by Casey Herzog
It pushed against the lightning bolt. I’d seen something in the hunter that gave me a reason to think that defeat would be hard fought. His mouth was curled in concentration, and there was sweat soaking through his clothing. The only part of his face I could see was the expression of pain coming from his grinding teeth. He was preventing himself from screaming in much the same way that I prevented myself from giving him the satisfaction of letting him close to the children.
“You will give me the magic eyes; I don’t care what I have to do to take it from you. You’re naïve to give these children any consideration. They are your weakness and my greatest strength is not caring about life in general. It’s time for you to make a decision; I hope you can live with what it is.” He once again found the necessary strength, but this time there were multiple blue lightning bolts coursing from his fingertips in ten wide arcs. There was no way for me to protect against all of them, which meant I was going to have to treat this like a triage.
I protected the little ones, taking the blunt end of those lightning strikes and watching as the other five were left as sacrificial lambs. The other older children over were screaming in agony, but they weren’t going down without a fight. They dropped to their knees, but then they held hands and united for one time only. I saw them stand up against the lightning sending whispers of smoke off their bodies.
“We are as one; you are nothing compared to us. We stand together where you stand alone.” Their voices were in unison like they were connected telepathically to one another. “We can withstand anything. We cannot say the same thing of you. There’s no way for you to prepare for the might of five. We won’t give up and won’t surrender to the likes of you. You should be ashamed of yourself. We are ashamed for you, but we sense this is not your own doing. Reveal yourself and let us see the face of our tormentor.” These five children were showing amazing strength under fire, but there was no way I could join them. I was depleted, my energy barely able to withstand what I was fighting.
“I wasn’t expecting this, but I have come prepared for every eventuality.” Seeing that I was out of commission, he was able to pull those strains of electricity back and then unite them with the five in an even more explosive force. The children screamed again and there was blood coming from all of their noses. Their eyes were straining and droplets of blood began to flow down their faces in tears. Their hair had become white as snow. I wasn’t sure what was happening to them, but it couldn’t have been anything good.
“I won’t… I won’t let you get away with this.” I tried to amass some kind of defense on behalf of the children, but it was nothing more than a temporary fix. It wouldn’t last for any longer than 20 seconds. Those 20 seconds felt like an eternity, the magic eyes seeking out and eventually breaking them free of the blue lightning.
“I admire your desire to protect them, but it won’t make any difference in the long run. They are destined to die by my hand, one by one. My mission is clear: those with magic must be eliminated for the sake of the continued survival of the Elders.” It sounded like he was brainwashed, speaking words that would never come from anybody who possessed magic. I could use that against him if he were willing to listen.
“What you say doesn’t make any sense. You want to destroy anyone with magic, but don’t you have magic? What do you suppose happens after all those with magic have been destroyed? Do you really believe they will let you live risking a revolt against them? You say I’m naïve, but have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror? Have you ever seen the real face of evil staring back at you?” I saw him swallow with a type of confusion. His power waned and his concentration was on the puzzle I had just given him.
“They wouldn’t dare do anything to me. I have been their weapon, cutting down those with magic and bringing their power into myself. You’re just trying to keep me occupied, but it’s not like you can prevent what is inevitably going to happen.” The magic was strong inside him, and there was a darkness that filled me with dread. There was something else. There was a vestige of the man he was before the Elders got a hold of him.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say you weren’t born like this. Something changed inside. It has corrupted your mind and your magic. It doesn’t take much to realize you saw the inside of the rehabilitation walls. Give me a chance, and I can help you find your way back out of the darkness and into the light. I will never stop until you are free of them. Stay with us and fight for something that makes more sense than taking magic away from us all.” I was trying to get through to him, and he was listening. I wasn’t sure what he was hearing or how much was actually making any sense, but he was stopping his attack for the time being.
“What you say does not make any sense. I have killed in the name of the Elders. There’s no way for you to condone those actions. You sound sincere, but how could you have compassion for someone like me. I don’t deserve any kind of pity. Let this be a message to all of you. The Elders are strong and those with magic will fall into their hands courtesy of the magic I have taken from others just like you.” He returned to knocking those five to the ground with enough force to make them throw back their heads and scream. It was the ungodly noise of an animal being torn apart.
The constant threat against the children made it necessary for me to tap into the darker part of the magic eyes. It was not a place I wanted to go. I felt the tendrils of evil reaching out to claim another victim. The dark arts were not something to be feared unless, of course, you had ideas to use it in the most extreme way possible. Something clicked inside me and I stood up, my whole body glowing from the power within.
“You will stop what you’re doing or face the consequences for your actions. You are facing the darkest magic; this is where we find out what kind of magic you have. You’re right; I shouldn’t care about what happens to you, but I do. You can stop if you want to or I can stop you for good. One way another, this ends here and now between you and me.” I felt like I was imbued with a deeper understanding of the dark arts. This was the darkest of them all, and I wanted desperately to destroy him and rip him into pieces never to be put together again.
