Chapter 19
Blinded by Love
The group left the library. Back out in Tolrin, they all decided to try out one of the many nearby restaurants. Sitting down for a nice lunch, they very much enjoyed themselves. Taking their time, they stayed to chat and joke around with one another before even considering going back to the library. But eventually, of course, they had to get back down to their quest. And at the moment, their quest required them to read for long hours in an old historic building.
But of course, this second round of studying proved to last even less than the first. Zaveid and Edna were already tired from the morning's session after all, and so the earth and wind seraph quit after only another hour or so. That left Lailah, Mikleo and Sorey as before. They studied for a little while later until the afternoon started to grow old, and then, even for bookworms they started to tire.
"Maybe just another half hour or so," Mikleo suggested. "We already have a lot of information."
Mikleo thumbed through some of the remaining chapters of his current book. He'd picked it up more for personal reading as it was. Titled, "Shepherd Ulric Heldim" he couldn't have been expected to resist it. And so far, he wasn't disappointed. The book had a lot of details about Ulric's relationship with the water seraphim mentioned during the boat tour, and it was just as Mikleo had been hoping. Ulric's relationship had been a romantic one. And the water seraphim's name had been Nadia.
A part of Mikleo tried to deny how interested he truly was, but really…he couldn't help it. The similarities between the past and the present were striking. And simply knowing that there had been another seraphim that had a relationship with a human, another shepherd no less, made him wonder what had happened to the couple, and in the end…what had happened to Nadia.
He'd been deep in thought about it, and was reading the next portion of his chapter when a harsh, jabbing finger was tapped repeatedly into his shoulder. Instinctively, he swatted the hand away, even before turning around to see who it was. But when he did turn, he found Edna standing behind him, her usual frown on her face.
"Ugh, what is it?" Mikleo complained.
"We need to talk."
"Huh?" Mikleo blinked at her, confused by her sudden and abrupt statement. "Right now? We're studying."
"You've been studying all day. And you're about to quit anyway, right? So yeah, right now."
Mikleo blinked at her again, a little jarred by her request, but slowly he nodded.
"Ok." Turning he looked to Lailah and Sorey. Lailah smiled and waved him off, and Sorey, although looking a little thrown off in the same manner Mikleo was, smiled kindly too.
"We can finish up here without you," he said. "Meet us back at The Water Crest Inn when you're done."
Mikleo nodded. Then he closed his book and handed it out to Sorey.
"Check this out of the library for me?" he asked. "I want to keep reading it this evening."
"Sure thing."
After handing Sorey his book, Mikleo rose from his seat. After pushing his chair back in, he turned to Edna.
"Ok, let's go."
Edna led the way outside. Then, once out in the light of the late afternoon, she turned and continued to walk down one of the cobblestone streets.
"This way," she said. Only feeling more puzzled, Mikleo started to follow.
"Oh ok," he hesitated. "But, where are we going? Didn't you have something you wanted to talk about?"
"Yeah, I do," she said without slowing her stride or bothering to look at him. "We should get away from all these humans though. I mean, I know they can't see or hear us, but it's annoying to have them all around."
Mikleo frowned. There had been a few times during their journey when Edna said such things about humans. And for the most part he and Sorey had learned to ignore it. But that didn't mean he had to like it. And especially now, after he and Sorey had officially gotten together…he liked it less and less.
"You know Edna, would it kill you to be a little more respectful from time to time?"
"Yeah," she responded immediately. "Yeah, I think it might."
Mikleo scoffed and rolled his eyes, mumbling an 'oh my God' under his breath. Edna didn't respond and instead kept walking hurriedly through the crowded streets. She kept going and Mikleo had to almost jog to keep up with her. They moved further and further back until they got to the back wall of Tolrin, the same place Sorey and Mikleo had gone the other day in order to leave the city and head out to the boat tours.
"How far are we going?"
