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26. Cir

They watched in a mix of fascination and horror as the black haired male tightened his grip on the others neck and it just... snapped.
Afrit dropped the intruder right there and then, not sparing him another thought, bent down over the seemingly lifeless figure of his bond.
It was only then that Cir noticed the humans presence, realizing in an instant that he was the one exuding the rifts aura.
He frowned a bit, attracting the other shrikas attention.
Silver-white eyes met dark blue ones as Afrit turned his head to view the new visitor. His aura visibly darkened.
Cir was unable to assess how strong he was. Maybe he could even rival him.

"I apologize for the sudden intrusion.
My name is Cir.", he greeted the other, trying to calm the growing tension.
The shrikas gaze wandered from him to Rasha and the raven behind Cir before turning back to his bond.
He carefully placed a hand on the humans cold forehead before looking towards the broken bathroom window.
"I was informed that you wanted me to visit your base and I have stated my conditions.
Will you accept?", Afrit asked.
He did not see the need to introduce himself. The other obviously knew who he was.

Cir lifted a brow at the bluntness then briefly redirected his eyes to the figure lying motionless on the floor.
The not yet fully matured boy seemed to be no threat at the moment and as his companions had already informed him, the magic emitting from him, beside the one of the rift, was barely a shadow of their own.
He noticed that blood had mixed with small puddles of water and shards of frozen ice.
'Where had they come from?'
He pushed the thought away.
"That I guarantee your bonds safety during your stay?", Cir inquired.
The male had his eyes still on the human, carefully brushing the red strands out of his face.
"..Yes.."
"Okay.
He will have to be under constant surveillance, though, otherwise I won't be able to guarantee anything.
His movements will be restricted."
"Do you guarantee it with your life that he will stay unharmed?"
"I do."

Afrit stayed silent for a second before carefully lifting the limp human off the floor.
"Then it seems we have a deal.", he said fully turning towards them for the first time since Cir had arrived.
"I, in turn, swear upon my bond that we will not move against you as long no one turns against us."
"You speak for the human?", Kashun could not help but interject in disbelief.
Afrit stayed calm.
"His word is mine and my word is his."
There was an undefinable firmness in his words.

Cir took the opportunity to explain how he would bring them to their destination.
Getting out was much easier than getting in.
The small group went outside unnoticed and, as soon as they had exited the academy's grounds, Cir activated his gift.
His was the power of air, of wind and storm. He easily moved all five of them outside the capital without being detected.
It took barely a few minutes to reach the shrikas safe haven.

Not too far from Rish'ka, in the middle of the desert, lay a huge mountain. Due to its peculiar red colour it was called Taratuun.
But its colour and size where the only things that had gathered attention. There was no water to be found in its surroundings and a mountain was just a mountain after all, or so everyone thought.

Cir had found his new home by accident rather than intentional.
He had been hunted by mercenaries and stumbled over one of the many hidden gaps in the stone. It had been too small for a human, but for him, who could freely alter his size at least temporarily it had been the perfect hideout.
He had gone in deeper and deeper only to find a whole network of naturally formed caves and corridors. The biggest miracle lay in the centre of the mountain though. A gigantic cavern brimming with such a high density of magic that it had banded together in clusters of light. Water came in as well from a spring deep underground, which allowed a beautiful oasis to form.
It was the perfect place for the shrika.
They had further hidden the entrances, even blocked a few as well as creating new ones.
All of it had to be done quite carefully due to the close proximity to the human capital.

That was the exact place Cir now brought them to.
A distance that would have taken them about half a day by foot was crossed in the span of a few minutes.
Cir assigned Afrit and his bond each a room close to his own quarters and although the latter had been ready to refuse he held himself back, realizing that it would be wiser for now to follow the wishes of the other.

He had only agreed to come because of Fharans condition and the worrying state of his soul.
Afrit was well aware that he was, in more than one way, dependant on his bond. He had lost his own body and Fharan had become his new anchor in this world as well as the connection to his own magic. He did not know what would happen if the connection was ever broken off, but he did not want to find out. It would probably require the death of the younger man after all.
It was possible that he would be stuck in the shrika forever or that he would disperse, aimlessly wandering the realms once more, bathed in endless nothingness. Maybe he would simply lose his magic.
Whatever it was, he would make sure that it would never come to that.