Spellcaster series #2: The Acolyte

Land of Lost Souls II

TRISTAN

Reku tackled me to the ground. The white flames behind it grew bigger and started to consume the leaves. I felt its claws slash my skin underneath my coat. I had dropped my wand somewhere.

In a flash, a black mass swooped and lunged onto Reku. I recognised immediately that it was the movements of a Vampire—I rolled away and pushed myself off the ground. The Vampire had a knife which she fought with, striking every chance she got at Synto's beast. It barred its teeth at her and disappeared before my very eyes.

"Where did it go?" I asked, my eyes frantically searching the forest.

"It will be back," the Vampire replied, pocketing her knife. "Like it always would."

I turned my attention to her long black hair that went past a pair of slender shoulders. She was as tall as I was, still facing the endless forest. When she turned to face me, I thought I was in a dream.

"You..." she said first, her red eyes wide. She looked terrified. "What are you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you, Vicky. You saved my life."

Vicky stood a metre from me, just like the time I found her at the Lair after the attack of Synto's army. She looked just as she was when she was...alive.

"We thought you died..." My voice trailed and choked. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Her long ebony hair flowed down the sides of her high cheekbones as she bent down to pick up my wand. She handed it over to me. She looked well.

"I survived the arcane spell. The blast was so powerful it stopped my heart for a moment. It took a while for it to regenerate but it did just before my brain died, I guess. Either way, when I came to, I knew I was alive but weak. Synto's djinns found me and brought me somewhere. Next thing I knew, I woke up here."

"This place does not look menacing. Just a normal forest. Where are we?" I asked, looking around.

Vicky closed the distance between us, fixating her sharp gaze on me. "The Land of Lost Souls. An evil spell hovers over these woods. We shouldn't stay in one spot for too long."

We made our way further down the endless path. She was quiet at first and eventually broke the silence.

"How are Heidi and Lord Voltaire?" She asked, eyes on the forest floor. There was a tinge of guilt in her voice.

"Heidi is an Acolyte now and Lord Voltaire is the same as always. They both miss you very much."

She fell into silence again. Vicky was in deep thought and I did not wish to interrupt her. We made our way past long grass and vines that hung from branches of trees. There were no animals that roamed about like in a normal forest—just a Sage and an elite Vampire soldier disturbing its peace.

"They would be delighted to see you again, if we can somehow leave this place," I finally said, startling her out of her thoughts. There was a part of me that wanted to comfort her.

Vicky turned to me, red eyes darting back and forth. "I admit, I feel like I have failed them. All of you."

"You have become a hero, Vicky, you saved Heidi's life. I ought to thank you for that too."

We stopped in our tracks. Her eyes were searching me this time, trying to decipher my words.

"I didn't know you care about your students that way," she said, a small curl on her lips. "I don't think I have ever seen you like this."

I was unsure if it was the fact that we were isolated from everyone or I just needed some sort of comfort. Something in me was moved to confess and confide.

"Heidi is different. When I lost her, I thought I was losing my mind."

"Well," she raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Then she spoke again, the tone in her voice more serious, "Heidi is different. She is special to both of us."

We walked into a clearing. The trees that were brushing against our cheeks before were now a few metres away. A sullen air of ominous silence poured over us. I glanced over at Vicky whose body tensed and black aura began to pulsate. Her red eyes grew brighter, searching for something.

"You feel the aura too?" I asked, watching for any sudden movements.

"This isn't Reku," she replied.

I readied my stance and clutched my wand. I pulled it out of my coat and waited.

A voice from behind spoke, "Yes, you two are so quick to challenge anything."

I knew that voice; The very thing that made my blood boil. We turned to see his smug face standing apart from us, ginger hair and black-rimmed spectacles. His aura was faint and dark, his eyes golden yellow.

Dean Ryans.