Wielders of Magic, Book 1: A Spell Binding Tale
Love and Hate

"Well . . . this is just great." Arthur groaned, bent over a map.

"What?" Asha ran over to him, looking over his shoulder and tipping her hat up slightly.

"He's heading for the Floating Lands." He held the map up so she could see it, pointing to the trail he had marked. "He must know by now he has a few hounds on his trail."

"Damn!" She cursed, storming across camp and kicking their coffee can into the forest. "That will set us back days if we have to cross those accursed, floating rocks!"

"Floating rocks?" Drusilla asked, looking up from one of Jackson's books.

"Yes, they are these giant, floating pieces of land that hover over a place called Shadow City. I don't know much about the city, but the lands are constantly moving, you can't accurately map them out for they are ever changing. I hate them with a passion, and have crossed them once. Nearly fell too." Arthur chewed on his bottom lip, staring at the map intensely. "He's purposely going through them; he knows that with our extended company he can move faster and more efficiently than us."

"Well, that's just amazing." Asha sighed sarcastically, petting Muffin with her right hand. "If it was just the two of us we could of caught him by now."

"No, I don't think we could of." Arthur corrected. "You just like to be solitary."

"Well its easier than having loads of friends." She shrugged and got up, looking around with boredom. "Less people to worry about."

"Yeah whatever." He waved his hand dismissively and grinned at Drusilla. "She is always like this. Its not you."

"I hope not." The Red Witch replied, folding her arms and staring a little sadly at his twin sister.

Jackson bounded through the forest around camp, making as little noise as a mouse. He searched the area, wondering what he had seen earlier that night; the memory had stuck in his mind like a fly to tape.

He was sleeping soundly, when he was awoken by a strange, "stretching" noise, like a bunch of trees being bent and twisted. He had opened his eyes a little, just to make sure he wasn't going to startle anything that was out there.

A pair of yellow eyes stared back. It was far enough away that it wasn't even in the camp sight, but they were large and round, with black slits trailing down the middle vertically.

They were dragons eyes.

Jacksons mind came back to the present with a shudder. They had seemed to be smiling, to be mocking his presents, and the memory couldn't leave his mind. He had to find out what that beast was doing, and he had to find out why Arthur had fell asleep on his watch.

They could of all been killed.

That was another question. Why hadn't the forest dragon killed them then and there? Why did it choose to wait for them, or possibly let them pass by?

Jackson looked around the forest one last time before deciding to head back to camp. It would come again, or it would let them pass.

He just hoped it would let them pass.

"They don't suspect a thing." Lilith snickered as she stared through her spy glass. “They are too relaxed almost, like nothing has shaken their hinges for a while. What do you say we do about it?"

Tiranous stared into the camp with hatred buried deep in his soul. Magic users were the scum of the earth; they were the terrible evil that corrupted everything in sight. How dare they think they can settle down some place and not be stirred or fought out of their newest home! They didn't deserve a home; they didn't deserve anything! They were vermin!

"Adeen is on the other side of this chase, and we are hunting back here, why not send a message to him telling him to slow up a bit, so we can capture them together?"

"Well . . . normally I would say yes, for sure, but Adrendas is a little . . . crazy. He likes to kill things for no reason, especially children. His only excuse is saying that he kills magic users. I wouldn't say he is a hunter more than a blood luster."

"I said, send a message." He growled, looking over at her with threatening eyes. She took a pigeon from her pouch and whispered a few words into his ear, throwing it into the air right after.

"Thank you." He smiled coldly and got up, running into the brush with his comrade following closely behind.

The forest dragon slunk through the bushes around the companions camp, under the cover of night. He was a young one, only being a few thousand years old, and his vast treasure was beginning to lessen. People were looting him every time he turned his back, and no doubt these strangers in the woods were there to do just that.

They would surely be surprised at the fact of him hunting, and them being the pray, instead of the other way around.

The green dragon slunk into camp without a sound, nothing but his large tail slapping against a tree. He hoped no one noticed, and to his surprise no one did.

They were already awake.

Jackson yelled as he flew down from one of the trees above, a dagger aimed right for the things eye. It made a strange sound in surprise and tried to move out of the way, but was too slow to dodge the blade as it landed in its jaw bone, making it screech in pain as Arthur and Asha jumped onto its back, carving its tree like skin with their weapons.

Drusilla walked up to it, facing its giant jaw as her hair and fists flamed with magical fire. "You should of never entered our camp, beast of the Abyss!"

"Silence witch!" The forest dragon shouted, opening its jaw and sending a green, poisonous gas bellowing into the camp.

"Do not breath that!" Arthur screamed, putting a kerchief over his face. "Its poison, and it will kill you with a breath!"

Drusilla quickly cast a force field around her, fear clutching her for a split second. The gas clouded the area around her and all she could see was herself, everything on the outside muffled and cloudy.

You thought you would defeat me that easily? Came the dragons deep voice. At this very moment I am devouring your friends. There is no need for you to survive, all you can do is let my breath take you to them, to another world . . .

"Stop it!" She cried in return, the voice inside her head.