"Not much farther," Edna responded. She led him out and through the gates. Out on the other side, Mikleo found the crowds far more sparse than the day before. He supposed it was because the sun was starting to set, which meant a lot of the lake and waterfall activities were closing for the day. With the beaches, hot springs and boat tours ending, there was no point for people to come out this far.
Edna walked just near the edge of the lake to a place where no one was around except for the occasional passerby, then finally stopped, turning to face him. Mikleo stopped too, and for an awkward second nothing was said.
"Soo…you had something to say?" he prompted.
"Yes," Edna said, her expression as sour looking as always, "I wanted to know why you're so stupid."
Mikleo stiffened. And as soon as Edna said such a thing, a quick snarl came to his face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "Don't tell me you dragged me away from my studies and made me come all the way out here just so you could insult me!"
"No, not just so I could insult you. I honestly want to know how you could possibly be so dumb."
"Edna!" His cheeks were starting to get red with anger, but before he could start hollering indignantly at his traveling companion, Edna continued with an explanation,
"I know you're attracted to Sorey and everything, but how stupid do you have to be to actually fall in love with a human, to give yourself to one? You've got to be a Class A nimrod for that to happen."
Mikleo's heart started to pound in his chest. His lilac eyes flashed as his anger quickly started to turn to rage. It coursed through him so quickly that he found his fists starting to tremble.
"Think about what you're saying to me Edna. Think very carefully before you proceed!"
"I am thinking carefully. It's you who's not thinking. You're so totally blinded by your love for him that you have no idea what you've locked yourself into. You're so young and caught up in the moment, in this one fleeting, perishable moment that you've ignored the millions of moment that lay ahead of you.
Do you even realize he's a human? Don't you even know what that means? He's a mortal. You're not. He'll age and grow old. You on the other hand will stay exactly as you are, young and beautiful and perfect, for all eternity. Sorey on the other hand will grow older and more feeble. He'll deteriorate right before your eyes. He'll shrivel up and you'll watch as his mortal clock ticks his time away. His youth and beauty will vanish, and so will his mind. Humans forget things when they get old. Hell, he might not even recognize you in his dying days. And after it's all said and done with, after you watch him die, you'll be all alone, forever. Is that really what you want? To be chained to a decaying old man as you watch each second take him farther away from you?"
SLAP!
The strike had come from nowhere. Mikleo himself hadn't even known he was about to hit her. But he had. And Edna's head snapped to the side as a fierce, red, handprint started to form on her cheek.
He was trembling wildly by that point from both the unbelievable rage he felt and also the unbelievable fear that he had always carried with him, but now had been drudged up to the surface thanks to Edna. His amethyst eyes were huge and wild and also glimmering with unspilt tears. His hand still in the air from his strike, he opened his mouth to speak through a tightened throat,
"How dare you!?" He seethed, his own voice sounding foreign to him. "How dare you say such things to me!? Do you really think I don't know? You think that I haven't considered Sorey's mortality? You think it hasn't been something that I've been aware of for as long as I can even remember? You think that even as a child I didn't have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that grew each night when we went to bed? You think it hasn't hovered over me, like a ghost, haunting my every move?"
He gasped in a breath of air. The tears that trembled on the edge of his lashes threatened to fall.
"What kind of fool do you take me for? And how can you be so blind as to not have seen how dreadfully, painstakingly, carefully both Sorey and myself are to never mention this subject? If we didn't know about it, if we were really that naïve, don't you think it would have come up in normal conversation from time to time?" He took in another ragged breath of air. "We don't talk about it because there's nothing we can do, and because this subject is torture!"
Still seething, his heart now beating painfully from within his chest, he finally lowered his hand. His teeth clamped together, he found he could barely look at Edna.
"We know what we've done. And as for me, personally, I know what path I have to take. I had no choice but to love Sorey. I've loved him since before I can remember. And so…all I can do now is throw all I am into this while we have it. I will cherish every second he can give me: every smile, every breath! And when he starts to slip away…I'll be there beside him. I'll be there when he's old. And I'll cherish those times too. I'll take care of him. He can lean on me if he gets feeble. And if his memories start to fail him, I will remind him of what we have. I'm prepared to do whatever I have to in order to see this through! And in the end, I'll lay down beside him. I'll be with him until that very last breath! And if my punishment for loving a human is to die of heartache, then…so be it!"
