Chapter 37 PREMONITION OF ASH
"So…" began Xyra. "When do you think the demons will come back?"
"Probably within the next two days," Christian said. "They will most likely come tomorrow though."
"Then we'll be ready for them. The sooner, the better." She seemed rather determined now, but that was most likely because she had faith in Magnus. After all, he had promised that nothing would happen to her. Hopefully, she really could trust him. She wanted to. This whole plan was really risky on her part. She didn't even want to think about what would happen to her…if Magnus failed.
Night fell rather swiftly that day, but all of them were ready for a good night's sleep. They had to be prepared for the demons, and hopefully they would show their ugly faces tomorrow. Right now, though, everyone was asleep. Magnus and Xyra were borrowing rooms in the castle. Christian had suggested that they stay for as long as they wanted. It didn't bother him any. Reeve was staying as well. It's not like he had an actual home to go to anyway.
They were all sleeping peacefully tonight…all except Magnus, that is. He was tossing and turning, his breathing coming in labored gasps. Small beads of sweat were gathering at his temples, and his hands were gripping the sheets of his bed as if they were the only things keeping him alive. What he was seeing was in no way pleasant. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.
In his mind, he could see the arena. He had the demons he would be hunting right where he wanted them. Xyra had gotten out of the way, leaving him free to cast the Incineration. When he finally positioned himself properly to cast it, he began the chant. With a few words said, a few tendrils of fire began forming in the arena. As soon as he had finished the spell, all the tendrils formed together into a dome around the demons. Once it closed off completely, the empty space inside filled with intense flames.
Since he wasn't far from the dome, the heat began to get to him. He could hear the demons screaming as they burned in his hellfire. However, he wasn't sure if he could get too much more of this. The flames were starting to spread, the dome growing larger. The fire was becoming more intense, and soon the entire stadium was full of heat.
Before he knew what was happening, the spell went out of control. The dome exploded, raining fire on everything it could reach. From his position high up in the stadium, he could see the damage that was being caused. Everything the flames touched would erupt into an inferno. Before long, the entire town was being consumed.
Magnus just stood there, his eyes wide, his arm still extended. He couldn't take this. His body began quivering as he watched the place he had been protecting go up in flames. This just wasn't fair. This hadn't been his intent. He had told them that he could be trusted, but here he was…the cause of their destruction. He felt as if he could die, as if it would be easier. It…it wasn't supposed to happen this way… Just as the thought registered, everything went black.
Magnus shot up in bed, every function of his body stopping for a split second before returning drastically. His pulse was racing, and his breathing was hard. His whole body felt as if it was still on fire, but that ended soon after he realized where he was. This was the guest room in Christian's castle. He hadn't done anything yet. The demons hadn't shown up, he hadn't fought them, and he hadn't lost control in the arena.
After taking a few deep breaths, he began to feel a bit better. However, the thought of what had happened wouldn't leave him alone. In his dream, he had failed to cast the Incineration. He had allowed it to get the best of him. Was it…just a dream or…a premonition? He placed his head in his hands and sighed, praying it had only been a dream, that it was just a result of nerves. He didn't need something like that happening. Please let tomorrow go well.
He lay back down on his bed, determined to get a bit more sleep. He eventually fell into a deep slumber, praying that nothing would go wrong the next day. There were a lot of people depending on him. He wouldn't let them down. He couldn't. Too much was on the line this time. He had a promise to keep.
The town was completely deserted. No one was walking the streets as the bell tolled through the entire area. This was really it. The demons were coming, but this time they would have a huge surprise waiting for them. At the entrance to the town stood Xyra, and in a nearby house waited for her companions. Scarlette, Christian, and Reeve were all watching through the window, just waiting for something to happen.
"Remember," called Christian, catching Xyra's attention. "You got to run pretty fast."
"I know," she told him. "We all went through a trial, remember? If there's one thing I'm good at, it's running away."
