It worked. And yet, it didn't. Yet again, Wreath grabbed at something that made his fist glow, and Billy-Ray prepared to sink below the magic's effects before they could do any real damage to him.
It felt an awful lot like he'd just run headfirst into a solid brick wall.
He hadn't actually run headfirst into a solid brick wall, so no bones broke, nothing got bruised, nothing was twisted or sprained or fractured. In the grand scheme of things, Billy-Ray was going to be perfectly fine. It was just hard to remember that in the face of the sudden, overwhelming, crippling spasms that wracked his body as he reached for magic that just suddenly wasn't there. Suddenly blocked off. Suddenly totally and completely inaccessible, with Billy-Ray still halfway into the ground and only just rising to try and take advantage of Wreath's fall.
He was stuck, and it hurt. He couldn't breathe. The carpet was choking him. The surrounding stone pressed into him, no longer even attempting to part at his touch, constricting Billy-Ray's lungs and leaving his cry of pain a mere strangled guttural sound.
It only lasted a few seconds, but those few seconds felt like an eternity. Billy-Ray was faced squarely with the realisation that this must be what having your magic bound felt like. He'd never experienced it before. It was frustrating as hell; knowing you were about to die, feeling the magic that could easily save you, and not being able to reach it. Not even being able to touch it. It pulsed gently just out of reach, but there was nothing Billy-Ray could do except wait for it to sweep through him again.
It did, eventually, and he was able to sink back into the floor, panting heavily and just trying to get his breath back. He'd let go of Wreath at some point - it was difficult to know exactly when. Even more difficult to know exactly where Wreath was now. A part of Billy-Ray insisted that the best course of action at this point was to cut his losses, get out of here as fast as he could, and disappear off the face of the planet before anyone could come looking for him.
The other, more reasonable part of him really wanted that monetary compensation before he did. And Wreath wasn't dead yet.
Besides, it kind of seemed like Wreath wasn't sure of what he could do any more than Billy-Ray was. The ex-Necromancer was desperate, reaching out for anything that would save him. Now, as dangerous as that could be - and already had been - it also meant Wreath lacked finesse. And skill. Really, he was just desperate, and that was all that was dangerous.
Billy-Ray took a few deep breaths, let the feel of his magic and the earth around him seep back into his confidence, and extended his awareness above ground. Wreath was taking advantage of the respite to try and force the door open, and that obviously wasn't working.
At least, not until he put his hand right on top of where the sigil was.
Billy-Ray panicked. Could Wreath break that seal with just a touch? Probably not. But he was gearing up to try something, and Billy-Ray couldn't let him. Razor still in hand, breath back under control, Billy-Ray rose up behind the ex-Necromancer and stabbed the small blade through Wreath's hand before it could so much as glow again.
no subject
It felt an awful lot like he'd just run headfirst into a solid brick wall.
He hadn't actually run headfirst into a solid brick wall, so no bones broke, nothing got bruised, nothing was twisted or sprained or fractured. In the grand scheme of things, Billy-Ray was going to be perfectly fine. It was just hard to remember that in the face of the sudden, overwhelming, crippling spasms that wracked his body as he reached for magic that just suddenly wasn't there. Suddenly blocked off. Suddenly totally and completely inaccessible, with Billy-Ray still halfway into the ground and only just rising to try and take advantage of Wreath's fall.
He was stuck, and it hurt. He couldn't breathe. The carpet was choking him. The surrounding stone pressed into him, no longer even attempting to part at his touch, constricting Billy-Ray's lungs and leaving his cry of pain a mere strangled guttural sound.
It only lasted a few seconds, but those few seconds felt like an eternity. Billy-Ray was faced squarely with the realisation that this must be what having your magic bound felt like. He'd never experienced it before. It was frustrating as hell; knowing you were about to die, feeling the magic that could easily save you, and not being able to reach it. Not even being able to touch it. It pulsed gently just out of reach, but there was nothing Billy-Ray could do except wait for it to sweep through him again.
It did, eventually, and he was able to sink back into the floor, panting heavily and just trying to get his breath back. He'd let go of Wreath at some point - it was difficult to know exactly when. Even more difficult to know exactly where Wreath was now. A part of Billy-Ray insisted that the best course of action at this point was to cut his losses, get out of here as fast as he could, and disappear off the face of the planet before anyone could come looking for him.
The other, more reasonable part of him really wanted that monetary compensation before he did. And Wreath wasn't dead yet.
Besides, it kind of seemed like Wreath wasn't sure of what he could do any more than Billy-Ray was. The ex-Necromancer was desperate, reaching out for anything that would save him. Now, as dangerous as that could be - and already had been - it also meant Wreath lacked finesse. And skill. Really, he was just desperate, and that was all that was dangerous.
Billy-Ray took a few deep breaths, let the feel of his magic and the earth around him seep back into his confidence, and extended his awareness above ground. Wreath was taking advantage of the respite to try and force the door open, and that obviously wasn't working.
At least, not until he put his hand right on top of where the sigil was.
Billy-Ray panicked. Could Wreath break that seal with just a touch? Probably not. But he was gearing up to try something, and Billy-Ray couldn't let him. Razor still in hand, breath back under control, Billy-Ray rose up behind the ex-Necromancer and stabbed the small blade through Wreath's hand before it could so much as glow again.