I ran my hand along the wall slowly as I shuffled my feet. Magpie said to let my feet do the seeing so that’s what I’d do. However, walking blindly would only get me so far. I came to a stop soon after to feel what was around me but all I could find was the wall again. When I wasn’t moving, all I could hear was the water and the ever-increasing volume of my breathing.
‘Relax,’ I told myself as I exhaled shakily. I then closed my eyes. ‘Relax.’
“Animae, why are you the way you are?”
I opened my eyes to stare into the darkness. “I could ask you the same thing, Cordis.” I heard myself laugh. “This is weird.”
“Is it though?” he replied. “We’re just having a conversation.”
“Literally talking to one’s self is weird.”
“No; having an argument with yourself and losing is weird,” he scoffed. “If anything, wouldn’t it be better to talk to yourself? Who’s gonna’ understand you better than me?” I heard myself laugh again. “C’mon, Animae.”
“Stop talking,” I griped as I raked my fingers through my hair. “You’re distracting me.”
“From what? How to save Birdie?” I scowled. “Hate to break it to ya’ but you’re better off just letting her go. Why’d you think she sent us away in the first place?”
“Because you were getting your ass kicked?”
“What, and you could do better?” I grew silent. “See? It’s like I told you before. They don’t need you, Animae. No one here does. Let’s just go h–”
“Shut up!”
“Deep down you know its’s true or you wouldn’t be this worked up.”
“You—”
“I’m in your head. It’s crossed your mind a couple times now so you can’t deny it, Animae.” A sudden throbbing had me grit my teeth as it felt like nails scratching around in my head. “See?”
“Get out.” The throbbing persisted.“Get. Out.” I heard another laugh. “Get. Out.” My head felt like it was going to split before I felt something trickle down my nose. “Cordis—!”
“Alright, alright.”
The pain in my head subsided though a dull throb still pounded every now and then. Cordis had gone quiet for the time being but, in his silence, I noticed an almost unfamiliar sound. As I stopped to listen, curiosity got the better of me as I placed a hand to my chest.
“Cordis…?”
“It’s called a heartbeat, Animae…” he drawled. “It seems you haven’t heard it for a while. How about you sit back and enjoy it for a moment? I’ll take it from here.”
I lowered my hand before shaking my head as I listened to it. “Like I’d let you handle anything. You’re too dangerous to just let you be in control.”
“Do you think you could really stop me, Animae?”
The throb was back as I walked through the dark. “I have to. You’ll kill them if I don’t or get us killed.”
A laugh rang out in the dark. “I’ll humor you. The minute you let your thoughts wander for even a moment or even go to sleep, it’s going to be my turn, Animae . And when it is, I look forward to giving you a front row seat.”
That’s all he said before he grew silent. It was a bit of time before I finally managed to find my way back into a lit area. Looking around, I didn’t find any traces of the others.
‘I hope they’re alright,’ I mused before holding the side of my head as it pounded. “Knock it off!” I snapped before feeling my nose run. I wiped at it to see that it was a blood. “Cor—”
Footsteps up ahead caught my attention before I held my head tighter.
“Excuse me –” I looked ahead to see that man that was with Magpie. I then noticed that his eyes weren’t that eerie red and that he didn’t have that weird grey tint to his skin. “–but are you alright?”
If he was here, where was Magpie?
“This bastard…”
“Cordis, wait! I don’t think that's the same–”
“Hell no. He owes me another round!”
Ignatius tilted his head curiously as he approached the blonde that seemed to be having a one-sided conversation. From what he could tell in the light, the man had appeared to be bleeding at one point and seemed to be suffering from some sort of headache.
“Cordis, wait! I don’t–”
He seemed odd but suffering nonetheless. “Excuse m–”
“Shut it,” came the reply as the other dropped his hand to his side. “Don’t think you can just come waltzing up to me playing the nice guy after that stunt you pulled!”
The blonde flexed his fingers before grasping the staff that appeared. He then lunged at the other to swing though Ignatius sidestepped it at the last moment to avoid the first blade. He withdrew the sword he had to block the second blade prior to distancing himself from the other.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Ignatius lowered his weapon slightly as he watched the gold eyes narrow. “Listen–”
“So you can run off at the mouth again?” Cordis questioned as he charged the caster. “No thanks!”
Swinging the scythe at the man, Cordis opted in pivoting at the last moment to catch his opponent with the second blade. He smirked at the evident cut to the man’s clothing before noticing the thin line of red running the length of the blade. Watching as the other inspected the minor wound, Cordis chuckled before licking the blood off the weapon. He then lunged forward with the intent of cutting the other’s head off before scowling as he heard the clinking of metal.
As Cordis took the time to reposition the blade for an easier kill, Ignatius closed the gap between them. Withdrawing the boot dagger Magpie had given him, he swung it at the other to catch him across the cheek. He then swung again, ensuring that he stayed close enough to the blonde to avoid being in the range of his scythe. Swinging for a third time, he was caught off guard when his opponent grabbed him by the wrist before booting him out of the established safe zone. Collecting himself, Ignatius watched as Cordis repositioned the scythe once more.