They all quieted down as a light thunder could be heard in the distance. Finally, they were within a few yards of the town. Xyra just stood firm, praying they would give her time to run away. Hopefully, they wouldn't just plow into her and ask questions later. All she needed was the time to reach the arena, and there Magnus could take care of everything. Her part was probably the hardest.
Xyra braced herself as what looked like a group of demons made it into the town. Just like she had hoped, they stopped before reaching her. She began to feel a bit nervous when she saw that there really were twenty of them. They were all far taller than she was, and each bore dragon-scaled armor. Their skin was a blackish green, and their eyes were very human-like, the irises a bright red. Each harbored a pair of horns on their head. They look like lightning demons… Good thing Magnus is going with a fire spell.
"Well, well," began one of the demons, a twisted, toothy smirk spreading across his face. "What do we have here?"
"Woman, don't you know it's dangerous?" asked another, his voice rather scratchy and near painful to listen to. "Such a pretty thing like you could get hurt." Something told her that he was referring to them as her possible cause of pain. She still wasn't sure what they would do to her if they caught her though. She wasn't an expert on demon behavior, but something told her that she'd rather not find out.
"You'll be coming with us," stated the demon standing closest to her. "If you don't resist, we won't have to hurt you."
Before any of them could take another step towards her, she spun around and started sprinting. Despite the dress, she was able to move rather quickly. She glanced back and noticed that the demons were all following. They obviously preferred capturing women instead of stealing random things from the locals. This was in so many ways a bad thing though. I hope I can make it. You better be ready when I get there, Magnus, or I'm going to kill you.
At the arena, which wasn't too far away now, Magnus was just standing around, waiting. He had positioned himself on top of a pillar that stood in the middle of the area. From there he could see exactly what was going on. Slowly but surely, Xyra was leading the demons to him. Soon it would all be over. The demons would be gone, and he would have another talisman.
Magnus swallowed a bit hard as he thought about what he was going to do. He had to get ready to cast the Incineration. If he was ready when they came in, then he wouldn't have any problem. Xyra would be able to get out of the way, and the demons wouldn't be able to escape.
As he thought about this, his stomach clenched. He felt a little uncomfortable, as if something was going to happen. This just didn't feel completely right. It was almost as if he was afraid. His dream kept playing over in his head. It wasn't much of a dream though. Something like that was highly possible. So many things could go wrong when casting such a powerful spell. What if…I lose control? What if it doesn't work? What if my dream…?
"Hey Magnus!" called Xyra from below, drawing his eyes to her. She had just run into the arena. She quickly turned and ran to the side, pressing herself against the wall by the entrance. She watched as the demons came in, and they all stopped after realizing that she had disappeared from their view.
"Where is she?" one asked as they all walked out further. They were soon in the perfect position, and Magnus knew exactly what to do. He braced himself and extended his arm, his palm facing the group of demons. They were still looking for Xyra, but none had spotted her yet. She blended in pretty well with the shadows.
Magnus began the chant that would activate the spell. A few flickers of fire could be seen on the arena floor, but the demons were too preoccupied to notice. Soon a few more came, and he was about ready to fully cast the spell, but something stopped him. An image from his dream flashed through his mind, and he could see the entire town burning. When he blinked, it was gone, but that one thought had broken his concentration.
His arm locked up on him, and the spell began to die down. Fire no longer flickered around the demons. There was nothing. He couldn't complete the spell. His mind was racing with all the things that could go wrong, even though he had done this so many times before. One little slip up and they were all dead. He began trembling at the thought.
From below, Xyra was watching her companion. He was supposed to be casting the spell, but instead he was only standing there. That idiot! Doesn't he understand that this is our only shot? Why's he hesitating? She was tempted to shout out, but that would draw the demon's attention too. However, Magnus had said that she could trust him. He wouldn't let them hurt her. This was a risk she was going to have to take.
"Magnus!" she called, drawing everyone's attention within the arena. "Hurry! Cast it!"
"So that's where you were hiding," said one of the demons, a smirk crossing his wicked face. The whole group began approaching.
"Please Magnus! Cast it!"