Chapter 50 FOREST PERILS
By dusk, they had managed to reach a forest. They had stumbled across a small clearing to set up camp in, and they were all currently sitting around a small fire. Astrid was still clinging to Magnus adoringly because of his earlier actions. Apparently, dragons were fond of people who saved their lives. She was sitting right next to him, leaning against his shoulder.
Xyra just sat there, pretending to stare off into space when she was really watching Astrid and Magnus. The dragon girl was whispering something to him, and he smiled in reply. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and something about that really bothered her. The afternoon had been bad enough. Ever since he had saved her, she wouldn't leave him alone. She hung off him, talked to him, and now she was leaning against him, and the part that bothered her the most was that Magnus seemed to be enjoying the attention.
So much about this situation irked her, but she didn't know why. There was no logical explanation as to why she felt the way she did. It was irritating that she couldn't place a name on her agitation. All she knew was that their behavior was bothering her, and she found that she glared in their direction a lot. Everything about them right now just sickened her. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
"Xyra?" Magnus asked, snapping her from her small trance. She met his eyes and noticed that during her distraction, Astrid had fallen asleep. Must be why he finally decided to call out. "Is something wrong?"
"No," she told him, shaking her head. "It's nothing." However, her voice was a little forced, as if she was doing all she could to keep the agitation out. She stood up, her posture a bit rigid. "I'm going to go for a walk, alright?"
"Okay," he said. "Don't go too far though. The barrier isn't that wide."
"Yeah, yeah," she responded as she turned and walked off. "I'll be careful."
Magnus watched her in confusion as she disappeared into the dark forest, leaving him and Darren alone to converse. It was best to let Astrid sleep for now. Besides, Magnus had a question for his fellow hunter. The black-eyed boy was looking far too smug right now, as if he knew something that the sorcerer didn't. However, he had something else to ask about though.
"What's with Xyra?" Magnus asked. "She's been really quiet today, and I think she was glaring at me."
"I think it's pretty obvious," said Darren in a rather know-it-all fashion. "It's a normal reaction, so it's nothing to really worry about."
"What's normal? What are you talking about?"
"You really don't know?" Magnus just shook his head. "Well, think about it. She's still shaken up over what happened between you guys with the whole Sorcerer's League thing. She's worried that your relationship won't ever be quite the same. Also…having Astrid clinging to you probably isn't helping. You've been paying attention to her all day and completely ignoring Xyra."
"But that doesn't explain the glaring." Darren almost smacked himself in the forehead. For being such a brain, Magnus lacked a lot of sense. He was missing something that was completely obvious. Maybe his air headedness isn't an act.
"Do I have to spell it out for you? She's jealous."
"… Are you sure?"
"Are you an idiot?"
"Point taken." Magnus sighed a bit, rubbing his forehead from an oncoming headache. This was a bit confusing for him. "But why would she be?"
"Xyra is the type of person who needs attention," Darren stated. "You ignored her and talked to Astrid, so now she's mad at both of you."
Now he was really confused. He wasn't sure what to do in situations like this. This was another reason as to why he never took on companions. They were already complicating things. Astrid was glued to him, and now Xyra was walking off her frustration. Darren hadn't done anything to bother him just yet, so maybe his luck with women was what the problem was. Don't think I'll ever understand this.
"Hey Magnus," began Darren. "Just out of curiosity, have you ever had a girlfriend?" He watched as Magnus's eyes widened and then quickly dimmed, softening to reflect the campfire. Something about the sad smile on the sorcerer's face made him wish he hadn't asked.
"Yeah," came the quiet reply.
"Then what happened?"
"… If it's alright, I'd rather not talk about it." The sorcerer lowered his head, gazing into the fire. "Brings back too many memories."
As he wished, Darren dropped the subject. He wasn't going to press something that Magnus didn't feel comfortable talking about. It was probably littered with bad memories. Xyra had told him what Christian had said about the Coleman family, so he knew that the sorcerer's past was a sad one. There was probably much more to it than that though.
