Danson threw open the room's door in a panic. He ran back upstairs by himself, hoping Diana and Keigo stayed on his heels. Speed didn't matter though. He felt the spell weave together while he was below, and it was done before he reached their floor. The rented room sat empty. Kiara and Pialla were gone, and he didn't have a clue how it happened.

"They were still close enough to attack?" Keigo peeked out the window. The streets and buildings remained empty, but he checked darkened curtains for signs of life. There was nothing there. Whoever took the girls had done so expertly, leaving nothing of themselves behind. He turned to Danson. The elf shook his head. Whatever magic lay behind this plot evaded him as well. That didn't make sense to Keigo but Danson seemed just as confused. It made the boy wonder, were their kinds of magic elves couldn't sense?

"My best guess is a teleportation spell, but I don't know if it was short ranged or long ranged. The girls could be hours away."

“Nah. They’re nearby.” Diana stepped to the window. “My best guess is about fifteen minutes. If we rush, we might be able to reach them in ten.”

Keigo blinked twice. “You can sense people like that now?”

Diana gave a half-smirk. "Only a little. It's still vague for my sister, but if I've been around them recently, it's impossible not to know where they are."

"You're talking about that detection ability of yours, right?" Danson vaguely remembered it. She was looking for a bounty around the time they first met, and the ability was how she tracked Keigo down. Danson couldn’t tell how it worked either, but at least he knew it was nothing like this spell.

"Yeah. I've been training it. I don't know if I'm training it right, but I've gotten better at it. You guys go wait below. I'll take off when I know where they are. You two just need to keep up."

Keigo smirked. “You say that like it’ll be hard.”

Diana flipped her hair. “Don't complain if you lose track."

The boys hurried out and she watched the door for them to emerge. As they stepped outside she closed her eyes, feeling the world enter her mind. It was like she stood above a globe. She could feel it all beneath her, crowded with countless lives. Honing that sense, she looked for the ones she knew. Her sister had moved again; somewhere further East. Her brother was in the same spot, but her father was east too, just not as far. She put a pin in that. Kiara and Pialla were truly nearby. Just a bit to the west, Diana could feel them moving through the trees. The girls were on the run? Being pursued? Diana hoped they could hold on. Throwing open the window, she leaped out. The boys followed her drumbeat steps, giving a strong performance of speed.

For Kiara, things started too much like a nightmare. One moment the purple flash was almost blinding; the next filled trees were popping up around her. She felt like something had pushed her through space, and her head was still spinning. Pialla held her hand tight though, so at least she was all right. Or so Kiara thought. As her head stopped spinning she looked at the girl. She was gazing between the trees, finding each one buzzing with life.

Kiara looked around too. Sitting in the trees sat four figures on repeat, staring down like the audience of an arena. A slender woman with long black hair, standing in a slim violet dress. A curvier woman sitting across from her; hair curly and blond, dress white and hugging. Above them, a tall tan man with broad shoulders and dark hair in a ponytail; a brown cloak hanging from his body. Finally, a man with short sandy hair, standing in the center like a stage magician. As every copy of him looked down. His voice seemed to come from different places.

“Why it looks like you reeled in a bit too much, Cammie.” Heads turned to the curvy blonde.

“I’m really good at fishing! Sometimes I can’t help it!”

“Alas,” came the woman in violet. “We have more than we need and we can’t just toss the extra back.”

“Yeah.” Came the man above. “We’ll have to dispose of it a different way.”

“Vanessa! Todd!” the stage magician gasped. “No need for that. I’m sure Ms. Pialla was taking this lovely young lady on a date! Once we explain the situation, we can part our marry ways! My name is Otis, young lady. Would you mind?”

“I won’t let you take Pialla away!” Kiara barked back.

“No! No! Young lady, that’s certainly not the right line. You see, we have the job of taking your friend home, and if you get in our way…” His eyes moved from one friend to the next. “Well, then we’ll have to solve this in an unbecoming way.”

“Do you know these people?” Kiara looked at Pialla. The girl shook her head. Looking back, Kiara’s brow furrowed. “I’m going to protect her. No matter what!”

Otis sighed. “What a shame.” He touched his forehead. “Let’s rough her up a little bit. Once she understands the severity, I’m certain she’ll change her mind.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Todd pulled a horn from under his cloak, bringing it to his lips. Her mind told her he would buff his allies, but a note screamed into the night instead. It seemed to move around her, making circuits through the trees. Suddenly it was gone, and something like a rock smashed the side of her face. She went down, pain burning up her cheek. Pialla touched it, and the agony ran away. Kiara’s eye still watered, and she swallowed a cry. Otis sucked his teeth, waving a finger at Todd.

“Tone it down Todd. That smashed right through her effigy. You see she’s just a kid. A lower level will be more than enough.”

Four notes took off and Kiara guarded her head. The notes zoomed around. When they stopped, she braced for impact. Their weight against her stomach swatted her off her feet. Catching herself before it turned into a crash, her eyes swirled to Pialla alone. Meanwhile, Otis's group followed in the trees above. As Kiara ran to Pialla's side, Todd sucked in a breath. She skipped to a stop, exploding a rush of air out. Branches snapped away from her, tossing anything upon them. A quick search told her the group was gone.

A clap rang out from the shadow of the trees.

“Wind magic! Impressive. Alas, girl, all you blew away were tricks of the light!” With a bead of light, Otis illuminated his face. “At least, most of them were!” He snapped his finger and the light went out.

