-Karen-“No Nathan, leave that damn traitor here! She deserves to die here in pain!” Aaron countered as he pulled Nathan away while a flood of people rushed towards us. I could see Aaron opened a portal and was trying to pull Nathan through it.“Aaron, No! We need to take her with us!” Nathan snapped at him. “It’s extremely important!” He turned to me. “Kay you need to get up!”“There’s no time for that now!” Aaron snapped back as he dragged Nathan through it. Eldon followed quickly behind them. As soon as the portal was gone all the Zargans stopped charging. They left me sitting on my knees alone staring after them. I can’t even think…I can’t… I got back to my feet and slowly staggered back to the king and clumsily curtsied to him despite the pain I felt. I pulled the deep red hued stone away and placed it in his outstretched palm. “Majesty…” I didn’t wait for anyone to say anything to me. I just left and stumbled slowly back to our apartment trying to focus on staying upright. If I
-Conor-“She fainted. Just like the last time.” Conor murmured; concern lined his face for Karen. “I’ve never heard anyone scream like that before.” Not even during a torture session. That scene made my blood freeze in my veins. “Is she going to be okay?” Joanne asked as silent tears streamed down her face. She crawled across the bed and curled up to Karen holding her right hand. “She’s still really cold Conor… Should we get a couple more blankets?”“I hope so…” Conor murmured as Bart came back with pajamas. “Help me dress her, Jo. We can at least make her comfortable. Bart, can you grab a couple of the spare blankets?”They pulled off the wet dress and finished drying Karen off. Conor did the heavy lifting as Jo helped slip the warm clothes on. Conor pulled her to the middle of the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Bart came back with two blankets and they layered them over Karen.“Can we stay here tonight?” Joanne asked with a sad expression on her face. “If you don’t mind?”“Su
-Conor-“I love that. That burn never gets old!” Conor replied pouring another shot and slamming it back. I need this more often.“Don’t go too fast… That would be a waste of good whiskey.” Bart murmured pouring a shot of gin for Conor.Conor poured Bart a shot of whiskey and then they drank the shots quickly. Conor set his shot glass down. He looked at the bottle and then over to Karen and shrugged. Screw it. He tilted the bottle back and took long swig of the alcohol. “After today, I need this to hit me as hard as it possibly can.” Conor explained taking another swig.“You know, after thinking about it, I completely agree with you!” Bart agreed as he drank half of his bottle in one draw. They clanged the bottles together again and finished them at about the same time. “Okay... Tomorrow is going to totally suck but I feel great right now so, I’m completely okay with this decision.” He got up and stripped down to his boxers.“Agreed. Time for cuddles and sleep…” Conor murmured followi
-Karen-I woke up sometime in the night surrounded by Conor, Joanne and Bart all in the bed with me. I had no energy and I felt weak. I feel horrible… But I’m starving. I want to eat three goats. The whole thing. Hooves and fur. I carefully crawled out of the bed and walked to the door, slipping out into the hall. Clay nodded his head respectfully. “Would you mind to please have a bowl of strawberries and cheese cubes be brought up to me? I’m terribly hungry...” I asked politely. Oh… Strawberries… Those sound so good! I could just eat a bucket of them!“Yes Mistress.” He nodded his head and left for the kitchen quickly.I was starving and felt like I had run through the palace end to end twenty times non-stop. While I waited, I braided my hair over my shoulder trying not to shiver. I’m freezing… Just like with those awful cold spells I get from time to time. I waited patiently thinking about the strawberries and felt my mouth water. Mm… I can't wait to eat some juicy strawberries! I’m
-Conor-“Has anyone seen her eat since the demonstration?” Robert asked them. Bart, Conor and Joanne shook their heads in unison. “Hm. Well…” Robert paused “We are about to see if we can wake her up because I think I know what is going on.” “You do?!” Conor and Joanne asked at the same time. What could it be? Is she sick? Did that Aaron dude hurt her? I’ll stomp him through the ground if he did!Robert nodded and sat down next to Karen who was sleeping peacefully. He pulled the blankets away from her and she groaned in her sleep. Robert checked her pulse on her neck and then felt her forehead. “Her temperature and pulse are fine.” He checked her wrists and then listened to her chest. “No abnormalities that I can hear with her heart or lungs…” He rubbed her entire abdomen gently and then pressed on her lower belly. In an instant Karen had her left hand around his throat and she looked she was going to murder him. Whoa! That’s a scary look! I’ve only seen that once before… “Calm down,
-Karen-I stretched my tired muscles having no idea as to how long I was asleep for. That was the longest nap I have ever had in my life! I sat up and blinked tiredly. I still feel exhausted. How much magic did I actually use? I looked around the room and it was empty. “I was not wearing this nightgown when I was awake yesterday.” I stretched again and then crawled to the edge of the bed. I could hear a sweet magical sound from the armoire room, so I decided to investigate. Oh! That’s such a beautiful sound! What in the world is it?! I opened the door quietly and slipped into the room. Ugh… I feel cold still. I should have brought a blanket with me.Bart and Joanne were doing a fast-paced dance and they looked like they were having a wonderful time. What dance is that? I saw Conor using some kind of weird-shaped box with a stick and that was the sweet sound I had heard. Oh… It’s even more beautiful in this room! I have no idea how to describe that sound… Majestic? Ethereal? No! It’s e