What? The truth too hard for your pretty little ears to handle? I can taste your friends, your gloriously delicious comrades. The one with the silver hair, he reminds me of the last three adventurers I ate, but they weren't as wonderful. He is surprisingly tasty. His fear is delicious, makes me hunger for even more.

Tell me little one, do you taste as good as he? I will wait for you to come out of your shell, I will wait for your guard to be dropped, and I will eat you with as much savor and glory I did your friends. Why not get it over with? You are already giving me an appetizer with your fear. You stink of fear, you reek of it, and with every second of you being in my presents makes me hunger for you.

You will never escape, my dainty dessert, neither you or your pretty wings.

Suddenly his voice was ripped from her mind, and she dropped to the ground, the sheer shock of the magical connection being ripped from her knocking her unconscious. Her force field dropped and the gas started to swirl around her.

"Damn!" Jackson spat, one hand extending to cast a barrier around his winged friend while the other drew another knife and dug it deep into the beasts yellow eye.

The forest dragon roared once again, throwing its head up into the air and throwing him off and into a tree. Asha came bounding over his spiky back and ran her large sword into the back of its skull, digging it deep into its head and waiting for it to fall to the ground. "Arthur!" She shouted, the dragon still not going down.

Her twin bounded over to her side and ran his sword around the same spot as hers, it being longer than his sisters with a wider and heavier blade.

The dragon shuddered and dropped to the ground, a moan escaping its large teeth as the life left its body.

Asha sighed with relief and sat down upon the things back, resting her head against the back of the dragons head where her sword had been dug.

Arthur took his sword from it and jumped down to the ground, using a simple wind spell to clear the place of gas. "Well, that was a wild ride, was it not sis?"

"It was brother." She replied, her voice coming in large gasps. "It sure was."

The following day was warm one, the snow around them beginning to melt. The winter was coming to an end, the spring rolling in as quickly as it could. That was how it appeared at least.

The ice from the trees slowly melted, dripping here and there above their heads and making Asha irritated beyond belief. She sat on the large back of Muffin, who was walking through the trees ahead of everyone else, her mind still on her internal struggle of memories she had tried desperately to untangle.

But never could she accomplish such a feat with only a moment’s time between battles. She couldn't, it was all a jumbled mess, and Arthur was never any help.

Bad memories haunt just as well as an apportion, but with those you can never escape their grasp. Tell me, dear reader, how does one escape the horrors of their own mind?

"Asha, wait up." Jackson called, running up to her. They had become very close over the few days, having her brother and Drusilla training nonstop almost every hour. They had always gone hunting, or reading in the many story books she had either written or taken from neighboring cities. If there was anything Jackson liked to do more than magic, it was read.

"Do you require my assistance?" She asked, staring at him with her usual cold, unfeeling eyes.

"No, just your company." He answered, riding his black steed alongside her cat. "Drusilla and Arthur are in a heated conversation about which sword play tactic one should run through while fighting an ogre. I decided to come up here with you, because I don't know what in the Abyss they are talking about." He laughed a little, making the witch smile a bit. She never fully smiled, or laughed, it was always a small grin here or there, never an actual expression.

"Arthur is a strange being. He likes his swords though, and can use them well. I tend to use my bow or daggers, playing mind tricks on my enemies before ever killing them. It’s much more fun to watch." Her eyes narrowed and her grin turned into a wicked smile. She turned to him than, her face turning to a serious, intense gaze that caught him off guard. "But never would I use it on a fellow magic user."

"Why is that? What if they attack you?" Jackson's brow furrowed, wondering why she was so urgent in that matter.

"It’s just something I promised myself a while ago." She looked down at her cat's ebony fur, stroking it a little. "For an old friend . . ."

Jackson stared ahead and wondered what the floating lands would look like. How did large pieces of land just . . . float in the air like that? How did they not fall on Shadow City? Was there some kind of magic holding them above? If so, why did that happen in the first place? "You don't happen to have any books on the Floating Lands do you?"

"No unfortunately. I read one about Shadow city a while ago though, but it’s lost now. I haven't the slightest idea where it went off to either." She shrugged, petting Muffin's giant head. "The city has been at war with one called Canyon Bay, and they live in a . . . well, canyon."

"Why are they at war?" Jackson asked.

"I believe Shadow City is a piece of them that separated, so they are angry at their departure, and success, in creating a home for themselves. Pretty sure they have a belief that Canyon Bay didn't like too."

"That's interesting. So how do the Floating Lands float?"

"No idea. Never mentioned anything about it."

"That's strange." Jackson scratched his silvery haired head. "You would think that they would have mentioned something about it."

Asha stopped her cat and stared ahead. Jackson stopped also, the two behind them coming to a halt also. The witch got off of Muffin and walked forward, moving the brush out of the way and looking out over something with a gasp. Jackson ran up beside her and saw something that made him do likewise.

They had reached the Floating lands.

"They are so beautiful!" Drusilla gasped, flying up a tree and sitting on one of the branches, looking out over the Floating Lands that had water flowing from their giant structures down into the place called Shadow City. They were so wondrous, she found herself staring at it in awe.