He knew the man wasn’t going to let him get that close again.
Tucking the dagger away, the caster raised the sword to block a swing then sidestepped the second blade that swung around to counter. He grimaced at the smirk the blonde threw his way before glancing at the wall behind him. Dropping into a crouch, he then froze just as he heard a crumbling sound.397Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcHxRIOibi
Ignatius looked up to see the curved blade wedged where his neck would have been. When he turned his attention back to the blonde, he saw the tip of his sword stopped an inch shy of his stomach. Gold eyes were narrowed on his form before the scythe withdrew to swing downwards. However, before the blade made contact Ignatius noted how the attack faltered then halted. Looking at the weapon then its wielder, Ignatius stood slowly.
Stepping back as he went to sheathe the sword, he staggered as Cordis swung again. Ignatius threw a knife to cut his cheek before watching as several strands of his own hair fell in front of him. He pulled the sword again to block before being pushed back into the wall. The sound of metal grinding against each other echoed before the caster kicked the blonde back.
“Is there no reasoning with you?” Ignatius questioned as he watched the other hold his midsection. “I don’t want to hurt you. Let me help you.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate because I really want to kill you!”
Ignatius raised his sword to parry as the man lunged with full intention of taking his head off. Hurried footsteps from an adjacent walkway caught the caster’s attention before he raised his hand to cast a spell to counter whoever else dared to attack.
Cordis knocked him back before he was greeted by Vandal staring him down the barrel of his gun. The gunslinger then turned his attention to the more hostile opponent and fired a round at the man. It was deflected though it managed to distance them. Readying another shot as Cordis charged, Vandal eased his finger back on the trigger before pausing as the blonde came to a jolting halt.
“Van–”
“Stay there, Nuallis,” he said as he kept his aim on the man.
Watching her companion, Nuallis slowly poked around the corner to see the Cordis halted mid-swing. His body seemed taut and upon closer inspection she could just barely see how the blade shook. As she moved to Vandal’s side, she lowered the barrel slowly as she noticed the nosebleed.
“J…Jay?” she called as she took a hesitant step.
“Don’t go near him,” Vandal ordered as he grabbed her hand. He then glanced at the faery that rounded the corner. “Same goes to you too, Senshi.”
She looked back at Vandal before looking at the blonde to see the momentary shift in eye color. “Jayden?”
“S…stop…” Nu took a step forward. “…interfering.”
“Jay—”
Stepping forward as Cordis stopped shaking, Vandal pulled Nu back behind him and took aim again. His finger eased along the trigger before the blonde swung the blade down into the ground, splintering the stone below.
“Such…a nuisance…” Cordis muttered before dropping to one knee.397Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GqC57xX7Q
“Jay?”
I looked up slowly to see Senshi rushing over and Nuallis slowly approaching. Vandal was right behind her, finger still on the trigger as he approached as well. I bit back a groan when I felt that familiar throb in the side of my head before reaching for the scythe. I soon rethought the idea as I heard the hammer being pulled back. I then raised my hands slowly as I looked down.
“Why are you holding up your hands?”
“I rather not be shot at point blank range,” I whispered back, “You caused this mess.”
“No, you did by slipping up. I told you what would happen.”
“Jayden.” I looked up slowly to see Nuallis watching me. “You… are Jayden, right?”
I nodded stiffly before my gaze panned towards Vandal. “Do you mind?”
“Yes, I do mind.”
“Can’t I just kill him?” Cordis questioned as I reached for the scythe. “It’ll be quick. Then go finish off spitfire and that bas—”
“Stop it,” I muttered as I held my hand at my side.
Vandal narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me?”
I glanced at Vandal before looking elsewhere.
None of this looked good.
“Pardon me, sir?” We looked to see that man tucking away the sword. “I don’t think you need to point that at him any longer. No one was gravely injured so no harm, no foul, yes?” Vandal looked back at me before lowering the gun. “Good, good. If I may, I should probably introduce myself before something else happens.” He then walked over but remained at a respectable distance as he gave a polite bow. “My name is Ignatius. I believe I’ve already had the honor of meeting… two of you already?”
I looked down. “I’m sorry for… all that.”
“Why are you apologizing?!”
“That’s alright. No harm, no foul,” he repeated as he turned his attention to the others. “And who might you all be?”
The healer gave a small wave. “I’m Nuallis.” She then tilted her head towards her companion. “This is Vandal.” She pointed at me. “You’ve already met Jayden… and Cordis it seems.” She then gestured to the faery that was trying to get a look at my nosebleed. “That’s Senshi.” She then glanced over her shoulder as the prince appeared, looking all around. “That’s Carlos.”
“I see,” Ignatius replied as he looked amongst everyone. “If I may skip the rest of the pleasantries, I need to request your assistance on a pressing matter.”
“I think we could help after we find Magpie,” Nuallis replied.
“That’s the pressing matter,” Ignatius replied.
“Wait, what’s wrong with Magpie?” Vandal questioned before he looked my way. “Did you–”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” I replied, brushing away Senshi’s hand as I got to my feet, “but he knows what happened. Don’t you, Ignatius?”
He frowned. “Aye.”
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