Cold Breath

"Do your worst. Come on Briar focus." Caia was standing in the middle of her room, knees bent slightly. She was trying to make Briar bring her illusions to life. So far illusions were just that illusions. Briar could bend her surroundings and make weather gather into destructive storms of great beauty, yet they were just art there was no sustenance.

Briar could admit ever since the binding spell was released and her link to the dark figure of her mind was severed that her glint was pulsating stronger than ever. Her illusions were greater more expansive, they were more convincing but they weren't real. If they weren't real then there was no point in even trying. They were going up against triad of darkness and they needed all the help they could get.

Briar held up her dowel a drew fourth an image of a raging bull with red eyes and horns of ivory. The dust swirled and danced and formed the bull of her minds eye. It saw Caia, it target. It pawed the ground and chraged. Caia braced herself, a deep resonating sound emitting from. If the bull was real she didn't want to be trampled. Briar held her breath as the bull breached Caia's sound barrier and passed through her like wind through hair.

"Your not focusing! We don't have time for this!" Caia yelled, making the open plain illusion disperse. They were running out of time, they needed results not dust.

"Then use Knox! He's a class one Theurgian. He can create anything and make it real." Briar was trying, but it was hard for someone to break through boundaries that were enforced upon her for ten years.

"That's apperant, but Knox isn't going to be able to come along and you know it." It was true. Caia and Dash knew that the sanctum where the three were hiding was warded. Caia could pass because her soul needed the other half, Jervan and Dash could pass because they were members, Briar got a free pass becuase she was well on her way to being an ice minion. Caia had done her research and realize they were only going to be able to get three pass the ward, Thaddeus, Alan and Tate.

"Well I might be able to help." Knox appeared at the doorway. Briar and Caia both gave him a glare. Caia's was borderline bug killing while Briar's was pure frustration. "I see tempers are flaring." He fully stepped into the room. "Here's some advice...lose the dowel. Its blocking you from putting complete focus into your creations." Knox stepped foward and yanked the dowel from Briar. Using his second set of arms, he broke it in half and tossed it to the ground.

"Hey!" Briar dropped to her knees and gathered her dowel. It was good and gone, any usefulness it had was gone. "Now what?!" Briar demanded looking Knox straight in his eyes.

"Use your mind and your hands. You have the ability." Knox smiled showing his fangs. "Now you have the power."

Briar was a little miffed. A sudden image of a fly swatter appeared in her minds forefront. With a cry of pain and surprise Knox was thrown across the room. He slumped against the wall with a look of shock. Floating in mid air was a huge blue fly swatter.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Knox stood up and stumbled slightly. "You just have to find your outlet."

Briar stood on shaky legs. The swatter disappeared in a swirl of dust. She couldn't believe that her illusion became real. It was surprisingly empowering to know that she could do it. She quickly imagined large horse. It settled into existent and trotted around smelling things. Caia smiled and tried to touch it, but her hand went straight through it.

"Hit and miss it looks like." Caia turned around and grabbed a pen and paper and started a list. "Here's a list of illusion." He handed it to Knox. "You helped her more than I. Make sure she can do these." Caia patted Brair on the back as she passed through the room.

"Where you going?" Briar demanded.

Caia cocked an eyebrow. "Bossy." She continued walking. "If you must know. I have other things that need to be done. A banishing spell and weapons. Hopeful your brother could decipher my dad's book." Caia gave a little wave and left.



"The city is under attack." Jervan laid a map out on the table. Vaguely in a circle was seven red X's. "Each one of these spots is attack. In the last hour these have been reported. Each have eye witness reports of ice creature."

"These are all located by the gates to the city." Dash points out.

"There trying to keep the people here. Yalara is trying to cause chaos." Caia shouldered a pack that was laying next to the table. "We shoulde go. We need to stol this." She picked up to more packs. One she handed to Alan the other she handed to Tate.

"And how do we plan on taking out the three?" Briar bit out. While she and Knox were learning the list of illusions, the house was in an uproar. Caia was leading the charge to get things rolling.

Caia nodded towards Tate. "Your brother here will be retrieving an item of great importance." Tate nodded in agreement. "He will meet us there." Caia tossed him a braided bracelet. "This will get you pass the ward." Caia tossed Alan and Thaddeus each a braid.

Briar looked at Tate and felt abandoned. Her eyes took on a sadden glow. She didn't know why he didn't tell her herself than find it out like everyone else.

"While you guys deal with Yalara. We will see what we can do about the ice minions." Adelita opened the front door. "Come on Knox. I will take troll central and you can have fairyland. Keleb probably is there causing more problems." Knox's eyes went huge at the mention of Keleb seconds later he was out the door and gone. Adelita snickered gave a wave and shut the door.

"Caia since you know where we are goig you lead the way." Jervan said. He went to open the door for her but she beat him to it and opened the door herself. There was still tension between them over the chains. Her trust in him was still questionable but it was better than before.

Slowly to not draw attention, a seven of them trudged their way to the sanctum. It longer than they intended to get to the library, but they had to avoid all the people runninf around in a panic. At one point Jervan got separated from them, so Council Member Addox didn't catch them and try to stop them.

Before they entered the library Caia turned around. "If you don't want to be here leave, cause there's no turning back." Caia didn't wait for a response and turned to walk away.

Maybe a few days ago, Briar would've turned back, but now there was more at stake. She glanced down and watched the butterfly flutter about, it tended to like her knuckles. It weaved between them. It gave her comfort. Maybe they had help from the other side. She glanced up feeling someone watching herm Dash smiled and her nerves seemed to settle down a bit. She smiled back wishing they could've had more time. Who knows if they are going to make it.