The carriage came to a halt in front of the city’s cemetery, and Ariel felt the anxiety well up in his stomach, twisting it to the point it hurt.

After exiting the carriage, Jasper instructed the coachman to wait for their return and began strutting towards the cemetery gates, Ariel trying to match his pace.

“We’ll check the cemetery first, then the surrounding areas if we can’t find her.” Jasper explained, walking past the wrought iron gate.

The area seemed vacant, only tombstones stood along the grounds, bearing silent memorials of the humans who had drawn their last breaths. Some graves were covered in freshly placed flowers, while others seemed to be forgotten by time, worn down by wind and dust.

They get nice, formal burials while I’ll probably end up in a mass grave somewhere…

At the center of the cemetery was a large mausoleum with proudly displaying the surname Chassuer. Ariel glared up at it, instantly recognizing the name. When he had attended a human school as child, the Chassuer family had been hailed as heroes of the Great War between mages and humans a hundred years ago, and thanks to their efforts, they were able to overpower the Magi people and turn the tides of the war. But his mother had painted a different story for him.

Along with the Kaula family, the Chassuers were one of the first humans to enslave mages and use their power to aid in military combat.

“Hey, Ariel, look,” Jasper whispered, breaking Ariel from his thoughts. He followed Jasper’s finger to where a figure stood in the shadow of the great mausoleum. Ariel could barely make out its features, but it was definitely suspicious.

The two began to walk towards it, and Jasper placed a hand on his ring, turning it two notches up. A feeling of warmth coursed through Ariel at the sensation of a piece of his soul returning to him, enabling him to use more of his magic. A grin dashed across his face and he flexed his fingers. The shadowed figure, which Ariel could now see looked to be female, spotted them and was now trying to get away. She turned away from them and began to dash away.

“Ariel, stop her!” Jasper commanded.

Ariel held up his hand, and snapped his fingers. As soon as he did, the ground in front of the fleeing figure burst into flames, creating a wall, blocking off her escape. She turned towards them frantically, amber eyes narrowing.

“Looks like the hounds caught wind of my scent,” she spat, fixing Jasper in her cold glare. She then looked over to Ariel, her gaze taking on a look of pitiful rage. “And it looks like he brought his bitch too.”

“Listen,” Jasper spoke up. “We can do this peacefully, and you can come with us, no conflict needed.”

The mage threw her head back with a cold laugh. “I’m not returning to that life so easily. And I went through all the trouble to get this.” She held up her hand, brandishing the ring on her finger.

Jasper sighed. “Ariel, do what you must to convince her to comply.”

“Yes, master,” Ariel forced himself to speak.

The woman sighed and extended both of her hands forward, summoning a gale of wind. The air pushed against Ariel with such force that he skidded back a few steps, but was able to stop himself from falling back by digging his heels into the ground. Jasper, was not as lucky. The gale sent him tumbling away, grasping frantically at the ground.

“Don’t worry about me!” Jasper cried over the howl of the wind. “Just stop her!”

Ariel turned his focus back to the matter at hand. Struggling against the powerful winds, he snapped again, summoning another stretch of flames. However, they were quickly extinguished by the winds. She smiled sadly at Ariel and began to step towards him, the scarf covering her tattoos billowing in the wind like a flag. With each step, the force of the wind grew stronger, forcing Ariel back further, and further, until his back was pressed against the wall of the mausoleum.

He grunted, finding himself unable to move against the pressure of the winds blowing against him. Drawing his breath became difficult under the pressure. He turned his head, and spotted Jasper crouching behind a tombstone to shield himself from the winds.

The mage followed Ariel’s gaze to Jasper.

“That boy hold your chains, doesn’t he?” She spoke to Ariel softly, her words almost lost to the winds. “Despite your obedience to him, I’ll do you a kindness.” She dropped her one hand to her side, the other still pointed at Ariel. Even though the gust was still blowing over him, the pressure lessened, and Ariel found it easier to draw his breath.

With her free hand, the mage pulled a small knife from her pocket. Ariel’s eyes widened as he realized what she was implying.

She’s going to kill Jasper…