She had disobeyed his demand, gotten herself in trouble, and he had to come and rescue her. Guess my payback plan didn't go so well. I'm still in debt. Why can I never do anything for him?
"Did you get it?" were the first words from his mouth. She just gave him a confused stare from her position on the floor. He was soon over her, looking downward into her sapphire eyes. "The talisman. Did you get it?"
"Yeah," she sighed, holding it up for him to grab. He snatched the object from her hand and then examined it for a moment. Satisfied, he shoved it into his pocket and then glared down at the young thief.
"Are you dense or just brainless?" he asked her. "I specifically told you not to come here. If I had wanted to steal the talisman, I could have done it easily. You nearly got yourself killed." He extended his hand, offering to help her up. "The next time you try something like this, just do me a favor and don't. You're always getting in trouble."
"But I did get the talisman," she stated as she took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. When she met his eyes again, she was surprised to see a soft smile reflecting in them.
"And I do thank you for that," he responded gently. "Just please be more careful next time. I would rather not have something horrible happen to you, and I'm sure you feel the same."
She nodded in response, not wanting to say anything else to that. True, her actions had been dangerous ones, but this was her profession. She had been paid to do tasks like these hundreds of times, and some of her jobs had been far more dangerous than this one. She wasn't usually caught so easily though. The governor hadn't had to fight too much with her at all. Perhaps all this traveling was making her sloppy.
"Come on," said Magnus as he began leaving. "I can't keep that barrier up forever."
"Where are we going?" she asked as she followed after him, jogging a bit to keep up with his fast and large strides.
"Away," he stated. "We can't stay very well in town. When they wake up, they'll come searching for us. If we leave fast enough, they won't know where to look."
"We can't go back to the inn?"
"No."
"But I'm tired…" She saw a smirk flash across the sorcerer's face. He turned to look at her as they left the house, causing her to stop walking. She really hated that look. It meant he had some kind of remark to make, and it was most likely something she didn't want him to say. It was scary how much he and Darren could be alike sometimes. He used his handsome face to his advantage far too often. He was making her nervous again.
"If you fall asleep, I'd be more than happy to carry you," he told her, the smirk on his face implying something else. Despite the fact that he was just teasing her, she wasn't going to play along.
"You can forget that," she grumbled. "We have a lot of ground to cover, so let's go." She walked past him, missing the small laugh that he let out. She really didn't like it when he did things like that. The offer hadn't been so bad, but the way he had said it implied that he wouldn't be nice to her when in that situation. Even though she knew he was a decent guy, he was manipulative. He could probably get women to do just about anything for him if he tried hard enough. She wasn't going to succumb though. She couldn't. We're companions, she reminded herself. We'll never be anything more…not that I want us to or anything.
A sigh escaped her lips when she thought about their relationship. It wasn't much. They were only friends, traveling together simply because she wanted to find a way to get some money. Things are a bit different now. However, they weren't going to be any closer than just that. There was still so much to the sorcerer that she didn't know about. It was easy to tell that he was hiding things. Like Astrid had said, his eyes didn't lie. Just what aren't you telling me? I get the feeling…that you're hiding something. I'll figure out what it is though. You can count on it.