Natalie turned to him. “Like, just now? I don’t know if you missed it, mister, but we just got attacked by demons, and the last thing on my mind right now is falling as—”
Bingwen waved his hand over her face and a golden light flowed down to her face, causing her to fall asleep instantly.
Axle stared at him. “What was that?”
“Sand from the Sandman, now take a step back,” Bingwen replied, looking at the bracelet.
Axle watched as he folded his arms and focused all of his concentration on the bracelet. It began to glow from whatever he was doing, and Axle heard the man’s heartbeat and breath begin to quicken.
“Are you okay?”
“Quiet,” Bingwen replied.
Axle watched as Bingwen walked closer, sweat glistening on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and stretched out his hands over the bracelet. The purple aura from the bracelet emanated upward, seeping into Bingwen’s hands. Axle wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, seeing the sorcerer doing his best to keep himself upright as the bracelet seemed to be pulling him toward it.
“Bingwen, do you need help?” Axle asked, putting aside his dislike for the man.
“Yes, but if you touch me, you’ll burn yourself. Just stay quiet and wait!” Bingwen yelled, his voice strained as he tried to pull away.
Axle watched as Natalie’s arm began rising slowly upward as Bingwen strained, his groans growing louder and louder as he did whatever it was he was doing.
The purple energy from the bracelet began to spread, whisps of it striking the floor, the sofa itself, and one hitting the ground next to Axle’s feet. Each strike left a powerful burn mark in its wake, threatening to catch a blaze.
“Get down!” Bingwen yelled, his hair being whipped around by the energy, standing on end as though there was an electrical current flowing through it.
Axle reacted instantly, hitting the floor. Bingwen stopped whatever he was doing and the energy was pulled back into the bracelet. Axle looked up, thinking there would be some sort of explosion, but nothing happened.
He exchanged glances with Bingwen, confused. But before he could speak, the bracelet released the energy, sending both men across the room and into the wall.
Axle reacted quickly, knowing that the impact could kill Bingwen, so he put out his arm, slowing the man down as much as he could before they both hit the wall. He dropped to the floor, groaning in pain. Bingwen held out a hand, helping him back to his feet, just as Nat woke up.
She turned to look at them, confused. “What happened?”
Bingwen shook his head. “Whatever that is, it’s very powerful and obviously what Kanai is after. God,” he groaned, touching the back of his head.
“First time?” Axle asked. “So, can we take it off? If she has it on, he’ll keep sending people after her.” He spoke in low tones so she wouldn’t hear.
“I’m right here, tell me what happened!” Natalie yelled.
Bingwen turned to her, waving his hand and forcing her to sit. He responded quickly, “Bracelet’s really powerful, we need to get it off. Stay put, do what he says.”
“So?” Axle continued. “Can you get it off?”
“I can’t, that was what I was trying to do. I tried to separate it from her, but apparently, it’s raw energy, and it has bonded with her. It was supposed to only bond with creatures of magic, but I guess there was some mix-up, somehow. For whatever reason, that isn’t coming off of her unless she’s dead.”
Axle swallowed. “So now what?”
“I need to get to the heritage site, see what I can find. Maybe I can learn something that’ll help me figure out how to take it off. But until then, you need to keep her safe.”
Chapter 10 - Natalie
Natalie felt her hands and limbs be controlled by a force she couldn’t see. She looked up to see the man and Axle speaking, stunned by what was going on. The old man had set the demon on fire with a single touch, killing it instantly, and now she was forced to sit down by magic. It was insane.
“…keep her safe,” she heard the man saying, before he turned to her. “Stay with him, don’t do anything stupid, I’ll be back.”
As he walked out of the room, Natalie felt her body release and she dropped to a knee.
Axle turned to her, raising an eyebrow. “Are you okay?”