A Magician in Gaea: Return of the Mistress of Magic

Chapter 6:

The City and Its Secrets

Timmy held Dick's hand and stuck by his side as the group headed through the city. The sight of the slave market was horrible for him so he was hidden within Dick's cloak. Zack, having refused to change clothes, held the edges of his cloak around him to hide what he was wearing. Barbara wanted to crouch down and prawl like an animal and Lena was uncomfortable under the clothes that hid her cat-features. Zatanna had her arm hooked with Dick's on the side Timmy wasn't hiding. Dick knew his way through the city somehow and took them to a market.

"Changed your mind on your clothes, Zachary?" he asked with a pleasant smile.

Zack looked at the people around him and began to consider the offer. He wasn't going to be pulled in like Zatanna (he was still on that) but, if he dressed like them, they wouldn't know he didn't belong! He nodded and Dick turned to the vendor. The Last Dragon King looked through a pile, took a bundle of clothes out and passed the vendor some silver coins. Dick passed the folded up clothes to Zack.

"Here, these should do you just fine," he said "C'mon, we better get going,"

They bought some supplies as they went through the market. They came to a quiet fountain and took a break. Zachary went behind a tree and bushes and changed into his Gaean clothes. He walked out of hiding and the others looked at him. He wore a dark blue tunic with a brown belt around his waist, black trousers tucked into brown boots and a new black cloak. Timmy also had a new cloak to be worn to hide himself.

"You're looking Gaean," Lena said "But, isn't that a girl's cloak?"

"What?!" Zack exclaimed in embarrassment.

"She's kidding, Zack," Dick said "No one will be able to tell you're from the Mystic Moon,"

Zatanna sighed and pulled her hood down. The wind blew and her hair floated from under her cloak. Dick put his hand on her shoulder and she looked at him with a smile on her face. Zatanna rested her head on his shoulder and they looked out at the city below them.

"What's up with them?" Zack asked the others.

Barbara jumped down from the top of the fountain and crouched like an animal.

"The Mistress of Magic is the Dragon King's prospective mate," she said and sniffed "They smell of it,"

"Translation?" Zack asked.

"Your cousin is dating Lord Dick and Barbara can smell the pharamons people in love excrete," Lena explained.

Timmy felt his tummy gurgle as he became hungry and Barbara passed him some jerky. He took it and began eating. Barbara seemed protective of him like a wolf mother to her pup. There was a chance that's how she saw him because he was so young and frail.

"C'mon, it's time to head back to camp," Dick said with his arm around Zatanna's shoulder "We're going to be travelling around the edge of the city to avoid the populace,"

He couldn't explain it but he had the feeling they were being watched. It crept up his spine and up his neck to the point he had to look turn around to see if someone was there.

"Why are we spying on them, boss?" Bane asked.

Count Vertigo and his slavers were watching the group as they went on their way. He watched through a telescope as Dick looked to see if they were being spied on.

"Because, Bane, Lord Richard is the King of a country," he said "Gotham, to be exact, and Gotham is a Dragon clan ruled country,"

"But, that means, he's a Draconian?" Bane asked.

"The rarest species in Gaea," Count Vertigo said, smirking "and I'm willing to bet that girl is the Mistress of Magic,"

The group headed back to their camp and mounted their horses to head around the edge of the city. After a few hours, the city was behind them. Timmy was yawning and went to sleep in Zatanna's arms. The thought of the people in the slave market upset her. She couldn't believe there was legal slavery on Gaea and, to add to it, little Timmy was once in the middle of it.

After a few more hours, it was pitch black but Zatanna heard something from behind. She turned around to see, what looked like, horses on the horizon. She rubbed her eyes and squinted for a better look. They were horses! Zatanna looked to Barbara. The feral girl stood out in the darkness by the white of her clothes. She wore a brown dress that went down to her knees with a white tunic on top, a white wolf pelt around her shoulders like a cloak, a dark brown leather belt and a dark brown leather band around her head. Barbara's long hair was cut to reach her shoulder blades and had a lock threaded with beads.

"Dick, do you hear that?" Zatanna asked her boyfriend.

"Yes, I have the hearing of a hawk," Dick said.

With a crack of the reins, their horse sped up and Lena and Barbara followed his lead. Within moments, the other horses were on their tail and they were galloping across the sands. Timmy, having been woken up, looked over Zatanna's shoulder and saw it was slavers coming after them. The dragon mark around Dick's wrist began to burn and he knew he had to get Timmy out of danger. He looked over at Barbara and they both nodded at each other.

"No matter what, don't stop," he said.

Dick got to his feet on the saddle and leaned out of the way for Zatanna to take the reins. He made sure she had it before backflipping off the horse and falling into one of their pursuers. Barbara sprung from her horse and pounced like a jaguar.

Dick drew his sword and, in the process, sliced it across the slaver's chest. Barbara grabbed a slaver by the neck and tossed him away as if he was nothing. Dick stared at Count Vertigo and released a psychokinetic blast only for him to dodge it. Bane reached over and wrapped his arm around Dick's neck in a headlock then pulled him off the horse he was balancing on. Dick pulled at Bane's arm as he dangled above the ground.

"Quit messing around and give in," Bane said.

Dick's face went red and his folded up wings tried to stretch out as he went limp. Bane threw the boy over his shoulder and headed back to the city. Dick groaned as his head spun.

Barbara jumped to another horse and kicked the slaver in the face only for him to grab her ankle. He threw her off the horse and dragged her along the ground. Barbara growled at him, pulled her dagger out and cut the saddle strap. The slaver fell off and Barbara tumbled into the sand. She got to her feet and sprinted after the slavers with the speed of a cheetah.

Count Vertigo reached down and picked her up off the ground by her hair. Barbara struggled until he hit her with the hilt of his sword.

Zatanna wasn't sure what she was doing but the horse was running forward so she must have been doing something right. Lena and Zack were beside her on their horse. Zatanna looked back to see Dick and Barbara being carried back to a caged in wagon.

"No!" she shouted and tried to get her horse to turn around.

Dick and Barbara were captured! They couldn't be! Were they going to be sold as slaves?

Deleted Scene:

Dick pushed his horse to the animal's limits as they were chased through the Unclaimed Desert (named so because it belonged to no county). The slavers were quickly catching up them and Dick began considering flight. His horse tumbled down a sand dune as a spear was thrown into its behind. Dick jumped and broke into a run as soon as he hit the ground. Naturally, he stumbled slightly but straightened up and made a mad dash. He took off his black cloak and tied it around his waist. Dick pulled off the bandages around his torso and spread out his white wings. He jumped into the air and flapped his wings once.

"Don't let him go!" said Count Vertigo.

They threw a bolo at him and it wrapped around his wings and waist. Dick crash landed in the sand and sat up just as the slavers threw a net over him. The slavers began walking towards him and Dick let out a psychic blast. It pushed him back and the slavers stepped out of the way. Dick was too tired to release another psychic blast and he was even more tangled in the net.

"Imagine what they'll pay for a Draconian! The rarest species in all of Gaea... He might be the most valuable slave we've ever had," said Count Vertigo.

Dick clawed his fingers around the net and glared at Count Vertigo. He was hurled over Bane's shoulder and put over the back of a horse to be taken to market. All he could do was think of Zatanna...