Centuries Long Love || Cartaphilus/Joseph (Discontinuted)

Chapter 7

"Luka, a Sleigh Beggy? Death? My...death?"
~
I focused on my gloved arm in guilt. The woman in the red hoodie moved the silver blade closer to Chise, "Sleigh Beggies are treasures, in that you create an unending supply of magic, yet your bodies are very fragile. Just being alive, you relentlessly absorb and generate magic. Eventually, your body will buckle, which is why that Queen is struggling to stand up right now." Chise glanced at me; I continued to look at my aching arm while I tried my best to stay upright. "You're well-versed in the matter, Alice."
"Not really."
"He keeps you alive without taking any measures to help you out of danger, just to satiate his own curiosity." Chise dropped her head down, nearer to the dagger as Renfred spoke, which caused Alice to retract the knife slightly. "Chise, he has no feelings. You can't expect human kindness from a sham of a human. I'm sure that's why the Queen hasn't told you anything. He bought you with money and tied you down with the thing. He has a tracking spell on it. You must have suffered." The Adder stone on Chise's neck rose as the Ariel cried out in pain because of Renfred's closed fist. The male sorcerer began to crack the stone until a censer broke on his arm. The Ariel plummeted to the ground when his grip loosened while Chise gained a cut from Alice's dagger.

The three cats dashed ahead of us towards the island. Blake transformed into his human form to assist the cats, "This place is our territory. I won't have sorcerers wandering around here." I went to check on the other two as I wondered where Elias had gone, "Are you all right, Ariel?" I couldn't help but giggle at the Ariel's spinning eyes when she relaxed on Chise's hands, "Yes, I'm fine, as long as I'm not teaching metal."

"Why? Don't you two want to be set free?" Chise stood up beside me with a blank, yet soft, stare, "From what? If you mean from Elias, you probably wouldn't understand. These two were the only people to ever call me family." I ruffled Chise's blood-red hair, proud of how she has grown in our short time as a family. The air around us became tranquil, "Renfred, You seem to have a bad opinion of my little brother." Alice's eyes shimmered at the sight: the breeze forced my hair to sway as the moon acted as a spotlight, "As I said, mages detest lies. I'd like to believe Elias hides things from me to protect me. There are things which he believes we don't need to know and I'll respect my family's choices." My hair continued to follow the wind as I placed my hands over my skirt.

Thorns sprouted from the shadows to attack the pair of trespassers. I sighed when Alice gained a cut from them, upset at bonehead mage who emerged behind us. "Have you forgotten? I am shadow. I lurk in the shadows of thorns. I am what you call the Pilum Murialis." His blue thorns created a cage around us, only vanishing when he lifted his staff. I moved my hand away from the redhead to sulk at Elias. "Are you okay, Chise?"
"Yes." The sparkles around us dispersed as the thorn mage leaned down to heal Chise's cut, "Can I see your wound? That was reckless of you. You, humans, don't last very long once you're injured." She winced at the tongue on her cut; the blood, as well as the pain, soon faded. Elias and I had a staring contest, "Brother, huh?" Bending down slightly, I ran behind his apprentice, embarrassed. The Ariel flew around us to scold the bonehead, "You're late! You're a pale shadow of a shadow! I would tell you off as well Luka, but you can barely walk." The green-haired fae puffed her cheeks while an irk mark appeared on her temple. "Chise was here. What could I do?"

The black substance of rage roared as if it begged for attention. Elias' hands rested on Chise's shoulders, "It's bonds are coming loose. Chise, Luka and I will take care of things here. I'll leave the cleansing to you two." The Russian Blue and Siamese cat gasped as their King marched towards Chise, "I'll come with you." The King hopped into Chise's arms, her tail flowing behind her. "You don't have to worry about it. Chise and I are going to handle it."
"It's the final duty of the king to see that the corruption is gone. Is it not?" I stumbled over to kiss Chise on the head before stroking the King's smooth fur, "Be careful you three." The filth resembled the shape of an intense wave in an ocean; I moved out of their way as they walked to the pile of negative emotions. "Don't look so worried Elias. Believe in your apprentice like you said you would." Chise settled her hand on the filth after a second of hesitation. I flinched into Blake as the black substance rushed to consume the three; he wrapped his arm around my waist to carry my weight.