-Karen-I took the pails and went back out to the table where Joanne and I continued feasting. “These are so good Karen! You have such great taste in snacks!” She exclaimed as we ate through more than half of the blackberries and only a quarter of the raspberries. Blackberries are way tastier than raspberries. I felt like I was going to pop I had eaten so much. I sat down just stared at the table feeling very depressed with myself. I ate like a pig again. But I was so hungry! I’m going to gain even more weight. What if Conor thinks I’m getting fat? What if he doesn’t want me anymore? What am I going to do?! I looked down at the ring on my right finger and felt a small bit of reassurance but not much. He did promise he wouldn’t leave me.A hand waiving in front of my face brought me back to reality. Conor was sitting next to me. He took my left hand and kissed it sweetly. “Am I fat?!” I asked him seriously. I just wanted to cry, and I couldn’t figure out why. What is wrong with me? Why
-Karen-I took the pails and went back out to the table where Joanne and I continued feasting. “These are so good Karen! You have such great taste in snacks!” She exclaimed as we ate through more than half of the blackberries and only a quarter of the raspberries. Blackberries are way tastier than raspberries. I felt like I was going to pop I had eaten so much. I sat down just stared at the table feeling very depressed with myself. I ate like a pig again. But I was so hungry! I’m going to gain even more weight. What if Conor thinks I’m getting fat? What if he doesn’t want me anymore? What am I going to do?! I looked down at the ring on my right finger and felt a small bit of reassurance but not much. He did promise he wouldn’t leave me.A hand waiving in front of my face brought me back to reality. Conor was sitting next to me. He took my left hand and kissed it sweetly. “Am I fat?!” I asked him seriously. I just wanted to cry, and I couldn’t figure out why. What is wrong with me? Why
-Conor-“I have a terrible feeling about this Nathan. We need to go to her. As soon as possible.” Conor said pacing back and forth in front of all the Mages. “After she lost consciousness, Eldon came and took her away. All he said was that she was being summoned by a tree. That's when a portal was made for me to come back here.”Nathan's eyes got wide and he lost the coloring in his face. “The Tree summoned her?” A serious yet terrified look remained on his face. Alexander started screaming making everyone jump. A portal opened and everyone stood up while Joanne worked to calm him down. “Karen?” Conor asked feeling hopeful. Eldon walked through carrying her, but he was stoic. “She’s going to be okay, right?”Eldon gently placed her into his arms. He didn’t answer right away. “Not exactly.” The portal shut as all the Mages gathered around. “As you know, she won the war against your father with your help. However, she lost the fight.” He said quietly. “Senescence, has deemed that she i
“Soul Release.” I whispered quietly. I watched as the souls compressed into different color orbs and floated away on the breeze. Bombs started falling around me while breathing became harder. “Healing Serenity.” I’ve used a flurry of spells and I still have a small chunk of magic left. I can easily get two or three more Master spells… I think. I decided to change positions so I could get a better aim at the last large ship flying around. I still have those small ships too… I took a deep breath and sent a Blazing Hypernova up to the middle area of the small ships. They all exploded in a bright flash and the wreckage fell to the destroyed town. I looked around for the large ship, but a bullet ricocheted very close to where I stood. Suddenly, more soldiers appeared charging at me.“Frostfire Surge!” I shouted angrily. All the soldiers shouted in pain and collapsed dead around us in heaps. I pointed up at the sky as the ship tried to leave again. “Blazing Hypernova!” Due to the high level
-Karen-A blow to the back of the head put me on the ground faster than I ever thought possible. Blow after blow was delivered as I squirmed to get away, but Zachary pinned me under him and continued to land a barrage of punches. He yelled and screamed about what I had done to his family. I grabbed his ankle and let him have a taste of ‘Lightning Surge’. It bought me enough precious time to weakly get to my knees.“Recovery Salvo.” I shakily got to my feet and leaned against the wall, but he was no where to be seen. I looked around nervously, but nothing moved. I heard the bullets before I felt them. Hot metal burrowed its way into my right thigh followed by my abdomen, left arm and chest. I collapsed in heap trying to fight the massive amounts of pain I felt. “Healing Serenity!” I whispered under my breath. Damn, another healing spell… I whispered for a portal and fled to the shadows of a building across town. There were still so many ships in the air, and I was starting to feel the