Edna stood perfectly still as Mikleo spoke. And after he fell silent, there was a second when only the sound of the waterfall behind them was heard. But then, Mikleo watched in utter shock as a creeping, twisted grin started to spread up and over Edna's cheeks. And as it grew, a cruel, merciless, gleeful type of giggle rose up and out of her. The giggle rose in strength until it became an outright laugh. Throwing her head back, Edna clutched at her stomach as if everything Mikleo had just said was simply hilarious.
"What…?" Mikleo gaped.
"Oh my God!" Edna cried with delight. "And here I thought I could just explain the reality of things to you and get you to leave the shepherd's side. But that's obviously not the case! You're completely delusional!"
And it was only in that moment, that Mikleo started to realize that something was terribly, horribly wrong. With Edna's face so twisted and with her saying such things in a voice that didn't sound like hers, he finally started to understand.
"You…you're not Edna."
"Bingo! That's correct, I'm not. But I picked a good person to imitate right? I mean, she's similar to me in so many ways. We both hate humans. We both think you're an idiot. And if she wore darker colored clothes, we could even share a sense of style! If I could only get her to join our side, we could be best friends!"
Mikleo's expression quickly darkened as he stiffened in place.
"Symonne."
"Ding ding ding! Correct again! But at this point there's no reason to keep up the charade. With you being completely and totally insane, than we're just going to have to do things the old fashioned way."
Lifting a hand, she flicked her wrist and snapped her fingers. With a poof of magic, her disguise was extinguished. Then she stood before Mikleo as she truly was: a skinny, pale, short, young girl with smooth skin, black hair and a purple cloth that could barely be called an outfit. Her red eyes landed on the water seraph before her, and her dark lipsticked mouth twisted up into another grin.
"That's better."
"What're you doing here Symonne?" Mikleo demanded.
"What do you think? I'm trying to turn your precious shepherd into a hellion. But you keep messing things up for me! First you wouldn't take my subliminal messages in your nightmares and turn into a hellion yourself. Then you went and overcame your fears during your battle with the snake lady in the desert! And now you won't leave the shepherd and break his heart! Honestly, you've left me no choice but to do things the hard way." She let off a giggle. "Although to be honest, the hard way is my favorite way."
Mikleo immediately took up an offensive stance. Calling up his power he summoned his staff. Striking quite an intimidating pose in front of his enemy, he glared at her, his tears having already dried.
"You want to kill me to make Sorey turn into a hellion, thus dooming the world."
Symonne rolled her head over her shoulder's as she shrugged.
"Mostly correct. Only we don't want to kill you. Instead, Heldalf gave us orders to make you suffer. A lover in agonizing pain is far worse to endure than a dead lover, don't you think? And if Sorey loves you in the same idiotic way you just told me you love him, then he'll become a hellion the moment we present your tattered, shredded body to him."
Mikleo snarled, his white teeth flashing.
"If you think Sorey would turn into a hellion just because of that, then you're the naïve one! He'll be sad to be sure, but he wouldn't let hatred into his heart. He's stronger and better than that! But either way…I'll never let you use me to hurt him!"
Already fueled by his righteous anger from the things Symonne had said to him, and his heart already filling with the courage he would need to protect Sorey, Mikleo charged forward. Striking out with a physical blow first, he hoped to catch his enemy by surprise. After all, their parties had fought each other before, and Symonne already knew he was an artes user.
His plan worked somewhat. Striking first and physically did catch Symonne by surprise. But she was fast and nimble on her feet in the same way Mikleo was. She leapt off and to the side just in the nick of time, Mikleo's staff rushing by her ear and breezing through one of her black pigtails.
