"Jika," Cinder's voice shook as he stood in the doorway to the room that the druid had taken Kydyn to.
"He's fine, Cinder. I promise you. No need to worry so much, besides, if you do that it'll just inflate his ego. It's already the size of the solar system, let's not make it infinite."
"Jika," Cinder called his name a second time, but the urgency in it had the druid looking over his shoulder in surprise. "I know I don't know any of you, but he shouldn't have fallen over like that. I... I did something. Didn't I?"
Jika's silence was deafening. It tore at Cinder's chest. From behind Cinder, Lyn stuck his head in the doorway. His eyes were bright with curiosity, though he wasn't worried like Cinder was. After surveying the room, he poked Cinder's side which earned him a sharp yelp and a jump from the young man. "It's all right. Kydyn's done worse, trust us."
"But I did this," Cinder retorted.
Jika sighed and stood up from the chair he'd brought over to the edge of the bed where Kydyn was. He walked over and put both hands on Cinder's shoulders. "You didn't do it on purpose. You were in the middle of being released from the seal and Kydyn was an idiot to think he could control it without a scratch. You've been sealed off from your magic for so long that it's built up to be incredibly strong. He had to use a lot of his own power to keep you from losing too much control. Although it would have been just fine with the three council members doing it but he had to take things into his own hands."
Jika gave Kydyn a sour look before he turned back to Cinder. He was gentle, but firm in turning the young magus around and leading him out into the hallway. Lyn shut the door to the room as they left and followed right behind until they reached the living room. "I'll make some tea!"
"Thanks, Lyn," Jika said.
Sitting down on the couch, Cinder released a heavy breath and braced his elbows on his knees. Rubbing his hands along his face, he groaned before resting his forehead in his palms. "You said the ritual wouldn't hurt."
"I did. Honestly I've never seen anyone in pain before by having a seal undone," Jika paused. "Do you mind? Talking about it, that is. Did something happen?"
Cinder shrugged. He didn't answer for some time. A lot had happened and none of it was anything he'd been prepared for. It felt like someone else's life had flooded through him. Almost like it wasn't even real, but he knew it was. And he knew who those people were in the memories. His parents.
A realization hit him so hard that he straightened on the couch and stared at the far wall in shock. Jika started next to him. The druid touched him gingerly and it was like a switch. His breathing was ragged, eyes burning as they swam with tears. Raw emotions that hadn't seen the light of day in ages bubbled up and he turned and buried his face against Jika's shoulder.
"Cinder? What's wrong?" Jika didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around him and hold him a little closer.
"Why now? I haven't thought of them all this time. They never crossed mind. Not once. I never wondered what happened to them, or why I didn't know where they were. I never even made an effort to look for them! What the hell was wrong with me?"
"Who? Look for who?"
"My parents," Cinder choked the words out.
Jika sucked in a sharp drag of air. "What did you see?"
"Fire. So much smoke. I couldn't breathe. S-stuck in a corner because I was too scared to move. Someone was hurting them. I saw dad fall from the top floor. There was someone tangled up with him. They both burned. And mom. She. S-she..."
Jika's grip tightened and instead of one arm, he had both around Cinder, holding him closer. Cinder rested in the druid's heat. Letting his solid body ease his chaotic mind. He concentrated on Jika's chest steadily rising and falling, the strong beat of his heart. After Cinder had calmed down, he pushed away gently. Jika let him go and Cinder found Lyn seated cross-legged on the floor in front of them. He had in his hands a box of tissues and held it up to Cinder as if it were a peace offering.
"Thanks."
Taking several tissues, Cinder cleaned his face and sat back on the couch. Leaning back, he brushed his fingers through his hair and forced his thoughts to settle. Silence filled the living room while both men waited for Cinder to finish telling the story of what he'd seen during the ritual. Clearing his throat several times, Cinder finally started up again.
"She looked like someone had stabbed her, more than once too. Blood everywhere. She said some things to me, but I don't remember what they were. Then she put that seal on me and shoved me out of the house. I don't know what happened to her after that. All I can remember now is all of that fire. There was an explosion and I think I just passed out after crying so hard."