The two men sat in silence for a while, both just staring into the fire. They no longer had anything to talk about, and the silence was just a little awkward. That was their fault though, for talking about such strange topics. Considering how long they had been apart, one would think that there would be at least one thing to talk about. However, they had caught up while staying at the castle. There were no longer any stories to tell.
"She's been gone a while," Magnus said suddenly, not raising his eyes. "Think she got lost?"
"I doubt it," Darren responded. "She's pretty smart. I'm sure she'll be just fine."
Magnus decided to take his word for it. Xyra was pretty capable of taking care of herself. She had a sword, and a powerful one at that. I'm probably worrying about nothing. I'm sure she's just fine. However, it was hard to convince him of that. If he couldn't see her, he couldn't determine whether she was okay. Something about that really bothered him.
He straightened suddenly as a gentle pulse spread across his chest. It had come from his pendant. That meant one of two things. Either a dragon in its dragon form was nearby, or there was a demon. He looked down and saw that it was glowing a very faint blue. A demon, huh? Seems like it's probably just outside the barrier. We shouldn't have to worry too much, but I should probably check it out just in case.
Gently, Magnus shifted Astrid so that she was lying on the ground. He was doing all he could not to wake her, and he succeeded. Without a word, he stood up and began walking off.
"Where are you going?" asked Darren.
"I'm going to go look for Xyra," he answered as he left. He didn't want to mention the demon. He was almost positive that it couldn't breach his barrier, so there was no reason to worry. However, he wanted to find Xyra just in case. It would be easier to watch over everyone if they were all together.
He walked a bit slowly, his head down and his hands in his pockets. He was thinking over what Darren had said earlier. Xyra had left because she was jealous and basically needed some time to herself. It didn't make sense though. There was no reason for her to be jealous, or at least that's what he thought. Being a guy, he didn't understand women that well. I'll just apologize, and everything will be better.
The pendant pulsed again, still glowing a faint blue. Magnus just sighed a bit in reaction. Stupid demon. Doesn't it understand there's a barrier? What could it possibly be doing here? Unfortunately, he got an answer. A scream echoed through the forest. It was faint, but it was definite. Sounded like a woman's…oh God… Xyra! Without another thought, he began sprinting through the forest. Stupid girl! I can't believe she went outside the barrier. Please let me get there on time.
Xyra was thrown to the ground, her sword slipping from her grip. She tried to reach for it, but the demon knocked it further away with one of its long arms. It then tried swinging at her, but she quickly rolled out of the way and threw herself back onto her feet. She made a dash towards her sword, but just as she reached out to grab the hilt, the demon slammed what had looked like a tentacle into her, throwing her off her feet and into a nearby tree. She slumped to the ground, managing only enough movement to raise her head.
She sat there, staring at her attacker. There was hate in her eyes, masking the evident fear she felt. This thing wasn't like the other demons. Its body was completely black, all but its eyes and pearl white teeth. It also didn't seem to have a definite shape. Its arms could extend far past their lengths, and tentacles would branch off from its body. It was a huge creature, and definitely strong. She hadn't even gotten the chance to swing her blade at it before having the wind knocked out of her.
Slowly she got back to her feet, using the tree to lean against. Her whole body was aching after being slammed so many times into so many different things. She wasn't going to be able to take too much more of this. Luckily, the demon wasn't making any movements. She took this opportunity to glance around for her sword. She spotted it easily enough. Even without light, the blade gave a light blue sheen.
Without hesitation, she ran to it, but that turned out to be a big mistake. Before she could even get within three feet of the weapon, a hand wrapped around her neck, pulling her off her feet and towards the demon. Her blue eyes met red, and she was overwhelmed with fear. She tried desperately to get out of its grasp, to get her feet to touch the ground, but all she struggled to do was draw a smirk from her captor.
"Human," it began, its voice deep and laced with amusement. "Why did you come so far into the forest?" It squeezed her throat a bit. "It was a stupid move."