Wielders of Magic, Book 2: The Trinity

"CHEATER!" Drusilla cried, standing up as she yanked on Rey's sleeve. A single card fell out of it, an Ace, and all they did was stare.

"Well, how else did you expect me to win a game I just started?" He smiled a little before turning back to the deck. "New game."

"Yes, most certainly." She huffed and than sat back down, obviously offended. "Why do you think it is alright to cheat anyway?"

"Because I don't really care weather I do or I don't. I just play the game." He shrugged.

"What is that?" Blagdon asked, his head twitching a little and his ears pricking up.

"What?" Drusilla asked.

"I hear . . . foot steps. Running footsteps . . ."

There was a crash as someone fell through the shrubs around the camp, landing flat on his face. By first glance at his twin Katana's, they immediately found that it was Jaden.

"Are you alright?" Rey asked, staring at him with slight concern.

"NO! NO ONE IS FINE!" He got to his feet and ran to his tent, packing his things. "Get stuff in bags! Pack everything up! You should have already done that anyway! What is wrong with all of you!?"

"What is going on?" Drusilla grasped her staff and leaned on it a bit.

"Barbarians! They are coming! Get ready to leave!"

"Where is Rentham?" Blagdon threw his cards into their case.

"He . . . is killing them." He stopped before dropping to his knees.

"Alright do as he says!" Rey shouted, going to his own tent as Drusilla ran to him. Blagdon was backing his things as well, and all that was left was the Red Witch, trying to comfort a friend.

"Jaden, tell me everything."

"No time . . . pack." He pushed her away and shielded his face.

"Jaden-"

"I said to get ready damn it! SHUT UP!" He screamed, his eyes flashing a dangerous silver before going back to their normal ocean blue.

Drusilla stood frozen, staring at him with horror.

"O-oh Drusilla . . .!" He choked, shocked at his own words. "Are you alright? Name of the Gods I am so sorry! Drusilla are you alright? Speak to me!"

Her lips started to move, but no sound was coming out. She just sat there, clutching her throat, staring at him as if he was trying to kill her.

"I am so . . . so sorry." He said, laying a hand on her shoulder, which she shied away from. "Drusilla, I'll fix it, I promise."

She shook her head and ran from him, starting to head out into the forest.

Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into the shrubs as Rey cried out. "THEY HAVE HER!"

"Oh no, what have I done . . ." Jaden groaned, drawing his swords once again and running to the dark warlock. "Come on! We have to go find them!"

"Jaden what are they!?"

He turned and looked at him, wondering what his reaction would be. Not everyone was pleased to face Barbarians. "They are wild men. Barbarians."

"Oh no. Jaden they'll-" He choked, tears appearing in his eyes before he bounded into the woods, his dark robes flowing behind him as his magic started to swarm around his hands.

"I hate Barbarians." Jaden spat on the ground than ran after him, his swords ready, and his mind focused. He would deal with other problems later.

Drusilla kicked and fought with all of her might as one of the wild men struggled to keep her still, pinning her against the ground.

"When your finished save a little for me won't you?" One of the men shouted over his shoulder, looking off into the distance and guarding their position. The others cheered for the thick man as he struggled with the Red Witch, throwing their fists in the air as she silently screamed.

She couldn't make a sound, not a single peep.

Suddenly, Drusilla got one of her wrists out from the mans grasp, throwing her hand up at his face and scratching his left eye. He cried out and loosed up enough for her to wiggle out of her position, getting to her feet and calling forth her fire magic as the others continued to cheer.

"She's a mage. We can't let this go on." One man said, standing in the back quietly as his comrades acted like animals. He was thinner, more slender than the hulking masses before the Red Witch, and his hair was a deep ebony black. He was not pleased at the sight, and Drusilla had noted that.

He could possibly be an ally, if she played her cards right.

The Red Witch held her hands in front of her as the man started to circle her, giggling like a child. She spat at him, watching his face turn from laughter to rage in a split second. She dived out of the way as he lunged; pudgy hands groping for her long pink hair. She managed to get him over the top of her and threw a foot up between his legs, hearing a sickening crunch before he toppled over, holding his groin while he whimpered in pain.

Drusilla stood in the middle than. They were all silent as the stars, staring with deranged eyes and red paint splattered over their bare skinned tunics. They were lunatics, and all she could do was stare back, like prey does to a hawk.

The Red Witch's eyes floated over to the slender man, locking with him. She lipped her words, watching as he looked away in unsurety. She stopped, hoping he would change his mind, but after a moment, the men started to move closer, and she had to keep an eye on them.

If I had my stupid wings, this would be a whole lot different. She groaned in her mind, growling under her breath.

"DRUSILLA!" Two voices cried in unison. She looked up and saw Jaden bound over the ring of men, kicking one in the back of the head before landing beside her. They stood back to back as the Barbarians rushed them, shouting in what they thought to be triumph.