"The ritual had you seeing all of that?" Lyn asked. He leaned back on one arm, the other resting atop his raised knee. Black bands crisscrossed over his wrist and tattoo's painted his forearm all the way up beyond his elbow and disappearing beneath the shirt he wore.
Cinder shrugged. "Yeah. I don't know why, but once the seal shattered, I just... I went into full on film reel mode. It was fucking trippy."
"Damn."
"That's what all the screaming was about," Jika added.
Cinder looked over at him sharply. "Screaming? I was screaming?"
"Yeah, sounded like you were dying," Lyn added, "Maybe that's why Kydyn thought he had to jump up over you and try to control your magic or something."
"The idiot needs to think before he acts," Jika said, shaking his head as he crossed his arms and glared at the floor just to the side of where Lyn was seated.
"You know him. He thinks he's invincible."
"One of these days that idea is going to get him killed."
"Seriously, is he all right?" Cinder asked, giving Jika a hard look.
"Yes, he's fine. I promise. Physically anyway. But there might be something wrong with his head."
Lyn laughed, the sweet sound filling the room. "Oh please! We all know there's something wrong with his brain."
"And what exactly would be wrong with my head?"
Cinder jumped and gasped just as Lyn did the same. Looking over his shoulder from where he sat on the couch, Cinder eyed the Irish warlock as he leaned against the wall leading into the hallway. He flashed Cinder a wolfish grin. Kydyn shrugged at them. "What? I was enjoying the conversation. At least, until you all decided that I'm screwed up somehow."
"That's because you are," Jika answered. He was the only one not affected by Kydyn's sudden appearance in the room.
Kydyn scoffed at him. "Oh whatever. So, how you feeling pretty boy?"
"Me? I'm not the one who started bleeding all the sudden and fell over! You shouldn't even be up!" Cinder bristled at the insult and his voice was a little too high in pitch as he shouted at Kydyn.
Raising his hands, the warlock smirked at him. "Hey, no need to get so damned uppity. And I can do whatever the hell I want. So what, you managed a hit when you were a fucking mess."
"A hit?"
"Your magic, dimwit," Kydyn snapped, his mood easily switching to anger. Cinder was beginning to think that was a normal thing for him. "Lost control of it and you nailed me good." The snicker said Kydyn wasn't thinking of what he said in the proper context.
Cinder glared, his jaw tight. "Fucking idiot."
"Excuse me? What was that? I couldn't hear you." Kydyn was leaning over the arm of the couch to get closer to Cinder, a dark glint in his eyes as he glared.
"Nothing," Cinder answered and leaned away while avoiding the warlock's gaze.
"Didn't think so. Now. You were talking about seeing something during the ritual?"
"A portion of his memory, it seems," Jika answered and Cinder was thankful for the druid's interruption. "From the sounds of it, someone suppressed his memories and removed the idea of searching for his parents."
"That sounds like trouble."
"I'm taking a shot in the dark here," Lyn pipped up, "Feels like an enchanter would be behind that. We're masters at weaving deception and illusions. There's all kinds of forms when it comes to being an enchanter. Suppression of memory would be easy for someone who's extremely good at it. Plus, if we're talking that he hadn't even wanted to go see them, or had no thoughts of them, that falls under influence. Only enchanters have that kind of power."
"Enchanter it is," Kydyn said as he seated himself on the arm of the love seat opposite from everyone else. "Now we just have to figure out who the enchanter is."
"Odain said he could answer questions for me if I had any," Cinder mused.
"That old fool is just kissing ass. Ignore him. He wants to get on the magus' good side, that's all. Besides, I doubt he'd know who sealed off your memories. We'll find it. Better to do it ourselves than involve those ancient assholes."
"I get the idea that you really don't like them."
"Oh, you do? Well, shit. Let me make it clear for you. I fucking despise them, and if these idiots would let me, I'd burn the whole fucking place down. How's that for not liking them?"
