Author's Note: I'm glad a few reviewed for the previous chapter! But I was hoping for more reviews. Ah well. We can't all get what we want. Still haven't checked the stats so I don't know if a lot of people read the fic or not. Anywhoo, here's the next chapter. Hope you like it and please R&R for me!
Chapter 6 - Dark Magicians Fight Back
The thief arrived back at the forest that night and was about to endure a long lecture about obedience from the golden brown falcon. Being tired as she was though, she put it off for the next day, sleep invading all of her thoughts at the time. She sat down on one of the branches and lowered her head, her breath slowing down at a peaceful, relaxed pace. She woke up the next day and found her black wolf curled up below the tree. She jumped down and rubbed its back before walking to the river and splashing water onto her face.
"So, are you ready to listen to my lecture now?" Fal asked as he fluttered onto a rock near her. The thief gave a heavy sigh and wordlessly jumped into the river without taking her clothes off, the cool water refreshing her and rejuvenating her. Fal stayed where he was and began to scold her as the thief came up to the surface of the water and swam around.
"I told you to forget about the youkai and leave him alone. But no, you wouldn't listen to me. And because of that you placed yourself in danger and almost had to reveal yourself to them. Imagine what would have happened if those youkais realized who you really were. You would just be presenting yourself to the enemy on a silver platter. If you left him alone like I told you to, none of that would have had to happen." The thief stopped swimming and glared at the falcon.
"It's over alright Fal? There's no use dwelling in the past. I didn't reveal myself, I didn't get caught, I still have the necklaces with me and I didn't present myself to the enemy on a silver platter. And besides, even if I didn't go after him, even if the youkai named Hiei didn't bring me to Konema, those darn youkais would still have gone for me because I have the necklace in my possession." She snapped. She got up from the water and stood there while a sudden gust of wind appeared and mysteriously dried her up.
"He's here." The falcon whispered before jumping up from the rock and flying away. But someone who was hiding among the shadows of the trees jumped out and quickly caught the bird in his grip before landing softly on the ground. Hiei stood up from his position and pointed his katana at the thief with his free hand. The thief was shocked but never moved from her place and returned the glare he was giving her, the muscles in her body tensing up in caution. She knew that she had to be careful with him. If she took one wrong step in dealing with him she would be dead.
"Just who the hell are you baka?" He asked her. This time the thief wasn't surprised with his question and continued to glare at him in anger. The fact that a katana was aimed inches from her was not a very comforting and relaxing idea.
"I'm no one special. Just an average bakka ningen who steals for a living." The thief replied, a smirk slowly growing on her face. Hiei growled and pushed the point of the sword closer to her. Now all it took was another push and the katana would go right through her chest.
"I'm not playing games with you today onna." He spat the last word at her, letting her know that he knew her secret. The smirk never left the thief's face despite that. "You're not a ningen. You're a youkai. I've been keeping an eye on you ever since I met you here in the forest. Your too strong and too fast for a normal ningen. And I can't sense any energy in you, not even the slightest bit of living energy. But while we were fighting near the detective's place I finally sensed your energy for a minute or so. Imagine my surprise when I sensed that it wasn't like any normal ningen's or youkai's. It was exactly the same as Tenerie's energy and the energy of those magic-wielding youkais. You better tell me who you are or this sword is going through you and out." He threatened.
"I guess there's no point trying to keep it from you now. At least you're not one of them. Maybe things will be better this way." The thief said as she gave a defeated sigh. "I really should have listened to you back then huh?" She added with a soft chuckle. Hiei raised an eyebrow and was shocked when the bird in his hand replied.
"That's right. Glad to have stuffed that through your thick-headed skull."
"Alright Hiei. You want to know who I really am?" She stated rather than asked as she opened a portal below her and disappeared into it. Hiei was taken aback, having no time at all to react to what she did and whirled his head around as he heard another portal open, revealing the thief as she landed on the ground away from him and his katana. She stood up and turned her gaze back at him with an arrogant smile on her face.
"I am something like those youkais you faced. But I'm neither on their side nor on yours at the moment. My name is Derea, and as you guessed, I'm a Magician."
switch scene
Four youkais stayed hidden in the shadows and watched as the school bell rang and everyone began walking out of the building. They weren't sure where the necklace is but from what they've heard from the amateur Dark Magicians, the spirit ruler's men might know something about its whereabouts. And that's what they were doing then. Watching from afar as Kurama came out of the school's main building together with some of his classmates.
