Suddenly the ground beneath Magpie and Shadow shook. Rapidly Shadow pulled Magpie's arm and held her in his arms, protecting her while the building shook, the walls cracked, the windows shattered, metal shrieked, wood groaned and debris crumbled from the ceiling. Magpie gasped as she was in his arms and saw a thin film of red light covering her and Shadow. She felt his magic, but it was different, it felt not evil but familiar. A protection spell? Slowly the colour of the glowing veil changed from red to orange. Magpie remained stiff and waited until the shaking ceased. Is this another shift?
"Are you alright, Magpie?" Spoke a different voice softly near her. She blinked and looked at Shadow. The red eyes have turned to dark brown, and his grey appearance was gone. Magpie wanted to utter his name, but she couldn't find her voice. Tears began to well in her eyes. To hell if this is real or a dream. She nodded and sniffed.
He opened the embrace but held gently at her shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes. "I don't have much time. Listen, whatever Shadow plans and offers to you, don't accept it at any cost! He wants your magic to become more powerful. He's an evil spirit and will do anything to get what he wants. I greatly underestimated his powers, but I have been able to hold him off from killing you. I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through and-" Suddenly he grimaces in pain with clenched teeth and steps back while holding his head. "T-take your sword and stay out of sight, Magpie!" He said through clenched teeth and at times shaking his head. "Take it!"
Magpie blinked but soon gathered herself and took her belt and sword from his hips. "I love you." Whispered Ignatius before he cried in agony and panted. "Go! He's coming!"
The orange veil turned immediately to blood red, shattered like glass and dissolved in the air. Ignatius' appearance darkened to the familiar shade of grey, and soon his eyes opened with a flash of red. Shadow exclaimed in pain and then stared down at his own hands. His breath was heavy, his shoulders heaved. Magpie made space from him and rapidly strapped on her belt with a hand near her trusty sword. "This can't be happening," Shadow whispered to himself. He grunted furiously. "This can't be!" His red eyes glowed fiercely and looked up to Magpie. "What did he tell you?" Shadow growled.
Magpie kept her silence and ready to counter any form of attack from him.
Shadow sighed and began to smirk. "I see, he's given you new hope, sweetheart."
I am such a fool, why am I still here? I should have taken the chance of getting away from him as Ignatius said. Magpie gritted her teeth in regret.
"My offer still stands as before." He spoke the arcane language and motioned his hand towards Magpie's right hand. At the back of her hand appeared a round tattoo, similar to Shadow's. He folded his hands behind his back and took a step closer to her. Magpie rapidly pulled out her sword. Shadow chuckled. "Alright, I'll let you ponder on it for a while. In case you change your mind, say my name to the symbol." He dissolved himself into smoke and floated out the broken window.
For a long moment, Magpie stood there frozen and staring at empty space. There was so much to take in and process. Soon her sword began to tremble, her hands and nerves were far from calm, and her breathing began to grow heavy, and her knees were jelly. Magpie fell onto her knees, dropped her sword, and tears streamed over her rosy cheeks. She didn't know what to feel, happy to the knowledge that Ignatius is alive, loves her and there is hope to save him or feel sad about what Shadow plans and what will happen next. Her throat ached in every breath as she tried to collect herself, and there was a heavy weight on her shoulders. No one's there, so I think it's alright to cry out a little. Slowly in her time, she sheathed her sword and whipped away the tears as she has calmed down. Magpie's body felt heavy as she got up to her feet. Now I am standing as I once did before; alone, but now I may have an idea how to stop Shadow and rescue Ignatius. She looked at her right hand the tattoo. Do you think you can get me that easily? Her handballed to a fist and pulled her sleeve to cover it however possible. She walked over to the window to get the lay of the land. Magpie is at the penthouse where all the villains had assembled and held Nu and Jayden captive. There was no sight of them, not even a flicker of magic felt nearby. Dark clouds covered the sky, and a wild cool wind blew through the broken windows, soon followed by a clap of loud thunder and large drops of rain poured down. She sighed. I will wait for a while and hope the rain ends soon, if not I'll go-
Suddenly Magpie felt a presence with magic in the distance. There is some else out there? As she wanted to head for the stairs to investigate, she found the door frame has collapsed and filled with rubble. Damn! If only I knew the spell of flying. She returned to the window, trying to spot the presence with the naked eye since it feels very close by.
Suddenly an idea passed Magpie's mind, a mad and dangerous one. She took a deep breath while pulling out a knife from her corset and her dagger at boot. Pulls over her hood and checks her long sleeves are covering her wrists without getting in the way of what she is about to do next. I guess I have this time no other choice. Cautiously she knocks off the shards from the window and climbs out. Forcefully Magpie struck with her dagger into the stone wall and checked if it holds her weight. It holds! She grins to the fact. May have to sharpen them once I have firm ground beneath my feet again. She swallowed and struck with the knife a bit lower into the wall while fighting against the cold rain and the wind roaring at her ears. Gently going down.521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0iBMxHoSH
Magpie:521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡScYN6A53Cz
Energy/mana: 10/10521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUyMpmWNtv
Fire: due to size 3-5521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB2hO9btNOi
Lightening: 3521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6L2d0cGANY
Mini shield at wrist: 1 per shield
Shadow:521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywLSrVkZQg
Energy/mana: 10/10521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQt6F5hLX8J
Any spell: 0-2521Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZINbWPy4MP
A short sword or dagger combats: 3 (duration approx. 5 minutes)
