Silver Jungle

Chapter 23

Falk stretched his arm, wincing at the pain in his back, the downy feathers of his partial-origin keeping him warm in the foggy morning. It had been a few days, but the places where Seth had stepped on him or gotten slammed into the ground, ached with a vengeance. To his constant chagrin, the healers at their disposal were few, with varying skill. After six agonizing hours, a hedge witch- half-fairy Mages- soothed his pain with a poultice that tasted like bugs.

"I don't like being told what to do!" a woman stormed out of the cove Falk was supposed to be guarding, although what did Seth think he could do? Falk's main power was keeping Seth under control, something he currently wasn't exactly doing his best at.

No matter. Falk had no intentions of pushing Seth anymore. The Dawon's threat echoed in his ears, following him like a dark cloud. Others may had brushed it off as empty threats, but Falk's body ached too much for him to write it off.

Out of the corner of his eye, Falk caught sight of the long, sinuous form of a reddish-brown salawa, an Egyptian Silver Mage. Seth had a soft spot for the chaotic creatures, as the salawa were some of the first mages to join Seth's cause.

Falk, however, didn't trust them. Never would. They carried too much unchecked rage, anger at everything that moved, sparking chaos from every part of themselves. As much as Seth crowed about the intense magical power they used to churn passive days into whirling storms, poison food, trap humans in sudden sandstorms, salawa owed Seth no loyalty.

The lanky creature shifted slowly as it approached the cove entrance. It was a male, with a hooked nose and hair the same color as his animal form. He was bare chested, only wearing tattered jeans. The lack of clothing didn't bother Falk; most Mages walked around wearing much less than that, although Falk wrinkled his nose at it.

"Did you hear about the jorogumo?" He questioned, shoving his thumbs into the belt loops of his pants. Falk shook his head, although he was lying. He had heard about it, but didn't want this salawa to know.

Jorogumo weren't shifters, like most mages. They had the ability to control spiders, and took on their attributes, like a toxic bite, making them powerful indeed. Expert acrobats and weavers, they were Imperial Mages due to the fact they could kill anyone before they could scream.

The sandy-haired mage leaned in closer. "Apparently, Seth's army found her."

Falk nearly laughed. Army? What army? All the forces Seth possessed were here. The 'front line' was the 'home base'.

"They ripped all of her-" the salawa continued with relish, baring his small, pointed teeth in a poor attempt at a smile, saliva dripping from his mouth.

"Are you here to take my post, or distract me?" Falk demanded, unable to listen to him any longer.

The salawa blinked. Falk scoffed, already knowing the answer. "For a soldier, you're not much of one."

A low growl built in the salawa's chest, but Falk didn't care. He'd rip this upstart's throat out before he could blink.

"Enough!" A terse voice snapped, and the two Mages stopped, looking at who interrupted them.

"Lady Ariel!" The salawa exclaimed

Lady Ariel? Where had that come from? The spouse of the Silver King never had a title, no matter who they were. Ariel was no different.

"Hi." Falk greeted instead. The pregnant woman rolled her eyes at the zhenniao, either annoyed or amused, Falk couldn't tell.

"Two types of people." She muttered under her breath, though Falk clearly heard her. "What are you doing out her, Falk? Does the King not need you?"