Magus {Complete}

5

Cinder walked through the door of the house to find Jika laid up on the couch, a bag of ice on his head. The druid looked like he was asleep, so Cinder turned and quietly pushed the door shut. The click of metal slipping into its designated place on the frame echoed far too loudly and he winced. Looking over his shoulder, he checked to see if Jika had woken from it though he thought it rather ridiculous for the man to be jolted from sleep by such a soft sound.

Yet, as he turned to check, Jika had shifted on the couch and held the ice away from one side of his head so he could look at Cinder with one eye open. It startled Cinder. With a sigh, he brushed his fingers through his hair, sweeping back the long fringe and gathering it all up between his fingers. "Sorry, Jika."

"It's fine. Where did you go? Kydyn had a bitch fit."

"To the Capitol. I... Had to ask Odain something," Cinder gingerly tip toed around the topic as he crossed the room and took the love seat that sat on the opposite side of the couch.

Jika replaced the ice pack over his forehead and settled against the pillows. He moved again, trying to find a comfortable spot no doubt. One leg bent up against the arm of the sofa, his boot leaving a deep impression of the tread in the soft fabric. "What did you ask him?"

Cinder stared, swallowing thickly as he contemplated how he wanted to answer that question, or if he wanted to answer at all. Instead, he shifted the conversation. "What happened? How's Lyn?"

"Fine now. Broken ribs, a couple fractured. Nothing I can't heal, but it takes its toll," he made a gesture at the ice pack on his head, "Headaches are one side effect. Depending on the extent of the wounds, it can get worse. But that's not the point. A little sleep and some pain meds will do the trick for this. What did you ask Odain?"

Damn. Cinder grimaced. Jika had answered his question, but it seemed the druid wasn't letting go of the original topic any time soon. "I asked him about black magic."

"Yeah? What'd he say?"

"He didn't really say anything. Showed me, actually."

"Showed you?" Jika took the ice away from his head again and leveled Cinder with a calculating stare. "What do you mean he showed you?"

"Said it was a memory. I...." Cinder looked away. His gaze roamed the room as he searched for Kydyn before he continued. "I saw Kydyn kill a woman. She was... crazy. There was something terribly wrong with her. Like she'd turned into an animal. She killed so many people too. It was awful. But he stopped her. Ran her through with a spear thing he made from his magic."

"Sharing memories, hu? That's interesting. Didn't know Odain was capable of doing that," Jika sighed as he rested again, the bag of ice resuming its place over his eyes.

"Jika. Did Kydyn really kill her?"

"Probably."

"What do you mean 'probably'?"

"I've only known him for a few years, Cinder. We haven't killed anyone other than rebels who threaten to kill us first, and they've come close a few times let me tell you. But there hasn't been anyone who fell into black magic for a long time, so no. I don't really know if it's true or not. You'd have to ask him. But if he did, I don't think you wanna push him to talk about it."

"What, is he going to get pissed off if I ask him?"

"Yes, he will," Jika said sternly and leveled Cinder with a hard stare. "No matter what you might think of him, or how he acts, killing people isn't something he particularly enjoys. None of us do. In fact, we'd be happier if we didn't have to. But shit happens and sometimes shit happens to the best of us. That just makes it worse."