A Sorceress From the Future

Chapter Thirty Six

“Are we there yet?”

Silence.

“Are we going to pretend that I am suddenly inaudible?”

“I would certainly not mind if you were invisible…”

“You heard me! So so, are we?”

“Are we what?”

“There yet?”

“If we were there yet you would not have the ability to speak…”

“Why? Because I would be too afraid?”

“No you fool, because you would be dead…”

Luke chuckled briefly before covering his burst of amusement with a pseudo cough. He even went to the extent of spitting sputum. Roselidah smiled, beneath Luke’s tough exterior lied a man who valued feelings of others or in the very least, humans. Roselidah could not help but wonder why Luke had profound hate for her kind. As far as she knew, Luke had never directly suffered on an account of a mage, not in the magical realm at least. Perhaps Luke had faced a magical creature in these woods before? Any creature beyond the realm was considered a rogue. Dark magic was strictly forbidden in the realm. Tamara had ensured that the realm was free from creatures who wished to cause mayhem, she had termed all dark witches and wizards as wanderers and chased them from the realm. The realm had not seen dark magic for a while, the fact that this practice resurfaced meant that someone in the realm had been keeping contact with dark mages. Roselidah was no fool, she knew Daniel had a hand in this, a hand in the human prince’s suffering but he must have had some sort of assistance. But who? No mage in the Ninth Order would betray Tamara especially for Daniel. Or would they?

“We need to rest. I will scout our surroundings for any threats and see if there is anything to eat…”

“I will come with you…”

“Wait wait, if he goes with you, I will be left here, alone…I might have bravely conceded to this journey but I have my limits…I cannot remain here alone…”

Luke sighed and held out his hand signaling Lawrence to follow Roselidah. Lawrence hesitated before bobbing his head. Roselidah broke into a wicked smile. She then let go of her strapped bundle and let it fall loudly on the ground. Both Luke and Lawrence flinched. Roselidah drew a sword from the bundle and handed it to Lawrence who reluctantly took it. She drew her own sword and wielded it expertly, poking the and slicing the air around her with commendable precisions. Lawrence tried to mimic Roselidah’s actions but clumsily stumbled forward erupting a chuckle from Roselidah.

“That was simply a warm up. You wait until I come across an actual foe…”

Roselidah shrugged before helping Lawrence attain his balance. She then began making her way into the woods beckoning Lawrence to follow her.

“Are you entrusting the only weapons that can kill you to me?”

Roselidah, without missing a beat responded to Luke's inquiry.

“Your will to salvage your brother’s life is stronger than your will to kill me…”

Luke opened and closed his mouth successively before heading to the bundle of vessel draped swords and dragging them to a cozy clearing. He whirled around, scouting for anything to create a fire with. After some time he realized he did not know how to make one. This particular skill had not been a part of his learning requirements. A prince was trained to be a leader, to have etiquette and plan wars. A prince was not trained to make a fire in the woods or hunt for game in the wild. Suddenly he was glad Lawrence had accompanied the mage. He would have embarrassed himself deeply in her presence. Luke shook the thought away. He did not care, did he? The woman was a mage, an enemy. If it wasn’t for the nature of her mission, he would have run a sword through her heart without giving it much thought. But had she not salvaged his life? Could his loathe for magical creatures be baseless after all?

Luke shook his head vigorously as morbid images attacked his mind. Images of his men lying dead on the ground, images of his assassins screaming in despair, images of his sister killing his mother, images of his brother breathing his last; no, magical creatures were the enemy, they were the reason his people were confined to walls like prisoners. Luke had made a vow to his father once, a vow that he planned to keep with all his might; human would one day walk the earth freely without fear of being killed or attacked by magical creatures. Before fulfilling this promise, Luke had to fulfil his obligation to his brother. If indeed the mage’s words were true, Baric’s life was in imminent danger. His hate for magical creatures could wait until he saved his brother.

Luke brought his face to the skies. He ran his eyes over the mass of blue appreciating the twinkling stars as they arranged themselves in some sort of formation. The tips of his lips began lifting as his mind conjured up memories of his nanny, Sabrina. The woman had taught Luke to love the night sky, they had formed a habit of sitting against the window and watching the mass of orange and yellow transform into a remarkable navy dotted with silver, shiny objects. Back then Luke and his siblings had been inseparable.

Luke’s trip down on memory lane was disrupted by the sound of rustling leaves. He swiftly armed himself and began to scout his surroundings for unwanted company. Without warning, a figure emerged from the woods and grabbed Luke’s arm from behind. Luke instinctively plunged a sword through his enemy, if he was not mistaken, the sword had run through his assailant’s abdomen. He turned to find the figure on the ground writhing and gurgling in his own blood, turning quickly pale. Luke froze momentarily as the face of his attacker registered on his mind.

“Stephen?”