Cinder stared, a little shocked at how blunt Kydyn could be. Jika just shook his head while Lyn covered his laugh with a hand. Cinder just stared at them. Both Jika and Lyn seemed to be at ease with Kydyn's less than likeable attitude. The warlock was doing a fine job of irritating the hell out of Cinder.
"You're not burning it down. They actually have some good laws, and without those ideas, everything would be very different," Jika said.
"Oh, I know. How about you take over, Jika."
"Fuck that. I'd much rather go back to my city than involve myself in politics like that."
"You're already involved," Kydyn said, spreading his hands and flashing a wide grin at the druid.
"I'm not that involved, idiot. I'm only here because someone has to be around to heal your dumbass when you decide to take on six guys."
"It was seven, and it wasn't that bad."
"You have a death wish. Who the hell do you think I am? A fucking miracle worker?"
"Yeah, what else?"
"Can we, get back on track please," Cinder said, cutting into the argument. It wasn't really an argument though, he could tell. Kydyn's face wasn't tight with rage and Jika didn't look angry, just annoyed. Though the light mood quickly faded as Kydyn turned to stare at him in irritation.
"We'll find the enchanter, and I'll kill them."
"What!" Cinder bolted upright, flying to his feet in the next instant as he stared at Kydyn in disbelief. "You have got to be shitting me. You're not going to kill them!"
"Oh really?" The warlock stood up slower than Cinder had and a heavy feeling filled Cinder's chest as he watched Kydyn. "You want to try to stop me? Or maybe I should just let the bastard roam around so that when he finds you, he can kill you. Though I doubt he'd do it outright. Enchanters are funny like that," he said as he slowly stalked forward until he was right in front of Cinder.
"Kydyn." Jika had called his name, but he didn't acknowledge it. Cinder stayed where he was. If he let Kydyn intimidate him all the time, the warlock would think he was weak and continue to pick on him. So he glared back which only served to make the man angrier.
"They'll play with you first. Make you see things," Kydyn continued, his words hard to understand as they rolled from his lips. The warlock was pissed off, Cinder was catching on quick simply by listening to how much of the accent flooded through when Kydyn spoke. Kydyn reached out and brushed his fingers along Cinder's shoulder. It might have been a sensual touch if not for the cold, deadly edge to it. "Might even go so far as you have a little fun with you. Mess around in your head. Make you think you're enjoying yourself before they tear you apart."
The last few words were met with Kydyn's strong grip wrapping around Cinder's wrist and yanking him forward. The warlock didn't stand much taller than Cinder, but it wasn't height or muscle mass that intimidated him. Kydyn's body screamed deadly. He had power that emanated from him without needing to do anything. Cinder stared at him, heart caught in his throat.
"Lyn could show you. Do you want to know what it would be like? Maybe we should prepare you for that kind of death instead. You want me to let the bastard live still? Then you better not scream for me to save you once they've dug their claws in," Kydyn finished and the painful edges of his nails dug into Cinder's wrist and shoulder.
Fear had frozen him at first, but as soon as it melted away, anger burned hot and fierce in its place. "Let go! Fucking prick."
Kydyn pulled him closer before shoving him backward, hard. Cinder hit the edge of the couch and lost his balance, tumbling into the cushions. His heart was racing as he looked up at the warlock who hovered over him. Adjusting himself on the couch, he rubbed at his wrist absently the moment Kydyn turned and stormed out of the room. With the tension slowly ebbing away, Cinder chanced a look at Lyn and Jika who had been quiet through the whole exchange.
"You really know how to piss him off," Jika said. He was resting against the opposite end of the couch, elbow propped up with his curled fist pressed to the side of his head.
"I didn't do anything!"
"Telling Kydyn what to do, usually doesn't end well," Lyn added.
"Are you fucking serious. Both of you? He's going to kill someone."
"And for good reason. It's not like he's killing an innocent man. The Capitol allows him to. They give him special permission to kill rebels and dangerous magic users. The really dangerous ones."
"What if they're not really dangerous?" Cinder snapped back. "What if this enchanter is just an asshole?"
