Centum Malediction

Chapter 2-10

Wednesday, September 22nd. 2010

The sound of the glass cracking echoed throughout the insect house. The swarm of bees was continuing to grow inside the glass cage until it couldn't take the pressure. All at once, it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Michael wanted to use the fire spell, but he hesitated, partially because the bees scared him, but also because he wasn't sure what effect the fire would have in the enclosed space.

"Run!" Lom yelled. He wasn't worrying about being quiet anymore. After all, the swarm of bees was loud enough to draw attention, and more bees were continuing to form within the swarm, making it even louder. The echoing of the buzzing throughout the insect house was nearly deafening. Michael and Lom ran back the way they had entered, the swarm just behind them. Bees could fly fast, but Michael and Lom were even faster. They didn't care about other people finding out about the spells now, they just wanted to survive.

The sunlight was blinding as Michael and Lom pierced the barrier to the outside. The chained poles were right in front of them. Michael had plenty of experiencing jumping because of his position as basketball player. He was even capable of performing slam dunks. He cleared the hurdle with ease. Lom was not as experienced. His foot snagged the chain and he fell face first into the dirt, pulling two of the three sharp poles out of the ground. The bees were on him. Michael couldn't hesitate anymore.

"Drakin!" He shouted, turning around. His hands were like flamethrowers, shooting fire into the air above Lom. The fire was not powerful enough to reach the insect house, dissipating without catching fire to any nearby surroundings. The bees were incinerated instantly.

The swarm broke apart, attempting to avoid the fire. Michael aimed his flamethrower hands carefully to catch the rest of them. It was his first time using the fire spell, and he already found it much more effective than Visceria. Aside from the heat caused by being in close proximity to the fire, there didn't seem to be any side effects aside from exhaustion, but the adrenaline coursing through his body made sure he had the energy to keep channeling the spell.

Most of the crowd had run the moment the swarm of bees escaped from the insect house, but a few had stuck around, looking in awe as Michael shot his flame upwards. There was no time to worry about the people witnessing magic for the first time. What remained of the swarm retreated into the insect house and Michael stopped the flame, feeling a little short of breath. Lom stood up, grabbing one of the poles and detaching it from the chain. It was better than being unarmed.

"Where did it go?" Lom asked holding the pole at the ready. Michael couldn't answer. He was still too busy catching his breath. He had used a lot of magic. Without being limited by the energy he could draw from the surroundings he was able to channel Drakin indefinitely, but it was like running a marathon to keep it going that long.

The buzzing had completely stopped, creating an eerie silence. Michael and Lom looked around. There were about ten people still left watching them, shocked looks on their faces as they tried to process what they had just witnessed.

"What should we say?" Lom asked in a whisper to Michael. Michael shrugged as he panted heavily. A loud creaking sliced through the silence, causing both Michael and Lom to whip their heads back around to face the insect house.

The first thing they saw was a long, hairy leg wrap around the entrance of the house and pull something much larger with it. A woman let out a scream and immediately ran from the scene. Everyone else did the same, except Michael and Lom, who stood paralyzed by fear as more legs emerged from the insect house followed by the body of a colossal spider.