Spellcaster series #1: The Neophyte

The New Recruit

HEIDI

Tristan shut his eyes and chanted again. Nothing.

"I don't get it," he muttered. Dean was still standing at the doorway.

"What's happening?" I asked, my voice two octaves higher than usual.

We stayed on the floor as if Dean couldn't see us then.

"I-I think he's blocking my spell," he muttered to me, dumbfounded.

I looked up at the thick smoke that engulfed Dean's human body. How the hell did I get myself into this?

"No, it's not him," I whispered, remembering my new accessory. Then I tugged at his arm, "We need to get out of here."

Tristan's ruby eyes glowered as he stood up. He pulled out his wand from his coat pocket and readied his stance.

"Go. I'll distract him."

"Distract me?" The black smoke spoke in a disembodied voice. Only its yellow eyes were visible. "Thou art but an infant! Thy magic means nothing."

I stared, wide-eyed. That was not Dean's voice at all.

"Heidi, run," Tristan said, almost a snarl.

His ruby eyes were the brightest I had ever seen them. He did not look away from Synto. I could feel the choker tighten.

"I'll be fine," I said, desperately looking for an excuse to stay. "I'll stop the djinns from getting to you."

Fortunately for me, grunt djinns did come and try to intervene. They lunged towards him but I managed to fight them off.

"Doth thou seeketh death, Sage?" Synto threatened. Its voice rumbled and quaked the floor but Tristan stood his ground.

"I've been waiting for round two," Tristan shot back.

Synto laughed and it resonated through the deserted old town. It then moved, quick as lightning, towards Tristan. He swerved just in time and held up his defences. His precision and calculated movements were what made him a Duel Master, according to Jesse. It seemed like not even Synto could overcome his quick-thinking. Synto got knocked back by the electricity that shot out of his wand. I, on the other hand, was busy fighting off the other djinns.

Each time Synto made a move, Tristan blocked immediately. He had put up a magic shield, but no offences were made. He hardly attacked.

Tristan! I wanted to yell while pushing a djinn off of me, Cast a fire spell! Freeze him! Do something!

Tristan didn't even lift his wand. What was going through his mind?

Out of nowhere, a djinn lunged towards me and we crashed through the window of the second storey.

Upon instinct, I grabbed onto the rainwater pipe that I was about to climb down from before. The djinn wasn't as lucky, but djinns were djinns after all—it dematerialised before it crashed onto the ground. I hung onto the pipe and quickly grabbed onto the window ledge. More djinns were coming from the forest, a whole scenery of a raided deserted town. The night seemed to go on forever at that point.

I scanned around me to look for a ledge to put my feet on to steady myself. The djinns had found me and they were making their way up the side of the building where I was. The choker got tighter too—Synto wasn't too happy, which meant that there was a chance of my survival.

Chaos was heard from the bedroom window. Tristan and Synto were starting their actual duel, fairly somehow. I heard Tristan yelling his spell chants and Synto roaring. Soon its voice became Dean's again, while the djinns were reaching me. I found my way to the other window where another bedroom was. I inched my way along the side of the building to get to it.