The Black Necromancer-Book 4

Chapter 14

                Romulus threw off Remus’s arm and charged at Tamarak, too angry to think twice about attacking him again.

                “Stop it!” Sapphire screeched, her voice high-pitched with fury.

                Romulus side-stepped her as Tamarak turned invisible. He pushed Kayla aside and knocked Cedric to the ground in his wrestle to get free from his captors. Troy crouched down next to Dahlia and started to pull her away. Hot blood ran down her cheeks in rivulets from where Romulus had struck her. Her blue eyes were unfocused and dazed; the blow had been stronger enough to disorient her about her surroundings.

                “Fine!” Sapphire screamed, finally losing patience at the two guys. “You guys fight if that’s what you stupid idiots want to do!”

                With that, she spun on her heel and stormed away, shoving through the crowd to get away from them. Her angry, thumping footsteps echoed off the stairs. For a second, both Tamarak and Romulus froze, their faces both horrified.

                “Sapphire!” Tamarak howled, charging towards the staircase.

                The desperation in his voice could not have been mistaken, but Sapphire did not halt or even slow down. Her footsteps continued racing down the stairs. A couple of seconds later, the main door to the Elementary slammed shut.

                “Leave her alone,” Romulus growled. “She needs time to calm down. Go to her now and you’ll ignite her fuel.”

                “Oh, so you can be the one to help Sapphire is it?” Tamarak snarled.      

                “Stop it!” Kayla shouted. “Isn’t it bad enough that Sapphire’s mad at you guys? Quit it!”

                She and Cedric grabbed Tamarak’s arms once more as he lurched forward with his fists clenched. Romulus swore furiously as Remus and Hunter tackled him roughly, shoving him to the ground to get him to stop.

                “Dahlia, do something!” Kayla yelled, struggling to restrain Tamarak.

                Dahlia, with Troy’s help, managed to get to her feet, nursing her cheek. Romulus’s punch had split the skin and blood streaked all over her face and shirt. Kayla saw Dahlia’s eyes close and cursed inwardly. If Dahlia fainted from Romulus’s blow, she doubted that any of them could stop the guys from fighting.

                “Calm down,” Dahlia said softly, sweetly. Her voice was laced with her charm magic until it was truly mesmerizing. Kayla felt her own body start to relax at Dahlia’s words. “Don’t fight. Just take a deep breath and count to three. Then let it out and you’ll feel better.”

                Tamarak swore angrily as Dahlia began talking. He hated her gift because once she began speaking, he could not resist her charm. None of them could. It was extremely useful in a fight, but all of them hated it with a vengeance when Dahlia used it on them, even if it was for their own good.

                It was called so many different things: charming, mesmerizing, enchanting, bewitching and persuading. Either way, it amounted to Dahlia’s gift, one that she took full advantage of when she needed to.

                All of them felt Dahlia’s magic settle on them like honey. Even the magicians whom she wasn’t targeting felt the wisps of power start to sink into their skin. Kayla glanced at the Magician of Water; she was practically glowing with power, beauty and strength, even though she was still bleeding badly from her wound.