Wielders of Magic, Book 1: A Spell Binding Tale
The Clouds Before a Storm

"And we are searching for what now?" Jackson asked, looking around at the trees as the snow pored out of the sky.

"Deer. We desperately need food." Rentham said, his eyes sharp, flitting over everything that stirred on the forest floor. "We have blankets, we have shelters, and we have transportation, but the one thing I didn't think of that everyone needs at all times is FOOD!" His powerful voice echoed through out the trees, eventually dying in the distance.

"Uh oh. Now everything knows we are here." Jackson sighed. "Shall we transport?"

"Wait, I hear something." He turned his Elvin-like head, his ears listening intently. Slowly he brought his cross bow up, breathing in slowly.

"Wait! Don't shoot! We were out fishing beneath the ice and heard you shout!" Edowain appeared, her hands in the air. She was wearing a light brown outfit lined with white furs. Soon they saw Drusilla following. "What is the matter, my husband?" She caught up to him, grasping his hand.

"I was just . . . frustrated, love of my life." He looked up into the air, his voice a little shaky. "We haven't seen a single sign of life."

"Do you wish us to hunt with you? You know those years in the canyon I learned how to track. Our skills combined could prove invaluable in the woods?" She dropped his hand and took a step back, a smile crossing her lips.

He thought about it for a moment. "Yes, I believe you are right. Besides, we have to transport anyway, and I would feel quite distressed if I could not get to you in your time of need."

"Yes, quite distressed." She grinned coyly. "You do know I have skills in combat. If I can not defeat my opponent, I do not deserve to live. That is my motto, you know that."

"It is an idiotic motto, darling, even though I love you I do not agree with you on that." He shook his head, disapproval in his voice. "Would you not live for me?"

Her eyes floated past him, wondering. "I . . . would."

"Maybe we should return to camp-" Jackson interrupted, receiving a swift slap from Drusilla to shut up.

"No no, we are going on!" Rentham nodded. "Come together, we must transport to another forest I know of. Do we agree to be back by the setting of the sun?"

"I do not see why not." The Red Witch replied, somewhat of a smile on her lips. She looked like she had been crying again, which made Jackson wonder if she had done what she said she was going to do yesterday.

Poor Arthur. He thought, feeling genuine sympathy for the guy.

"Come close my fellows, we must leave now if we are to be back by sun down." Rentham said again, his arms spread wide as his eyes shut, concentrating on the spell he was about to cast. Jackson and Drusilla huddled in close, grasping hands with the king and his wife.

Their world was thrown out from under their feet, and Drusilla let out a little scream, her voice being sucked out of her throat as fast as it was uttered. She couldn't breath, she couldn't do anything but try and gasp for air. She thought she would die, that's what it felt like anyway, and she wished at that moment she had stayed at the pond, to fish.

CRRRRRACK! They immediately met earth, their body's crumbling under the weight of the throw. They all gasped, except for Rentham of course, who probably had done that more than one could count on their fingers.

Drusilla rolled over and sucked in her breath, her lungs gasping for the air that was so violently taken from them.

"Are you alright?" Jackson asked, sucking in air as well as he crawled over to her.

"Yeah . . . it isn't . . . every day . . . I am on the verge . . . of my live ending." She breathed a little heavy but eventually got her voice back, licking her lips.

"Your life wouldn't of ended, it is too short a ride, but you still should hold your breath before casting a transportation spell." Rentham shrugged, staring at them casually, as if their pain was something of the norm.

"Thanks for the warning, honey." Edowain wheezed, slowly getting up. "So . . . where are we at?"

They stared into another forest, one that was unfamiliar. It was deep, and dark, with twisted trees and large under growth. They all wondered what lay inside it, and if they should of even came to this place.

"Come, we must get at least one kill before the sun sets." Rentham gestured for them to follow and ran off into the woods, his wife following before Drusilla and Jackson did the same, the question lurking in their minds . . .

What lay behind these trees?

Rey sat by a camp fire near his tent, an open spell book held in the air before him. Muffin was standing across from him, slowly reading from it, her large blue eyes flitting over page to page with thoughtfulness. "Master-"

"Rey." He corrected.

". . . Rey, why does this say Rentilosinas, when it originally said Capricandion?" She tilted her head a little, reading it over again.

"I crossed the original off and replaced it with that." He answered, slowly drinking from a mug of black coffee. He never went anywhere without the stuff, it kept him awake he said.

"Why?"

"Because the other one didn't work."

"Than why was it in there in the first place?"

"I don't have the slightest idea, why don't you go ask the author?" He said sarcastically.

She looked sort of hurt for a moment and slowly shut the book, handing it to him and turning around, her blue coat stirring in the cold winter wind. She started to walk away, across camp, her hands clenched into fists.

"Where are you going!?" He shouted, standing up. "We are not finished!"

"Of course we are not finished!" She whipped around, staring at him with pure rage. "I do not want to be treated as a child, or an idiot Rey, I want to be treated as your equal!"