“I sense a real power coming from you. You have no idea what you have done, but I do. You are powerless to resist the influence of the darker arts. You and I could be a force against all those who stand against us. Join me and let the weak perish by our hands. Come unto the little children destruction and mayhem.” I was drawn in by his words and that tendril of evil was grabbing me and showing me a path to a different “salvation.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
It felt like forever, but I moved towards Jasper, motioning with a bony finger of conviction. I tried to wrestle free, but it was useless in the face of what sounded like reason. We could be the biggest threat. We could join forces and take what we wanted without worrying about the Elders’ interference. I could break him free of their control. We would rule and stand strong on the throats of anyone stupid enough to take a stand.
“I’m glad you finally see the writing on the wall. This world is small and needs a firm hand to keep it under control. We will rise above, and they will see in our eyes we should not be trifled with. I gladly welcome you with open arms and an open mind.” I was almost within reach, when I looked down at my feet to see they were moving even though I didn’t want them to. Then again, I did want to, and it seemed so easy to let go of being a good guy. I didn’t need the hassle; it was so much better being ruthless. It was delicious like a fine wine. It was drowning me in the sober reality of where I stood.
“I won’t let you take her away from us.” I heard the voice of the professor, but I didn’t take heed or even care about the compassion spilling from his lips. “She deserves better than to be lured into darkness for the rest of her life.” I was getting closer, and with each step, it felt natural to let go of the fight once and for all.
“What you do understand is that choice is not always in our control. You cannot tell her what to do any more than you
can tell the wind how to blow, and in which direction. Magic eyes are something for good or evil. There is always something lurking in every person’s mind that feeds on thoughts of despair. She has learned the painful truth the hard way. Don’t cry for her; her destiny is being fulfilled by my hand.” Jasper’s words made sense, and I felt compelled to join powers with him to become something unfathomable.
“I don’t care what it takes; I will have her back. She is the leader these children have been asking for. Without her, it will be catastrophic.” My feet froze and I saw a very bright light hitting the hunter with full force. The cloak he was wearing burned off his shoulders, his hair along with it. The face looking back was one of horror, but there was something familiar.
“You dare use the amulet against me. You’re playing with powers you don’t understand. Stop this before I have to. I only want the power; killing has never been my idea. What am I saying? I want to stop, but I don’t know how to. Get out of my head. Help me, please hear my cries and come rescue me from this painful existence. Don’t listen, I am content with who I am.” It was like two people were fighting against each other inside him with the same voice.
I could feel his pain. It drove into my chest like a knife blazing in fire, but his pain was not the only one I felt. Professor Bethesda was burning from the inside out. The amulet was too strong for him to wield alone. He was sacrificing himself to protect me in a weak effort to bring an end to the hostilities.
“I will die a thousand times over to bring her back to where she belongs” I heard him grunt. The stabbing pain in his chest was taking hold and never letting go. “I hope this is enough. I want you to find your way back, Gillian.” Something had to be done before Bethesda was nothing more than a memory.
Defeat at Jasper’s hand was inevitable, and joining him seemed far more acceptable than fighting myself into nothingness. I looked at the hunter’s face and I saw what forces were struggling to fight for dominance. One was a manifestation of the Elders’ influence and the other was the man known as Jasper.
“I know you can hear me. We are doing the wrong thing; magic is not meant to darken our souls. It’s an ugly misinterpretation and one I will not have any part of. You can be free of this. The road to salvation is by taking my hand. Don’t think about it, just act on feelings alone.” I took solace that his concentration was drawn from the children to Professor Bethesda and me.
“I know it doesn’t have to be this way. I want something better, but I don’t know how much longer I can fight this alone. I will not let go, nothing you say is going to change anything. I need help, but I don’t know if you have the power to do anything. You don’t have the power and the Elders will not allow it. They hold me under their thumb. Stop talking or you will pay the ultimate price. I don’t need you anymore. Without me, you are nothing. You may not believe that, but you will if you insist on pushing me any further.” I listened to this exchange of two voices splintered from one.
“There are bad people in this world who need to be held accountable for what they have done. The Elders are the cause for all of this. They claim to oppose magic, but they use it against us. Don’t you see how hypocritical that is? They have lost their way in an effort to hold onto whatever semblance power they can get their hands on. Jasper, you are stronger than their influence. I can help if only you take my hand.” His hand was shaking and he was reaching for me, but it was one step forward and two steps back.
“Don’t think for a second I don’t know what you’re doing. I can appreciate how you have fooled them all into thinking you’re good, but underneath it all, you are exactly like me.” I was going to change his mind, but it felt like I was holding my breath underwater for way too long to get the necessary oxygen into my brain.
“There’s a new day coming and you can be a part of it. We can do this together and you only have to take my hand.” I kept repeating the last part of that statement, not realizing they were not of my making. The words were forced out by the darkest of arts; nothing could stop them.
