-Karen-“Hey, do you have that juice I told you to bring?” Michael asked as I felt the hooks dig in and be ripped out again. I felt sick to my stomach from the continuing pain. Another lash that ripped away flesh. I fought to push away the nausea. Beatrice left my line of sight as the hooks continued to dig out the flesh in my back. “Yes, that’s the one! Bring it over here and we will pour it on her back. That should wake her up a bit!”Beatrice walked past me with a smug smirk as I struggled to breathe. Michael took a break from flogging me as Beatrice reached behind me. As soon as the liquid touched my open wounds it felt like I was being set on fire. I shrieked and screamed from the pain as she doused me with more juice. “Come on! Scream louder bitch! I came two weeks from home for this!” Beatrice yelled as I screamed as loud as I could from the mind crushing agony. I ended up vomiting from the pain I was being put through. “Gross!” She yelled, gagging in response.“Have some more
-Conor-Conor was the first to wake. He slowly woke up holding his head with his hands as sat up carefully. He remained still for a few minutes as he tried to figure out what had happened. I went to confront father and the Generals so I could try to get Joanne back and then everything escalated quickly… They said they were going to do an interrogation on her- Why? What happened after that? He thought a few more minutes as his head throbbed. Before I could even begin to fight back, the command was issued to for me to be punished. Octavian and Michael! Those bastards attacked me! It’s all black after that… He looked over to his right and he saw Bart and Joanne. They are both here. But wait…Joanne looked different but he couldn’t figure out why. Something’s off about her…He took her left hand as it dawned on him as to why she looked different. “Oh no! They didn’t…” He whispered shaking her shoulder roughly. “Joanne! Joanne!!” She started to stir slowly. Conor reached over Joanne and sho
-Conor-With lightning speed, Conor disarmed Michael’s sword and slashed his throat. “You fucking bastard! I only wish I had more time so I can torture you like you truly deserve.” He left the room quickly rushing down the hall passing many servants as he dashed to the servant’s stairs as the blood dripped off the blade along the floor. He quickly ran down the stairs and made his way into the small dining hall and through to the kitchen. Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead! Please hold on! Hold on for me Kay!Many servants and soldiers stepped quickly out of his way as he passed by them with an icy death glare in his eyes. He snapped the keys up off the hook as he proceeded down to the dungeon. “Kay! Answer me!” Conor shouted as he looked into a couple open cells right in front of the stair landing. He saw several empty rows with cells on either side. He turned to the left and down the corridor he saw a couple closed off cells of the left side of the main
-Conor-“I want him killed!” Conor shouted coldly. “Torture him! Like he tortured her! And then kill him slowly. Peel his skin off after you boil him! It’s only fair for what he has done to us!” Michael laughed lightly as Conor became even more enraged. “Let me fucking go, father! I’m going to destroy you, Michael!!” I’ll rip your throat out and stomp you down to the bed rock! I’m going to enjoy getting rid if you, you piece of fucking trash!“I’ve heard enough out of you, Michael!” Zachary snapped unamused. He turned back to Conor. “We cannot kill him even if he might deserve it. But I will personally punish him myself. Guards seize him immediately and take him to my apartments. It’s time for you to learn an important lesson in retribution, Michael. Further, bring Beatrice; she is just as guilty in this case.” Zachary commanded firmly. “Octavian, please send for Roger immediately. Tell him it is an emergency; We will see if we can save your Mistress, Conor.” After many of the guards
-Conor-“Good call, Conor. She’s really messed up and she is going to desperately need those fluids. After that, I need you to go to the smaller cabinet and in a blue box there are medicines that she can have.” Bart paused as he pressed along her ribs to check for breaks “I need the one called Hypoxinate. It’s a pain killer and sedative. We are going to dose her up really good on it until we can get her completely fixed up. I still need to check her organs out.” He looked over at Joanne. “We need a bag of blood and the bone stitcher, all her ribs on this side are cracked or broken. But before that, I need to check her organs to see how close or if she is in organ failure.” Joanne handed him a purple handheld device that had a medium-sized bell-like attachment that he moved over her heart and then lungs. “So far, so good.” Joanne disappeared into one of the offices and reappeared with bag of blood. She placed it in what looked like a microwave and entered a code. As the machine turned
-Conor-“No, it’s water and a couple other trade ingredients. It’s painless.” Bart advised as he laid Karen back down. “This might hurt though despite the pain medicine…” Bart placed his palms below her ribs and pushed her back into the table. “Push down on her belly, Conor. I want to make sure we get that salve in there so we can get her back fixed. But remember to be gentle because I still have to address that issue.” Conor set the jar on the floor and placed his hands on her now softer belly and then looked over at her face as he pushed down to make sure she didn’t wince. I can’t think about my attachment to her. I have to keep it together. I have to help fix her. “Well, she didn’t make any faces when I pressed her ribs in or when you pressed down on her, so she isn’t going to feel anything. We drugged her up really good so that’s in our favor.” Conor nodded as he and Bart worked in tandem. Doesn’t hurt to be careful.“That should be enough now. Let’s see how we did…” Bart advised,
-Bart-Three hours later, Karen’s back was completely filled in with all the new muscles. Bart and Roger were starting to replace the lost skin. “Bart, go sit down. You look like you’re about to fall over.” Roger commanded snatching the derma stitcher from him.“No way! She’s my patient and I’m not done with her until she’s completely stitched up.” Bart countered, snatching the tool back. He looked over at Joanne and Conor. Conor was asleep sitting up with his head propped up on his right hand. Joanne was sitting in his lap curled up with her arms crossed over her chest.“No, Bart. If they are exhausted, then I know you are. Let me finish her up so you can rest a bit.” Roger refuted sternly trying to take the stitcher back.“No way! I said horrible things to her, Roger. I scared the hell out of her and made her afraid of me. This is my penance to apologize for those awful and cruel things I called her.” Bart snapped angrily. “It doesn’t take back those words, but it will help me feel
-Karen-I had been hearing voices float in and out of my mind for a long time. Panic, anger, fear and every other emotion a soul could feel. I felt like I was floating in the clouds as I felt very little pain. That can’t be right… Why so many voices? Why so many emotions?My eyes fluttered open as lights shone down on me. It made it hard to keep my eyes open as a man with black hair and glasses was watching me silently. Something squeezed my right hand and I lazily swung my head over to that direction, but I closed my eyes again. I’m so exhausted. Who is that man? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before. Slowly, I was starting to feel some pain in my upper back and my lower belly. That’s starting to really hurt now... I could hear several voices talking excitedly around me, but the words blurred together as I struggled to figure out what was going on.It felt like an hour passed by as I slowly became coherent. I clumsily sat up on the table trying to remember my last memories. What ha
-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