"Lunarre! Now would be a good time to make your entrance!" She called out. And as soon as she did, a shadow seemed to appear from above Mikleo. His head snapping upward, Mikleo's lilac eyes widened when he saw Lunarre scurrying his way down Tolrin's huge outer wall like some sort of cockroach.
"Oh? Is it finally time to play?"
Leaping down the rest of the way, the fox-man landed on his feet just in front of Mikleo. Wasting no time what-so-ever, he lashed out. Mikleo barely had time to dodge to the side, Lunarre's razor sharp claws whisking by his neck.
"Oh, don't dodge!" he called. "I've been wanting to snack on you ever since we met in Elysia!" And then, vulgarly, Lunarre licked his lips as if imagining what it was Mikleo must have tasted like.
Mikleo's skin crawled. He hated Lunarre. And he never could forget the way he ate Mason back in Elysia. It was a horror he knew he'd carry with him for a very long time.
Outnumbered, and finding himself face to face with not one, but two powerful enemies, Mikleo knew his chances of coming out of this battle unharmed were slim. Even so, he knew running away wasn't an option. Crossing the distance between his current location and the Tolrin doors behind him was too great. He'd be shot down with an arte for certain. He had no choice but to stand and fight.
I'm much more powerful than last we met, he reminded himself. Ten times so. And this isn't just to defend myself…I have to protect Sorey too. These villains are aiming at his heart. Determination and resolve started to fill him. I can't let them do that!
His face tightening and his body tensing, he gripped his staff in his hands.
I may not be a physical fighter, but my artes are matched by no other. I'll bury them in water!
Mikleo felt it flow within him. And as he let his thoughts of Sorey flood him, he felt the same swell of power he'd felt before when he discovered Electric Whirlpool back in the underground ruins. And in only an instant, he felt like he could do anything.
"You won't hurt him!" Throwing his staff out before him, his power swirled to life. His white and blue locks of hair lifted up as the two tendrils of his cloak billowed. A surge of energy whirled around him as he started to glow. Lunarre and Symonne, seeing he was building up to a rather powerful spell, quickly attacked to try and break through his concentration before he could finish. But Mikleo had long ago learned to cast a protective barrier around himself as he cast, and so the two found themselves repelled, at least temporarily. His protective barrier wasn't all that strong since most of his magic went into the artes he was casting, but it usually lasted long enough to deflect a few blows before it broke. Usually, he had Sorey to protect him as he cast, but this time he knew he'd have to do it alone.
He didn't have enough time for one of his more powerful spells before the barrier broke, but he still had enough time to make it count. And as he opened his eyes, and focused on his enemies before him, he cried out,
"Frigid Sever!"
Ice shards as sharp as needles and as large as tree branches shot out from him at a frightening speed, and it took both Lunarre and Symonne by surprise. Lunarre ducked and rolled, one of the ice shards skimming his back and cutting him just down his spine. Symonne put up a dark force field which deflected most of the ice, but as the second, then third one hit her, it broke clear through.
"Ugh!" Cutting her upper arm, she clutched at it as a look of fury over came her face. "You little bitch!"
But Mikleo was already casting another spell, knowing that his only chance was to buy himself enough time to cast one of his more powerful ones. And the only way to do that was to keep his enemies busy.
Symonne snarled.
"I'll make you pay!" Looking to Lunarre, she shouted at him. "Lunarre! You attack physically and try to break through his barrier! I'll spend the time to cast some shadow artes! He can't take us both on at once!"
"You got it! Anything to get to the center of my tasty treat!"
Getting back up, Lunarre lunged. He threw himself at Mikleo's barrier, but the water seraph was unfazed. Keeping his eyes closed, he concentrated on casting his next spell. But as he did so, a black hole of despair surrounded Symonne as she started to cast her own.
Lunarre scraped and tore at Mikleo's magical barrier, dragging his claws down against it. And as he did, he eyed his prize within with a lurid expression indeed.
"Come on out little snack. Or let me in! Don't make me break through your shell first!"
