Feathers & a Dash of Magic

Chapter 56: Dang it, One Escaped

Cynthia whined and looked over to where the injured lay. There were luckily only a handful of them, and their injuries were easily healed. Except for Virgil's, of course.

"These people will take care of their own, and that includes Virgil. They're going to be okay too."

They looked over as some branches rustled, the sound of several footsteps coming this way. Some humans reached over for weapons, but hesitated.

A man wearing a tie and glasses with one broken lens led a group over, some more magical creatures following them, including a gorgon. Some were injured, including the man with glasses who had blood dripping down the side of his face and cradled an arm, but most of them looked just exhausted. None were hunters, which made everyone in camp sigh with relief.

"Logan!" Kayda called over, still kneeling over Virgil.

The man with glasses stopped the moment he saw the fairy, tears coming to his eyes as he quickly rushed over, the gorgon taking his time to follow. Of course he slowed down to avoid accidentally stepping on any of the injured once he got closer.

"Is he okay? Is he alive?" Logan quickly asked, kneeling down next to Kayda.

"He's alive, but he has iron poisoning," she explained. "Roman went back to find Remus, hopefully he'll help."

"Well, the fighting is starting to die down. I doubt it'll last much longer."

"Good, the less casualties on our side the better. Though, luckily no one on our side has died yet, that I know of. Now go find someone to patch you up, you're mother is going to freak out!"

"I know, I know, but please just..." Logan sighed, looking down at Virgil. "Please take good care of him? Everyone's worried, and I promised Patton that he would be okay."

"I'm doing everything I can, now go focus on yourself. We still have plenty of supplies. What about you, are you okay, Janus?"

"I'm fine, none of the hunters were able to even touch me," he answered. "I'm guessing Remus isn't back yet?"

"No, I haven't seen him."

Janus sighed, "What has that little rat gotten himself into this time?"

"Janny!"

"Nevermind." The gorgon turned around, only for his eyes to widen in surprise at the centaur next to his boyfriend.

"We have a son now! His name is Kayden!" Remus told him, hugging Kayden's arm.

Janus's eyes softened, taking in the centaur's state. He was way too skinny, and it was clear Remus made a prosthetic for him.

He walked over, trying to figure out the best way to approach the nervous child.

"It's nice to meet you, Kayden. Welcome to our crazy family." He turned to Remus. "Did Roman find you?"

"Yeah, he explained the situation to me. Where is he?" Janus looked back at Kayda, who was still sitting next to Virgil. "Shit. Okay, I'll do what I can, but I can't promise anything. Iron burns are hard to heal."

"Just be careful with him, he's barely conscious."

Remus made his way to Virgil, and Janus took Kayden's hand, leading him over to where food was being served. It was mostly rice, beans, and water, but it was better than nothing.

Not much longer, another, much larger group of people and creatures came back to camp, this time being led by Mr. Johnson. Logan had finished wrapping up his arm and bandaging his head by then, and walked over.

"Is it over?" he asked, not hearing any more sounds of fighting.

"Not just yet, but Roman told us all to come back here," Mr. Johnson explained.

"I see, then he's probably going to be doing something very dramatic soon. I suppose he, out of everyone here, needs it the most. Let's just make sure everyone here is okay."

~~~

Roman tore the rifles out of the hunter's grips with the plants around him before he let the wood grow and punctured their chests, killing them almost instantly. He didn't know how many hunters were left, but they were clearly running thin, and everyone on his side was already out. So before anymore hunters have a chance to run out from the building...

He pulled out a glowing blue vial, the potion made from the mushrooms. He quickly drank it, feeling his magic being quickly replenished. Then he pulled out the remainder of his seeds and poured them into the canteen that was running out of water. He pointed the canteen at the building and let the plants rapidly grow.

The different plants buried into the concrete wall, breaking through and hitting the building itself. They dug into the structure, destroying everything they could get into. The building quickly crumbled, and so did the wall, the cage on top trapping everything underneath.

It took a long time for the dust to settle, and Roman himself was covered in white as he sat down. He covered his mouth and nose with his shirt, coughing from the dust as he tried to catch his breath. But he met his goal, the building that trapped his love was destroyed, some hunters buried in the rubble.

He sat there for a moment, staring at it. His plants had grown over it, almost as if centuries had passed. He wondered for a moment just how many had suffered and died in those walls. Roman prayed they were at peace now.

He felt Darrell nudge his arm with his nose. He had sent the fox back to the camp, but he probably didn't listen. He would have wanted to make sure Roman would be okay on his own.

The witch petted him, giving him a tired smile. "Let's head back, I'm sure Virgil and the other's are waiting for us."