Clearly they had not met this little group of people before.

Jaden grabbed a small one by the throat and threw him into a pile of others, watching as they fell over each other with slight amusement. He than turned and caught one in his arms, flipping him over and snapping his neck with a flick of his wrists. His swords were flipped back against his arms, and as he punched one in the face, it cut the throat of another. His razor sharp steel blades dug into their flesh, making blood rain down on their terribly made clothing as they fell to their deaths.

Drusilla called forth her fire magic and grazed her fingers over one of their fir tunics, watching as it spread like oil. The man screamed and flew into some others, and she smiled as they set each other on fire, dancing like idiots around a burning building.

Rey stood alone, somewhat away from the swarm, picking a few off of the edges. He flicked his hands and drew the fallen leaves from the forest floor, swirling them around in a whirlwind before pointing at five men who were slowly coming for him. The leaves than zoomed down their throats, and they fell to the ground gurgling like sick beggars.

"You don't mess with the Red Witch." He whispered over them, his cold, icy blue eyes staring into their swiftly dying ones. "If you do, you get the Dark Warlock you see? You get me. You don't like me do you? That's alright. You don't have to answer, I know your words before you even speak them anyway. Well, I guess I should say goodbye than, after all, you aren't going to live here any longer. I hope you go straight to the Abyss, where you will die a thousand times over again. That is no less than you deserve." He sneered the last few words as the man stared in horror. "Good, you keep on staring. You didn't like me did you? That's fine. You shouldn't."

The man slipped away from the world and Rey fell to the ground, feeling a strange pull at his chest. He knew what it was, and it was all to familiar.

"Embrace it Rey." Blagdon said over the Dark Warlock's shoulder. "It knows you well, and it likes you very much. Go ahead, take it, just reach out and-"

Drusilla ran over to him and pushed the man away, shaking her head and mouthing the word "no". Blagdon smiled and than looked at the other dying man, wondering what was making him live so long. After all, one can only survive so long without air.

"Hey!" Jaden shouted, seeing a straggler, running deeper into the woods. He ran after the slender man, tackling him in a simple jump and rolling him onto his back. His sword was at his throat before he could even reply, and his hands flew up at the first sight of Jaden's aqua blue eyes.

"Don't hurt me please! I never wanted this to happen! I'm sorry! I am so sorry!" He turned his face away, his dark hair sprawled out across his features, shielding them from the piercing eyes of the assassin.

"Wait . . ." He said, grabbing the Barbarians face and turning it towards him. "Wait a moment . . . who are you?"

"W-What?" He asked, still scared out of his mind. "S-Son of Algron, Pride of the Tribe of Black Tooth."

"Who is Algron? Where did he come from?"

Rey, its alright, your going to be alright. Resist it! Drusilla shouted in her mind, trying with all her will to speak. What ever Jaden did, it was not going to go away easily. She feared that it could be permanent as well.

"Where is . . . Blagdon?" Rey said with labored breath. "Tell him I want it! Tell him to give it to me!"

NO! The Red Witch grabbed his shoulders, shaking her head as he stared in confusion.

"What is wrong? Can you not speak?" Rey asked, slight concern crossing his face.

She shook her head and looked at the ground.

"Why not? What happened?"

She just shook her head over and over again, not even trying to answer.

"Jaden!" The Dark Warlock shouted, staring at him as he was pinning the last Barbarian on the ground.

"I will ask only one more time! WHO IS ALGRON!?"

The man cried out and looked away as the assassin crushed his wrists under his own weight.

"Jaden!" Rey screamed, throwing a rock that was near by as he wrapped his arms around Drusilla, treating her as if she was a porcelain doll. She broke into tears and buried her face in the folds of his dark velvet robes, excepting the embrace. "GET OVER HERE!"

The assassin looked up with anger in his eyes, getting up and off of the man. "Blagdon!" He shouted, seeing the Darkness slink out of the shadows. "Make sure he doesn't get away. Rey, I need you guys back at camp, and I'll go find Rentham."

"What did you do to Drusilla?" He replied, gently rocking her back and forth. "Why can she not speak?"

"I . . . I am very sorry about that. I don't really know what happened. She was asking me about Rentham and I don't know where he is so I got angry and . . . something clicked on the inside. Than that happened." He let his arms fall loosely around him. "I don't know how to fix it."

"Well you better damn well fix it!" Rey growled. "And you better do it soon. Go, find Rentham. You two better return tonight, because if you don't I will find you in the Abyss." His hand made a dismissive gesture and Jaden made a frustrated sound before heading into the woods. What if he didn't find Rentham? What if he had to lead them through the journey to find the Light?

"Rentham, you better be alive." He whispered into the night, his twin Katanas cutting the trees around him as he ran through the shrugs. "I'm not ready. Not yet."