Wayward Mages

Chapter 19

Kyle

I walk outside to the grassy lawn with a glass of water in my hand to see Kaira's eyes welling up with tears and Charlene looking like she saw a ghost. Charlene shoves me and runs back into the house. Kaira lets her knees drop and falls to the floor her head in her hands. I quickly drop the glass I was holding. It breaks with a clang and I rush over to ask what happened. I see that her eyes are full of tears and her cheeks are all rosy. "Kaira, what's wrong?" I ask. She doesn't reply but her tears seem to have stopped coming vigorously. "Kaira, please tell me what happened" "Char- she's a-"

She falls into my arms. I dunno what's happen to her, but I don't tell Charlene, 'cause what happened to her is obviously related to her'. I carry her up to my room and lock the door. I lay her down gently on the bed. She stirs and sits up slowly, wincing. "What happened? Why am I in your room?" she asks confusedly. "I have no idea, I just saw you crying on the grass and then you fell in my arms."This brings tears back into her eyes. "Char- Charle-Charlene is a cy-cyborg," she stammers. " What?!? That isn't possible, and anyway, how do you know?" "Well, when you went to get water, Charlie and I were sword fighting. I accidentally slashed her black glove off and then I saw - I saw that her hand was entirely metal." she says. "I'm so sorry Kaira. Can I do anything for you?" "No...that's alright. Thanks for catching me everytime I fall.I am such a klutz," she says with a laugh. "That's alright, it happens to everyone, even the best," I answer, smiling.

"Bye, now I just need some alone time to think about what happened," she says. "No worries....bye Kaira."

"Oh, and Kyle?" "Yes?" "Don't trust Charlene."

To reassure her, I say, "Of course."

As soon as she leaves, Charlene rushes into my room, demanding to know what Kaira had told me. I answered that she hadn't told me anything, remembering her pleading eyes telling me not to trust Charlene. Even though she looked unconvinced, she left. I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I'd been holding in.

I fell into a deep slumber filled with nightmares. They, surprisingly, were of Kaira being tortured by Charlene and no one there to save her. I was super scared on seeing this. This is what happened:

I look around and see that I'm in a desert, with a stake tied to the ground a few metres from where I was standing. As I watch, Charlene walks into my line of sight. I try to turn and look at her, but I can't, my main sight being the stake. As I keep watching, she walks to the stake. For the first time, I notice the body in her arms. It was Kaira. Charlie starts tying her body to the stake. Charlene grins wickedly, and sets the dry grass near the stake alight. I struggle against my bonds, but I'm powerless to act, doomed to watch alone. Kaira's screams rip through the wall of resolve which I had set up. I start to cry softly, seeing her like this. And that's when I realize it: I love Kaira Stream.

I wake up to the sound of someone pounding on my door. I ruffle my mussed hair and sleepily go and open the door. Kaira walks in. As soon as I see her, I remember her heartbroken expression and screaming in my dream, and the wall of resolve broke down once again. "Kyle! Have you even heard what I said in the past few minutes!" she says, snapping her fingers in front of my face. I look at the concerned expression on her face. "No, sorry, could you please repeat that?" She sighs exasperatedly. "Charlie's missing!" she exclaims.