Slice of (magic) Life

Chapter 19 - Axle

Axle rubbed his head with one hand while sitting up with the other.

He groaned. Can't go one day without being blasted by murderous Mages anymore, can I?

From his view behind big bushes, Axle saw that he had tumbled to the side of the hill towards more forestry. He looked up at the sky where the attack had come from to find two Mages flying above. He heard one of them laugh like how a witch would in cartoons.

"My my, it's just too easy at this point!" he heard one of them call.

Axle got up and approached the group and the two attacking Mages. He used the cover of the trees and foliage as he neared them.

"No matter, they seem like easy opponents"

That was Olsen. Axle watched as the two Mages, twins he realized, threw more attacks at his dad and the others.

Kyra and Olsen instantly cast their defensive magic against the onslaught.

Axle wanted to help, but he knew that his potential surprise attack could catch the twins off-guard enough for their bodyguards to capture the two. So he waited, observing the battle carefully.

Kyra held up a large glowing shield over the group, while Olsen had his walking stick stuck in the ground and his eyes focused right at the enemy with his hands glowing a deep purple.

What's he doing? Axle thought, already making guesses on what the old gentleman's magic could be.

The lookalike Mages had Levitation Magic, no doubt about it. Axle couldn't think of any other Magic Type that could allow them to fly around. He hadn't figured out Kyra's magic either, but he'd experience it firsthand in this fight, if he was lucky.

Despite what Axle knew about his female escort's prowess, he thought she was faltering a bit under the weight of the bursts of magical energy being hurled by the enemy. Axle brought his hands close to himself and cupped them together. Soon his hands began to glow with power.

He looked up to the sky and found a flock of birds heading away from the fighting. With some effort, Axle replicated each bird and created a false flock which he sent flying right at the levitating Mages.

"That should keep them busy," he said to himself, watching his work.

The bird illusions met the flying humans blocking their way and they immediately started pecking and cawing at them. This halted the attack and gave Kyra some repite.

Axle's illusion didn't last too long however, and the Mages quickly dispelled the fake birds.

Then one of the Mages looked right in Axle's direction. Axle froze up behind a tree.

Does she know I'm here?

The other sister noticed this and also stared at the area where Axle was hidden. They slowly approached Axle's hiding spot, now ignoring Kyra and Olsen.

"I knew the scout mentioned a Conjurer among them," one of them said. Axle could see her smirking. Her voice had a malicious drip in it.

Out of fear, Axle surrounded himself in an illusion that matched the forest he was hiding in.

No point just hiding, he thought. Then he cast a second illusion right in front of him in a subtle wave of his hands.

Axle knew better than anyone what he looked like, so it didn't take long for an illusion of himself to appear in front of him.

Without hesitation, he willed for the fake Axle to come out of hiding.

"You got me," the illusion him said while the real him whispered the words.