They watched the kistune conversing with the students for a few minutes and after waving goodbye to them, headed for the front gate of the school. They moved along the shadows in Kurama's pacing, keeping a close eye on him wherever he went. Kurama said a few words to the other students who rushed up to him then began running past them and away from his home. Still the four Dark Magicians followed.
Kurama was walking past houses and went into an apartment, Yusuke's apartment to be specific. They watched the kitsune enter and stayed where they were to wait for his reappearance. Kurama at the time had already sensed the four youkais and knew that they were part of the same group they had faced recently. He went into the house Yusuke was living in and was ushered to his room by Atsuko, Yusuke's mother. Kuwabara and Yusuke greeted him as he entered and remained standing admist the huge mess of magazines, comic books, homeworks, clothes and Yusuke's other personal items.
"Have you two sensed any weird energies as I arrived?" He asked them. Yusuke shrugged but Kuwabara was nodding at Kurama in agreement.
"Yeah I sensed them arrive a few minutes before you did. If my senses are right-which of course they always are-there are four youkais outside." He answered. Kurama walked towards the windows and opened the curtains, pretending to look below at the road when in fact, he was searching for the source of the energies.
"They're hiding among those trees on the other side. I'm not sure where they're hiding specifically but they're close. Not only that, I sense that these Dark Magicians are stronger than the ones we've dealt with before. We might get into a lot of trouble if these magicians are here to fight against us." Yusuke stood up from his bed and punched his fist into his other hand. His body was aching to get some action similar to that of the previous day.
"I don't care how strong they are or how many they are out there. I'm going to kick each and every one of their butts and I'm going to make them regret fighting with us!" Yusuke said. Kurama sighed incredulously at Yusuke's blunt confidence and closed the curtains to keep the Dark Magicians from seeing what they were doing.
"We'll see what happens when we leave your apartment and head for somewhere isolated and free of innocent passers by. Just pretend that you haven't realized their presence and follow me." Kurama told them. Kuwabara and Yusuke nodded as they all walked out of the room after the kitsune. After letting Yusuke's mother know they were going out, they left the apartment and walked through the streets to pretend to still be looking for the necklace. The afternoon was quickly passing by and soon it was going to become dark; a good time for the four youkais to make their move. They never stopped following Kurama and the others and kept an eye on each one whenever they went separate ways for a while.
After all that walking around, Kurama and the others stopped to take a rest at a dark alley in between two abandoned homes. The four Dark Magicians immediately took the opportunity to attack and jumped out from their hiding places, throwing fireballs at the three who knew what was going to happen and jumped away from harm just in time. Kurama was the first to recover and took out a rose that he manipulated to change into a thorny, sharp whip. He looked at one of the youkais and narrowed his eyes at them.
"Tell me, are you here for the necklace as well? Or maybe you're after Tenerie and Seiki this time." Kurama asked.
"Our concern is not with the names of these people you speak of. Our only concern is where you're hiding the Sorcerer's necklace. Tell us where you're hiding it and we shall spare your lives for today." One of the Dark Magicians said.
"What are you going to do with the necklace once you get your hands on it?" Kuwabara asked the youkais. They stayed silent and steady, poised to fight. Kuwabara glared at them and raised his fist threateningly at them. "Come on! Answer my question or you're going to get it. What are you going to do with the necklace?" They still wouldn't answer him and merely looked back at all of them, inspecting them one by one in a cool and cold manner. Kurama tightened his grip on his whip and spread his legs apart, preparing to jump and lash out at one of them. He knew that trying to avoid fighting with them was useless now.
"You're going to have to try and force it out from us because we're not telling you where it is." Yusuke answered for the others. The youkai he spoke to turned to face his other accomplices and nodded to them. Together, they created multitudes of sharp blades from out of nowhere and aimed it all at the three. Kuwabara gulped nervously as he watched each silver blade reflect the slowly falling sun's light on them.
"Very well. You leave us no choice but to do as you suggested. Prepare to die!"
switch scene
Hiei continued to keep a close eye on the thief as she went about the forest, taking fruits and other edible foods from the trees and the shrubs and talking to her falcon from time to time. Hiei was introduced to Derea's black wolf who was named Yuuko (and who actually knew how to speak) but they didn't talk to each other much, seeing as the wolf always left its master's side to hunt food for itself. Derea didn't mind that as long as Yuuko came back when she needed its assistance.
