Page 24 of Demons Treasure Warlocks

Darius levelled a look at him as he rested his hands on his hips. “I’m still not impressed. This was a nice pit stop, but everyone is definitely sleeping. I can feel them breathing.”

“That’s good then. Focus on something else. What is your magic doing?” Bale lifted his face to soak in the atmosphere. Though he stood on the edges of the holy spot, there was enough residual energy around that he could take it without damaging Darius’s concentration.

Darius cocked his head slightly, confusion written all over his face. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what is your magic doing? Is it curled up or stretching? Or are you so useless with magic now that you’ve forgotten how it works?” Bale goaded. A conversation with Darius where he didn’t question every goddamn thing would be nice for once. Just once.

A snap and bite to the air swirled around Bale in a chaotic mix of snow and wind. His wings ached with the sudden chill.

“Is my magic broken?” Darius asked darkly. His eyes were locked on Bale, and the stone-cold determination on his face was ferocious enough to make Bale quake a tiny bit.

“Okay, okay. I apologize. Your magic is very much working. So, what does it feel like?” Bale wasn’t a teacher, and he wasn’t skilled enough to help someone of Darius’s calibre, but he was here and willing to do anything for Darius.

“Dammit, Bale—Oh.Oh,” Darius’s hands moved swiftly through the air, forming an intricate design and making everything stop.

Bale shook ice off his wings and gawked at the unnatural stillness of the grove. No wind whistled through the treetops, and no squirrels scrambled through the brush “And?”

“This feels better actually,” Darius said as he twisted and popped himself. “It’s not that different from before, but it fits.”

Bale arched an eyebrow and waited for Darius to play with his magic. It was like watching a child mastering a new skill. “Can you start time again? The poor squirrel is in mid-leap.”

“What? Oh shit. Oh shit. I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t want to stop time.” Darius snapped his fingers, and the world rushed back into place. Everything was as it was supposed to be but richer and healthier. “I don’t like that.”

“Me neither. But it’s connected to you. Is there anything else you noticed?” Bale watched as the previously frozen squirrel climbed the tree and chattered at them angrily.

“The land has been threatened. Somewhere it’s been poisoned, and it’s leaching out toward town. I can taste the mustiness on my tongue.” Darius smacked his lips as he spoke. “It’s no good.”

“Wouldn’t that be the portals or His Majesty?” Bale asked.

“It could be them, but it’s different. It’s not jagged. It’s seeping. I don’t get it,” Darius murmured. He turned around in a circle and continued to stare at the ground. “What the fuck is his plan?”

“I couldn’t tell you. He’s never made any sense to me.” Bale bounced on his feet as the frigid winter air penetrated his thick hide. Darius’s cheeks were bright red while the rest of his face was icy white. “Darius, we should probably go warm up.”

Darius gave him the finger before staring at the frozen ground. Bale winced at how pale and unwell Darius seemed. It wasn’t what he had hoped for when he dragged Darius to the grove. It was supposed to fill him with confidence and energy. Yet, it was like he'd gone ten rounds with a gopher.

“Darius, I’m fucking cold. And I don’t want your keepers to get mad at me. You look like you need a nap or three.” Bale draped an arm around Darius’s as a joke, but when Darius didn’t pull away, he paused. “Do you have your cellphone on you?”

“What? Why?” Darius patted his pockets until he found the small device and held it up.

“Ask for a ride. I don’t think we can get you back anywhere in this state,” Bale explained, and Darius rested his head on Bale’s shoulder.

>>Pick Bale and me up at the cedar grove.>??? What are you doing there? You were supposed to stay close to the Centre!!!>I had an idea, and Bale had one, so we ran with it. I’m an adult, Isaac. I can do what I want.>Be there in five minutes. We’re going to have a talk.<<

“Is he your dad or something? That felt very teenager and dad-like right there,” Bale teased, but Darius never responded. His eyes rolled back in his head as his body went limp. “Darius?Darius!”

ChapterEleven

Darius stood in a land of utter nothing. There was no scenery as far as the eye could see, and the ground held a slight film of water, but every step he took was dry. There was no splash back. He tapped his toes and sighed. He remembered this place. It was where he had been stuck when everyone thought he was sleeping.

He walked a hundred metres in one direction before remembering that it didn’t matter; he wasn’t going anywhere. Increasingly frustrated with the nothing around him, Darius used every trick in the book he had to wake up the creature that lived in this bland dimension. And every attempt all echoed back to him, lashing him with electric shocks and temporal attacks.

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