Chapter 52: The Envious Witch
"Holy crap!" Hex yelped, his usual dark composure shattering. Without a second thought, he channeled his mana, a crimson aura flaring around him as he shot into the sky, desperate to escape.
"Don't you dare run!"
The booming, strangely resonant voice of Terraspin echoed from behind. Seeing Hex flee with the Keystone of Bezel clutched in his hand, the massive turtle-like alien retracted his head, tucked his limbs into his shell, and ignited the vents on his underbelly. With a powerful gust of wind, he became a living, spinning saucer, rocketing through the air in hot pursuit.
Hex risked a glance over his shoulder and pushed himself to fly even faster. 'You tell me not to run, so I'm supposed to just stop? What kind of logic is that?!'
"..." Charmcaster, who had been utterly ignored throughout the entire chaotic exchange, hovered in place for a moment, a look of sheer bewilderment on her face. She had never, in all her years, seen her uncle act with such undignified panic.
But this was no time for idle observation. Hex was on his way to perform the ritual to summon the Archamada, a feat that could only be accomplished during a total solar eclipse. With that grim thought galvanizing her, Charmcaster's own magic flared to life, and she too took to the skies, chasing after the bizarre duo.
...
Miles away, the Rustbucket was completely stationary, trapped in a sea of unmoving vehicles.
"This is so annoying! Why is there a traffic jam in the middle of nowhere?" Ben groaned, his head resting listlessly in his hands as he stared out the window at the endless line of cars.
Gwen looked equally displeased, and not just because of the delay. The first thing she'd seen upon waking up that morning wasn't Klein, but a hastily scribbled note. She was still a bit baffled by it; she'd never pegged Klein as someone who would be interested in magic.
But if he was, why didn't he take her with him?
"Looks like something's happening up ahead," Grandpa Max's voice cut through their thoughts, his tone laced with practiced calm.
Ben and Gwen leaned forward, peering through the windshield. Up ahead, the source of the commotion became clear. Drivers had abandoned their cars, standing on the asphalt with their necks craned, all looking up at the sky. Many had their phones out, snapping pictures and recording videos.
Following their gaze, Ben and Gwen's jaws dropped. A strange figure in a black and red robe was streaking across the sky, pursued relentlessly by a gigantic flying turtle. And trailing behind the turtle, as if struggling to keep up, was a young woman with silver hair, flying with an aura of pink energy.
"Cousin!" Gwen and Ben exclaimed in unison.
The scene was so surreal it bordered on comical. On the road below, a man was shouting into his phone, his voice filled with a frantic, disbelieving excitement. "Bro, I'm not lying to you! I swear on my life, I'm looking at a giant flying turtle right now!"
...
High above the gridlocked highway, a ridiculous argument was unfolding.
Terraspin: "Stop running!"
Hex, his voice cracking with exertion: "Then stop chasing me!"
Terraspin: "If you stop running, I'll stop chasing!"
Hex, nearly sobbing with frustration: "If you weren't chasing me, I wouldn't be running!"
Their absurd chase led them over a public park and into the sprawling green labyrinth of a hedge maze. Seizing the opportunity, Hex dove down, vanishing into the leafy corridors. Terraspin hovered high above, his massive form circling as he scanned the maze for any sign of the sorcerer.
"Why is this blasted turtle so persistent!" Hex muttered, pressing himself into a corner of the maze. He peered up through a gap in the hedges, watching the giant alien silhouette patrol the sky.
It was only then, in the relative quiet, that a thought struck him. His niece was gone. "Where did Charmcaster go? She just vanished after handing me the Keystone of Bezel..." He frowned, his mind racing. Then his eyes widened in sudden, dawning horror. "...Wait. Where did she get the Keystone?"
His face contorted with disbelief. He looked from the powerful artifact clutched in his hand to the enormous flying turtle in the sky, and back again. A terrible, unbelievable suspicion began to form in his mind.
...
While the Rustbucket was stuck, its occupants were not. Ben and Gwen had quickly followed the aerial chase on foot, arriving at the park just in time to see the pursuers disappear into the maze.
They plunged into the green labyrinth, hoping to find their cousin. Instead, they rounded a corner and came face-to-face with the third flyer—the silver-haired girl. It was Charmcaster, the very person Hex had just realized was missing.
"Who are you? Where's Hex?" Ben demanded, stepping forward protectively in front of Gwen.