The sun was beginning to set, and the rest of them were setting up camp. They were going to embark into the lands after the morning's first light, making sure they wouldn't be caught in the darkness while crossing one of the huge, hovering rocks and accidentally falling. That would end badly for everyone.

"Don't let the sun set without me!" Arthur quickly climbed the tree and sat on the branch beside her, holding onto the trunk. "Wow . . ." His voice trailed off into a sigh of amazement.

"Yes, I know." Drusilla whispered beside him. "It’s so beautiful." She repeated.

"You know Drusilla," Arthur said, still staring at the sun set. "I have been a lot of places, seen a lot of things, but never have I ever seen someone quite like you."

She turned towards him, smiling. He smiled also, his face mostly covered by his wide brimmed hat. He was very attractive, what with his olive skin and dark, raven black hair and eyes. He ignited a fire in her soul, but she would never admit to it, not to Jackson or Asha.

The winged witch slowly put her hand on his, turning back towards the sunset and watching closely. "I am sorry, but I don't really know what you mean."

He turned towards her, making her head turn as well. "I mean," He said softly, his voice barely a whisper. "I feel something deep inside me that I cannot get rid of. I have had it ever since you came into our company, and . . . you have captured me. Never have I been so drawn, so taken by a lady before, and never did I want to lose myself when staring into her eyes. But you know what?" He inched closer, his face barley an inch from her.

"What?" She asked, her voice even softer than his.

"I like it." He pressed his lips onto hers, their eyes closing, their hands linking with one another.

Drusilla's wings climbed into the sky, spreading out and wanting to fly away from all the joy she felt at that moment. She loved him, she knew it, and he loved her. It was a perfect, wonderful moment that none could spoil, and it was theirs.

They parted, staring at each other for a moment.

"I love you." Drusilla said with a joyous smile. She had never said that to anyone, not like this anyway. This was her first time, and she couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe that after all the death and heartache she had felt before, that something so pure and mysterious had showed its self from her own heart.

"I love you too." Arthur said and kissed her once again.

Jackson watched. He watched the tree the two were sitting in with anger boiling up inside him. He wanted to set it on fire, make it burst into flames and watch them die before him.

His heart was shattered, and Drusilla seemed like an enemy more than a friend. He didn't care about her anymore, he didn't care about anything! Nothing mattered! Nothing!

"Drusilla!" He screamed up at her. She jumped and looked down, her face turning red as she realized he had seen the whole thing.

"Y-Yes?" She asked, covering her mouth as Arthur turned away, tipping his hat so he could not see his face.

"I saved your life, I taught you how to wield your magic, I fought for you and almost killed myself, and you fall for someone your barely know." He growled, hurt and heart break in his voice. "I cared so much about you, and you just . . . went to that!? What did he tell you? That he would take care of you? I doubt it, I doubt it so much I think he will leave you the first time another woman bats her eyes lashes at him!"

Arthur than looked down at him, his eyes as red as the flame in the campfire. "What did you just say about me?" He hissed his voice like venom.

"I would of taken care of you, I would of loved you until you grew old and died in my arms! I would of-"

"Shut up!" Surprisingly, Drusilla was the one who spoke. "I love you Jack, but not like that. I love you as a friend, as a companion, as a brother, but not as a lover! I thought that was clear!"

"Oh, it’s clear to me, it was always clear to me, but I cannot figure out why you are so ignorant to not-"

"What!?" She jumped down from the tree, tears in her eyes. She walked straight up to him and stared him in the eye, her finger poking his chest. "Repay you? Do you expect me to pay you for what you have done for me? Well let me tell you something warlock, I did pay, I gave you friendship, companionship, if not love! You stop treating me like a whore and wanting more than you will get! It’s not fare, it isn't, and I want it to stop now before I blow this entire forest off of the map! STOP IT NOW!"

Jackson was caught off guard, his voice caught in his throat. He didn't know what to say to her, he didn't have anything to say. She was right, everything she was saying was right, and he couldn't tell her anything else.

"Say you’re sorry right now!" She pointed to Arthur, who was angrier than either of them had ever seen.

Jackson looked up at him and shame washed over him. How could he of been so selfish, so terrible to them. He was just frustrated, and he let his temper go which was a very childish thing to do.

"I am deeply sorry, from the bottom of my . . . heart, Arthur. Can you ever forgive me?" He asked softly.

Arthur climbed down from the tree and walked up to him, his eyes a little calmer than before. Before Drusilla or Jackson could react, he brought his fist up and punched him square in the nose.

"Sure, I accept. Consider me a friend." He smiled and walked back into camp.

"Jack, I am so embarrassed! How could you!?" She slapped him across the face when he got back to his feet, making him stumble back a few steps.

"Drusilla-"

"No! We are done! Consider our friendship ended!" She slapped him again and jumped into the air, her wings carrying her off into the night sky.

"Smooth." Asha said as she passed, Muffin trailing behind her as she dragged a freshly dead stag into camp. She was the only one who wasn't hindered by feelings.

And she loved it.

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