Neither Hiei nor Derea spoke to each other after Derea told him who she really was. There were still a lot of questions in Hiei's mind but he didn't bother asking them, not wanting to be asked questions after she answered some of his. From time to time Derea would ask him if he wanted some share of the food and Hiei would always answer "no". And since Hiei knew her secret, Derea freely did magic in front of him. The fire apparition watched with keen interest and curiosity as the thief lifted objects in the air, threw fireballs into a campfire she made and played with her magic when she was bored. He had even watched her shapeshift into a series of creatures, ending with a bird that flew excitedly up into the air.
The day was finally coming to an end. Hiei leaned on the tree trunk as Derea sat down on one of the branches above him. Together, they watched the sun set behind the mountains peacefully. There was something that kept nagging on Hiei's mind as he watched the spectacle of nature before him. He didn't want to ask Derea about it at first, but the curiosity was becoming too much even for him.
A few questions wouldn't hurt...if she does become too annoying I can just tell her to shut up.
"Why didn't you want Konema to know who you really were or why you wanted the necklace? What would you have gotten from keeping all these knowledge from the others?" He asked. Derea didn't answer him at first and just continued to watch the setting sun. Then after taking a deep breath, she answered.
"I won't get anything from not telling any of you. In fact, I had a harder time trying to get the necklace when your friends kept interrupting me. But that way, none of you would get hurt or worse, get killed. You guys are not supposed to be involved in all this. You just hopped in without knowing what you were doing or why you were doing it. One of the biggest reasons I didn't want any of you to know is that you'll only be in my way. I have and will keep on fighting against youkais who can weild magic like myself. You've experienced what it was like facing the amateurs. Imagine what would have happened if you had dealt with the stronger youkais." She explained. "I don't need you guys giving me more trouble than I already have. That's why I'm trying to find a way to throw Konema and the rest away from this fight without letting them know my true purpose and without letting them acquire the curiosity to find out what that purpose is."
Hiei had to admit that she was right. The others had a really rough time trying to kill the youkais who were equipped with their magic and shields and all. If they decided to help out Derea, they would only be slowing her down. He knew that he on the other hand wasn't planning to voluntarily involve himself in all this without getting something valuable in return. It was useless and meaningless to do otherwise.
Derea grew silent once more to Hiei's relief. He watched her close her eyes for a moment before she looked beyond the horizion in deep concentration. He didn't care why she suddenly grew quiet and was glad of it too but something pricked in his mind when he saw Derea's lips curl into a frown. While he watched her, he noticed that some of the strands of her hair were magically shining brightly even though the sun's rays weren't reflecting on her.
"Your physical appearance...the color of your hair and the color of your eyes...they're not your real ones are they? You just shapeshifted into something that wouldn't scare off the ningens." He told her. Derea looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah that's right...if I walked around Ningenkai looking like I usually do people would freak out and know that I'm not normal." She replied. Then she watched him for a few more seconds and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Would you like to see my real form?" Hiei took his gaze off her with a snort and a very slight, embarrassed blush.
"Do whatever you want. I could care less if you shapeshifted into the detective or that dimwitted ningen Kuwabara." He said. Derea was still smiling in amusement as she stretched her muscles and gave a huge yawn as if preparing her body for action.
"Ah well. Whether you did want to see my real form or not wouldn't matter anymore anyways." Hiei looked at her in confusion as she stood up on the branch. "Something's come up and we have to move now before things get chaotic over there." Hiei glared at her impatiently.
"What the hell are you blabbering about onna?" He growled. Fal flew down on Derea's shoulder and having a larger amount of patience than the fire apparition did, kindly asked the magician what was going on before Hiei and Derea broke into a fight.
"Your friends are in the city, having a row with the Dark Magicians again. It doesn't look good for them though. The energies I sense in this batch of youkais are stronger than those you fought with before." She explained. "Whoever is controlling those Dark Magicians must be desperate to get the necklace now. I better go there and help them out before they really get killed." Hiei widened his eyes in surprise and didn't notice Derea hopping off the branch.
She could sense that all the way here? The city must be a thousand miles away! Even I could barely sense energies this far. This must be the power of a magician.
"So are you coming with me to the city?" She asked, looking at him expectantly as a portal appeared in front of her. When Hiei didn't move, she narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm not going to send you to hell or to a place where you'll get killed if that's what you're thinking. And I can't go first to prove myself to you because it will disappear as soon as I enter it. So either you're going to trust me and go in or you stay here and miss all the fun. You can walk if you want though, I'm sure you have enough strength to run all the way to the city."