“I want to, but he won’t let me. I don’t want to and I won’t let you have what is rightfully mine.” I was breaking through, and Jasper was clinging to whatever lifeline I was throwing him.
“Don’t you see there’s a better way than fighting all the time? You must be tired by the responsibility of molding this world into the Elders’ image of utopia. I can be whatever you need me to be. Take my hand. The only thing you need to do is to take my hand.” I didn’t know why I was saying this, but it felt right like I was stepping into a comfortable pair of old shoes.
I doubled over and looked back to see Professor Bethesda lying on his stomach with all of his clothes burned off his body. His skin was bubbling. He looked up for a moment to smile. It must’ve been excruciating, but somehow he had found a reason to smile. It was such a small thing, but it meant the world to the children. They rallied around him; touching him and repairing those cells that had been burnt to a crisp.
My purpose was clear; it was like I had been blind all of this time. The answer was staring right at me. The freedom to be the power was right there within my reach. I wanted something more. I never felt that need until I was faced with something of overwhelming capacity.
“Stay away from me; I won’t let you do this without a fight. Please, you’re the only one who can help me. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I can’t take it anymore; I only want peace of mind. I’ve hurt too many people. I deserve to suffer in this hell for what I’ve done” Jasper’s voice was getting stronger by the second, and he was taking my words at face value. That would prevent him from hurting anybody else. He didn’t care where it came from or what was hidden lurking underneath.
“Jasper, it’s time for you to be the one to lead us. I will gladly step aside for you to take my position. It was always yours to begin with; I have just been warming your seat. You don’t have to do this alone. The hunter is too strong, and you need all the help you can get. It’s time for you to find that peace you’ve been talking about. There’s only one way, and we both know what it is. Take a leap of faith by taking my hand. I can lead you away from the darkness. The light is waiting to embrace you in warmth. This is your one and only chance for a new life.” Most of what I was saying was coming from my own mind, but the words of encouragement for him to take me by the hand were not.
“I am strong and I don’t have to take this anymore. You’re right and the hunter is strong, but we can vanquish him together. I can take my rightful place and be the beacon of hope the children are looking for. We can do this together. I will take your hand and there’s nothing the hunter is going to do about it. It won’t be long before he can wrestle control of my mind again.”
I was trying to beg him with my eyes not to do it, but the only thing that he could see was my impassioned plea.
“Don’t you…It’s not what you think…power corrupts…no good deed goes… unpunished.” I didn’t bother to look to see the source; the anguished words came from Professor Bethesda.
It was too late and Jasper was determined to break free of the influence on his life. He didn’t care what it cost and he was willing to cast aside any doubts about the possibility of freedom.
He put his hand in mine, and for a moment all was right in the world. He smiled knowingly, and then the smile turned to something else. There was pain and suffering. He tried to pull away in vain. I felt the magic eyes pulling the source of his power from him and taking it into itself. It was an elixir of life giving me a power beyond my wildest imagination.
I finally let him go and he went flying backward head over heels. I stood there embracing the combined power of the magic eyes and what the Elders had given the hunter. There was a third component taken from Jasper in his moment of weakness.
“I’m the ultimate power. The world will kneel at my feet. Those who resist will be made an example of. I don’t need the Elders; they will burn with all the rest. They will be the first victims of my wrath. Nobody wi
ll stand in my way.” I felt better than I had ever felt in my life. My mind burned with images of the Elders struggling to draw a breath from their lungs.
I looked through the hazy image in front of me at the children and I didn’t care. It was so much easier to let the dark arts bring me the joy of submission. I conjured a different vortex and I stepped through to the alarmed eyes of the Elders sitting around a large rectangular table in the center of the room.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Take her into custody and bring her to rehabilitation.” The Guardians complied, but they were ripped into nothing in front of the Elders’ eyes. Their bodies were torn apart and scattered into the ether of existence. Elder Masters looked on, horrified, as the others around the table tried to find something to defend against me.
“You are nothing. Your reign of power is over. I want you to admit defeat and vow your loyalty to me.” It brought me joy to see the Elders in the same position they had placed their victims. “There is nothing and no one to fight me.” More of the Guardians came streaming into the room, only to be decimated in the same way the others were. It was satisfying to hear their brief screams of torment.
“I don’t know what the meaning of this is, Gillian, but you are out of line.”
I laughed in the Elder Master’s face, and then he burned with a flame starting from inside and then reaching full velocity in a matter of seconds. His scream was music to my ears. I reveled in his misery until the crispy critter was lying dead on the table.
“I want all of you to witness the power I have. You are nothing but annoyances. Look at your friend and remember how easily I did that. You can follow in his footsteps, or you can choose a different path. I want emissaries to spread the word to the outlying areas.” I felt it necessary for the message to be sent by those the people feared the most. They would understand there was a reversal of fortune.
