by Casey Herzog
“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 will 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.
“You can’t possibly believe for one second we are going to do anything you say.” I didn’t know Mr. Coleman was one of the Elders, but it certainly made sense by his reaction to what my father had done. “Your father would be ashamed of you. Stand down and recognize the Elders. What are you doing?” The power inside me made it feel so real. I reached out and touched him with the same flame, burning in front of the two remaining Elders.
“This leaves you with an interesting dilemma. Join them or think for yourself for a change. Surely, one of you has a desire to live past this moment. There has to be something of self-preservation lingering within. I have decided only one of you will survive long enough to spread my message. I will allow you to determine which one falls and which one still stands.” It was a horrible thing to ask of them, but I wasn’t all that surprised to see them fighting between themselves.
Elder Thomas and Elder Richards were beating the holy hell out of one another. It was quite entertaining to be responsible for my own personal display of violence. It was like a drug. I sat and watched to see who was going to win out in the end.
“You’re going to die.” There was no loyalty amongst thieves, which was exactly what the Elders were in my opinion. They had taken possession of something sacred and turned it into something ugly. “I don’t care! My need to breathe is stronger than my friendship with you.” They were strong words indeed, but they were showing how far they had fallen.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten about me, Elder Thomas. I’m not just going to allow you to kill me without putting up some kind of fight. I’m usually a pacifist, but the survival instinct is in me too.” Elder Richards, with his flaming red hair, was now pounding Elder Thomas into the table where the charred remains of the others were a painful reminder of their future.
I slid across the table moving within the energy of my own power. Up close and personal, I watched the light extinguish out of the eyes of Elder Thomas. He was rendered unconscious, but Elder Richards did not stop there. He continued to pound his head into the table over and over again until the blood spread out around him in a grotesque halo.
Elder Richards, realizing what he had done, broke down in tears with his hands over his eyes. He was disgusted by his behavior, but he was the only one. I’d loved seeing them fight and I only wished I’d thought about this before I went ahead and killed the other two.
“I have done what you asked and I will burn for all eternity for taking his life. Tell me what you want me to do, and it will be done.” His defeat was my drug; the aroma of fear in the air intoxicated me.
“That was a lot of fun, but I think we need to get down to business. You will go to the outlying areas and spread the word of the power. Let them know their lives are in my hand. I want them to think of ways to appease me. I am a god and I deserve their undying gratitude. Tell them to come to me with gifts. I will know if they haven’t done their best. The truthful will live in my kingdom while the others will taste what you have seen here today. If I suspect you are working against me, I will deal with you accordingly.” It felt like I could reach out and take what I wanted.
Magic was drawn to me and it was coming from everywhere. I was draining the world and there was no need for a revolution. I had overthrown the Elder government. It was so much better to be the power than to fight against it.
“Don’t you understand what has happened? You have become the one thing you have abhorred all of your life. You were the one fighting against this. William was weak and we saw through him from the moment he stepped into speak to us in private. You don’t have to look at me like that. I’m leaving you some hope. You need to remember what you stand for. The Elders might be no more, but at least we were somewhat fair in our judgment. Can you really say the same thing about your actions, or are you just deluding yourself?” He scurried out the door like his pants were on fire; it was interesting thought that I would entertain later.
I heard the screams; taking the magic was a painful process. They would feel empty, like a part of them was missing. They would wake up to learn of a new world order to which they were going to have to conform or face the consequences.
Why be a leader to the little people, when I could be a queen. That really did have a nice ring to it. I was going to have to get somebody to make me a crown and surround myself with yes men willing to bend to my will. The world was changing, but there were still those in a phased existence. They needed to be dealt with. A small spark illuminated between my fingers. I was going to send it into the phased existence.
I had the spark between my two fingers, looking at it closely. I was more than ready to destroy everything my father had built. I had lived in my father’s shadow for too long. It was about time for me to step out and do my own thing. He would never condone what I was doing, but he wasn’t here to make any kind of argument to the contrary.
I stepped out of the door. I looked at the rehabilitation center and knew it had to go. The spark I had between my fingertips determined the fate of existence, but I could always make another. I sent the spark flying into the air. It twisted and turned and came to rest through an open window in the rehabilitation center.
The explosion was deafening, and I could see those in management positions had felt the change in the air. They had vacated the building. That they were spared was disappointing, to say the least.
I thought of the moment where I wanted to free them from their prison. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and not one that I wanted to repeat anytime soon. I was naïve to think many voices should be heard, when it was better to squash resistance before it had a chance to become anything more than a whisper of dissension.
The flames burned high into the sky as the public coming forward with looks of stunned surprise on their faces.
“This is what you wanted. I can see into your minds; most are grateful and happy to see this place burn to the ground. You have me to thank for that. I am no longer Gillian. I’m the power. You are advised to show me the respect of my ruling position.” I used to recognize myself. It was funny how things could change.
Out of the crowd came the children, and Damien was not the only one leading. William was with them. Any feelings I had were superficial and buried deep down where they wouldn’t see the light of day. The man stepping out between them was more of a surprise. My father was alive.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I couldn’t believe my eyes. His presence seemed more like a mirage than anything else. He stepp
ed forward out of the crowd in Biblical fashion, like he was parting the red sea. I watched him skeptically, wondering if this was some sort of trick to lure me into submission.
“I know this is quite a shock, but I need you to listen to me, Gillian. I was foolish to think what I was doing was not going to be noticed by the Elders. Imagine my surprise when the hunter turned out to be Jasper of all people. I thought he came out of hiding to help me bring magic back to where it belongs.”
Everybody had stopped what they were doing, allowing my father and his daughter to have this reunion.
“You don’t know what losing you did to me. I thought, mistakenly, I was a disappointment to you. I had no idea what you were doing to secure our future, but it doesn’t matter now. The only thing I care about is power. You have no idea what this feels like; not even you are going to take it away for me.” The magic eyes were feeding off the darkness and it was surrounding me like a warm blanket on a winter’s night.
“I don’t know what you want me to say. The only way to figure out how to stop this was to make sure they weren’t able to come looking for me. It meant you had to believe I was dead. You have no idea how much that tore me up inside.” He looked like he had aged 20-years with a full grown of beard in black and white.
“Your message about equality was loud and clear. Everyone should have magic. I thought for a moment there was only one way, but I was out of my mind to think peace is possible. The only thing anybody understands is violence. They shy away from it and run like scalded dogs. There is no room for a peaceful reconciliation.” I was hearing the words, but they sounded foreign to my lips.
