CelestaRedFlower: Wee! Another chapter! I forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter so I'll say it twice here. (I don't think saying it twice really matters but I'm gonna do it anyway.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen.
Enjoy!

"Majic?" Orphen asked still gripping Cleo's shoulder. Cleo glanced up to see Majic holding a piece of paper.

"Master, look at this! It's written in sorcerous runes!" Majic held the piece of paper in the air to show Orphen.

Orphen caught a glimpse of the mysterious paper

. "Majic! Put that down! Now!" Orphen hollered pushing Cleo behind him. Majic didn't react quickly enough and let the piece of paper glide through the air. The runes started to glow a light purple then black. The paper stopped in midair and burst into a puddle of black acid spilling onto the floor. Slowly it began to form a severely deformed arm covered in black organic tissue. Orphen blast the arm into what looked like purple radioactive ash.

"What the hell was that?" Cleo stared at the glowing ashes in disbelief.

"That was…before it turned into an arm, that puddle looked like…" Majic shifted his gaze to Orphen.

"Yeah, before it turned into an arm it kind of looked like Cleo's radioactive stew," Orphen and Majic nodded in agreement.

"What was that!" Cleo shrieked holding Leki out at arms length, ready to send the command that would blow them across the continent.

Majic held up his hands defensively. "We were just kidding Cleo, honest! Just trying to lighten the mood," Majic laughed nervously.

"I wasn't joking," Orphen whispered under his breath so Cleo couldn't hear.

Cleo lowered Leki and glanced back at the ashes. She saw a glint of something metal beneath a couple layers of the revolting dust.

"Hey, what's this?" Cleo bent over and picked up a small gold ring embedded with tiny fragments of green stone.

"What is it Cleo?" Majic watched her, puzzled.

"This is Kira's ring. She had her full name engraved on the inside of it, Kiraza Annette Everlasting," Cleo whispered solemnly. Cleo was about to slip the ring onto her finger but stopped remembering what happened to the paper. For safekeeping, she slipped it into her pocket instead.

"How did you know something was going to happen to the paper, Master? Did you read something off of it?" Majic turned his attention to Orphen.

"Yeah, I saw something alright," Orphen stretched and stacked his hands behind his head, "I saw an attack spell that could only be activated if a sorcerer were to touch the paper. The line I read specifically said "destroy any Sorcerer that comes in contact with the Everlastings."

Cleo flinched slightly.

"Cleo, I think it's about high time you told us what exactly your cousin is. She could read runes and use M-alchemy. There's a lot more to this Kira than you're letting on," Orphen relaxed against the wall and waited for an explanation. Cleo focused on the floor determined not to reply. Majic, sensing the growing tension in the room, decided to intervene.

"Master, what's M-alchemy?"

"Not now Majic," Orphen stated firmly, determined not to get distracted.

Majic wasn't going to give up. Didn't his master see that this was no time to start interrogating Cleo? She was still in shock. They had other things to worry about like what happened to Cleo's family and where they were going to stay for the night. They couldn't very well stay here, in all this chaos.

Majic decided to try a new method, though he was surely going to get yelled at and/or smacked on the head. Majic took a long inhale, "Master, where are we going to stay tonight? We can't stay here, the place is totally destroyed. Speaking of which, this place is in a Perthro right? It's a small town? Shouldn't we report this? Shouldn't we try and find lodging? By the way, what is M-alchemy? If I don't know what it is, I'm sure Cleo doesn't, so why are you asking her about it?"

Sure enough, Orphen clonked Majic on the head and ranted, "Damnit Majic! Don't ask so many things at once! It's irritating!"

"He's right though, Orphen. Shouldn't we report the murders to the authorities?" Cleo asked.

Orphen sighed. "Yeah, I suppose so. I expect a detailed explanation of that cousin of yours when I get back," Orphen turned to leave and waved goodbye with his two finger salute.

Majic and Cleo sat outside (because of the glass shards), in silence while Leki slept in her lap. Majic didn't want to pester her, but…he was bursting with so many questions. Every now and then he would muster up the courage to fire a question but then he would see her melancholy face and just clam up.

"So, uh I wonder when Master's getting back…oh, wait, and now that I think of it, Does Master even know the way? To town, I mean. We were lost in that forest for a long…"

And the clam has closed. Majic gave up trying to make small talk.

"Don't worry Majic; from here the signs to town are pretty clear. Even a sorcerer as stupid as Orphen can find his way there," Cleo replied nonchalantly. Majic smiled, it seemed that she got some of her sense of humor back.

"You know, Cleo if….if…oh. Never mind," Majic lost his courage again.

"Oh, will you spit it out! You look like you're dying to say something. It's driving me nuts!" Cleo grumbled.

"Be careful Cleo, you're starting to sound a little too much like Master," Majic snickered, then in a more serious tone said, "Sometimes Master can be a little intimidating…okay when he's pissed, a lot intimidating. I just wanted to tell you if you don't want to tell him anything about Kira, then you can always tell me."

Cleo smirked. "Yeah, you're easy to talk to because you're not intimidating at all."

"Gee, thanks," Majic laughed sarcastically.

