Belladonna

12

Stone doors greeted the pair as soon as they made it to the fortress. They had immediately noticed the lack of guards.

"For the king of beasts, he obviously doesn't care about protection," scoffed Alex with a tap of her foot.

"What?" grinned Xavier sarcastically," Want them to open the door for you, or should I appease her majesty?"

"Would you just alert them to our presence?" she huffed annoyed.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the..." he stopped to think because they didn't really have a bed," of the matt?"

She laughed out loud roughly," That's the best you came up with?"

He just rolled his eyes and shot a fireball up in the air. They both gazed at it as it blew into a thousand pieces.

"You think it'll get their attention?" he asked leaning his head towards her.

"Yep, I think that'll do it," she murmured.

It was a pretty sight, but it didn't bring the expected result.

"Am I stupid?" Alex raised an eyebrow towards Xavier.

"I mean yes," he teased," but about this, I have no idea."

She punched his arm and glared at him before turning her attention back to the door.

"I guess we could just walk in," she suggested.

"Really?" his sarcasm wasn't lost on her.

"I'm serious. A spell must protect it or else there would be guards out here, right?"

"I mean it is worth a try," he ran a hand through his hair, tugging at it a little.

"You'll be bald soon if you don't stop tugging on your hair," she tsked as a mother would.

He made a face at her but watched as she moved her way to the door and gently pushed on it. Almost like it had been controlled by an outside force, the heavy doors began to move inwardly. Loud noises began to rush out, like a dam that had broken. There were no people evident inside the walls, but the noises were still there.

Alex looked back at Xavier with a queer look.

"Why did that work?" he asked with an awed look on his face.
She shrugged, walking forward through the door.

They walked together, cautiously aware of the surroundings. They had an odd feeling in their spirits. Something was off about this fortress. The walls surrounded the houses that were grouped closely. A cobblestone path led through the cities, often branching off in between the houses creating alleyways.

They spotted no one as they walked through and it was making them uncomfortable, on edge even.

"Ok," mused Alex, stopping in the middle of the street and making a scan of her surroundings. "There is noise, but no people."
"It's empty," commented Xavier peaking behind an open door of a house.

They looked around, searching for something to clue them in on what was going on. The sounds were roaring in their ears, making them stumble as though in a daze.

"What is happening?" she tried to shout above the noise but knew Xavier couldn't hear her.

The sounds were striking her all around, creating a tempest in her mind. She couldn't think. All of the noises forced her to her knees. She opened her mouth, but her voice was not heard. She tried to cry above the noise as the deafening sounds dug at her brain. Her vision was getting fuzzy and she barely registered Xavier slumping to the ground next to her. She desperately reached out for him as she attempted to stand. Black spots formed against her eyes, the blood in her head rushing to her eyes, and she felt something trickle down her nose. Everything hurt and desperate hands began to claw against her scalp, tugging at her hair. She couldn't get the voices to quit plaguing her but could feel the unconscious darkness calling out to her. It beckoned towards her with sly tentacles. She was fighting, struggling to stay awake when a sharp pain stung the back of her head. After that, she succumbed to the darkness.