SHATTERED

Chap:7:Shadows of the night

Dinah, Aweid and Ivan sat in a triangle, faces screwed up in absolute concentration as they each chanted their particular verse. One misplaced word and their own secluded safe patch could turn into a death trap.

Even though the barriers would keep them invisible in plain sight, alert them of enemies closeby, it was customary that two extras protect the spell weavers. If even one spell weaver was harmed or killed , the delicate balance of energy flow would be disrupted and the spell will go haywire. Killing anyone within its barriers.

The hairs on Rawel's arms rose as a chill went down his spine, no matter how many times he witnessed it , he had trouble suppressing the fear that rose up like bile in his throat.

He didn't have any special talents , just good in fighting, but the commander had chosen him to be Dinah's bodyguard, who knows for what reason, Rawel really didn't understand why he would do that.Their squad never saw much fighting in the first place. Their job was to do detective work and gather information for which he was glad. His greatest fear was what if during a mission his muscles weren't enough ? Could he an insignificant soldier survive in a world where magic and supernatural reigned supreme ? A twelve year-old could kill him in an instant by just flicking a finger. How does one like him hope to survive in such a place ?

That's why he loathed Sven so much, the guy was skinny with an over inflated ego, who thought he should be leading the squad and not Dinah. But even he had some power .Whether he deserved it or not was another question altogether. Thanks to that little difference , which made all the difference apparently , he had to put up with Sven's shit everyday, every chance Sven got , he would rub it in Rawel's face.

He watched with a mixture of fascination and fear as first the whites of Aweid's , then Ivan's and finally Dinah's eyes consumed their irises , then pupils with a bright white light, like three pairs of torch lights turned on at once. Their chanting grew more erratic. Although their little safety bubble was disconnected from the rest of the world and its elements , gusts of wind swirled around the three, like the 'eye' of a storm.

Humanoid shadows rose like creatures from the pit, one behind each weaver, until fully materialized they hovered over the weavers' shoulders.

As soon as Dinah's quivering voice said:

"I command thee earth to show me thy memories . Obey me! Keleuo thee chous di chavah me tuoi thy mnemosyne . Pheme peitharcheo !"

The shadows stood still, as if they had not heard, for a moment Rawel thought the spell had failedbut then the wind picked up its speed swirling faster and faster and the shadows disappeared.

Minutes ticked by as they waited, but nothing happened. Sven smirked to Rawel's annoyance. The bastard was definitely thinking he finally had a reason to take over Dinah's position. Then as if sensing Sven's thoughts Dinah and the other two weavers shot up from their lotus positions on the ground like missiles to being levitated in air like puppets on invisible strings.

Rawel's face drained of colour , this had never happened before when the spell was cast even Sven started to look nervous as to what this could mean.

Simultaneously two shadows appeared , one materializing on top of a roof and the other on a pole., the third was still missing. The roof top's one disappeared again as if playing hide-and-seek. For a while nothing happened again, which made Rawel worry, just what the hell is happenning ? Then suddenly like the puppet master had jerked its strings the one on the pole stood up , saw the other two shadows chasing eachother and jumped down. The one in the middle mimed a panic , placed a ghostly hand on the ground and a cloud of smoke covered Rawel's and Sven's eyes, then it cleared just in time to show one shadow flipping over another's head with a ghostly grin. Then an arrow shot out of nowhere and skewered it. Rawel and Sven cringed as a ear-splitting scream invaded their minds, they thought shadows couldn't speak , they knew it wasn't real but still it felt like their own souls were being ripped apart.

The three shadows then disintegrated like confetti signaling the end to the goulish nightmare of a puppet show. Before they could get their bearings , their comrades fell like rag dolls from the sky, strings cut. Rawel and Sven scampered to catch them all in the nick of time before their bodies could slam onto the unforgiving asphalt below.

Each of their faces were ashen, matted with cold sweat, each struggling to breathe. This spell had taken a greater toll on them unlike any performed before. Their life forces were almost sapped dry.

They had thought the spell was over, as the barriers were slowly dissolving but then as if someone had stepped onto a trip wire, a bolt of lightning shot out ,Rawel and Sven grabbed their weapons alert , eyes searching the darkness for the source of alarm.

A crow screeched as the bolt of lightning set its tree on fire and with wounded wings tried to fly away. A prickling sense of realisation shot through his mind followed by a sense of dread. Why hadn't he noticed it before ?

Sven was faster, he shot after his prey , shooting miniature bolts from his hands , as the erratic flight of the crow stopped , however its legs grew longer and where its feathers was supposed to be a black jacket came into place.

Soon it was a full-fledged boy that they were chasing. His dark clothes made it difficult to separate him from the night but that didn't keep his pursuers from hunting him.