Immortal Tales - the boy with magic

Chapter Three

The afternoon light turned orange, then purple, then black.

The moon shone bright in the sky as Isaac was pacing nervously up and down his hiding spot.

Andre had said he would have been back in a two hours and five had passed. Maybe it was just some problem with the potion. Maybe it just took him longer to get everything fixed.

A muted cry was building up in throat. He couldn't breathe, his knees were shaking.

Did Andre change his mind? Why was he not back yet?

-Crappy Nature - he cursed as he exited the brunches.

Before he could think of how stupid his moves were, Isaac run towards the mist forest.

It was suicide.

His emotions were so unfiltered, the mist people would understand what was going on as soon as he stepped into their fog. But what other choice did he have? Andre had gone, and he was probably in big trouble. He couldn't leave him behind.

The night humidity mixed with the mist. Little drops of sweat formed on his back and on his brows. He blinked them away. The trees started to part ways, leaving a clear path in its place.

Isaac stepped forward and the mist solidified around his ankles, forbidding him from moving.

"Child" a rough voice spoke to his mind. "You have betrayed our trust"

Isaac's knees trembled and he fell on his knees. Their pull of magic was too strong. He had been a fool to think he could better them. His hands scraped the ground, his mouth begging for air.

-Where ... is ... him? - he managed to spit out.

The mist people did not bother to answer to his request.

"Your heart is still pure. You have just been blinded by emotions we so kindly took from you. Listen to the pulse of magic. Power is all it matters."

Isaac gasped. He would have given more of a reaction if it hadn't been for the fact that his lungs could not cope with the effort.

The mist people had taken their emotions. Immortals would be just like all the other humans if it wasn't for them.

"But if your magic keeps fighting us ... your mind will eventually fail. It is not safe to purge so often"

-Where ... is ... him? - he repeated. With an inhuman effort, he got to his feet. He readied himself for an attack he knew would not come. Tried to gather magic around himself with no success.

"The immortal boy you seek has already been purged for the last time. His memories are gone, he is ready for his role as a path-changer"

-NO! - he screamed. His heart pulled from within his chest. -He will come back. He always does. He always does. -

The mist enveloped his naked torso, forcing him to hold his breath to survive.

"The boy would not survive another purging. If you try to remove our work again with your rough magic, he will die."

-You are lying - he spat out.

Isaac knew he would die. No one could speak to the mist people in such ways and survive to tell. But he could not stand the idea of Andre dying.

It might have been a threat but ... how could he risk it? He hadn't even known it was him who had helped him recover his emotions every time.

A shadow crossed the mist threshold. Isaac's eyes teared up at the sight of his friend.

-Andre ... - he whispered.

And yet he knew it wasn't him. Not entirely.

The boy he had kissed only a few hours before was gone. In his place, a path-changer had been raised. His gold brown eyes didn't sparkle with emotion, his hair was tied tightly into a ponytail. His naked chest was bleeding with whip wounds, but he did not show any discomfort.

His beautiful face was hollow and dark circles had formed around his eyes. His lips were swollen.

He did not seem to recognise him at all.

-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM? - he raged. He fought against the magical restraints as a sob raised in his chest.

"He has just been cleaned" two voices replied in unison. "And soon you will be too. We cannot risk loosing precious immortals to such mundane issues."

"Accept us into your mind, and your friend will not suffer any longer" said the first voice.

It took Isaac a second to understand what they meant. The mist people could not take his memories against his will, probably because of his magic gift. They needed him to allow them.

He might have been just a pawn, but not even the Queens and Kings of the game could play without them. They needed the immortals.

-I would rather die - he cursed.

The mist unwrapped from his body and he took a shaky breath. His ribs must have been bruised, each breath sending a stabbing pain through his chest.

"We expected as much" said the second voice. "But would you rather your friend died?"

Andre took a step forward.

"You see... soon after the mind has been wiped clean, the immortals take some time before recovering their personalities, their ideas ... their ability to think really." A said the first voice sending a shiver down his spine.

"Child" they said in unison towards Andre. "Grab that branch and hit yourself with it until we tell you otherwise"

-No ... - Isaac muttered. -Andre don't listen to them! Come back to me! -

The mist wrapped around his ankles again, not allowing him to stop his friend. Isaac's eyes watered as Andre grabbed a thorny branch and hit his own legs with hit.

One, two, three.

The drops of blood started to fall on the cold ground with an hissing sound.

One, two, three.

Isaac screamed at him to stop again, but Andre did not even bother to look at him.

"Stop now child"

Andre did as he was ordered.

"Grab the knife on the ground, would you?"

Isaac noticed that his own knife had fallen on the ground as soon as he had started battling the mist people.

Andre waited for further orders.

"Child" the mist people talked to him. "Your friend is of little use to us. His magic is barely powerful enough for shape shifting, and he hasn't even mastered that yet. If we had to pick between the two of you, it would be you."

Should he have felt proud of that? His heart was only darkness.

"If we force him to stab himself, your mind will be so fragile we will take what we want from you anyways. We would hate such waste of immortal lives."

For once, Isaac knew they were telling the truth. He kept feeling the magic trying to penetrate his barriers, and him barely holding them at bay.

He looked one last time at Andre, the knife in his hands, the vague stare in his eyes. He tried to capture every single detail of his face in his mind, from the freckled nose to the golden eyes. His kind smile. The softeness of his lips when they kissed.

Isaac felt his eyes growing wet.

-You can have me. - he said finally. -Please don't hurt him -

Immortals never begged, but he would make an exception.

Isaac closed his eyes and the mist entered his mind, deleting everything in its path. 

....

Author's note: first part of Andre and Isaac's back story is completed! Can you guess how they met Jane? And how he remembered about the both of them?? Find out in the following chapters!