Borders

The man's frown was completely undone, and so was his tolerance. Another zap of light spurt straight between my eyes.

 

 

 

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Chapter (14): Borders

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 He rambled something about God and His wrath as he strolled closer and I mechanically slipped a shoe in his sturdy path, almost tripping him. He shot me a glare, completely turning to face me, apparently noticing my existence for the first time. Ya habeeby, now I preferred to turn back into invisible form.

 

I swallowed. It was the bravest thing I'd done throughout my pitiful high school years…maybe the most unsafe. What was I thinking? "Asef, didn't see your foot down the--"

 

My feet were detached from the snowy ground before I could huff another breath.

 

"Jad!" Aseel cried out. The two younger girls huddled closer together and Adam's glare protested but was surrounded by five mysterious men with black shades before he could move a muscle.

 

"Don't apologize." Fareed whispered loudly, his grip twisting the collar of my jacket closer to the fog escaping his lips, "My punishments are quiet swift. You will only feel slight pain." I squeezed my eyes shut, a blow straight to the jaws would be the worst I could prepare for. Felt it. Lived it. Wait--the punch was taking too long…My eyes opened, Fareed's other hand lifted up close to my face, fingers curled and ready to snap. MAGIC!? Uh-Oh…my eyes turned to look at my friends to the right, helplessly circled by sturdy men. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach. I hoped I would vomit this morning's biscuits in his face before his fingers snapped.

 

"Leave him alone!" Aseel's last cry echoed across the archway and the five men were petrified like my ten-year-old soldier figurines. Literally.

 

The grip twisted around my collar pressed on shoving me further, his clutch stretching open just in time to block the painful light buzzing out of Adam's palm. Aseel yelled something about ten minutes left, but I was too dazzled to take note. I stared up from my spot on the ground at the winning frown and bright light reflecting in his blue eyes forcing the opponent's struggling legs a step backwards.

 

One instant he was further to the right surrounded by soldiers, and the other second he was a breath away from Fareed. I had no idea how he did that, but it was cool. Fareed was caught off guard; his figure vanished with the next hissing wrinkle of wind. Adam's eyes briefly scanned the falling snow.

 

"We should hurry back to the vehicle." he said once he caught his breath, glancing at the frozen men surrounding Aseel and the two girls, "This Congeal spell won't last for longer than the next five minutes."

 

"No." I sighed standing up again, "Running away would just make the problem worse, we should wait for the Captain."

 

"Jad, that's crazy talk." Aseel protested, "We don't know when she'll be back, and if--"A sound of metal chains clanking startled the two younger girls. Aseel took each of their hands and beckoned the us to follow.

 

"He's still near by, even when we cannot see him." Adam warned, warily taking a step after another, "Stay alert."

 

Nara was falling behind Aseel's anxious pace and was distracted by the grey fog unnoticeably coating the sky. Her foot rasped against a hidden stone in the snow, "Ah--my bag!" she whined, turning to look behind her shoulder.

 

"Oh, just leave it behind." Aseel said.

 

"Did ya have to bring your math exercise along too?" I dryly teased, kneeling to pick it up. The material stuffed inside felt a lot heavier than books.

 

"It contains food and first aid, you idiot." Nara defensively shot back without turning around, Aseel patiently reminding her about manners when talking to older brothers.

 

"That's strange," I murmured while Nara explained why I did not deserve respect, "I don't remember having the car parked that far."

 

Adam narrowed his blue eyes at the unchanging distance between the vehicle and our feet, "You're right. It's a visual trap." he murmured nervously.

 

"What?" I didn't think he'd heard me before.

 

"Aseel, turn around." He impatiently called, "It's a tra--"An invisible warm clutch filched me away from the ground. I decided to bear the mystery and the noise of the wind in my ears as I was drawn into the fog higher in the sky, "Sorry, what kind of rollercoaster ride is this?" I said hissing as the cold flickered in between my eyelashes and into my nose.

 

"You're heavier this time." I recognized the voice. Now I was nearing the ground again, but I did not trust the pilot.

 

"Yeah," I said, glancing behind with Nara's bulky shoulder bag tightly fixed in my two hands, his head must be somewhere there, "because I've got this!" Clean hit. Fareed groaned deeply and I sank back to the ground with a startled but 'manly' grunt, luckily uninjured…or at least I thought I was.

 

I sat up, trying to convince the nagging pain alert that my ankle wasn't sprained. I could see a tensed figure of a familiar man fading in from thin air. He marched in unhurried steps towards me, but he was not happy.

 

I gasped, my left leg automatically flinching. The spot of snow he zapped right next to my lower limb sizzled and melted making place for a bud of apple-green grass. I glanced at his angry sharp eyes and back at the grass. He did not mean to aim at the ground. I wondered if a square of blue-black hair would grow on my foot had he aimed more accurately. Funny.

