-Karen-“I hope you like Zargo, Kay. I plan to give you at least one of my estates when I take you home with me.” I looked over in surprise. “The first one I want you to have has a large garden. Your rose garden is only half the size of that garden. I want you to feel at home there.” I watched him in silence. “The manor house is kind of small next to the others, but it has a small library, an art studio, a music room, six bedrooms, four large spa bathrooms with a nice big soaking tub in two of them, several other rooms and a basement. The best part is it’s in the quiet countryside where you won't have to be worried about being stared at if you go outside.”“You know you don’t have to give me something like that. I can just borrow it.” I whispered and then giggling at the dirty look on his face.“Listen here, woman. I’m giving you this estate because I want you to have something of your own. Also, I’m going to make sure that you have at least three servants, a personal chef.” I shook m
I narrowed my eyes. “No way Conor! I have a score to settle with you!” I proclaimed defiantly. He laughed and then we kissed. I smiled, cupping his face. “I hope you’re finally ready to lose!” I will defeat you!“We’ll see won't we?” He replied kissing me several times. “You’re going down!” I went to get off his lap, but he wouldn’t let me move. He stood up and carried me out into the main room kissing me the whole way. He gently set me down on my chair and then sat in his chair giving me a sneaky grin. “Ready to lose, you sexy vixen?” He asked, shuffling the cards.“Hmph!” I pulled out the bottle of whiskey and gave it to him.“Yes! Best lover ever!” He cried, drinking the entire small bottle in one shot. “Ah! I love that burn!” He picked the cards back up while I finished emptying the contents of the basket. “You got a bunch of good stuff!” He nodded approvingly. We played for three hours and I finally managed to win four of the nine games. “You still lost.” He teased with a smug s
-Karen-“There’s probably going to be a lot of people out there waiting for us when you take the seal off. Just be prepared because they are probably going to think you are holding me hostage.” Conor warned putting his forehead against mine. “Well… I was! That’s not a lie, Conor. I will always hold you hostage.” I replied walking to the doors. He chuckled under his breath. I quickly braided my hair in hopes that was going to make me feel a little less anxious. I touched my hand to the door and took a deep breath. “Dispel.” I whispered softly. As soon as the seal disappeared you could hear the commotion we had caused.“Where the fuck is he at?!” I heard Zachary screaming at everyone. “It’s been two days and there still isn’t an update?!” I felt my anxiety shoot up about eight levels as someone started pounding on the door. Uh oh. I could hear someone say something to the king, but I couldn’t make out what was said. “Then kick the damn door down! Burn it down! Blow it off the fucking h
-Karen-I felt my stomach start to ache from hunger and my nerves as I sat on the edge of the bed. “Can I ask you something, Karen?” Bart asked moving the chaise back in front of the fireplace and sitting down across from me. I nodded quietly. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while now. If it were possible, would you want to be a mother?” Conor asked me that when I showed him how to sew. Would I?I thought about the question for a several minutes. “I don’t think I’d be a very good one. So, I’d be inclined to say no. I’d be afraid that I would be a horrible one. I wouldn’t want any child to go through what I have. I’d make so many mistakes.” I bet I would be terrible. Where would I even start? “I know you have been giving Joanne and I pointers, but I don’t think that’s going to help me at all.”“Have you ever met your mother? Do you remember her at all?” Bart asked with a sad note in his voice.“I remember her standing over me in the garden, but the image is just a shadow now.
-Karen-“Very good, little rat!” The king exclaimed with a laugh. “A purple magic rat with good manners is quite the sight isn’t it, Generals? You trained her well Conor! Quite a remarkable change from our last encounter when she was feral and rabid.” I heard several men snicker and Conor scoff from behind me. How rude! What a complete jerk! Zachary grabbed my left hand and pressed my soul jewel into my palm. “We don’t have much daylight left, maybe two hours at most so I want to see a variety of your skills. Offensive, defensive, healing magic if you can do it and anything else that you feel would be a shining example of your talents.” “Yes, Majesty.” I turned to the large group that was gathered around me. My anxiety was starting to nag at me, but I ignored it letting my excitement take the reins. “If you could bunch into groups of about five or six, I will cast a barrier over each group just as a safety precaution.” Everyone complied with my request. Michael and the woman I presum
-Karen-“I don’t know why Nathan bothered to waste his time on mentoring you when there were much better high-born candidates to pick from! You clearly haven’t been able to master even some of the simplest techniques that we have. Obviously, you’re just a burden to the Mage Clan. You’d be that one Mage that all of us would just take out and murder because you’re worthless to us!” He jeered spitefully. I glared hatefully while he continued. I felt my chest start to heave as I became more livid by the second. “I told Nathan not to pick you, but he absolutely insisted on making you part of the Clan. But guess what, Karen? Traitors, no matter the rank or status in life, always pay for their crimes!” He charged at me. “I’ll end you for your treachery!” “Get away from him, Kay!” Conor yelled from the sidelines.“Rock wall!” I shouted reaching my right hand into the air as a curtain of rocks shot up from the ground to block Aaron’s attack. I felt him bounce off the wall. “I don’t need robes
-Karen-“Tell me something, Karen, knowing that you were going to use low level spells, why would you bother to cast a barrier when the spectators were so far away from the statues? We both know that past twenty feet, the risk of flying debris is minimal if not completely nullified.” I looked away from him unwilling to answer his question. Damn. I was hoping he wasn’t going to ask. After a few minutes he started laughing loudly. “Don’t tell me-” He laughed harder as my face flushed with chagrin. “Don’t tell me you’re protecting someone in that crowd!? You mean to tell me, there’s someone in that group that you actually care about?!” I glared while he laughed coldly. “I didn’t know that servants could even feel emotions or that they even had feelings!” I felt my cheeks flush from rage. This prick. “I wonder who you’re trying to protect. Is it that loudmouth that keeps yelling at you to back down?” Before I could answer he continued. “You’ve gained a fair amount of weight since I saw y
-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-“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