Seeing Blake

Blake’s crimson eyes flitted up momentarily to meet mine and I took a gasping breath in an attempt to settle myself. I don’t know why I bothered anymore. It never worked. I never felt settled.

Ever since the Master Magicians had brought me into their world of magic, my life had been one long, bumpy road. Every moment had been spent in a constant state of unease and ignorance. It had been hard on my heart. Any small action sent it thundering onwards in my chest. I was on edge, and I hated it.

The hours of torture that Kainen had put me through probably hadn’t helped by measure. I couldn’t manage to control my own reactions even from the slightest shadow or touch or skin against mine. I would shrink away from it, my heartbeat skyrocketing upwards and the feeling of adrenaline pulsing through me.

I had never felt anything like it, even whilst being an orphan on the streets. The trauma of what Kainen had done had left me barely a shell of my past self, lifeless and dull and only the smallest amount of fight left within me.

But now I was also struggling to deal with what I had succumbed to. The life I was now bound to was unbearable, but I was not going to give up. I knew I couldn’t, not just for me, but for the others that had wound their way into my life and somehow become more important to me than I realised.

I wouldn’t let Tynan rip magic away from any more innocent lives through my hands.

My mind was working overtime. Tynan, my uncle and the epitome of evil, had bound my Spyrit to his own after putting me through months of torture. I had not been able to take it, and given in to his pressure. I still didn’t want to fully believe the reasons behind his need to possess me. I still couldn’t fully believe that I was the Spyrit Magician.

After growing up on the streets of Verdana and being recruited by the other Master Magicians to protect Nyssa, the believed Spyrit Magician, it was hard to consider anything else was possible. How things have changed since then.

It was hard to believe that Nyssa had managed to convince not only four Master Magicians, but also a whole heap of other power Magicians, that she wasn't evil. I knew better of course. I feel like she had always shown her true colours to me, and now we all knew the truth. Tynan was her father, and lucky me, she was my cousin, linked through my father and her mother who were siblings.

It was still hard to believe that the most powerful Spyrit Magician of all time, Axian, was my father. I hadn't had much time to truly comprehend what that meant, and how my parents had abandoned my years before they actually died. But right now that wasn't even my biggest problem.

Tynan had ordered me todo the impossible. To take a Spyrit!

There was no way I was going to be able to take someone’s soul unless… My heart felt as if it sunk in my chest as my breath stuck in my throat.

My eyes darted to Blake again. He was uncomfortable half sitting, half laying, slumped awkwardly against the cold stone wall. His arms were chained high above his head, which pulled his shoulders up by his ears. He looked like a puppet being held up by his puppeteer.

I watched his chest rise and fall ever so slightly with each struggling breath. 

The guard who had let me in had just injected Blake with the mysterious silver venom. I had no idea what it was, but it left a Magician completely unable to use their magic. I had experienced it many times. I only knew it was some sort of venom because I had heard them talking about it before.

Blake, the Fourth Magician, and Fire Magician, was in this situation because of me. Everything bad that had happened was because of me. I felt even more responsible for his situation. It was my lack of strength to stay and face my problems that had resulted in me being here, as well as his current predicament. I had finally come to terms with that knowledge.

Axian, my father, had contacted me to warn Blake of this future, but yet we had blindly blundered into it. My childish actions when I believed he had chosen Nyssa over me had gotten us both here. That was all before I realised I had feelings for him. Now everything was different.

I checked the small yellow envelope that the guard had given me on arrival to the cell door. They hadn’t given me a key; of course they hadn’t. Tynan had no faith or trust in me yet, but it was something I needed to gain swiftly, even if it was merely a ruse.

“Get me the key,” I barked out, my voice harsh and reverberating in the tiny, dank cell. It hardly sounded like my own voice.

Aris, the butler appeared at my side. I called him a butler for lack of a better term. He was the man who seemed to do just about anything Tynan asked. Aris was like his own personal servant.

Every time my eyes glanced over the butler’s short, cropped white hair and the beginnings of a wrinkled face, it would remind me of Deakin, and that day when my life seemed to change course. My face would flush red-hot as the memories flooded my mind, until I was brought back to reality by the current situation.

Only a few days ago, Blake had been watching me so intently when the flush had occurred in my cheeks, and he saw my face turn the bright red colour, the small smile appearing on my lips. By the look on his face, I feared that he might have known. But he couldn’t possibly know.

My relationship with Deakin wasn’t exactly what I would call straightforward or simple. He had in fact, tried to end my life on more than one occasion, before tricking me into sleeping with him. The biting paranoia that had consumed me after that moment had been bled from my body during the months of torture at the hands of Kainen. It was during that time, that Deakin had showed me the emotions that lay behind his orders from his Master, and completely, strangely enough, changed the way I felt about him. Not to mention the all-consuming pull I felt towards him now that I had been forced to acknowledge it.

I still wasn’t completely sure what it meant, as Deakin had refused to tell me, but I had a pretty good idea, and the truth of it scared me more than I was wanting it to. Now just the thought of his electric blue eyes, and sharp features put a smile on my lips.

But Tynan had kept Deakin and I apart since the binding ceremony, which had tied a part of my Spyrit to Tynan’s.