 

"You stretch your face in a smile while I attack you?"

 

"Wh--"

 

"Do you laugh at me, human?"

 

"No, I'm sorry, I uh--thought of something funny."

 

His frown was completely undone, and so was his tolerance. Another zap of light spurt straight between my eyes, but it was gone right before I could see it pierce my forehead. My arms were strangely crossed before my face in a shield, but there was not even one scratch on the tender blue fabric.

 

"You…used a guard spell."

 

"I-I know, right?" I said glancing up at the curious eyes and scooting backwards against the snowy carpet, "I tend to do that often lately. No idea how."

 

"What is your relation with that Kima?" he proceeded towards me.

 

"Ah, that, " I chuckled nervously, still scooting backwards, "I'm still trying to figure out. Y-You guys seem related though…" I traced off in a low voice.

 

"God forbid we are."

 

"I mean, you both are guardians with snapping fingers and light zaps. How come you think you're so much better than him--"

 

"We," he said, in between his teeth a dangerous thin breath, are not," I internally gasped at the foreign sounds on either my sides coming from the earth, "the same."  My eyes fell on olive-green vines curling around both arms, defying the thickening carpet of snow. The shadow of Fareed's feet neared and the glare of his sharp black eyes deepened in mine like an unavoidable twilight.

 

"I would not wish for the perishing of my own family like he did." He as in…Adam? My eyes widened in silence. I was starting to lose focus on the conversation.

 

 "I would not watch them burn and wane underneath a blazing tower." 

 

"You saw it with your own eyes?" I sounded confident, but I was afraid.

 

"You're ignorant!" I was afraid because he was right, I knew nothing. The thorny vines twisted tighter around my arms. I wanted to shift backwards but his words paralyzed me. "And ignorance is not a blessing--" "Ah!"  I threw my head back in shocking pain. Narrow streams of red trickled downwards opposed to the climbing plants, "I would not sell my skin with no shame, and shroud my identity inside warm, white coat and flat, defenseless paws." Where did he know all that?

 

"I'm glad you're alright." I warmly said, my hand uncertainly reaching in between his ears, the dog seemingly approving.

 

"Now, now," I continued smugly, "You don't need to thank me. You just need to be careful. No more random jumping at people, mashi?"

 

The Husky's paws swiftly rose up, leaning on my chest, his weight tackling me down on my back I submitted to a chuckle as I felt his tongue clobber my left cheek, leaving a slight sting in my skin.

 

"I would not turn into the heartless, nameless man he is. So now you see, we are not the same." No, I thought, he was the ignorant one. He did not see it…the fragment of kindness behind the arrogant baby-blue. Or was it really kindness I'd seen? My eyebrows twitched, and my longing of being unchained from the thorny vines came true in seconds. An open palm that interrupted the vile spell was my savior, and the blue eyes behind that hand…was my salvation.

 

"You should try torturing someone of your own power level."

 

"And you would be somewhere near there?" Fareed shot back without turning around, his black eyes glancing to a corner, aware of the next, predictable move. Adam hissed clutching his shoulder. His next zap was blocked and mirrored straight back at his left shoulder as Fareed spun around. "Your apprentice has showed better defense." Fareed smirked at the other boy's scrunched face and bruised skin underneath the sliced cloth, "The Madam knew precisely where your nature truly lies." His fingers curled in the air commanding Adam to be dragged frontward, his neck locked within the skillful magician's grip, "a feeble dog with predictable strokes." Fareed's grip stiffened almost breaking away the blood from the Adam's veins.

 

I gasped shooting up from the floor. What was he waiting for!? an invitation to kick the other boy in the nuts? "Tsk," Stupid dog. I scanned the ground, picking up Nara's weighty shoulder bag and dashing towards the picture, when I could have sworn I heard Adam whisper something like, "do it." Telepathy?

 

"Defend yourself." Fareed encouraged, "Your next move will not surprise me."

 

"I know…" Adam spat in between choked sips of breath, his eye glancing at my direction right behind Fareed's shadow, where I swayed the heavy shoulder bag and was sure to slap his with it. If it worked before once, it would work twice. Adam silently nodded with a weak glance as I charged. Pain shot through my wounded arms but I did not stop.

 

I treasured the rare moment of agreement between the two of us, but we did not make a good team. Adam fell on his back hissing in pain, both his hands covering the assaulted nose. "Sorry!" I stammered my eyes falling all around unable to believe, "H-He was right here a split moment ago!" I exclaimed. Damn he was good at disappearing.

Author's Note

Reviews and comments are much appreciated.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A amazing chapter. Fast pace and a lot of action. I like the part where they knew it was a trap. I like the characters. Using magic for defense is logical and wise. No weakness in this outstanding chapter.
Coyote