The Becoming of Lune

Chapter Ten

Cerast did not waste time on knocking before falling through the door and into Bandians chambers.

"Cerast? What is going on?"

There was a faint rustling of bedding and the sound of footsteps coming closer to Cerast, but he could not see anything. There were stars against his vision as the pain and heat consumed Cerast's head.

However far he was from Jysp and his own room, he could still feel the gods magic attempted to gain way into his mind.

"Jysp." Cerast gasped out, his knees hitting the stone floor and his hands grabbing for purchase against the grooves in the rock. "Get him out, Bandian. Use your fucking god shit and get him the fuck out of my head."

Distantly, Cerast could feel Bandians hands on his shoulders. The warmth would have felt nice if not for the fire raging all around his body.

The black hair that had escaped from the bun was stuck to Cerast's forehead by sweat. The doublet felt suffocating and his gloves felt scratchy against his palms.

With a whimper, Cerast pawed at the buttons of the doublet and clumsily undid them slowly and one at a time. Bandian, recovering slightly from the shock, moved to help Cerast.

"I do not know how to use it yet. My powers, I mean. I have barely tried since yesterday. Even then, I could only move a light beam an inch." Bandian's panicked voice was light and sounded far away.

Groaning, Cerast finally shucked the clothes off of himself and to the floor, reaching for his gloves next.

Each moment that went by, Jysp's magic grew stronger and Cerast fought harder. The will eagerly draining from him as quickly as it did when he fought Ellvana's power.

"Either you do something, or-" Cerast inhaled deeply, another flash of pain at his temple. "Or Jysp kills me."

As the gloves came off, Cerast sighed and clenched his hands into fists. Finally he was able to focus on his mind a little more.

It seemed that Jysp's magic has lessened some. Perhaps he was trying to get out and was breaking the runes. Cerast leaned his forehead to the cool stone and let the minute feeling chill him. It felt as if his head was boiling from the inside out.

Bandian's hand hesitantly settled on his head, the shaking only put an end to by being stable against the black curls.

"I have barriers. All you have to do is reinforce them. Your magic is stronger and should hold." Cerast gasped out and clenched his eyes shut.

Jysp had broken through the line.

All that was keeping Jysp from getting to Cerast were runes and sigils now.

Muttering swears and panting, Cerast felt as Bandians magic went to his alongside Jysp's. It was just as fevered and scalding as the magic gods, yet where Jysps was hot metal branding his senses, Bandians was the summer heat of the sun.

Cerast was almost relieved when he felt Bandians magic instead of Jysp's.

That was, until instead of the hot metal feel trying to tear down his barriers, it was liquid fire replacing it.

"Wrong way, Bandian." Cerast yelped, his muscles clenching at the new agony. "Do the opposite of what Jysp is. Try to- fuck, fuck, fuck- nevermind. Just... push Jysp out as much as you can."

It was not worth it to have Bandian attempt to fortify his mind again if the man had no control over his power. He would fry Cerast's mind before reinforcing any of the shields.

Bandian made a grunt and Cerast felt the hand on his scalp weave between the tightened locks. The strip of leather holding his hair up was likely just hanging there now. The hand was touching skin instead of the black wall of hair and Cerast nearly sighed when a large portion of the pain washed away.