Chapter 57 THE SCREAM IN THE DARK
Xyra jumped awake when a scream caught her attention. She could hear it echo down the hallway. It had been one of intense agony. Such a tone was painful to listen to, and it made her heart clench a bit in her chest. She hated that tight feeling. Another scream caused her whole body to tighten, but this time it wasn't because of the tone. It was the voice itself. She knew it, and that scared her. It had been a man's. It had been Magnus.
She threw the sheets off of her bed and got up, running from her room. She had left the door open since it was so warm, and now she was happy she had. His voice might not have reached her otherwise. However, now that she was up, she had no idea where to go. The echo had died, and he wasn't screaming anymore. She glanced around in all directions, but everything looked the same. It was all dark.
After a moment of hesitation, she chose a direction and ran. She had to do something. Her friend was in pain, and she needed to help him. He was always doing things for her, always worrying and watching out for her. Now it was time to return that favor, although she doubted there was anything that could really be done. She didn't have magic. She wasn't special in any way. She was a common, everyday woman who just happened to be a thief, and not one of the best. Her khukuri was her only point of individuality.
As she turned the corner, she collided with someone, both of them falling over. When she sat up, she glared at the other person, but she soon realized that it was Astrid. The dragon girl was rubbing her head a bit where it had slammed into the ground.
"Astrid?" Xyra asked, wanting to justify who she had run into.
"Yeah," the girl answered softly. "Who else would it be?"
"So you heard too." She stood up and helped the dragon to her feet. Both had come for similar reasons. They had been following the same voice only going completely opposite directions.
"Yeah, but I wasn't sure where it came from," Astrid told her as she glanced around. "He has to be around here somewhere, but I can't think of where."
"What are the two of you doing?" asked a third person. They both turned, their eyes meeting the sky blue orbs of Xerxes. He was holding a small torch, one that barely gave off any light, but it was enough to see ahead of them. He looked a little confused, his eyes shifting from one woman to the next. "It's late. You should both be asleep."
"Daddy, something happened to Magnus," Astrid said quickly, wanting to get right to the point. "We've got to do something."
"What do you mean? What happened?"
They were about to respond when something else answered his question. Another scream rang down the hallway, this one more intense than the last two. The dragon king's eyes widened instantly, worries flooding his usually calm features.
"Come on!" he told them both as he began running down the hallway. Even though the voice had echoed and spread in every direction, it seemed that Xerxes knew exactly where they needed to go. He seemed to understand exactly what was going on, but neither girl was going to ask. They had other things to worry about. Both were praying that Magnus was alright. He didn't need to go through any more pain. His broken arm was more than enough to deal with.
They reached a narrow walkway, and they slowed down a bit. Xerxes lead them down another hall, one that was smaller yet. At the end of it, there was a staircase. It seemed to lead downward, deep beneath the house. They could see a very faint light coming from it.
"This way," he told them. "Watch your step."
Quickly but carefully, all three of them made their way down the stairs. When they reached the room at the end, they all froze for a brief moment. In the middle of the room was Magnus. He was lying on his back, his body shaking, tossing, and turning. He cried out softly, his voice no longer able to produce a loud scream. His pain was easily heard in it though.
Astrid and Xyra ran to the middle of the room as quickly as they could. What they saw pained them. Magnus was heaving, his chest rising and falling quickly as if he couldn't quite catch his breath. He was writhing in pain, his eyes slammed shut, and his hand pressed against his forehead. He rolled onto his left side and curled up a bit, but he kept trembling. Nothing he did had stopped the pain.
"Dedisco visporta," Xerxes said as he entered the room, speaking the name of one of the symbols. Almost instantly, Magnus stopped squirming. The stressed creases he had once had on his forehead began to soften, and his eyes were no longer shut so tightly. However, he had finally lost consciousness. His body was finally free of that pain.
