Hey guys! As promised, here's Chappie #4! Special thanks to GilShalos for all of your amazing reviews, and for your continuous support! :)
Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The first thing she was aware of was the heat.

A ray of warmth seemed to envelop her from above. A soft glow pierced her closed eyelids, an orange-red hue she easily recognized as sunlight.

The warmth at her back was different. Solid, smooth...But also grainy. She could feel it move as she began to fidget around, rubbing against her skin. Sand.

Cleao loved the beach; the feel of sand between her toes, the gentle caress of the sun, and who could forget the ocean with its crystal water, an endless sea of blue. She'd often thought about going on a little trip there, but somehow she couldn't picture Orphen going along with that idea.

Any other time, she would have been ecstatic. But this...This was a dream. A nightmare. A nightmare she just couldn't seem to wake up from.

Cleao opened her eyes slowly, not quite sure she wanted to know what was awaiting her.

"Why am I still here..." She murmured to herself, staring up at the empty blue sky. She stood up slowly, the sand sprinkling dustily off her clothing and hair with the movement.

Blue, again. It surrounded her, taunting her with its freedom. Everywhere she looked, she was reminded of just how trapped she really was.

Despair seemed to come at her from all angles; she didn't know what to do. She'd tried everything, and only ended up back on this godforsaken beach. She couldn't do this alone, she needed someone, she needed him.

But he wasn't coming.

Somewhere, deep in her heart, Cleao could feel the truth in this realization. She was trapped here with that thing, and no one, not even Orphen could reach her.

She was on her own.

"What am I supposed to do..." she whispered to herself, feeling a single tear trickle down her cheek. She fell to her knees, her hands digging into the ground and bringing up fistfuls of sand.

Sand, sand, sand, blue, blue, blue. She couldn't take it anymore.

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!"

"You're saying a demon did this?"

Hartia nodded, the gesture directed at the young apprentice, but his eyes remained fixed on Krylancelo. The man hadn't moved from Cleao's side throughout the entire explanation he'd given. He'd given up on healing runes, as they clearly had no affect on any of her injuries, but he continued to check the status of her health. He monitored her breathing as well as her heart rate, and had managed to bandage her visible wounds with the little supplies they'd brought along their travels.

"Not just any demon," Hartia sighed heavily, turning away from his friend and facing the anxious apprentice.

His head ached, most likely due to the brawl with Krylancelo, and the slightest movement seemed to magnify the pain. And what a fool he had been, to fight his friend. Not only did Krylancelo by far outmatch his own strength, but he also clearly couldn't have hurt Cleao, especially not in the way Lai had forseen. Hartia had been a great fool not to have realized that there was some other force at work. If he'd been faster to figure things out, maybe he could have protected her himself. Maybe he could have prevented this entire disaster...

Yes, his head ached.

"It's something much more powerful. A demon I've never even encountered, only heard legends about..."

"A Siren."

Both Majic and Hartia jumped. Orphen was leaning over Cleao, his hands running quickly through her hair, picking out something too small for either of them to see. "It's salt." He held it out for Hartia to inspect. He didn't evaluate his statement, but Hartia seemed to understand.

"That would explain why your spells haven't been working. And it would also explain why she seems to be trapped in some sort of unconscious state." Hundreds of thoughts flashed through his mind at once, trying to piece evidence together, trying to find a way to get them all out of this mess. "Sirens are said to appear on the shores of beaches. They live in salt water, oceans. It's the only way for them to survive. Or so the legend goes."

"Siren..." Majic murmured to himself, staring at his master intently. "I don't know a thing about sirens, Master, except that they're supposed to play off the desires of humans, often leading them to...their deaths," he choked out the last word, horror-struck. He rushed over to Cleao's side, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her with more force than was necessary.

"Wake up, wake up!" He screamed, panic striken, tears blurring his vision. He couldn't lose her, not now, not like this. She was his sister, his friend, his travelling companion. The three of them had been through so much together. It couldn't end now.

Not like this.

Strong hands closed gently on his wrists, and he released his hold on her shoulders. She slumped back to the ground, just as motionless, just as empty of life as before.

Majic was visibly shaking, his breath coming in quick gulps, his teeth clattering together noisily as more heavy tears fell. Hartia removed his cloak and wrapped it firmly around the boy, securing it to his shoulders before kneeling quietly next to him.

"We're going to get her out of this, Majic." He reassured the young apprentice, placing a hand comfortingly on his shaky shoulder. "I promise you, she will make it through."

"I...I don't know what to do..." Majic cried out in despair. "I don't know how to help her. I can't bear to see her like this, but I don't know how to help her."

"We have to find the source of its power." Orphen slowly rose to his feet, turning away from them. He scanned the wreckage surrounding them, searching for some sort of clue. "Whatever it was, it didn't seem too worried about this place. It must not be here..."

Majic's desperate sobs slowed, the tears finally clearing from his eyes. He stared determinedly at Cleao, taking in every cut, every injury she suffered. He would find this thing, and make it pay.

"It can't be far." Hartia offered, also rising. He, too, searched his surroundings, hoping for something to catch his eye. "Sirens may be powerful influencers, but they have little control over enchanted objects. It would have to be close enough to keep up the spell."

"If that's true," Majic piped up suddenly, a sudden idea forming in his mind, "why don't we just take her away from here? Master Hartia, you could port her back to the tower with you. She wouldn't be near the totem, or whatever-"

"-No!"

Orphen spun around, eyes flashing dangerously, feet digging deep into the earth. Majic stared up at him from the ground, completely dumbfounded. He could see that Orphen was visibly shaking, his breath coming in quick gasps. If he didn't know any better, Majic would say he looked...panicked.

"Why not..?" He asked, his voice sounding small and frightened even to his own ears. Orphen closed his eyes and inhaled, taking a deep breath. He stayed that way for a long time, silently calming his breathing. Finally, he spoke.

"Cleao...If she were to leave the range of this thing's power..." His eyes still closed, he swiped a hand heavily across his face. A low, defeated sigh escaped his lips. "We would only be moving her body."

"Oh my god..." Hartia muttered, his face blanching.

Majic was still confused. He looked from his master to Hartia, awaiting some sort of clarification. "I still don't understand..." He admitted, his ears turning slightly pink. Leave it to him to waste time on explanations while Cleao was in trouble. He should've stayed in school...

"Her mind would still be caught in the Siren's trap." Orphen explained, his face revealing nothing. His eyes remained shut. "Doing that to someone, separating their mind from their body..." His voice cracked and he ran his hand across his face again. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Not only would it be painful, excruciatingly so, it would rip her conscience to shreds. She would become a shell of her former self, mindless, numb to the world. An empty vessel."

"So...What do we do?"

Hartia cleared his throat, stepping forward. "We reach into her mind and bring her back to reality. Extremely dangerous? Yes. But we don't really have a lot of options."

Orphen's eyes had flashed open at Hartia's proposal. He glared at his friend, hands closing into fists at his sides.

"It's the only way, Krylancelo." Hartia spoke softly, his eyes reflecting the pain that Orphen felt.

"Fuck!" Orphen spat, turning away from them again. He held his arm out and fired a spell. A red orb shot out of his palm and sailed into the forest. Moments later it exploded, sending dirt, branches and stray rocks flying.

"Look, I don't want to do it either!" Hartia hissed, his hands splayed out at his sides in frustration. "But it's the only way. We have to do this."

Shoulders heaving, Orphen slowly turned to face them once more. His face set in grim determination, he nodded once and strode to where Cleao lay.

"Then let's get this damn thing over with."

:) Sorry it's kind of short... I hope you guys still liked it! Let me know what you think!

FnI