4.The Serpent's Caster (ManxBoy)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Thank you." I said lowly and he sighed.

"Jennifer's found you, we are on our way." I nodded and we hung up. I was somewhat calmer than earlier as I waited for some kind of sign that Linus was alright. I had never felt so useless in my entire life.

Eventually, only moments after my call the mirage fell away. The image of thick trees seemed to melt and my heart stopped st the sight of Linus on the ground, barely breathing.

"Linus!" I yelled in panic and rushed over to him. I took him into my arms with wide panicked eyes and slapped him lightly. "Linus! Come on! Wake up." I begged then and looked around and the empty field of this God forsaken land. I hissed angrily and took him into my arms. I cursed not feeling too sure about the best direction to take. I felt very defeated.

I settled us beneath the shade of the trees as I waited for some sign that James was close by. It had been two hours when he called in a panic that didn't help me.

"We can't get through." He told me panting. "Some kind of...barrier is up!" He explained, "and the trees are all burnt to a crisp."

"In what direction?" I asked trying to be calm.

"We are just easy of you." He told me.

"We are coming." I hung up and took Linus into my arms. I carried him and tried to run without hurting him. It took me a few minutes to reach trees that were smoking and black with sot. I coughed and ran through them until I stumbled into cleaner air and a road.

"Fraden!" The sound of James' voice had never been so sweet. He rushes over to us and frowned. "What happened!? How did you get through?" He looked around us confused. He walked over and placed his palm on thin air, except for him, it was more like a glass wall was in between him and the dead trees. I shook my head.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, let's think about it when we get home." I coughed and proceeded to get into the car. Jennifer frowned at the sight if us and I gave a nod in greeting.

As we drove I filled them in on what happened, from the teleportation Linus did, to his weird magical tall with his dead mother and finally how I found him to be in the state he was in. We had covered him with a blanket because he was cold to the touch and shivering.

"So, he can talk to the dead?" James asked as I combes through Linus' hair. It still amazed me how much James was so interested in everything supernatural. He had done as much research as he could all his life, and even though not everything he knew was accurate, he was close enough.

"I don't really know."  I admitted and glanced at Jennifer. "Caster's had been extinct in my time," I told him and noticed how Jennifer seemed to become concerned at the name caster. She frowned. "I had only met one, and he locked me up."

"That is unfortunate." James sighed while his sister turned in her seat and stared at Linus.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked softly and I was taken aback.

"We should hope so," I told her and she bit her lip seeming to get lost in thought.

"What do you think happened to him in there anyway?" James asked.

"I can't really say," I shrugged, "the handful of times I'd seen him get this way was when he used magic."

"Really? He passes out when he uses magic?" Jennifer asked confused and I nodded.