-Karen-“We don’t have a choice anymore!” I snapped back frustratedly. “This is it, Conor- We fight or we die- I’m not about to let him claim victory. There is going to have to be a risk in order to win this fight. I plan on coming back, you know.”“But what if you don’t, Kay? What if Eldon doesn’t revive you?” Conor asked firmly. He cupped my face and stared me in the eyes. “What if you’re gone forever?” What if… Such a big 'what if' and its running through my mind too.I didn’t answer him right away. “I’m going to die someday. I’d rather die fighting for my family and the people I care about than to run and live in fear wondering if today will be the day. As long as I don’t exhaust my magic and turn into a demon, I should be fine.” I’ve used a small bit of my magic, but I still have more than plenty. As long as I can take them out in fifteen to twenty Master level attacks, it should be okay. Permitting this doesn’t drag out for very long.I could see he was very much not accepting o
-Karen-“Your sudden jerking movements re-opened a wound I repaired.” Bart explained as I lay still looking up at the ceiling of the empty crypt bed. “I stitched it closed but you can't be doing those type of movements yet.” I sighed feeling useless as another bomb shook the ground.“Let me put some salve on her stitches, doctor.” Valerie murmured rubbing in a sweet smelling cream. “This should help numb the stitches so they won't hurt if you do have to move.”“Thank you both.” I replied, slowly sitting up. “Those bombs have been falling for the last three days now. How much more punishment can the main floor of the Crypts take?” I asked Nathan, feeling uneasy about our situation.I could see that Nathan was very reluctant to answer. “It probably won't be much longer, honestly. We have to make some hard choices now. The only other place we can go is the Forest and that has its own set of challenges and hazards as you know.” He heaved a heavy sigh, rubbing his face from the growing pre
-Karen-At the snap of my fingers, my brother’s arms were torn from his body. Screams of agony echoed around me while the soldiers took aim at me. A soldier was yelling, but I paid him no mind. I heard the same soldier call my brother’s name, Marcus, telling him to hold on. I giggled softly enjoying this scary side of myself and met Marcus’s now terrified yet agonized gaze. “Marcus… I’m going to annihilate you and as I do, I will make sure that your soul quivers in unimaginable terror.” He some how lost more coloring in is face at my calm words“Ground Spears!” I shouted angrily punching up into the air. The soldiers that surrounded us were now high up on the points of the spears with blood gushing and dripping down the jagged rocks, more groans and moans of pain filling the air which was tainted with the scent of blood. “Soul Snatch!” I ripped the wispy soul out of the body, and he looked terrified. “Soul’s Doom!” Just like before, a white demon charged right at him and shredded his
-Karen-I woke up enveloped in warmth, but I was extremely sore. I really felt like I hit every tree branch coming down from that fall. So sweet- He changed my dress. The orchid under dress. I looked over to my right and saw Conor and Alexander cuddled up next to me both sleeping with their mouths open. Ha- My loves. “Conor!” I whispered softly. I tried to roll over and found out that was a mistake. Ah! I’m still busted up pretty badly… I grabbed his hand that was cupping my left cheek and gently squeezed it. Wake up!Without opening his eyes, “You’re the most recklessly insane person I know, Karen Anne Elizabeth. That was awe-inspiring, terrifying and thrilling all at once, but I don’t want to repeat that any time soon.” Conor said rubbing my cheek with his index finger. Mm. So warm… “We’ve only lost two ships in two separate incidents before but that was insane!” He opened an eye and leaned into me. “You have a lot of injuries still. You broke lots of bones. Bet you’re sore?”“Very!
-Karen-Conor groaned while rubbing his face and then looked up at me. He rubbed his eyes again. “Is that really you, Kay? You’re not an illusion, right?” He whispered sitting up quickly and grabbing my left hand pressing my palm to his lips. “You know I’m not upset with you- Don’t you?” I dropped my gaze feeling so much shame as I stood before him. “I-”“You may not be upset but I am.” I interrupted quietly. “I just see myself punching you and then charging at Joanne and then the nightmares I had. I may not be cursed anymore but the weight of my guilt is so heavy. I feel like I should just die and end everything once and for all. But that wouldn’t be fair to you or to Alex.” I closed the gap between us and hugged him tightly. “I love you Conor. I love you and I hate that I only hurt you… I feel like I do nothing but that.”He was silent but he held me tightly to him after he pulled me onto his lap. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to get this again.” Conor kissed my cheek and nuzzled my
-Karen-Sweet kisses on my lips woke me up though it took me several minutes to realize I was in bed next to Conor. As soon as I did, I tried to move away from him. “Ah ah ah!” He captured me quickly and pulled me back to him. No. Please don’t!I completely avoided his gazes and wouldn’t let him kiss me at all. “Karen- You won’t even look at me.” I could hear the disappointment in his voice. “Alexander cried all night after you left. Will you at least hug him?” I shook my head. “He says Mama now.” I don’t care. I can’t be here anymore! I only hurt you. I can’t continue to be a danger to you and everyone else here.I took advantage of the situation and pulled away from him. “Karen! Wait!” I left the tent as quickly as I could hearing him following me. “Please just listen to me!”All eyes were on me and it shot me right back to the memory of charging at Joanne. I dashed to the clearing and left the camp as fast as I could. I raced back to the Royal Crypt, crying the whole way. The guilt