Finishing his cast, Mikleo cried out, "Rising Geyser!"
Water sprang up out of the ground, surrounding Lunarre and shooting upward like a pillar of crystal. It shot him several feet up and into the air. Twisting himself around, he had to figure out how to land, but Mikleo was already prepared,
"Freeze Lancer!" Ice met his enemy when he landed, and Lunarre screamed out in agony as he landed on a bed of spikes. It was a good hit, a direct hit, and Mikleo managed to damage the fox-man fairly well. But it was also at this time that Symonne finished casting a spell of her own.
"Hell Gate." The ground beneath Mikleo split open in the shape of an X, and immediately gushing up and out of it was a combination of fire and wind. Mikleo didn't have time to get out of the way, and was caught up in it.
"Ugh!" he cried out as he felt his smooth, cool skin burn, and he was blown backward where he was barely able to slide himself into a decent landing. Luckily he hadn't fallen, for Lunarre was already rushing toward him once more. Lifting his staff, he blocked his onset of flurried claw attacks within a fraction of a second.
"Stop resisting me!" Lunarre snarled. "If you just let it happen it'll be over quickly!"
"Not on your life."
Still keeping his head together, and still remaining cool and collected, Mikleo recalled all of the training and sparring he had with Sorey. He might not have been the best at physical attacks, but he could hold his own. And when Lunarre ran at him again, he was ready. Parrying to the side, he whirled around, cracking his staff down on top of the fox-man's head as he rushed by him.
"YOUCH!" Lunarre cried as the lights flickered in front of his eyes. He stumbled a few feet, nearly passing out from the blow, but somehow, he managed to keep himself together. Righting himself, he lifted both hands to the back of his skull where he started to rub the pain away.
"This little rabbit bites back!" He seethed, the same anger that had taken over Symonne after she'd been hit now taking over him. "But we'll see how much bite you have left after I skin you!"
Symonne was casting again, and Mikleo stood still and at the ready as Lunarre mindlessly lunged at him once more. As he neared, Mikleo gave a flick of the wrist.
"Bubble Blast!" It was the first time he used his childhood spell for anything other than play with Sorey, but it still worked like a charm. Lunarre ran headfirst into a curtain of harmless bubbles. But it obstructed his vision and confused him long enough to stop him in his tracks.
"What-?!"
With Lunarre distracted and Symonne still casting, Mikleo finally found the time he needed to call up the powers within him for a more devastating attack.
"I'm not a rabbit," he said as he let his power fill him to the brim. "I'm a seraphim!"
He waited until his power pressed out against all of him, and then, he simply released it all with a cry,
"Roaring Surge!"
The lake beside them seemed to suddenly swell as Mikleo raised his hands. And both Lunarre and Symonne looked over in fear, their eyes wide and white as a literal wall of water rose up beside them. It grew, taller and taller, and it was as thick as a house. It rose up even taller still, until the shadowy duo could see the setting sun through a watery, clear, mass. A blue glow with ripples inside of it was cast over the entire field they stood in, and within only seconds, it appeared as a tidal wave.
Mikleo held his hands up, keeping the water bound for only a second as he let off a brief tremor with the effort it took him.
Symonne took in a single breath of air, and then, he quickly threw both of his hands downward toward the ground. The water was released, and with an incredible roar, it washed over the entire land area where he was standing with Lunarre and Symonne. He heard their shrieks, even over the rage of the water, but Mikleo was already prepared with another barrier.
He stood perfectly still as the lake itself rushed all around him, but not a single droplet touched him. His feet remained on solid ground. Foam, white as snow, blew by like an avalanche, and glitter from the spray shimmered as it flew like sparks around him catching the light of the setting sun. It was as beautiful and as deadly as any natural disaster caused by nature itself.
Mikleo inhaled the scent of water, letting it fill his lungs. Even in the midst of battle he never felt quite as at home as he did around his element.