It niggled in my mind that maybe Tynan was aware of our strong connection and was forcing us apart. Our brief contact had been used sparingly to simply talk with each other, and relish in the comfort of one another. Because of Kainen’s torture, anything more was impossible at this point. But that was before Deakin had been sent away, just three days after the ceremony. He had been gone for more than a week now, and my heart ached painfully every time my thoughts focused on his absence. I felt guilty for wallowing in my own pity, when I should have been focusing on other matters. But I was allowed to be selfish, as I knew that at any moment, the man I was now bound to could rip my happiness away from me.

Aris watched me, his eyebrow raised. His piercing eyes saw too much. I gave him a sharp look and a small, silver key appeared in his hand. He passed it to me slowly, his tiny, beady eyes focussed warily on Blake.

I opened up my mind to hear his worried thoughts and felt myself smile. They almost feared Blake more than me – almost.

“Do you really think he is going to hurt anyone in his condition?” I snapped quietly to Aris. I raised my brow, annoyed. His shocked expression gave some small satisfaction. They seemed to forget what I could do. “Or that I won’t be able to handle him? You literally injected him with the venom a few minutes ago! He can't even use his magic.”

The old man gave me a sour look, which I responded to with a sickly sweet smile. Aris left, closing the door to the cell behind him and I released my pent up breath, relieved. Since being bound to Tynan, I had decided to take on the persona of a powerful magician, even if I didn’t really believe it myself. It made dealing with people like Aris that little bit easier.

I moved forward hastily, being careful not to jostle Blake too much, and unlocked the chain that held up one of his arms. Supporting it, I slowly lowered it down, hearing him hiss in pain as I did.

“Sorry,” I whispered. “Are you alright?”

Blake groaned in response.

I turned the small key to unlock the second manacle, but his body weight caught me off guard. Blake collapsed forward in exhaustion before I could reach his arm, resulting in a loud crunch as his face hit the hard stone floor.

Instinctively, my hands sought out the worst of his wounds.

Since binding my Spyrit to him, Tynan had stopped giving me the daily dose of venom, allowing me access to my magic again. The first few days were horrible. Tremors shook my whole body and sweat had poured from every possible location on my body. I had never felt anything qute like it before. It was like my body was failing to cope without the venom in my system.

I pressed my palms flat against his clammy skin to summon the magic that would gently heal and soothe his pain.

The more I worked with my magic, the better I became at handling it. I found it easier to simply focus on what I wanted and to have it happen. It was no longer a struggle to project or even to heal.

His soft sigh let me know that it had worked. The injuries he had sustained entered my body and I forced it away, healing him, and myself, in the process. His pain had eased somewhat, but the pain inside my chest continued to haunt me. I knew where this had to lead, and so did he.

“Any other problem areas?” I asked softly.

Blake responded with a small shake of his head as I sat him upright, his breath coming in gasps.

“You’re still hurt,” I reprimanded.

“It’s fine,” he bit back, through clenched teeth. “I don’t need your help.”

His words were like a cold slap to the face, which put me on the back foot. I sat back on my haunches and grumpily glanced him a once over.

Bruises covered the right side of his face and large, red welts covered most of the skin along his arms and chest that I could see behind the torn, white shirt. I was more than sure that there were more injuries. Knowing how Tynan loved torture like I did, I knew there would be more.

I glanced up at his eyes, only to regret it. The cold, disgusted look made my body shiver in response, but I knew it was all an act. I knew him too well by now.

What I needed was to talk to him - alone. I glanced back at Aris and the two guards’ figures that I could see outside the cell. They had become my constant shadows. After some time spent with them following me, I had learnt their names were Raena and Pollis. I was surprised to have a woman guard, but I learnt on the third day that she was just as fierce as many of the men. I had seen her training in hand-to-hand combat and beat seven of the men before she was finally too tired to put up a successful defence. With a bitter thought, I wished I could fight like she could. Maybe then we all wouldn’t be in our current predicament.

Sometimes I appreciated their company and was gradually beginning to break down the walls of communication with them both, but it was slow going.

I mustered up my most authoritative voice and turned to face them, opening the door to find their suspicious looks.

“Leave us to talk,” I commanded, shocked by how alien I sounded.

Raena gave me a sharp, suspicious look but shrugged her broad shoulders. I liked how she never questioned me.

“Come on Aris, give the girl a little rope,” Pollis interjected before Aris could object, his mouth ajar and ready to refuse my request. “She has earned it. And honestly, what’s the worst she could do? Set him free? Like she said, he isn’t in any condition to get far and Raena and I will handle it if she does let him out.”

Pollis met my eye and gave me a cheeky grin. His blonde hair hung loose by his huge shoulders, small ringlets appearing near his forehead where the sweat was dampening it. His large, blue eyes sparkled mischievously. I enjoyed his company most of all. His happy, energetic nature was infectious. He joked often about my powers and how he could so easily be at my mercy, but I swore there was a certain tone of truth to his words. Almost like he really believed it. He was cocky and a joker, but he was honest and I appreciated that, especially with the road my life was going down.

Raena on the other hand, was quieter and stern. A serious look was always touching the stark features of her face. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight bun at the base of her neck, her grey eyes rolling as she listened to Pollis mumbling about me.

Raena gave Pollis a jab in the ribs to hurry him up. “We will be in the next hall,” she said softly to me. I knew it served as a warning.

When the cell door closed with a loud thud, I gave a grateful sigh and collapsed next to Blake. It was almost comforting to hear the familiar rhythm of his breathing and heartbeat.

Now I just had to tell him the awful truth - that it was his life or mine.