"I really don't give a rats ass about what you want! You do what I say when I say it, or I will stop training you to control your magic! Its as simple as that!"

"Fine than!" She threw her hands in the air. "No more lessons, none. We are done." She smiled curtly and turned back around, walking into the white woods.

"Fine!" Rey shouted back, even though she probably couldn't hear him. He took the book and thew it to the ground, silently cursing to himself. "Stupid woman telling me what to do and how to behave!" He mumbled, walking in the other direction. He needed to get his mind off watching and training that little witch, he needed to find himself again. What was happening to him? He wasn't himself lately, and he hated it. He just wanted to return to the Rey Spellbinder he used to be, dark, quiet, intelligent, not the sarcastic ass he had been right then. He used to be respected, but now he was changing into something else.

Something more . . . human.

"I don't want to slip back into humanity." He groaned, leaning against a tree and staring into a large, vast valley that sheltered a small town Drusilla and Arthur had visited a few days ago. "I don't want to remember my lovely wife, how she died, how my brother left, how our parents left, how dark magic found me and . . . turned me into something lesser." He put his hands over his face.

Hello Rey. I'm back. You seem stressed, why not give over to me a little, I'll bring you back to the world. Don't focus your mind, stop focusing your mind, you know that makes you get a head ache.

"No, go away, I'll deal with it myself. I don't need you." He replied, rubbing his temples.

Come on Rey, that's work. You know you don't want to do any right now, please, just give in to the pleasure, you will be glad you did.

He could almost hear the lies drop from the voices nonexistent lips. He never knew what happened in these times, when he had given in, it had always been like a dream, forgotten by the time you re-enter the world. Maybe he could, it would take away his stress that's for sure, he just needed to make sure he came back to his brother in the end.

"Can you promise my return?"

I always do, my dear.

Rey sighed and seemed to let all of his troubles out into the air. Everything started to get darker, more distinct and sharp. He was no longer in control of himself, and he could feel the change starting to happen.

He was shifting again. He knew it would happen, but now he could sleep, and not be bothered by matters such as training a female to control her magic.

That would be like training the beauty out of her. Woman couldn't control anything, not even their own emotions. They were the lesser sex, something that men had around to reproduce, and to be with when they felt like it. He didn't need woman, no one did.

He slipped out of reality, and the dark magic between his veins had taken full control. For the time being at least.

"Powerhouse and Darkness have left camp." Lilith reported to the mage sitting beside her. He had been captured, and now they were using him as a communication devise through his magic.

"Good, than its time to make our move." Tiranous replied, a wizard beside him as well. These two they had found in a small settlement, but did not have enough courage to destroy the place, so they settled with a few kidnappings.

"Do you want to kill the magic users?" She turned her helmeted head and stared at the bound and gagged wizard beside her, who looked determined to rip her heart out.

"Yes. Why not?" The answer came. She slowly drew her sword and held it to his throat, removing his gag.

"Any last words?" She asked, her face an inch away from his. He had struck her as somewhat attractive, but she could never do anything with scum like him.

"Only that I pity your existence. You live to destroy others, and if you ask me, I would say that it is a meaningless life." He shrugged, his chestnut hair hanging a little around his green eyes which stared into her soul. "You are very beautiful, it is a terrible thing that your partner has sucked you into this life. You could of been so much more."

You are nothing but someone who accompanied his bed at night! Rang in Lilith's mind. "No . . . stop talking." She said slowly. She never thought about it before, that she could be nothing to her partner, nothing at all but a fellow man joined in a purpose. He had no regard for her at all, she knew that, but how could she change something that had always been?

"All you have to do is let me go. That is the first step. After that, you choose what you do with your life, but you can not stay like this, this is just leading you down a long, and dangerous rabbit hole. Please listen, fair lady, you deserve more."

She sat there for a good five minutes thinking. Finally, her sword started to drop, and that was when he blinked away.

"Oh no, what have I done." She gasped, staring at the nothingness before her. "Oh he will be so angry with me!"

"I will be so angry at what?" Tiranous walked out of the woods, dragging the body of his magic user behind him.

"N-Nothing!" She replied, her eyes wide and fearful. "He burned up in a flash of fire, there was nothing I could do!"

"So he got away?"

"I think he killed himself."

"Oh, well lets get started on this." He dropped the body and stared down into the camp of magical people and a terrible grin spread across his face.

"Time to take out the trash."

"This is a very rich forest." Jackson said as he dragged a black deer behind him. "Though strange."

"Yes, I know, I have only been here once, but I had seen the things it possessed and new we would find something." Rentham replied, dragging one behind him as well. "Wait a moment . . ." He paused, his face constricting strangely.

"What?" Drusilla asked, two large Quail birds hung by their feet over her shoulder.

"Somethings not right in the camp." He shivered and turned to them. "We need to leave now." He extended his arms once again and started to chant.

The three quickly conected with the gray skinned man and were transported out of the place, quickly returning to the devistation they thought they would never see in a millian years.

They would learn a valuable lesson not to forget about Witch Hunters.

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