Chapter 20
Captured
Drew blinked, trying to clear his head. He knew this was bad, knew they were in trouble, but he was having a little difficulty making his head work. He squinted up at the demon standing over them, trying to figure out where he knew him from.
“Your piercings are sooo pretty,” he said, captivated by how the light was sparkling off the hoops and studs.
The demon frowned down at him, and next to him Drew heard Andras mutter, “For fuck’s sake.”
“Your eyes are really green,” he then said. “Do you wear contacts, or are they really that colour? I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes that green before. They don’t look real, but like in agoodway. They’re kind of like gemstones.”
“Drew.Shut up,” Andras hissed.
“What is wrong with the human?” the demon asked.
“My name’s Drew, not Human,” Drew said, since his aunt had always taught him it was polite to introduce himself.
“He had a reaction to the . . .” Andras said the word again that sounded like gobbledygook to Drew, and then he giggled because gobbledygook also sounded like gobbledygook and he lost his train of thought.
“Ah, yes, I suppose human anatomy is different to ours,” the demon said.
“Commander!” one of the soldier demons called across the room. Drew saw them point at Leila. “I believe this is the human’s familiar. Should we kill it?”
“No!” Drew cried, his head clearing a little as fear flashed through him. “Leave her alone!”
The commander shook his head. “You wouldn’t be able to if you tried. Put her in the spelled cage for now.”
While the demons were busy with Leila, Andras leant close to Drew. “Okay, I know you’re still high as a kite, but you need to do something, Drew. Can you magic us out of here?”
“Who are these people?” Drew whispered back.
“They’re the guys who we fought at the ridge. Orias and his lackeys,” Andras explained.
“Oh! I thought he looked familiar,” Drew said.
“Drew, I need you to focus,” Andras pleaded. “Can you get us out of here?”
Drew nodded because Andras sounded scared, and he didn’t want his friend to be scared. “What do I do?” he asked, because even though he wanted to help, he wasn’t sure exactlyhow.
Andras took a deep breath, then said very calmly, “Use your magic to get you, me, and Leila out of here.”
“What about Princess?” Drew asked. “You didn’t even think of him! That’s not nice.”
“Drew,” Andras repeated slowly. “I need you to focus. We can bring Princess as well, but you need to hurry. Can you do that for me? Very bad things are going to happen if we don’t hurry.”
Drew nodded. He could do this! Probably. It would help if his head would stop spinning and those damn ants would leave him alone. Closing his eyes so he could concentrate, he felt his magic there inside him, but it seemed to be locked behind a wall. He frowned. That was different from how it usually was. He pressed against the wall, and a small bit of magic seeped out. He gathered it to him, and then concentrated on himself, Andras, Leila, and Princess. Then he froze. “Shit!”
“What’s wrong?” Andras whispered.
“I can’t think of the Latin words I need!”
“You don’t need Latin words,” Andras told him. “Just use English ones!”
“Oh, right! I forgot I could do that!” Drew kept his eyes open and said, “Take us away!”
The room flickered like the old analogue TV set he’d had as a kid.
They didn’t move.
