Big brown sore eyes stared at her. ‘Humphrey?’ She had the sensation her eyes wouldn’t open despite being able to see. No, his eyelashes were longer. There was a voice of a child, probably four, five, years younger than Humphrey. ‘Wake up Izzy!’

  ‘Yeah, Izzy… WAKE UP!’ Another voice mocked. Suddenly a twisted body of Zane and Bane morphed together crawled at her. ‘WHY DID YOU KILL US?!’ It squealed as billions of hands shot up from the ground, clawing at her! ‘NO, NO, NO!’ She screamed but she spoke as if underwater, drowning. Then suddenly she was! Yet she was upside down, sinking deeper to the surface. Terrifying distorted rotten hands, the mages’ of the Trading Tunnels, clawed and grabbed at her, trying to rip her apart! Disconnected voices all chanting at once ‘KILLER, KILLER, KILLER!’ As countless eyes opened under the water, blood red, they all stared at her. ‘KILLER, KILLER, KILLER!’

  ‘IT WAS THE RED KING!’ She tried to scream but blood choked her, the water shifted into blood!

  She shot awake in a terrible panic, sweating. Apart from a singular candle flame the room was black, but much warmer than Isadora would have had expected and could feel her ears burning pleasantly. Strange noises at the base of the bed made her look over to see Humphrey toss and turn, clearly unsettled. She was going to wake him up but decided not to and settled back into the covers, but she couldn’t sleep anymore.

  ‘Has anyone passed by recently?’ A familiar voice rung out. She opened her eyes after hours of pointless trying to regain her sanity to sleep, and hopefully not wake up. Dreary eyed she looked around, a thin line of sunlight cut through the curtains opening.

  ‘No, we have had no visitors.’ The second voice woke her up and she rubbed some crystal growth away from her eye and stumbled to the door.

  ‘We will be searching your inn.’ The first voice stated, now awake she noticed how hoarse it was, before replaced by heavy footprints. Hurrying she shook Humphrey awake, and muffled his groan with her hand.

  ‘We have to leave!’ She grabbed his wrist and pulled his limb body up but he suddenly moaned,

  ‘My body!’ The exercise had left his every muscle completely destroyed. ‘I can’t move!’

  ‘Moving is good for muscle stiffness Dar- Humphrey, now get up!’ She practically picked him up herself to the window which he held tightly while his legs woke up. The crystal which he did fill up with his magical energy, glowing blindingly bright, dropped from his pocket to the smooth floorboards. He was barely awake. As he tried to get his wits she straitened the room up to try and look like it was never touched- apart from the broken window! A door, sounding close by, creaked open. Hiding the broken glass under the carpet, picked up the crystal, so bright she could see it through her fingers. She opened the window and started to climbed down. ‘Come on, Humphrey!’

  He gaped down, ‘no, it’s too far.’

  ‘Moron! Do you want to get caught?’

  Weakly he shook his head.

  She took a deep breath in to calm herself. ‘Then get down.’

  Licking his lips he slowly put his hands on the wood, moving his first leg over the wall, mouth clamped to muffle his yell of pain of how ruined his leg muscle was, then… . The owner of the first voice was by the door. ‘Hurry!’ Isadora’s voice was strained from trying to balance shouting and whispering. He put his other leg around but hands began to hurt from how strongly he was grasping to edge.

  ‘The doors locked’ the voice told others, suddenly trying to break it down. There were annoyed voices, saying they’d get the key for them.

  Isadora climbed back up and grabbed his coat, ‘ah!’ His grip failed and the two fell off, contacting to the ground. Isadora sat up, rubbing her head, for her sight to focus on a black haired knight. They were approached by a gain, their red cloak flapping in the wind that revealed The Red King’s symbol. Fear grasped her chest, Dragging Humphrey to the other side of the building chewed her nails from nerves down to the wick. ‘What’s happening?’ He asked, dazed.

  ‘The Red King. He must have sent people after us. We have to leave! The tree line isn’t far.’

