A Witch's Way

Chapter 12

Serena felt a hand on her arm leading her back to the edge of the cliff.

"Come on, Serena. We need to stay back. It's an Air Elemental battle, after all. It's bound to get windy as anything," he joked, dropping to the ground. Vines grabbed at his legs, securely marking him in his place.

Serena sat down and felt Lucian's vines curl around her own legs, rooting her down into the ground. "How do you know?"

Lucian smiled. "I've seen Aria fight. It's like a hurricane," he remarked, watching the two stand tensely at each edge of the field.

"You don't think that this will attract anyone, right?" Serena asked. She didn't live near any people, due to her magic ability, but she wasn't sure that the distance could hide a huge hurricane--if Lucian wasn't exaggerating about Aria's fights.

Lucian shrugged. "Usually, people don't bother--then again this is Earth..." Lucian stopped, cupping his hands into a circle over his mouth. "Aria! Cast that spell--you know, the one where people can't see what we're doing!"

"Oh. Right, this is Earth. They would be panicked seeing anything flying," Aria remarked dryly, waving a hand towards the sky.

Serena glanced upwards at the sky. A shaky, almost invisible sphere surrounded the field. It looked as if nothing had happened. "What is it?"

"It's a cloaking spell. Only we have it. It's so we can watch the Elemental Six without them knowing--it's usually not cast on such a large scale and only on ourselves, but if it means that people won't be flocking to see two flying people, then it's worth it to waste the magic energy," Lucian said.

Serena nodded, glancing at the transparent bubble above them. Aria didn't even look as if she had used any magic energy. She hated to admit it, but she was impressed--and slightly envious of the fact that she was so strong.

She crossed her arms and shifted, the vines digging into her legs uncomfortably. She blinked once--only to find Aria gone. She was now behind Jasper, twirling on her hands to kick at him.

Jasper easily pushed himself away using the air around him, flipping backward, landing in a crouched position. Aria followed him gracefully, her bells chiming with each swift and clear movement of her hands and legs at him.

Serena leaned forwards, unsure of where her eyes should go. By the time she brought her eyes to the place she thought they were, they were already on the move to another area in the field. Eventually, Jasper caught her by the arm and pressed a palm to her stomach.

In a few seconds, Aria was from Jasper to a tree nearby. The tree splintered and fell, on top of Aria. Dirt and leaves spread up into the air.

Serena was afraid of breathing. It felt like the air had been sucked out of the bubble, leaving everyone in it to suffocate. She looked to Lucian, who was unusually pale, mouth agape and green eyes wide with shock.

"Aria?" Lucian said softly, the vines removing him from his place on the ground. He stepped cautiously, like approaching a rabid animal, towards the splintered tree. Jasper still stood there, his hand stretched out. "Ari..? Ari, come on," he whispered, pushing away the tree from Aria.

It was like Jasper was frozen in time at what he'd done to the Goddess.

Serena flicked her eyes from Lucian and Aria to Jasper. His hand was shaking, eyes wide. What had he done? It stayed like that for a while, Jasper standing there, like a statue expect for his hand shaking. Lucian knelt next to Aria, whispering to her.

Serena heard the rustling of leaves, which was strange. It was air locked, in order for it to be cloaked, she assumed. Unless--

The leaves started to shake and rustle louder, the sound almost unbearable. It was so loud, next to the whipping of the wind. Serena's hair smacked her in the face, unable to get a direction of where the wind was coming from. She pushed back her hair, squinting her eyes. She was unable to see Aria anymore, the sheer speed of the wind blocking her from view.