It took several long seconds to end. But finally, the last of the water rushed by, and its levels lowered from his head down to his feet. Then eventually it all rolled away into the lowest areas of the land around them, or started to get soaked up into the earth. Turning around to search for his enemies, Mikleo found them sprawled out on the soggy ground several yards away. They were both soaking wet and gasping for air. Having nearly drowned, their strength seemed to be sapped from them. Lunarre was on his back, his chest heaving up and down and Symonne was laid flat out on her stomach. Both of them had their limbs flung haphazardly around themselves.
"If you call surrender now, I'll stop. If not, I'm afraid I have an even more powerful spell up my sleeve." And the great thing about it was that Mikleo wasn't bluffing. Seeing both of them down and out, he knew he'd have more than enough time to cast Electric Whirlpool if need be. And if he cast that spell, there was a definite possibility that he may kill them. But of course if his life was in danger, and if Sorey's was as well, he wouldn't hesitate.
A decent distance away from Mikleo, Lunarre turned to Symonne, disbelief in his voice and in his eyes.
"When did he become so powerful?" he asked, baffled. "He was nothing but a weakling last time we fought him! Now he's a full blown mage!"
Symonne's face was dark with hatred and shadows, and as Lunarre asked his question, it only became darker still.
"He thinks he's grown more powerful because of his disgusting love for that human." She spit. "It's so repulsive I almost can't even stand to think of it. But make no mistake, that's the source of his new artes."
"Then how can we defeat him? He called up the entire lake onto us!"
Symonne was silent for just a moment. But as she thought about what they could do, Mikleo wasn't willing to wait.
"This is your last chance! Surrender now!"
In watching Mikleo, and seeing how tall and true he stood with the sun at his back, and knowing where he was getting his confidence from: that was when Symonne got an idea. And slowly, a cruel, twisted grin started to spread over her pale cheeks. Her blood red eyes smiled, and a vicious glint entered her irises.
"What? What is it?" Lunarre asked.
"I have an idea," she hummed. "Watch closely Lunarre. And take note of how to bring down a water seraph."
Both Symonne and Lunarre started to push themselves back up. And seeing that they were getting ready to fight again and wouldn't be surrendering, Mikleo knew he had no choice but to cast his most powerful spell. If he didn't and if he gave them any leeway, he knew they would kill him. And so, quickly, he took up an offensive stance. Splaying his staff out before him, he called up the memories of Sorey that filled him with the feeling he needed in order to site his newest arte. And pulling up romantic memories of Sorey was not difficult at all, especially after the night they had just shared together.
Mikleo called up the way he looked when he smiled, and the way his green eyes crinkled shut with delight when he laughed. He brought up the memory of how he called for him with his true name in the desert. And of course how good he really felt to be in his arms. He thought about their date just yesterday, and how great it had been when Sorey teased him about there being ghosts in the caves. Mikleo loved playing with him nearly as much as anything else they did together.
Lastly, he thought of how they'd connected only the night before. It hadn't even been twenty four hours yet, and so the memories were fresh. Sorey had clutched him so close to his chest, so that Mikleo could still recall how powerfully his heart had pounded. And he'd been so loving and tender, treating him like he was a precious treasure. He could still catch his scent in his nose, and he could still hear his voice as he told him he loved him. And lastly, Mikleo absorbed himself in the memory of what it was like to melt into him, to truly be as one.
Forever, a voice echoed within him. All of Symonne's earlier words mean nothing. For this is what forever means.
He felt his spirit soar. And as it did, he closed his eyes and started to recite the words he'd written himself back when he was still discovering all of what his feelings for Sorey meant.
"Oh water that runs deep as an abyss,"
The same circle as before appeared beneath his feet.
"On the surface calm and clear as glass,"
It started to glow.
"Let thy true depths be known."
His power rising up, it began to swirl around his form.
"Open up to the skies above,
And beget lightning to strike thee,"
Anyone who might have been watching nearby would have felt the air crackle with the power he was gathering. It felt very similar to how the atmosphere was charged right before a thunderstorm. And in seeing how absorbed and concentrated Mikleo truly was, one would wonder if anything at all could break through his focus. But that was precisely when the one and only thing that could, did.