"That usually isn't the case," Jika spoke softly, almost as if he were condoling a kid. "Magic is a fickle thing. The Capitol and the government work hand in hand. When one of us goes into a killing spree, or starts going out of control, there isn't anything like a prison or some ward to put us in. We'll just break out of it. I showed you the spectrum. We waver, just like everybody else does. Opinions change, thoughts change, ideas change. Okay." Jika leaned forward, watching Cinder like a hawk, his eyes narrowed to enhance the frown playing on his lips.
"The difference is when we change, things happen. The further we go to black magic, the harder it is to control. When someone with magic loses control, it's a catastrophe. It starts small. Little things here and there. Like a killer who starts with animals first and then works their way up to bigger prey, more intelligent prey because that's the thrill of it. The same rules apply to us, except we're a hell of a lot more deadly. Like a thousand nuke's waiting to go off."
"That can't be true for everyone."
"It's the truth. We're different. Our magic is a ticking time bomb. If we don't manage it well or watch how far we tip into the gray scale, we could lose it. We could decimate every city on the planet without batting an eye. It would be devastating. Which is why the Capitol was established. To keep an eye on everyone with magic and if someone starts to tip from grey magic into black, they're listed and taken care of before bad things happen."
"And that's what you do. That's what the three of you do. Go around and kill these people. What was going to happen to me if I went into black magic? Were you going to kill me?" Cinder retorted, anger and fear driving his thoughts as he stared at Jika in shock.
Jika's silence answered the question well enough and Cinder blanched. He scooted to the far end of the couch and glared at both of them. Lyn had fallen silent through Jika's explanation and he refused to look up at Cinder from his spot on the floor. Cinder's nerves exploded as he watched them.
"This is bullshit! We have all of this power, or so you claim, and you can't even use it to help someone come back from the black end of the spectrum? You said you were going to help me! Why can't you help them too? That doesn't justify killing people! What if they were just tainted by bad experiences? That doesn't mean they need to be killed!"
"It's not that simple, Cinder."
"Yeah, it is that fucking simple," he snapped back and stood up off the couch. "It really is that simple, but you guys just don't want to put in the effort. It's easier to go and off someone instead! Wouldn't have to deal with the stress, the issues--"
"Black magic kills people. If someone falls into it, they're done for. We can only help bring people back to the other end of the spectrum if they're in the grey still," Lyn finally jumped in but it wasn't to be on Cinder's side.
"Yeah? What about Kydyn then? He's in the grey isn't he? No one's jumping on the bandwagon to kill him."
"He's grey because that's what a warlock is. There is no bringing him to the other side." Jika sighed as he answered, rubbing his hands through his hair.
"And if he goes black?" Cinder challenged, his tone almost matching Kydyn's from before.
"He's not gonna go black," Lyn snapped.
"Really? You sound so damned confident about him, why not everyone else?"
Lyn got up off the floor so quickly it was almost as if he'd been boosted up by some invisible force. He got up right next to Cinder, eyes dark with anger as he retorted. "I know because I've known him longer. You just got picked up, you fucking little stray. And where are you on the spectrum? You're being a damn asshole for supposedly being a neutral magus."
"He's grey," Jika answered.
To that Lyn snorted. "Wow. What a contradictory dipshit. Hey Kydyn!" Lyn raised his voice so that the warlock could hear him in the other room. The holler was ridiculously loud coming from Lyn who looked so small and fragile. "Your little bitch girlfriend is grey!"
"All right, that's enough," Jika said, but Cinder wasn't listening.
He shoved at Lyn, but something else went with it. As he connected with the enchanter, Cinder felt a rocking pulse shoot through his body. The ripple effect was strange. Even worse though, was what happened to Lyn. He stumbled back, and Cinder thought he'd recover and retaliate. Instead, he clutched at his chest before coughing hard and dropping to the floor. Cinder thought he was putting on a great show until specks of blood hit the carpet.
Jika was up off the couch in an instant, kneeling next to Lyn as he hacked. Cinder watched in shock and horror. As the druid looked up at him, Cinder bolted. He ran for the front door of the four bedroom house they stayed in and shot out into the street with the sunlight falling below the horizon.
ns 15.158.61.16da2
