Follow the Arrow

Chapter 4

I'm dead! I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm going to die!

I look over my shoulder and see the blue haired wizard chasing after me down the hall. But while I'm looking back, I hadn't been paying attention to what's ahead of me. Turns out I was running towards another wizard. I stop running and freeze just as I would have bumped into him. "Who are you?" he asks. I see a man with navy blue hair and behind him is another with royal blue hair. Is this house just full of blue haired wizards?! There's no way I can get out of this! Three against one; I'm as good as dead!

"Wait, don't touch her!" calls the teal one.

"This is unbelievable." Both men in front of me look from the teal man then at me surprised. The royal blue man laughs, and the other joins him. "Way to go, Zane!" They're cheering him on to kill me? I knew wizards were sick, but this is so much worse. "I didn't think you had it in you to pull something like this off."

Is the teal one blushing? "Shut it, Xander," he snaps. "You too, Yale." I'm so lost I don't put up a fight when he reaches me. Why fight? "You cannot tell Mother or Father about this."

"What are you going to do about it?" threatens the navy blue man. He and the other laugh again. "Don't worry, Zane. We're not going to rat on you the first time you disobey Mother and Father." He comes over and throws an arm over his shoulder. "I'm quite proud. Our baby brother is finally growing up and being rebellious."

"Shut up. I can be rebellious."

He makes a baby face. "Staying up past bedtime doesn't count, little Zaney."

The teal haired man- Zane?- grimaces at who I now know are his brothers. "I've certainly done much more than stay up late."

"Name one thing- besides this." Zane looks at me nervously, like I'd have the answer for him, but I look away. I'm not helping out the man who is about to kill me. But I almost want to because he looks so helpless with his brothers taunting him. He has that same expression I get when my friends tease me. Suddenly the navy haired brother, Xander, slaps him on the back and laughs heartily. "Don't worry; we're just messing with you, little brother."

The other brother, Yale, removes his arm from around Zane. "We don't want to embarrass you that much in front of your girl here. But a piece of advice: don't let her going running through the castle like a lunatic."

Zane gives me a stern look and my face burns with shame. "I hadn't meant for that to happen. She just... lost it, I suppose." He looks me in the eyes. "You can't let that happen again, got it?"

I gulp, but nod. "G-got it."

Yale laughs out. "The poor girl’s terrified! See what you did, Zane?"

"What I did? It's you two pestering her!"

Xander and Yale gasp like they were insulted. "Pestering her? We are not pestering her!" They turn to me. "Are we pestering you?"

Still lost here. "Oh, um-"

"See, we're not pestering her. But apparently you were if she came running from your room like that. What did you do to her Zane?"

"Nothing!" Yet! You're going to kill me!

"We think not."

"Who cares what you think! Now if you'll excuse us, we'd like to go back to my room!" He snatches up one of my hands. "Come on!" And he yanks hard on my arm, making me yelp in pain.

His brothers burst out laughing. "No wonder she came running!"

Zane turns to glare at his brothers, but when he looks at me, he seems sincere. "Sorry. I'm really sorry." And he drops my hand, and gets behind me and grabs my shoulders. "Can we please go though?" He doesn't wait for an answer. He starts leading me back up the hallway to his room. Once we were out of earshot of his brothers, he began hissing, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I wish he'd stop. It's misleading. It almost makes him seem nice, but he's not. Because he's a wizard. And he's about to kill me. My life ends the moment that door closes. But I'm not going down without a fight. "My brothers are imbeciles, really. I do apologize."