"Mikleo," came a voice that sang to his very soul. And in hearing Sorey call his name, Mikleo of course opened his eyes. When he did, he saw him standing just in front of him, his usual silly grin on his sweet face.
"Sorey." And of course, the one word interrupted his spell, and his casting time was broken. Even so, Mikleo knew he had to stop his arte before it was cast. With Sorey right in front of him, there was no longer a need to do something so drastic. With Sorey here by his side, they could simply armatize, or just fight together as they normally did in order to defeat their enemies. Mikleo wouldn't have to kill anyone, and that was a huge burden off of his shoulders.
Withdrawing his magic, the ground going dark around him, Mikleo breathed a sigh of relief as a small smile started to spread over his face at the simple sight of the person he loved.
"Thank God you're here. Symonne and Lunarre attacked me. But together we can defeat them." His soft smile grew as he kept his sights on Sorey. "Armatize with me?"
Sorey smiled. Then, lifting his arms up, he beckoned Mikleo to come into them.
"Of course," he said. "We can do anything, so long as we're together."
It was instinct to move forward when Sorey held his arms out to him. And so of course, Mikleo did, as he'd done thousands of times before. And he thought nothing of it as Sorey closed his arms around him, wrapping him up tight. Squeezing him to himself perhaps a bit too forcefully, Mikleo didn't know that anything was wrong until a twisted grin crept up Sorey's lips and he whispered into his ear,
"I told you, you're blinded by love."
There was only a second in which a heart could beat. And then, even as the mistake he'd just made started to dawn on him, fear filling him, Symonne cast her spell,
"Enslaving Shadow."
A burst of dark energy exploded out of Symonne, and as she held him captive, she forced it into her victim. Mikleo felt it enter him and pain of the likes he'd experienced only once before filled him. He gasped in a breath of air, and then Mikleo couldn't help himself as he threw back his head and screamed. Symonne forced her malevolence into him, not unlike the way Heldalf's dark wave had once washed over the group back in Glaivend Basin. And even as the agonizing attack was ending, Mikleo knew perfectly well what she had just done to him. He felt his holy power become trapped within him. And just like back in the basin, it felt as if there was a sudden wall around him, sealing him in.
"Ah-hahaha!" Symonne laughed viciously with Sorey's voice and still from within Sorey's body. "Let's see what a mage can do without any artes! I'm betting without your holy magic, you're completely helpless!"
With the attack over, and his body still throbbing, Mikleo found himself still in his enemy's arms. And seeing Symonne still taking on the guise of Sorey, filled him with a revulsion and an anger he couldn't have been prepared for.
"Let go of me!" he demanded. Then, knowing he had to resort to physical means, he quickly started to struggle from within her grasp. But very quickly, Lunarre was at their side. Reaching out, he grabbed at Mikleo's staff and very easily was able to rip it from his hands.
"Whoops! Did you lose this?" With a heavy heave, he threw his staff over their heads where it landed several yards away and came to rest on the soggy grass. "Uh-oh! Now what will you do, little rabbit?"
Symonne, seeing the hunger and eagerness in Lunarre's eyes, quickly shoved Mikleo away from herself and roughly into Lunarre's arms instead.
"Here's your treat," she said, her voice still eerily like Sorey's. "Do whatever you'd like to him. Just remember, we can't kill him. We need to make him presentable for the shepherd."
"Yes, yes! Presentable for the shepherd!" Lunarre repeated. Finally having his prize in his arms, Lunarre closed his hands around Mikleo tightly, making certain he couldn't get loose, no matter how he struggled. "Let's tear him up! I want to see if the shepherd still wants him if his pretty face is shredded!" He chuckled eagerly, not all that unlike a hyena. And as he laughed and as he watched his captive squirm from within his arms, his breathing started to become heavier and more labored.