Without a reply, Hiei casually walked towards the portal. Derea's eyes followed him and rolled as he went past her with an expressionless, proud face. Then when he disappeared into the portal, Yuuko rushed past her and entered the portal as well before she, together with Fal who was still on her shoulder, followed after them.
scene switch
Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama were having a rough time trying to deal with the four Dark Magicians. They could barely evade the blades and the fireballs that the Dark Magicians threw at them. After an hour passed, Yusuke and his friends were battered and weary while the opponent on the other hand looked as if they never fought or moved a finger.
"This is getting us nowhere!" Yusuke cried as he evaded yet another blade that came diving down at him. Kurama moved right beside him then, their backs against each other. "Kurama, any bright lifesaving suggestions?" He asked the kitsune. Kurama's lips frowned deeper as he kept a close eye on one of the Dark Magicians.
"I'm as lost as you are Yusuke. Unless a miracle happens the three of us are going to be dead in a few more minutes of battling." Kurama told him. Yusuke groaned and jumped away as another batch of fireballs and blades rained upon them. Kuwabara failed to dodge in time and fell to the ground as two blades stabbed one of his legs and one of his arms, pinning him to the floor. Yusuke and Kurama stood still as they helplessly watched Kuwabara cry out in pain. The Dark Magicians were circling Kuwabara then, giving the other two no time to save their ningen friend.
"Tell us where the necklace is or your friend dies." One of the Dark Magicians threatened as he made a silver blade appear in mid-air, aiming it at Kuwabara. Yusuke clenched his hands into fists, shaking them slightly in his anger.
"Damn it! Can't we do something? Anything at all?" He shouted to no one in particular. Kuwabara lay on the cemented ground, his body too weak to move. His eyes staring fearfully at the sharp, pointy blade that was uncomfortably too close to him. Yusuke growled softly to himself as he helplessly stood there.
We're in a really tight situation here. If we don't tell them where the necklace is, Kuwabara's dead meat. But we can't tell them about the woman who knows where it is. If they get their hands on the woman and that necklace Konema's going to kill me. What am I supposed to do now...?
"Enough stalling. Tell us where it is now." The youkai demanded. The blade drew closer to Kuwabara and he began to back away, screaming colorful words at everyone. Yusuke immediately opened his mouth and prayed to God that something meaningful will come out but Kuwabara began to shout before Yusuke could say something.
"The necklace isn't with us! It's with the two women we were with! They have the necklace!" He cried involuntary. Yusuke and Kurama couldn't say anything further to take back what Kuwabara had said so they glared at the ningen instead. The blade stopped moving and retreated back a few meters away from Kuwabara to his relief. Yusuke and Kurama rushed towards Kuwabara and watched the four Dark Magicians gather into one circle and stare at each other in silence.
While this was happening, behind a large group of trees right across the alley Yusuke and the others were in, a large, swirling portal suddenly appeared. Hiei came out of this portal and landed gracefully onto the ground, followed by Yuuko and Derea with Fal still perched on her shoulder. Hiei looked around and found that he was indeed somewhere within the city and not somewhere life-threatening. He turned his gaze to Derea who was looking at the sky with a blank but focused stare. She noticed Hiei looking at her expectantly and pointed a finger past him, at the dark alley.
"They're further inside that alley. Nothing major is happening though. They're just standing there, probably speaking to each other." She said. Hiei gave a soft grunt and was about to walk across the street when Derea held his shoulder firmly. "You can't expect to go there and face those Dark Magicians in your state and win." She told him. The fire apparition glared at her, slapping her hand away from his shoulder.
"I don't need your stupid advise or your help onna. I can take care of myself." He snapped at her. Derea held a firm and calm gaze at Hiei and crossed her arms at him.
"Either you do it your way and end up dying without leaving a single scratch on those Dark Magicians, or..." At this a barrier enclosed Hiei and created an indestructive shield. Hiei touched the surface of the barrier curiously then looked at Derea who's lips curled into a mischievious smile. "...Or you swallow your pride for a few minutes and do it my way. The choice is yours koorime. What will it be?"
"Come on! Make up your minds already! Are you going to let us go or are you going to further annoy us with your hocus-pocus magic?" Yusuke shouted angrily at the Dark Magicians while Kurama tried his best to heal Kuwabara's injuries with what they had at the moment. The youkais were taking too long in deciding and Yusuke was beginning to sense something bad in the air. Kurama sighed at Yusuke and shook his head to himself.
