All-Mighty One

“So… you’re the big high and mighty, all-powerful Spyrit Magician, huh? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I winced at Blake’s words but remained silent. I forgot that I had never told him about my magic. In fact, there was so much I hadn’t told him. I had thought I had, divulging a few secrets to Deakin, who, at the time, had used his magic to come to me as Blake. The memory of that swirled in my mind, blurred on the edges and tainted with the knowledge of the many truths that I had learnt in the short time since it happened.

The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity but was not at all uncomfortable. I glanced up at his face expecting the old feelings for him to be back, but I only felt guilt, frustration and anger. The guilt I knew was because it was my fault that he was here, and the frustration and anger for a situation I could not seem to fix.

Blake met my gaze and gave me a pained smile. “It’s not your fault you know?” he whispered softly. I hated how it felt like he could get in my head. His thumb swept ever so gently across my cheek to wipe away the tears I didn’t even know were there. “See, not tough at all.”

I gave an odd, hiccupping laugh as I tried to rein my emotions in. Since being bound to Tynan, it had become difficult to control a lot of my own emotions, as if he had blasted the control I had and had taken it for himself.

I could feel Blake’s sadness envelop me, but also his warmth trying to make me feel better.

“But if you hadn’t run away…”

I gave him a sharp look, which made him stop talking with a wide-eyed, innocent look.

“Run away? I’m sorry, if you hadn’t been getting all loved up with the enemy you mean?”

“Loved up with the enemy? What are you on about?”

“I saw you and her,” I seethed, feeling the anger pulsing in my chest. It was no longer a painful, agonising anger but a dulled anger that echoed in the past. Now, it was only the fact that he had simply chosen her over me. I knew the feelings I thought I had for him were not real. It was a girl crushing on a boy. “I know it’s not my fault we are here, it’s yours. If only you had listened to Axian’s prediction I guess we wouldn’t be here, huh?”

“You saw me and who, Kida?” Blake asked angrily. The anger broiled and flared in his eyes like flames burning under a magician’s watch. “And if you mean Nyssa, well I was following his prediction.”

“Really? Well you chose wrong didn’t you? ‘Cos she is a fake. A big nasty, spiteful, evil fake!”

“Well I didn’t choose her, did I?” Blake yelled. My skin prickled under the weight of his fury and trickling magic. I could feel it. It was like hundreds of tiny needles piercing my skin. “I knew something was up with her. Everything was working too easily for her, and too difficult for the two of us. It didn’t make any sense. The enemy always knew where we were, how to get to us. I knew one of you was a spy of sorts.”

Realisation kicked in, and my stomach dropped. He had chosen me, but then… then why had he been holding her?

I gave him a quick glance, and felt his emotions sweep through me all at the same time. It was a gut-wrenching blow.

“But from what I heard, you have been getting all loved up with the enemy.”

His words were another kick in the stomach. I lurched away from him, all comfort from before, dissipating in that mere second.

My business with Deakin had nothing to do with him… Did it?

The connection we had was more than just a simple crush, it was more than I ever could explain to him and the more I was surrounded by Deakin the stronger the connection between us grew. It wasn’t just infatuation, or lust, it was magical.

I gave Blake another quick glare before storming out of his cell.

With a thrust of my hand, I forced the door closed with a loud crash, my magic pushing it shut without even touching the door itself.

Anger pulsated along my skin as I paced up the long hall and away from the cell. By the time I had reached where Raena and Pollis were talking silently to each other, my anger had lessened. As soon as they spotted me, Pollis stood up a little straighter, watching me. His body was in a slouched, relaxed position, but I knew it was a ruse; he eyed me too carefully.

Their gazes tracked me the entire time as I strode past them and stopped, my heart thudding heavily in my chest. I ran a hand through my hair roughly, dragging my nails along the skin on my face.

Pollis gave me a sly look. “Everything alright, all-mighty one?”