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  ‘But the forest is dangerous.’

  ‘Not more dangerous than a noose.’ Glancing behind the wall saw the village was filled with at least ten soldiers. ‘We could create a distraction… Know any spells?’

  He would have laughed, ‘they are only good for building or practical uses. Give me my staff!’

  She looked back at him. ‘Like… being able to lift a huge boulder to clear a path? Also, no! I don’t need you burning me alive with it! Can you lift and ground and crush them with it!?’ She smiled.

  His mouth gaped open. ‘I would not dare!’ She rolled her eyes and went back to surveying. ‘I don’t want, will never, kill anyone!’

  ‘You don’t get the choice in this world!’ Isadora suddenly snapped her head around to him, eyes like daggers, sneering at him.

  ‘I will not kill.’

  Shaking her head said. ‘I get the point.’ As jealousy felt like acid, she wish she could have lived like he did. To have the luxury of morals.

  ‘Do you know any?’

  ‘I… can’t…’

  ‘What? But you’re a-.’

  ‘I KNOW!’

  ‘I do know of a protection spell, against things like storms. But… I haven’t devoted anything to the God!’

  ‘That doesn’t matter right now. Could it protect it from arrows or spears?’

  ‘Yes. It was used during the army attack on my-.’ He halted once realized what he was saying.

  Going back to hiding against the wall she asked how he could do it.

  ‘Sadly, the beginner spell involves ingredients, which I do not know how to do.’ Isadora smiled.

  Dumping the contents of her bag, ingredients and food spilled onto the grass. Humphrey picked out a few things mumbled the spell to himself. ‘Negative.’ A disembodied voice instructed. A guard bragged ‘no one escaped that school, we killed them all!”

  Another voice cut in, ‘he may not be wrong, we could just be slow and them gone.’ She turned back to help him but he seemed to have frozen.

  ‘No one…’ Humphrey echoed his voice was very quiet.

  Isadora clamped a hand down on his shoulder. ‘Later. Now, you

  focus!’ And he nodded slightly. She helped with the spell, having to do measurements by eye her entire known life, effectively enough measured out these. He opened his mouth to utter the spell, but she halted him.

  ‘I’m certain they’re here.’ Rexford informed the rest. ‘Spread out, they must be hiding within the village.’

  ‘Humphrey, I don’t want to alarm you but hurry!’

  Fingers shaking he turned the page, absorbing as much information as his fear-melted brain could handle. High on adrenaline Humphrey said ‘shellshe’ and the word ignited the items. As if scooping up the magic with his staff a bubble shot up from the crystal, around them and they ran to the trees. The illusion roared at its attackers while they made their escape. Isadora’s legs pounded on the ground, but ensured she didn’t step outside the bubble, as it was fixated around Humphrey, not her.

  Suddenly, a slicing sound shot towards them, and whatever it was shot at the protective ward, ‘ah!’ Humphrey’s magic straining to keep the spell active in turn damaged him and as if shot himself he kneeled over in pain, body screaming to stay fighting. She looked at the blue-eyed Knight ready his bow. As the attacker took aim she grabbed a sweating Humphrey, who was grabbing his chest in pain, under the armpits and proceeded to drag him the rest of the way.

  Another loud crack as the steel contacted with the shield, shattering it, and shooting Humphrey in his side. Humphrey clutched his body tighter and unable to contain a yell through gritted teeth, brow shining with sweat as his face was pale as he gasped for air. ‘Come on!’ She told herself as the weight of the boy was hard to drag. The Knight was getting too close and they weren’t making enough ground.

  A third arrow ricocheted off a tree trunk, chunks of wood flying at her as she ran through the tree line- alone.

  Humphrey saw her figure shrink, ‘n-no.’ He tried to drag himself but convulsions suddenly consumed him! He used the magic of a God he hadn’t worshipped beforehand. It was a terribly dangerous thing to do. Foam spilled from his mouth and his eyes rolled back as two boots blocked his path.