1.50.5 Defence of the Madwin’s Barrow
"Who else could I be, little runt?
It was her! Nobody else called him that.
He had never before thought hearing someone call him, runt, would make his knees go weak with disbelief. He found himself stumbling forward, arms outstretched, and before he knew it, he was hugging her, tears welling up in his eyes.
To his astonishment, Nairobi's embrace was just as fierce. The warmth of her hug was what he heeded. "I … I thought I was alone."
"So did I, runt," Nairobi said softly. "So did I."
The two of them separated, their eyes still locked in disbelief. Nairobi looked him up and down. "What's the last thing you remember before arriving here?" she asked.
Michael furrowed his brow, trying to remember that day. "The four of us were walking together down an alley, and then the mist came…"
"Exactly. There were four of us."
Michael felt a strange premonition. Could she be…
"What are you implying, Nairobi?"
"You and I are both here and both of us were together in our last memory of home. If that is true, then—"
"Mason and Maddison might be here as well," Michael finished for her, his voice trembling slightly. He couldn't believe the words coming out of his own mouth.
"Exactly," Nairobi said.
Michael felt a surge of emotion he couldn't even recognise, running through him. His older brothers and sisters—who were twins—might also be in this world. What was he to do with this knowledge? How could he even begin to search for them? What if they were in danger? What if they were alone? What if they were already dead?
Don't think the worst, Michael. Forget about Murphy's Law. The worst that can happen won't happen. I won't let it.
"If they are here, how do we find them? How would we even know?"
Nairobi shrugged. "This wor … This place has magic, doesn't it? There might be ways to find them. Besides, we found each other, didn't we? And weren't even looking for each other. How hard can this be?"
She was about to say 'world' wasn't she?
Michael was about to respond when a new voice interrupted them. "What are you guys talking about?"
He turned to see the other girl who had arrived with Nairobi.
"Oh, I completely forgot about her, " Nairobi said. "Michael, this is Isha … Isha meet, Michael. Two of us are from the same place."
Isha looked at him with a thoughtful expression. "Ah, so this is the runt you were talking about when you told us how you were captured."
"The one and only," Nairobi said.
"You should call me Michael," he said, shaking Isha's hand. "And please do me a favour and do not listen to Nairobi. I'm not a runt."
Isha favoured him with a laugh.
Abruptly, Michael remembered what Isha had said. Nairobi was captured?
Michael snapped his head around in her direction. "You were captured How? You are the last person I'd expect to ever be captured in any situation."
Nairobi scratched the back of her head. "Let's not talk about that now, shall we? We have far more important things to do."
Oh, the story behind her imprisonment was good, wasn't it? Something that might allow him to poke at her nerves. He wanted to know more about it now.
But before he could say anything else someone from the line of armed villagers spoke up. "They are coming in again."
Michael turned and found the invisible barrier blocking the Titan Spawn was gone, and now they were rushing through the pathways once more.
Damnation! How could he forget that they were in the middle of a war?
***Castra noticed that Isha and Nairobi had settled the matter with the village defenders, as she knew they would. And it seemed Nairobi knew one of them.
Castra watched them exchange words for a few more seconds before dropping the barrier of air that was preventing the Titan Spawns from passing through the pathways.
She wanted her apprentices to fight for their lives, they would not grow strong otherwise. Of course, she would make sure they would not die. She simply wanted them to feel like they were about to die.
After dropping the barrier, she turned her attention to the enemy [Mages] who were gasping for breath. They were nearly out of Mana. Pathetic lot! Well, she was a Black Coral Academy graduate, so her standards for [Mages] were incredibly high—sue her!
She decided a simple [Fireball] should do the trick and synergized the spell.
A bolt of Lightning flew at her from behind.
She smiled, flying sideways, and activated the lightning trap.
The ground beneath the enemy [Mages] flared with sorcery and the lightning bolt steered in that direction.
However, the lightning dissipated into Mana particles before it struck down her enemies.
She had known the [Great Mage] she had clashed with some time ago was in the area, she had even anticipated the nature of his attack. He was so bad at concealing his presence and intentions, it was ridiculous. How did he even reach the heights of [Great Mage] with such pathetic talents?
Castra sighed, watching the enemy [Mages] scramble and retreat. She had hoped that lightning would kill her enemies, but alas, she could not have everything.
She turned in another direction and sneered up at the hooded figure. He was no match for her.
"So we meet again," Castra said, hands on hips. "I must say, your loyalty to your underlings is almost admirable. Not many would risk their own lives for their pawns."