"Seriously though…," Cleo hesitated but continued despite the uncomfortable felling that was growing the more she thought of Kira, "Kira always despised sorcerers. I don't even know why. She pretty much kept to herself but she let me in on some of her secrets. She had this weird thing she could do with animals. She could take their characteristics. I guess that's the best way to describe it. Like, once when I was about five years old we decided to play hide and seek. Kira was the seeker and I was the hider. I, of course being me, somehow found a cliff to trip and fall off of while I was running in the woods. Kira heard me scream and saw me fall from the cliff. She somehow called a bird to her side, touched it, and sprouted wings! Anyway, she swooped down like a freaking falcon and brought me back to the forest. She made me swear not to tell anyone especially…especially sorcerers."

"Wow. Do you suppose she used some kind of magic?" Majic asked, intrigued.

"Well, what else could it have been? Normal people don't have the power to sprout wings and fly just by touching a bird, now do they? It had to have been magic," Cleo confirmed. By this time, Leki had woken up and ran off to harass a butterfly.

"A simple promise that I hoped you would keep secret, Cleo. I guess I was wrong," a voice whispered from behind Cleo and Majic, startling them.

They both spun around to face the source of the voice. Cleo gasped in alarm. Majic pushed protectively in front of her. The source of the voice was a girl with sharp green eyes, pale skin, long dark wavy hair, clad in a maroon dress and an orange sash hiding her left arm.

"Who are you! What are you doing here!" Majic demanded and began to power up a spell.

"A…sorcerer…? Honestly, Cleo. Sorcerers, the last kind of people I want finding out about my secrets are the first you tell? I thought I knew you better than that," the girl whispered sadly shaking her head in disappointment.

Cleo pushed past Majic and embraced the mysterious girl. At first the girl was surprised but then she slowly relaxed in Cleo's arms and placed her right hand on her back, patting her reassuringly.

"I'm so glad you're okay…I saw the servants and I thought the most awful things happened to you too," Cleo squeezed the girl tighter.

"Uh, Cleo…can't…breathe…" the brunette gasped for air.

"Oops! Sorry about that!" Cleo released her.

"Okay, now I'm confused," Majic scratched the back of his head.

"Majic, this is Kira, and Kira, this is Majic," Cleo grinned pulling Kira with her closer to the young sorcerer.

"Uh, hi, I'm Majic Lynne," Majic smiled sheepishly and held out his hand for a formal handshake.

Kira stared at his hand and backed away. She didn't want to be this close to a sorcerer, not now…

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kiraza Everlasting. You may call me Kira," Kira bowed her head forward in politeness. She attempted to smile sweetly, but anyone who could easily read people would see the iciness behind it.

Kira bit the thumbnail of her right hand nervously. She analyzed Majic up and down, judging every bit of him. She sensed little power. He wasn't a full fledged sorcerer, which was a great relief. But she did feel that there was something lurking beneath the surface, power that, fortunately for her, he had not come into… yet.

Kira's thoughts were interrupted by a little bundle of blue fur that had discarded his hunt of the butterfly to greet her.

"A deep dragon cub? What's a Wolven doing in a place like this?" Kira asked no one in particular as Cleo picked up the cub and held him out to Kira.

"I forgot to introduce you. This is Leki," Cleo pulled him back to her chest. Leki yipped happily as if to say hello.

"He's yours…?" Kira went pale, "Cleo, you should stay as far away from this sorcerer…no, all sorcerers at all costs. Especially now," Kira began pulling Cleo away from Majic.

"Why who did this? Who murdered the servants? Who would do something that savage!" Cleo broke from Kira's grip and stared at her pleading for answers.

"They didn't mean to…it wasn't their fault. They…" Before Kira could finish she felt a tremendous power appear from no where. This was what she was afraid of, the power of an elite sorcerer.

"Yeah, that's precisely what I want to know," Orphen materialized from thin air and stood next to his two companions.

"Master! How long have you been standing there?" Majic asked flustered and a little ashamed that he didn't sense his master's presence.

"Just long enough to hear how intimidating I am," Orphen smirked, "It really is a small town, it took me no time at all to report the murders," Orphen turned his attention back to Kira expectantly.

"They weren't murdered! It was an accident…" Kira looked away.

"An accident? While experimenting with M-alchemy? I wouldn't be surprised. Legends say it's incredibly unpredictable," Orphen took a step forward and Kira took a step back.

"Master, what is M-alchemy?" Magic asked again, for the third time.

"M-alchemy is a type of science and magic mixed together. It can also fuse magic into inanimate objects with the power of runes alone. It's mentioned in some of the books at the Tower of Fang but only in passing. All I've ever heard about it was legends. The ability of M-alchemy was supposedly a type of gene that very few people possessed. Like magic, it can't be learned unless you have the gene, and there was something about not being able to be a sorcerer to use M-alchemy too. Did I cover everything?" Orphen asked Kira.

"Stay out of this! We have nothing to do with you sorcerers! Cleo, come on! You have to get away from these people as soon as possible," Kira urged but Cleo stood her ground.

"I'm not leaving them. These are good sorcerers, Kira. Well, except maybe Orphen. They wouldn't do anything to hurt us. What are you so afraid of?" Cleo held out her hand imploring Kira to come to her but Kira just shook her head.

"It's not about whether they're good or not! Fine… if you're going to stay with them at least know that when marks start appearing on your body don't let any sorcerer touch you," and with that said Kira traced something in the air and disappeared leaving two very confused sorcerers and a very confused and worried Cleo.

CelestaRedFlower: If you're dissatisfied with the current amount of CleoXOrphen, don't worry. It will increase in the next chapters. Thank you, my reviewers! It makes me so happy to see people like my story. Until next time!