"What happened?" Xyra asked finally, confusion and fear playing across her tone. She looked around the room, her eyes skimming over the white stone and the black markings. She couldn't make sense of it though. This wasn't her field of expertise. "Just what is this place?"
"It's a sealing room," Xerxes told her as he bent down next to Magnus, looking over at the boy. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, we should get him out of here. This isn't a safe place for a sorcerer."
Astrid and Xyra wasted no time in getting Magnus to his feet. They had to be careful of his arm though. He had just gone through a great deal of pain. He didn't need to put up with any more of it. Besides, if his arm was knocked out of place, the bones wouldn't form together properly, and then he would have to deal with even more problems than he already had.
They carefully got him up the stairs and down the hallways. Xerxes lead them into a room that he quickly lit with his torch. He went to each corner, lighting each torch until the entire space was illuminated. The two girls slowly brought Magnus over to the bed near the far wall. Carefully, they laid him out and then backed away. For the first time in three days, he was going to be able to get some sleep. Too bad it hadn't been easy.
"Okay," began Xyra as she sat down. Something told her that this was going to be a long talk. "Just what happened tonight?" With a sigh, the dragon king began his explanation.
"That room we were just in is a special place where just about anything can be sealed," he said. "Each symbol is a different seal. It either activates or deactivates one. Obviously, he must have read one of those spells aloud. He should have known better."
"How could he read one though? Aren't they in an ancient language or something?"
"All magic is," he stated while also taking a seat. His daughter followed suit, deciding to listen instead of offering yet another question. "Those spells are all a part of curse magic, the type that can poison or put people to sleep. Those were simple sealing spells. Most sorcerers know them. I'm sure that's why he chanted it without hesitating. He didn't take into account the petalite though."
"The what?" That was a word she had never heard before. She was familiar with a lot of terms, but that was definitely not one of them. She was sure it had something to do with the white stones on the walls of that room though.
"Petalite is a sealing stone. It contains whatever the user requests it to. That was Magnus's mistake. He most likely chanted Scutum Visporta. It's a curse spell that seals magic, so I guess you can understand why it hurts so much. A sorcerer's magic is in his blood, and if the room was trying to draw it out, well… I guess you can imagine the kind of pain he had been feeling."
Xyra cringed at the thought and turned her eyes to Magnus. She had nearly cried at the sound of that agony. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how badly that had hurt. To feel like something was being ripped from your body was probably one of the most painful experiences imaginable.
"Daddy?" began Astrid softly. "He'll be okay, right?"
"He should be," Xerxes said, wanting to assure both women that their friend was just fine. "We got there on time. However, just what was he thinking? Why was he walking the halls so late at night?"
"Because he doesn't sleep," Xyra answered sadly, her eyes still on the slumbering sorcerer. "Ever since he broke his arm, he hasn't been able to get any rest. When he lies down, the second he falls asleep, he turns onto his broken arm and startles himself. After trying a few times, he always just gave up and took on the night watch. He can't sleep sitting up either, so he doesn't have much of a choice."
"Is his arm really causing this much trouble?" Xerxes was a little confused at this. Was it possible that the boy had never once broken a bone before? Most would be able to compensate. Eventually, they would be so tired that they'd have to sleep one way or another. However, it didn't seem that way with him. If he couldn't sleep, he found a way to keep himself busy instead of trying at a futile attempt. However, he had nearly gotten himself killed this time. That injury really is a nuisance.
"Sir," began Xyra as she looked him in the eye. "Is there any way to heal his arm?"
"By letting him get a lot of sleep and making sure he doesn't hurt it more."
"I meant faster. Is there a healer who can fix it or a spell that can be used? There's got to be something that can be done."
"… You'll have to wait a little while longer."
"For what?" she asked. Did the dragon king already have a plan to help Magnus? Was there really a way to help him?
"For Darren to return. I sent him on an errand to gather a few things for me. He should be back by tomorrow morning. Once he returns, I promise to do something about it."