I was standing in a dark room. I couldn't see anything, but my hearing was just fine. " You fool," A strange voice said. It seemed to change between male and female. Bellroc, I realized. Footsteps echoed in the room I was in, making me unable to find where they originated from.
I looked around, but I was still blind. " You left your friends." Another voice hissed. I recognized Bellroc's brother, Skarel. " What?" I found I could speak. I gasped as something struck my cheek, making me fall. I hit the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me for a second.
Hearing menacing laughter around me, I stood and reached out with my arms. Nothing. " Your friends are dying. And where are you? Enjoying your life across the continent." A third voice stated. Morgana! I tried to use my magic, just a simple lighting spell, but nothing happened.
Feeling my left arm, I found that my armband was gone. "What…? My friends are fine!" I felt someone grab the back of my neck. " Just like I was fine?" I felt a rush of dread. "... Master…?" I whispered. I couldn't be!
The grip tightened. My head started to feel light, I couldn't breathe properly. " Please," I choked out. " I will make you feel the same pain I did, when you left me to die!" Merlin yelled in my ear. I tried to speak, to protest that I tried my best! But I couldn't breathe any more. I figured that if I could see, my vision would be going black.
It was like my esophagus had been torn out completely, and I was fighting for air. I kicked and tried to grab at the hand still on my neck, but I couldn't feel anything. It was like the hand was non-existent, but I could feel it plain as day on my neck, squeezing harder and harder.
The laughter filled my ears, until it drowned out my own heartbeat. I tried to cover my ears, but I was frozen in place. The grip on my neck was so tight that I could feel bood welling at the fingertips of Merlin's hand. The laughter seemed to morph, into a sort of beeping. It was still dark, so I didn't try to see anything.
I felt something on my arm, like a pinch and gasped.
}~*~{
I awoke with a start, gasping for air. Sitting up I panted for a moment, before looking to my side. Archie, my familiar was sitting next to me, one paw raised. " Ah, yes. You're awake." He sounded awfully bored.
I smiled and patted his head, making the cat purr. With a sigh, I pulled myself out of bed. Pressing a button, I turned off my alarm. Archie hopped off and waltzed to my door. " You might want to hurry, there's… someone here to talk to you." I watched him slip through the small opening.
Who would come visit? Oh no, did I forget to pay the bills!? I thought with a rush of alarm. Ever since I had taken Nari away from Arcadia to live in New York, I had to work three jobs. It was difficult, but I managed to pay for our small apartment.
I quickly threw on a shirt and some sweats, and walked out my door. I passed through the hallway and out into our kitchen area. Sitting at the counter on one of the stools was Toby. He had long auburn hair and a short, plump build. He was wearing a torn up shirt and some tan pants, while cuts and bruises tattooed his body.
" Toby? What are you doing here? And what happened to you?" I asked, walking up to him. He hopped off the stool and grabbed one of my hands. I tensed up uncomfortably. " You gotta help me Doux! They took them! I barely got away! You gotta help!" Toby exclaimed, his words rushed. I pulled his hand off mine and I stepped back.
" Woah, slow down there, Toby. Who took who? When? Why?" He slumped back on the stool. " They took him, Doux! They took Jim! And Claire! And Blinky, Arrrgh, and even Steve!"
I stared at him, shocked. " Wait, a sec, who took them?" He slapped his forehead. " The evil dudes! The- the icy one! An, and the fire one! The-" I cut him off. " The Arcane Order…" Toby nodded.
" Toby, how did you get here?" I asked. He shrugged. " I don't know, Doux! I just showed up a few blocks down, and I had no clue where I was! But then yesterday, I saw you and Nari on the street, and I followed you!" Nari came up and placed a hand on his forearm. " It's alright, relax. Be calm." He instantly seemed to slouch, and his eyelids closed partly.
Magic. I recognized. I sighed and walked into the kitchen, opening the small fridge. " You must be hungry," I said. " Yep," Toby answered. " The last thing I had was that Diablo Maximus Breakfast Burrito… sooo spicy…" I grumbled under my breath and got out a bowl and some cereal.
I made him some breakfast and placed the bowl in front of him. " So, how you doin..?" Toby asked with a mouthful of Cheerios. I shrugged and got out some bread, making myself some toast. " Im fine, I guess. Not much has happened since we left Arcadia."
I was trying to act as calm as possible, but my mind was racing. Why did the Order take them? I understood they had done it before, but why again? And why now? It had been alost a year since I saw the others, so I kinda started to believe that the Order had decided to leave.
I guess I was wrong.
After putting two slices of bread in the toaster, I turned back to Toby. " Where were you when the Order attacked?" Toby took another bite, his eyes narrowed.
" We were at school. Yeah- that's the place! We were in the courtyard when those freaks just showed up and took them." I nodded, but my attention was elsewhere. A dim, orange-ish light was seeable through the curtains in my living room.
I held up a finger to Toby, motioning for him to be quiet. Screams. They were everywhere. Jumping over to the window, I threw the grey curtains aside and a gasp escaped my lips.
There was fire. So much fire. I could see smoke rising in the distance from fires even farther away. Ice was also visible, poking up from under cars and out through windows. A small hand planted itself on my leg, making me jump. Nari had joined me, Toby staring from his bowl and Archie at my other side.
" What? What's happening?" Toby called. It was Nari's soft voice that answered. " It's them. They found me."