Melody's Whispers (discontinued for a rewrite)

Entangled in Fear and Rage

"doesn't Eda tell you off for doing that?" I looked up from my zoned-out spot. My nails between my teeth.
"Something about having any nails left, usually," I sighed. "I don't trust this guy... and I can't have this deal with BQ fall through."
"Can you finish the circle up there? I can't quite reach." I nodded at Luz and took the chalk from her. River lifted me to finish the glyph.
"You have a knack for this, don't you?" Luz smiled smugly at me.
"All I need are the sleeping nettles," she told me as I set my feet back on the ground.
"huh? I've never seen magic like this." I flinched, startled as The Golden Guard came up behind me. A bag of supplies in hand. "What will it do?"
"We don't wanna spook Kikimora's steed," Luz explained. "Because it might drop the nest and hurt the palisman."
"She's using fire and ice spells to command glyphs to make a mist," I said bluntly. The guard held out the bag to me with his eyes drawn to the large glyph combo. Asking about the sleeping nettles and the roll we had for them. "They're all part of it." I took the potted plant from the bag and placed it in a hole in the wall. Luz and I figured it'd be the perfect thing to help us incorporate a physical object into the spell. "If we combine them with the mist-."
"it'd make a sleep-inducing smoke, forcing Kikimora to land." I raised my eyebrow at this kid. He took a step back from me and my displeased expression.
"Mel doesn't like being cut off or interrupted. I don't suggest doing it again," Luz said, ensuring her glyphs were right. I went back to chewing my thumbnail with a snarl.
"Did you read this spell in a book called From Bones to Earth-?" I nodded silently at this kid.
"A Study of Wild Magic!" Luz finished the full name of the book. "Eda and Mel once pickpocketed the guy who wrote it."
"huh... I've never seen glyphs before," he looked up at Luz's work with an impressed look. "But it seems very similar to the elemental magic practised in the savage ages." Luz was hooked on his every word. "Actually, not many people know this, but..." he turned his head down, cutting himself off. "No. No, no, no, no... this stuff is restricted for a reason. You should forget about it before you're hurt."
"Uh-huh... you know, other than Lilith, I've never spoken to someone in the Emperor's Coven," Luz told him. "What made you wanna join?" He gave us a dumbfounded look before letting out a deep sigh. Sitting down, leant against the wall.
"you were right before," he started. "I'm a powerless witch. A lot of my ancestors were. I never thought I'd have a future in a world like this. then Belos found me and gave me a staff with artificial magic." I noticed how he rubbed his fingers together, picking at threads on his gloves and, overall, just twitching them. A nervous habit, perhaps? "He said the Titan had big plans for me."
"At least you have your future figured out," Luz sighed, turning her eyes down.
"At least you get to figure it out on your own," the guard sighed. "Wha? Hey!" He jumped and shooed away the little red palisman as it chirped and landed on his shoulder. "Stop! Get away from me."
"Aw, he likes you." I chuckled, watching the little bird.
"I don't care." He wanted to argue with me about his new friend. "These things are made from wild magic. It's dangerous."
"Does he seem dangerous to you?" Luz asked. We all turned as the dragon growled, taking off with its master. "Masks on." With our noses and mouths covered with cloths, Luz activated her combo. It worked much quicker than I anticipated.
"Let's move." The two looked at me and nodded. Luz grit her teeth before handing over the Golden Guard's staff. He asked if she was sure about her decision. "We don't have time to be questioning anything," I told him, taking the staff from Luz and shoving it hard against his chest. "Don't make us regret this." Luz flew with me, with the guard right beside us. Luz used her light glyph to lure the dragon to the ground.

I kept my face covered as we landed. Luz rushed over to check on the palisman. The dragon was safely put to sleep. Its master was barely able to hold her head up. Luz wrapped her cloak over the palisman with a smile, reassuring them we'd keep them safe. I noticed before she did. He was ready to attack. I stood between him and Luz. Luz chuckled nervously.
"Right... I didn't think this through... again."
"Hate to admit it, Luz... it's kinda your thing at this point," I said, reaching into my mess of hair and pulling out my flute. Quick and easy defence if I needed it.
"You're really gonna hand all these innocent little guys over to Belos?" Luz asked, stepping forward to stand beside me. "I know what he does with them." I turned my head to her, confused. What on Titan would he do with palisman? "I thought you might've been a good guy," Luz sighed. "I guess that was just wishful thinking. You're not my friend or anything. You're just... the Golden Guard." He lowered his guard and pulled down his mask.
"My name is Hunter." He told us, keeping his eyes fixed on my hands. "Gah!" Instinctively, I jumped forward as a blast of magic grazed the side of his face. Kikimora was still conscious enough to fire a few shots. She fired erratically, not able to hold herself on her own feet. I used River to deflect her magic away from both Luz and Hunter. "You... don't have to-."
"May I suggest leaving the chatter for afterwards?" I growled, deflecting another shot. "I suggest one of you covers my back unless you wanna get fried." Hunter nodded at me, stepping forward to take the next shot, giving me the room to move quickly forward and using my staff to sweep her from her feet. Once she was on the ground, I stopped and played a soft tune. This magic worked faster than the mist, almost instantly. Knocking her out cold. Hunter approached and ripped the whistle from her neck, and threw it to me. "This won't last long, be ready to fight." He nodded at me, taking a defensive stance, ready to fight properly.
"I've got this handled; I don't need you getting in my way." He sounded confident. I looked down at the whistle in my hand before gripping it tight. I wasn't wrong; Kikimora did wake quickly.
"I will have your head for this!" She screeched. I backed away from the fight and circled back for Luz. Tossing the whistle to her.
"Right. Time to wake this guy up. I think," I didn't like my idea, but it was the best I had. I put my flute away and held my staff at the end; I'd need a large spell circle. "Let's hope this works," I uttered before drawing my circle with my staff, aimed at the dragon. "Wakey, wakey." The dragon lifted its head and growled as I quickly hurried to join Luz on its back. She blew the whistle. We left the two coven members to fight. I wasn't going to risk Hunter jeopardising our escape. With the beast-keeping magic I understood and knew how to perform, I could control the dragon and take the palisman away from the scene.