You should not have provoked them like that Yusuke...you'll only makeour situationworse. The kitsune thought. The Dark Magicians either finished their discussion or were indeed insulted by Yusuke's angry outburst because after Yusuke had said that, they looked at them once more and together they aimed a big number of blades at them.
"We are grateful for your information ningen and we are sad to see you all die such a terrible fate. But our orders are to eliminate possible threats and that is what you are." Yusuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly as Kuwabara began to scream and attempted to plead with the youkais. But the Dark Magicians ignored him and the three could do nothing but watch as the blades began to dive for them.
Don't tell me this is how I'm going to die; fighting stupid youkais for a stupid baby ruler! This is even worse than saving that kid with the soccer ball.
There was nothing else Yusuke could say or do as the blades drew closer. Yusuke turned away, closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain that was to come. But a few seconds later he heard the youkais fighting with a mysterious stranger, then a scream together with the sound of spluttering liquid. He could hear Kuwabara sighing heavily with relief and he could hear the smile in Kurama's voice as he spoke to someone in front of them. "Well, well, well. What a pleasant surprise. I didn't think you'd come here to help us out." He said. The voice of the man who replied was so cold, so monotoned, so familiar that Yusuke didn't even need to open his eyes to know who it was.
"You're a pathetic sight to behold detective. Closing your eyes when facing danger is a sign of cowardice. But then again this is you we're talking about. You're nothing but a weakling who's life runs solely on luck." Yusuke finally opened his eyes and glared at the short man before him.
"Just who do you think you are, coming here all high and mighty then criticizing us when you didn't even help!" Hiei smirked at him and motioned with his head to the Dark Magicians who were now lying on the ground in their own pools of blood. Yusuke could only gape at the sight as the fire apparition turned his attention to Kurama.
"What did they ask from you?" He asked him.
"They were searching for the necklace and thought that we knew where it was." Kurama explained. Then he turned to face Kuwabara with a frown. "We tried to fight them off. But Kuwabara was caught in a tight situation and suddenly cried out that Tenerie and Seiki have the necklace." Kuwabara winced at the stare and raised his hands up in defense.
"Hey it wasn't my fault! How would you feel if a blade was pointed right in your face? And besides, they're being protected by Konema in Rekai. Nothing's going to happen to them as long as they stay there."
"So tell us Hiei..." Yusuke said, looking at Hiei then at the corpses in curiosity. "How did you manage to kill them off that easily?" Hiei turned around and was about to explain when he saw that Derea had disappeared from sight. He frantically looked around and growled softly to himself when he realized she was gone.
Damn that onna! Where the hell did she go?
"Hey guys!" Botan cried as she hovered above the ground on her oar. Kuwabara almost jumped with fright and was shouting angrily at the grim reaper when Hiei told him to shut up. Kurama walked closer to Botan and smiled politely.
"Hello there Botan. What are you doing here in Ningenkai?" He asked.
"I'm here with Tenerie and Seiki! They asked me to take them to the inn they were staying at so they can get some of their clothes...Why are you all looking at me like that?" She asked worriedly when she saw everyone's reaction to what she said. Yusuke took Kuwabara by his shirt collar and started shaking him angrily.
"You idiot! Look what your clumsiness did!" He shouted. Botan still couldn't understand what was happening and sat on her oar cluelessly. Hiei turned knowingly to Kurama who nodded in return. With that signal, Hiei jumped onto one of the houses and began to run through the rooftops towards the inn he knew Tenerie and Seiki were staying at. Kurama stopped the fight and turned to Botan with a troubled look on his face.
"We better go to where Tenerie and Seiki are right now. If we don't arrive there in time I'm afraid you won't be taking anyone back to Rekai today."
switch scene
Tenerie and Seiki were glad to find the room at the inn they were staying at unoccupied and their things still in tact. Tenerie hurriedly gathered her travelling bag, made sure she didn't leave anything behind and was about to leave the room together with Seiki when the door magically closed before them. All the windows suddenly shut closed and the curtains were drawn together, blinding them in darkness. Then, they heard a soft chuckle that echoed around the room and slowly turned into a cold laugh. Seiki hugged herself closer to Tenerie with fright as a man came out of the shadows with an evil smile on his face.