"Let's mess up his pretty hair too! And maybe rip through his perfect skin! We'll see if the shepherd wants an ugly, deformed seraphim."
Mikleo's heart was pounding from within his chest. He wasn't sure if there'd ever been a time when he was so afraid. And with all of his power and all of his artes sealed away, he'd never been more aware of his size.
He was a small. Petite even. And although his height and slight stature had always been a sore spot for him growing up before, it had solely been about his looks. But now, suddenly, he was very aware of how weak he was in comparison to his captors. It had never truly mattered before, since he was so powerful in magic. But with that power taken from him…
"Such a pretty little seraph," Lunarre hummed. "I see exactly why the shepherd wanted you. You're even prettier than most girls."
Mikleo's face flushed. And still never giving up, he twisted himself from within Lunarre's grasp.
"Shut up you freak!" he cried. "At least I don't look like a dog!"
Lifting a foot, Mikleo quickly brought down his heel onto Lunarre's toe, crushing it to the best of his ability. Lunarre yelped in pain, and for just a second, his grip on Mikleo lessened. Mikleo immediately went to tear himself free, but of course, he had a second enemy waiting for him right there. And as soon as he was out of Lunarre's grasp, Symonne was waiting.
"Despairing Flames." She cast a quick spell and fire seemed to come up and out of the earth at Mikleo's feet. The red and orange flames wrapped themselves around him, and Mikleo let out another scream as he felt the heat wash over him. His snow white skin burned just as easily as tissue paper. And this time he had no way of defending himself. His scream dragged onward, until finally the flames dissipated.
His cloak singed and patches of his shimmering skin now black and red, he staggered, and then went to fall. But before he hit the ground, Lunarre reached out his hands, catching him. Grabbing him, he brought him back up and against his chest once more.
"Oh no no, you're my treat. And I think it's time you paid for humiliating me!"
His enemies no longer seemed willing to wait. And very much wanting to hurt him, Lunarre reached out grabbing at the fragile cloth near his shoulder. Using his wicked nails, he tore through it easily, revealing the pale shoulder beneath.
"Let's rip up his cloak too!"
And after getting such an idea, Lunarre seemed eager to get to work. Still holding onto Mikleo firmly, he used his other hand to start ripping off the two blue tails from his back. And although this didn't hurt Mikleo physically at all, he seemed to grow suddenly, and horrifically distressed.
"No!" he cried. "Stop it!"
His enemies couldn't have known it, but his cloak was special to him because Gramp's had made it for him when he had become of age. And the two tails that sprang from his shoulders were supposed to represent an angel's wings.
Lunarre, seeing how upset it was making his target, grinned wickedly.
"What? You don't like it? Then perhaps if we tear it up a little more?" Overly excited now that he knew it was upsetting to his victim, Lunarre went to town. Using his damaging claws, he started to tear and rip at the fabric, making holes in it, long tears, and in some places, his razor talons ripped all the way down to Mikleo's skin.
Mikleo hissed in pain as he felt the sting and bite of the claws. But even with his blood being drawn, he still seemed more upset about the fact that his cloak was being destroyed. Even so, he didn't say anything more or object again. He didn't want to give Lunarre the satisfaction. But this of course, upset Lunarre.
"What? You're not going to beg anymore?" he set his yellow eyes on his victim. "Then I suppose we'll have to up the ante. Let's start in on breaking you instead, hmm?"
Quickly and roughly, with no warning what so ever, Lunarre shoved Mikleo to the soggy ground. It was a bad fall, and Mikleo hit his knee on the way down before landing in the mud. His pristine clothes were immediately stained, and already injured from being burned and torn, he almost didn't have the strength to get up. But even if he had, Lunarre wasn't about to let him. He came in fast. And with no mercy at all, he began to kick him.
((Yes, this is a cliff hanger. So sorry guys! But don't worry, we're working hard on the next chapter! I hope to have it up by either Thursday (my day off) or next weekend. Until then, hold on!))