Chapter 15
"I'm sorry, what?" Cascadia stopped in her tracks. Shocked at Fire's question. "What would make you say that?"
Fire smiled slightly before saying, "There's a reason this village has attempted to stay hidden. Many of us have special magic abilities. Mine allows me to analyze a person's being. I can see the flow of magic and I have had enough practice to be able to differentiate the magic flows. That how I could tell you were lying. Most people aren't aware that the flow of magic works with the flow of the heart. When one lies, the pulse picks up and so does the flow of magic. It gets disrupted."
"Wait, you can see magic?" Cascadia asked in disbelief. Fire said nothing for a moment as he resumed his walking.
"I'm not sure see is actually the correct word, although it's what I use when I describe my abilities. It's more like I can feel it and envision it. Each magic flow is different for each wizard but like I said, different wizard magic types share similar signatures. For example, dragon slayer magic feels chaotic. The flow of magic is constantly interrupted by whatever element was introduced into the body. I struggle figuring out exactly what type of dragon slayer a wizard is because your kind is so rare now that I don't get much practice. I would wager your type is more along the nature of a solid element like iron or earth, though."
"And why's that?" Cascadia asked, intrigued.
Fire thought for a moment before saying, "I guess it's because although your magic flows chaotically, it seems to have a singular destination in mind. Towards your center. Magic such as earth, ice, and iron tend to be balanced and centered magic. The caster knows what the magic will do and where it will go. If it were an element such as water or fire, there would be no central pull. It would be an outward push, as though trying to get out of the body. It's much more difficult to predict what a fire will do versus an iron block."
"I'll say…" Cascadia muttered.
"Pardon?" Fire asked.
"It was nothing, I was just talking to myself."
Fire paused his walking and studied Cascadia for a moment before resuming his pace. They were now well into the village and heading towards a trail leading up the side of the mountain. Fire continued speaking, "As I was saying, your magic acts reckless on the surface but it gravitates towards your center, so I'd say you're not a fire, water, or sky dragon slayer. So what are you, then?"
Cascadia said nothing but continued to follow Fire. He sighed after he realized she was going to say nothing, "Look, there needs to be some trust here. You're the one who sneaked in here for whatever reason so I should be the one wary of you but I just told you a secret that could endanger me on the outside."
Cascadia raised an eyebrow, "I know you can see what magic I use, but I don't know what you can do against me. I'm not so dumb to play my last card so early in the game."
Fire raised his arms in exasperation, "Look, I'm a fire wizard. I thought that was obvious in my name. I won't go into detail because you don't need me to. Just like I don't need you to go into detail and give away your secrets. I'm just trying to spread a little trust."
Cascadia still said nothing and just followed him. After five minutes of silence, however, Cascadia finally said, "Ice."
"Pardon?" Fire looked over his shoulder, startled.
"I'm an ice dragon slayer." Cascadia said.
Fire stopped outside a house that had been nestled into the side of the mountain. It was a small house made of wood and was made to attract as little attention as possible. Fire placed a hand on the door and it melted away. Fire stepped inside and said casually, "I thought ice dragons were a myth and by extension ice dragon slayers."
"Well, they're not. They're real and so am I." Cascadia grouched.
"No offense was meant. I just meant I was surprised." Fire lead Cascadia down a hallway and into a living room. Apparently, the house went further into the mountain than Cascadia had thought. "Sky?" Fire called out softly.
"What is it?" A soft-spoken voice called out.
"I need you to check something out for me. Something that contains dark magic."
A little boy of maybe 10 years old stepped into the living room. He had black hair and was as pale as the snow on the mountains surrounding the village. His eyes were violet and showed an intelligence and maturity unseen in little boys. For a moment, those eyes showed insanity too but it went away so quickly that she thought she had imagined it. He walked up to Cascadia and immediately touch the silver ring around her neck. The minute his fingers touched the ring, he recoiled, hissing.
Sky swung around to glare at Fire, "Why is this evil in the village?"
Fire shrugged lazily, "Don't ask me, ask her. It seems to prevent her from telling me anything other than she was kidnapped by someone. It prevents her from saying who sent her or why, though. It's sapping her magic too."
Cascadia gave Fire a surprised look. He shrugged, "I didn't think it was necessary to tell you. I thought you'd panic."
"I'm not some child you need to coddle. It's my magic and I deserve to know if it's being restricted." Cascadia was seething. This man hardly knew here and was trying to make decisions for her. She didn't like being controlled, she didn't like being seen as weak, and she absolutely loathed being told what to do.
Fire ignored her sulking and continued speaking, "I know this is some nasty stuff but you're the only one who could possibly do anything about this abomination."
Sky looked cautiously at the silver ring around Cascadia's neck before sighing, "I can't fix this." He glanced at Fire, holding up a hand to stop whatever Fire was getting ready to say, "But, I may be able to counter it. Give me a few moments and hopefully I'll have something that'll work."
Sky went into a small room that Cascadia barely noticed due to the elaborate decoration of the room. While waiting, Cascadia took the time to observe the room in more detail. There was a red loveseat and couch opposite of the recliners that she and Fire were sitting in. A fireplace was roaring on the wall closest to the room Sky went into. Sky was clearly trying to make his isolated home more welcoming.
"Do you know what Sky meant by countering it?" Cascadia asked, finished with examining the room and bored with waiting. It had been long after 'a few moments'.
"With Sky, who knows?" Fire sighed, "Sky has never been good with words. Or people. What he is good with is dark magic. He grew up in a…difficult situation that resulted in him understanding dark magic more than a child his age should. As for what he means by countering? I think he'll give you another magical talisman that negates what that ring is doing to you."
"You're absolutely right, Fire. Astute as always." Sky walked into the living room carrying a small box. "This cuff carries magic that essentially allows speech. If this works, you should be able to freely talk about anything you want."
"And if it doesn't?" Cascadia asked.
Sky smiled happily, "You'll die a most horrific death."