They had seen her flying behind Terraspin and Hex, so they figured she had to be involved. The fact that she was clearly a magic user only strengthened their suspicion that she was connected to the robed sorcerer. More, if they could get information on Hex, they might find Klein.
Charmcaster merely glanced at the two children, her expression one of utter disinterest. She turned to leave.
Of course, Ben and Gwen weren't about to let that happen. As their cousin would say, 'Just take her down first!'
Seeing the two kids tense up, ready for a fight, Charmcaster let out a low, amused chuckle. The sound was like honey mixed with poison. She was in the mood to teach these brats a lesson. "Hmm? You can transform?"
Her amusement vanished a moment later. After a very brief and one-sided confrontation, Charmcaster found herself looking much more... cooperative. It seemed she had no choice but to talk about her uncle. But first, she needed to gather some information.
"You can call me Charmcaster," she said, her voice now soft and hesitant. "I... I don't know where Hex went." She looked down, feigning distress, before glancing up at them through her lashes. "Um... what's your relationship with him?"
Her plan was simple: she would tailor her own connection to Hex based on whatever their answer was.
Seeing that she claimed to be ignorant of Hex's whereabouts, Ben and Gwen decided she was a dead end and prepared to leave.
"Wait!" Charmcaster called out, a note of desperation in her voice. "I can help you."
...
Charmcaster sensed that following these two children could lead to an unexpected opportunity. On the way to find Hex and the alien turtle, she expertly wove a tale of woe, "accidentally" playing the victim and masterfully gaining their trust.
After seeing Ben and Gwen's expressions soften with sympathy, Charmcaster "reluctantly" revealed her relationship with Hex. In her telling, her uncle was a monster of the highest order, a manipulative tyrant who used and abused her. She, in turn, was a poor, pitiful victim, forced into a life she never wanted.
During her performance, she also skillfully extracted the nature of their relationship with Klein.
Just as her story reached its tragic crescendo, a massive shadow fell over the three of them. The giant flying turtle had spotted them from above.
Terraspin descended with a gust of wind that rustled the hedges, his eyes fixed on the girl who had stolen the Keystone in the first place. He landed with a heavy thud and prepared to attack.
"Cousin, wait! She's a good person!" Gwen shouted, throwing herself in front of Charmcaster.
Terraspin froze, his head slowly emerging from his shell. "Hmm?"
'Am I going crazy?'he thought.'How did you two end up on her side?'
A flash of quiet blue light enveloped the massive alien, and in his place stood Klein. He stepped forward and gently ruffled Gwen's hair, his touch instantly calming her nervous energy. "Alright," he said, his voice calm. "I'm listening."
Standing to the side, Charmcaster watched the simple, affectionate gesture. She didn't know why, but a sharp, unfamiliar pang of envy twisted in her gut. When was the last time someone had stroked her head with such gentle care?
No one else noticed her fleeting expression.
Ben let out a sigh of relief as Klein lowered his guard. He and Gwen quickly began to explain everything, passionately speaking in Charmcaster's defense, recounting the sob story she had so masterfully sold them.
Klein knew immediately that his dorky cousin and gullible little sister had been completely fooled. But he didn't say anything. Firstly, he wasn't the least bit afraid of whatever scheme Charmcaster was cooking up. Secondly, the most important thing right now was getting the Keystone of Bezel back.
"Uh, Ben, Gwen," Klein began, starting his own subtle probe. "Did you happen to run into Hex when you came in?" He felt a flicker of conflict; he hoped they had, so they might know where the Keystone was, but he also hoped they hadn't, because he couldn't rule out the possibility that Hex had simply overpowered them and taken it.
(Hex, hiding three corridors away: 'How little do you think of me? Does it never occur to you that I might have been the one to run them off?')
Seeing both Ben and Gwen shake their heads, Klein felt a wave of relief, quickly followed by the helplessness of being back at square one.
Right.
Klein's head slowly turned, his gaze landing squarely on Charmcaster.
The moment his eyes were on her, Charmcaster felt a sudden, inexplicable nervousness prickle her skin.
Klein was oblivious to her reaction, and even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have cared. He cut straight through the pretense, his voice low and direct.
"What is Hex planning to do with that thing?"
Charmcaster was startled by the bluntness of the question. It took her a second to realize what "that thing" referred to. After a moment's thought, a slow, calculating smile touched her lips. "He..."
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