I glanced back at him, my eyes narrow and fury plain on my face.

Raena gave him another sharp jab to the ribs, which gave me some vindictive pleasure, and caused him to hiss out his annoyance at her.

“Watch those pointy elbows, will you?” he grumbled.

I wanted to laugh when Raena sent another jab towards him along with one of her icy glares.

I sighed and sat down on one of the seats that were scattered along the halls of Tynan’s castle. It had been ten days since he had requested my presence and ordered me to take Blake’s soul. I had discovered nothing since then except how infuriating Blake was, and how much Pollis thought it was a great big joke. And time was very quickly running out.

After the first day of being assigned to guard me, Pollis had begun calling me the ‘all-mighty one’, which he thought was highly amusing. Personally, I found it rather hurtful and annoying, to say the least. The fact that it made me react that way, made him enjoy it even more.

“Be nice, Pollis, you know she could kick your ass,” Raena jested, poking him in his ribs for a third time. I was surprised he didn’t have bruises from how often she did that.

I rolled my eyes at the both of them and took a deep breath in before slowly releasing it. I stared down at my bony hands and guilt washed through me. I had overreacted with Blake and I needed to make it better. He just made me so damn mad. The one thing he had always managed to do well. I was relieved that was something that hadn’t changed at least.

“Stay here,” I ordered Raena and Pollis who were both having a silent quarrel, their faces showing the beginning of a serious argument. I felt their frustration touch my chest but I pushed it aside and rushed back down towards the cells again.

The guard eyed me with a quizzical look but let me in anyway, closing the door behind me.

Blake watched me with his eyes sad and his face drawn. I felt his guilt mingle with my own as well as a soft touch of pain.

I moved forward hesitantly and sat down close to him. My body was tense, my muscles fighting against me as I got closer to him.

My stomach swirled as a million thoughts filled my head before I forced myself to calm down and eventually rest my head on his shoulder. I felt him wince against me, but didn’t say anything to stop me from doing it. He was warm and hard to lean on, but comfortable.

I knew he wouldn’t hurt me the way Kainen had, but my body reacted in a way that still surprised me.

When Blake shifted his shoulder slightly, I flinched from him, my stomach dropping and heartrate picking up speed. If he noticed anything, he chose not to mention it.

I thought about how this would have felt just those few months ago. How I would have been embarrassed or even scared to touch him? Now it seemed to come without the embarrassment, just the fear – the fear that was always present and curled up in my stomach ready to rear its head, twisting every moment with its intense emotion. I didn’t care what he thought, or if he wanted me to. I needed to do it for me, to settle myself, to prove to myself that I could.

I had never said aloud what had happened to me whilst here, and he never said what had happened to him. It was a subject we didn’t broach, but in my heart I knew it had to be discussed.

“My Spyrit is bound to his,” I whispered, ashamed.

Blake looked into my eyes, his normally bright pupils, dull and sad. “You let him do that to you? You gave in?”

Anger bubbled along my skin but I pushed it down as I took a breath and let it out slowly.

“You don’t know anything,” I said through gritted teeth. A tear slid down my face unbeknown to me. Blake wiped it away slowly, a grimace forming with the effort. “What he did to me Blake… What he forced upon me…”

I buried my head in my hands, feeling the tears fall freely from my eyes. How could I possible begin to explain what had happened when I wasn’t even willing to face those demons?

I felt so ashamed, so filled with disgust. I didn’t think I could ever let those words come from my mouth - to allow them to become real as soon as I spoke about what happened aloud. If I kept them locked inside my head, I could pretend that it was all a horrible nightmare. But as soon as they were heard, as soon as they rolled from my tongue, I knew the memories would cement themselves into my reality and I would never be able to escape them.

Blake seemed to realise this, finally listening to the words I hadn’t been able to say.

“What does he want you to do?”

He lowered my hands and held them softly, his molten eyes burning with fury and anger; waiting.

“He wants me to take your Spyrit.”