Someone slammed into Kiara’s back. She turned to blow them away, but they were gone as another dropped. They hit her shoulder and a third hit her cheek. All the while they jumped into the brush, making sure she never saw their faces. She was only allowed to know she was surrounded. Be they mirage or person, forms charged, drawing her eyes. It made more blind spots than she could count; her body bludgeoned with collisions and sideswipes. Even toned down, they left no room to breathe. As something like a leg hit the back of her neck, it sent thought and pain to her mind. She was not fit for this. When it was one puppet it was fine. When it was Feline or speckled beast, it was a fight she could win. Now though, as bodies swung through the trees, her heart sank. Magdalea would have no mercy, even for a girl like her.

“Kiara!” Pialla called out. “Pull in your wind, like when you were flying!”

Kiara listened, drawing the breeze between the leaves. As it touched her skin the thought of taking off didn't even hit her mind. It would have been a smart move in a spot like this, but a realization was in the way. Leaves. Branches. Dirt. Animals hiding in fear. Kiara felt it all as the wind rolled over it, and felt the bodies leaping through the air. She churned it, smashing them into the trees. The fall of their bodies made the wind rush. Purple light flared around her; falls came to an abrupt stop. Another round of applause came out of the forest.

“That’s an interesting trick you just did. Could you perhaps tell what was true and what was false? Could this perhaps be why Nina Blue wants Pialla so much?" Otis chuckled to himself. "If you could help this young lady, imagine what other abilities you have. It gives me chills!"

Four horn notes took off and Kiara knew why. This attack could break her focus, making her vulnerable again. They'd only have to turn up their assault after that. If she had no room to breathe before, they'd make the next one suffocating. It might finish her if she couldn't feel the sound too. It snaked through branches and weaved around trees, telling her the enemy was everywhere at once. But these were just notes. These were just sound turned into heavy weapons. She pulled the air out of them and the blasts disappeared. The silence that followed was heavy. Otis knew it happened and had nothing to say. That was fine, she didn't need him to talk. The forest was alive, taking small breaths, and each was coming back to her. Leaves. Branches. Dirt. Animals hiding in fear. She felt the wind go over them like fingers tracing braille. She couldn't quite tell the difference between fur and hair, but the movement of a cloak was clear. It was a curtain, waiting to be drawn to reveal the people backstage. Focusing on that cloak, she spun the wind. A twister rose, whipping her assailants high above the trees.

“Oh…" Otis's voice dropped like a rock. As his plummet began purple light shined out; holes appearing to interrupt their falls. She ran in as light shone nearby. "Another impressive feat, but far from enough to defeat us!" Their group was rising but didn't see her coming.

Kiara suspected the wind wouldn’t be enough, but her next attack would be the last. It’d go the same way it did when she used it on Feline. They thought the severity of this battle would dawn on her, but she had other things in mind. Fire pushed the darkness away, and as all but their ankles emerged, Kiara let it pour. Vanessa opened a rift to swallow it, but the scarlet flames still had her sweating. The other three did their best to stand behind her, but through the shadows thrown upon their faces, Kiara could still see Otis’s smile.

“My word. She has fire too. I think I’ve heard of people like this!”

She spewed it from her other hand, forcing the woman to open a second rift.

“You’ve come far girl, but you still don’t understand. What more, you’ve shown your hand! I admit I was wrong, everyone. This is a girl we cannot leave standing. Vanessa, if you will.”

“Rift Ticket.” The woman replied. Her allies’ hands glowed as symbols wrote on the back of them.

From his, Otis opened a rift, jumping inside as Todd pulled Vanessa along. Kiara stopped her flames before they hit the trees, switching back to the wind. As something behind her took a deep breath she turned on her heels, bringing the fire around. A trail of it rushed over an empty tear. Something breathed behind her again and she saw her misstep. The rift in front of her closed, little more than a feint. She tried to turn the flame behind her, but her body felt too slow.

"Photo Chop!" A bead of light grew into an ax. It came for Kiara's head.

“Striker Crash!” Dropping from above, Diana saved her with a kick. Otis threw the ax as he went flying. It came apart before it reached her, turning into trails snaking through the forest.

Following the light, Kiara found Danson and Keigo approaching: the latter using that porcelain form she saw before. They came to stand beside her as Diana did the same. Pialla ran over too, quickly healing her wounds. Where he fell, Otis rose, dusting himself off. His allies filled the tree above him, and he smiled, though noticeably not as affable. His eyes narrowed as his mouth opened.

"It would appear the cavalry has arrived." He shook his head. "What an absolute shame. I've made a truly grave error."

“Yeah.” Danson replied. “The fight looks like it was pretty unfair. It still is, but now it’s in our favor.”

“Is it truly with a girl who doesn’t know how to cast spells?”

"Yeah," Keigo smirked. "We'll just pick up her slack." Otis frowned as he looked at him. Kiara followed his eyes. The porcelain form was the one Keigo used to bend the light before. If the light was Otis's game, he just found a boss he couldn't beat.

"Nothing of great value has changed." Somehow, he managed to crack the smile again. "This job was as good as over the moment we were picked for it."

Keigo laughed. “I hope you can match the speed of your serpent tongue.”

"I assure you boy, my mind is far faster than my tongue has ever been." A bead of light swirled together. Danson raised his hand to cast a spell, and Diana lowered to dash. A flash broke the night as Otis spiked the bead to the ground.

While her eyes recovered, Kiara switched to the wind. She didn't know what Otis meant but knew she could protect the others. Silence stretched on despite her plan, and when her eyes finally opened, she saw why. The boys were gone. Otis and Cammie stood in front of her and Diana, but where ever their allies went, the boys were taken with them. The smile on the man's face was the furthest thing from kind. It was the smile of a victor now, already aware he'd get the gold.

“That started a bit rough, but I’m ready for take two. Shall we begin?”

…