"Hello there ladies. I heard that you have the Sorcerer's Necklace with you. Give it to me and I'll consider sparing your lives." He demanded. Tenerie placed an arm around Seiki in a protective embrace and glared at the man in front of them.
"We don't have it and even if we did we wouldn't give it to you!" She said. The man sighed regretfully and shook his head slowly with a smile on his face, as if he was having a funny conversation with someone they couldn't see and hear.
"It's such a shame. Very well. If you won't give it to me then I shall be forced to exterminate you." He raised his arm as a fireball hovered on his hand. Tenerie quickly built a barrier around her and Seiki and prayed that it would hold the attack. But as she watched the fireball head for them, all the doors and windows suddenly flew open, a strong breeze rushed in, putting out the fire, and the man was thrown back with such force that he put a dent on the wall behind him. Tenerie and Seiki turned their heads around and saw the thief standing by the door with narrowed eyes. She entered the room with confident strides and looked at them.
"Don't you two ever learn from your mistakes? You should have never left the Spirit Ruler's protection." She scolded. Then she turned her gaze to the man and lifted him up into the air with a gesture of her hand. Tenerie and Seiki widened their eyes at her in shock and amazement. They never thought the woman they were looking at now would possess powers like the magicians. Derea walked closer to the man and looked at him closely. The man smiled at her to her surprise and threw something similar to a smoke bomb in between them. Derea was taken aback and began to move away from the man, coughing and rubbing her eyes because of the cloud that suddenly enveloped her. All of a sudden, her body grew limp and she fell on her knees to the ground. She tried as much as she could to stand up but she found that she couldn't. She felt like her whole body turned to lead and was being pulled down by something or someone.
And to her surprise, she felt her whole form slowly shift into another human shape. Tenerie and Seiki both watched with shock as the woman's body fell apart and reassembled itself into a whole new look. The woman's structure was still basically the same; short, thin and muscular, but her hair has dramatically changed from a shiny black to an even shininer silver-blue. The same hair color of the mysterious stranger who had saved the two women last Saturday. Derea looked at the man with her silver eyes and glared at him.
"What the...hell is this...!" She managed to cry out as she struggled with herself. The man recovered his composure and casually walked towards Derea. Derea tried to do something, anything to get away from the man but found that she couldn't even lift her hand without using every ounce of her energy. The man chuckled at her.
"It's no use trying to struggle. The bomb was made to paralyze a person's body temporarily. I even added a little tweak to it. Now it also nullifies a magician's powers. That's the reason you can't use your magic on me now and that's the reason you're shapeshifting powers have been blocked." He explained. This time he was the one who lifted her from the ground and examined her. As he looked at her, realization dawned on him and he gave out a short, sinister laugh.
"What a surprise this is! The last time I saw you, you were just a young, weak and naive child. My, how much you've grown since then. I see you're doing quite well without your superiors hovering about you like flies." He told her.
"I see you're doing pretty well for yourself too Lucas." Derea replied to him with a sarcastic tone dripping in her voice. "What happened? Don't tell me you're still following orders. Who is the big boss this time? I bet he or she's got a leash on you like a lowly mutt." She taunted him. The man named Lucas glared at her in answer and slapped her face with the back of his hand. Derea winced and could feel the stinging pain on her reddening cheek as she turned her head back to face him. Tenerie watched this exchange of words with a blank look on her face. The thought that was running through her mind was of an entirely different topic.
She knows how to shapeshift...that's a very high level of magic that no ordinary magician could do without years and years of practice. Lord Ronel also mentioned that all of the Sorcerers and Sorceress knew how to do it with ease. Does that mean that she's one of them?
"What's the matter Lucas?" Derea asked, her voice weak and strained. "Don't tell me the cat got your tongue? Or perhaps your master ordered you to shut up and follow his orders like a good doggy." She added with a forced smirk on her face. Lucas' anger flared even greater and this time he threw a punch to her guts. Derea doubled over as much as she could in her state and gave a soft groan.
"Enough talk! My orders were to kill you and the others of your kind. As soon as you're gone and I have the Sorcerer's necklace, nothing can stop my master from doing what he has worked hard for years. Finally, he will have the revenge he has longed so much for." He closed his hand around Derea's throat tightly as it begun to glow a soft light. Derea gasped and held Lucas' arm, struggling with the stronger man in vain. Lucas smiled at her and laughed menacingly. "Farewell Sorceress Derea. I am confident that we shall never see each other ever again."