Circle of Six Mages Book One: Yin and Yang

Chapter Eight: Dark Horse

The week flew by. Laila and Aria worked hard, doing odd jobs like moving boxes and running sales stands while their owners took a break.

The owner of the hotel, who introduced himself as Minlas, was very kind to them. He gave them two meals a day, breakfast and dinner, and never disturbed their stuff.

Aria and Laila sat down at dinner now, happily eating roast laikva and creamy potatoes.

“I don't know about this, Aria.” Laila was saying. “I'm not sure I trust this Minlas guy. He just seems… too nice.”

Aria chewed on her laikva thoughtfully. “His name… it sounds familiar. But yeah, I see where you're coming from.

Laila pushed her potatoes around the plate. She sighed. “I guess we have to leave tomorrow.

Aria nodded. “One more day of work. Then we come back, get our stuff, and leave.”

“What should we do about Minlas?”

“Just leave him alone, unless he tries to do something to us. We're just being distrustful, no reason to act on it.”

Laila nodded. “Sounds good. Let's get to bed.”

The next morning went much the same as usual. Get up, get dressed, grab lunch money, eat breakfast, go to the bazaar.

They worked stands while their owners were off doing their own shopping and eating, transported goods between stands, and helped negotiate trades between merchants so they could stay at their own stands.

All in all, it was a normal day.

At lunch, Aria and Lyla were sitting at a table, eating food from a stand they'd grown rather fond of. The meat was tender and juicy, marinated in a unique, satisfying blend.

They were happily chatting and preparing to continue their work when screams echoed from down the street. Bangs reverberated and horses whinnied with alarm.

Lyla and Aria looked at each other, panicked. “Well, this can't be good.” Lyla stated.

Seconds later, a sleek black horse with no rider cantered into view. Blood streaked its glossy coat, and elegant horns grew from its head. A black miasma surrounded it, wafting off of it with a smell like rotting fish.

Aria paled. “An A Rank Demon. At least.”

The Demon looked at the two of them with beady, intelligent eyes. It began slowly, dramatically walking toward them.

Passersby pressed themselves against walls and stands, hiding behind people, umbrellas, anything.

The Demon seemed to smile, and Aria and Lyla backed away quickly.

“Now, now, those aren't the cheeky little Mages I remember.” When the Demon spoke, it sounded like nails being dragged across a chalkboard, Styrofoam being rubbed together, and microphone feedback all combined.

“Are you really the ones who gave me this?” It asked.

And like that, the black mist surrounding its left eye blurred, swirling and twisting. When it cleared, it revealed a gruesome sight that nearly made Aria sick.

Two gashes ran across its eye; or at least, where it used to be. The rest was a collapsed eye socket, crying black blood.

“Horrible, isn't it? I keep it under illusion most of the time. But I want you to be looking at it when I get my revenge.”

Aria and Lyla backed into a wall, and the Demon continued stalking toward them.

“Lyla,” Aria managed to choke out, “I'm gonna try something crazy.”

Step. Step. Step.

The Demon’s smile grew sadistic. “What are you going to do, wanar lume?”

“Whatever, just do it!”

“Okay, duck!”

“What?”

“Ohhh, how cute! You think you can actually do something.”

“I said, DUCK!” And with that, a ball of light appeared about a foot above their heads. Lyla got the message this time, and they both ducked, covering their heads with their arms.

The ball of light exploded, raining down on them with bits of brick and raising a mushroom cloud of dust.

The Demon was thrown back several paces, but managed to keep his footing.

Aria and Lyla wasted no time and immediately ran through the hole, finding themselves in someone’s apartment.

A quick apology later, they were running through the streets to the outskirts of the city.

The Demon, blinded by the dust, roared with rage. It ran the other way in an attempt to cut them off.

Lyla grabbed Aria’s wrist. “Wait! Follow me! It'll try to cut us off, but think I know another way!”

Aria turned and followed her. “How do you know another way?”

Lyla smirked. “You followed me without asking?”

“Well, we're kinda in a life or death situation here, and I trust you, so… yeah!”

Lyla allowed herself to chuckle. “After you showed me how to activate the map by myself, I studied a map of the city and memorized it. It actually shows city maps too, I'll show you later!”

They ran around several corners, speeding down streets faster than they'd ever run before, even when they had been running from home.

They turned one final bend and saw a gate out of the city. It loomed in front of them, its grandeur now seeming menacing, like a locked door to a cage that they couldn't hope to escape.

Their seemingly pessimistic outlook on the gates seemed to come true a second later, when the Demon leapt out in front of them.

It had predicted their movements and run around to cut them off.

The Demon smiled in the way that people do when they're positive they've already won.

It chuckled. “My, my, just like trapped rats. So predictable.”

Thinking fast, Aria thrust her hands in the folds of her clothes. “S-stay back! I have a dagger!”

Suddenly, the Demon was behind her. It kicked her. “And?”

But Aria had gotten what she wanted. She was about twenty feet closer to the gate now.

Lyla had long since settled back into her unemotional face. She spread her palm, letting flames of darkness lick it menacingly.

It was a little trick she'd figured out the night before, but it was purely for show. “Get away.”

The Demon only laughed again. “From what?! Your parlor trick?!”  

Suddenly, his face was an inch from Lyla’s. His tone turned menacing, planting fear deep in her gut. “I don't think so.” With a simple shove in the stomach with his head, Lyla tumbled down to Aria, who had just struggled to her feet.

Aria yanked Lyla roughly to her feet and they both sprinted toward the gate.

As they ran, their hands clutched together, they both unconsciously emitted a glow from their clasped hands. The city seemed to blur around them, and they reached the gate much sooner than they should have.

In their haste, they didn't notice. What they did notice, however, was the two ribbons of black and white, spiraling out of their clasped hands, slam into the gate. The ribbons hit it so hard that it shattered. Shrapnel fell around them like confetti, but it didn't harm Lyla or Aria.

The Demon, however, was a different story. Wherever it touched him, his skin sizzled as if the stuff was hot. He screeched and shielded his head between his front legs.

Aria balked in shock, but Lyla bottled up her emotions. There was no need for them now. And so she dragged Aria into the woods, leaving the Demon in the seemingly endless shower of shrapnel.  

*Sorry, Wattpad was a butt and didn't upload this chapter. I just realized this. Once again, sorry!*