Forbidden Magic

Chapter 2- Forbidden Magic

“Found You”

The soldier wrapped his dirty hand around my wrist and ripped me from my hiding spot. Too terrified to fight back, I tried feebly to pull myself from his firm grip, pulling against him as we drug me towards the front door. When that didn’t work; I dropped all of my weight to the floor, hoping to slow him down, but he continued to pull me across the dirt floor.

 I couldn’t hear my father yelling anymore, and I lifted my head and looked around wildly for him, quickly spotting his mess of blonde hair in the opposing corner. Something was wrong though, as he laid on the ground unmoving, and for a second time fear gripped my heart as I saw a second soldier standing over him with an evil smirk. The smell of iron hit my nose before I saw the large pool of blood that was slowly seeping across the floor where my father lay unconscious.

“No!” I screamed, despair sinking into my bones. Fight or flight kicked into my system, and I pulled harder from the humans’ grip, trying to get even an inch closer to the only family I had left in this world. The guards grip tightened on my arm almost painfully, ignoring my struggle, as he continued on his mission. I thrashed against him, using my other hand to try and scratch at the thin skin of his wrist, but the human just laughed as I struggled uselessly.

“Awe little one, you worried about your Daddy?” He cackled, taunting me. “Stop fighting and make this easy on me, and maybe we won’t just kill him.” Tears sprung to my eyes, hot and painful. I could break free, I could turn them to dust, but it was absolutely forbidden. Faerie were no longer allowed to use magic; it was an absolute death sentence. The younger generation was not even allowed to be taught how to control it, as to keep them in compliance of the humans. Most of us had forgotten how to even control our elements, and struggled to even bring a gust of wind to cool ourselves in the hot summer sun. My father had taught me in secret though, honing my magic the best he could under nightfall and behind closed doors.

I closed my eyes how I was taught, and tightened my thoughts onto the hand that was pulling me.  I took a deep breath, clearing my head, and reached out for the energy surrounding me. Like tendrils leaving my body, I could feel them grabbing for whatever particles they could reach, and pulling them back into me like white hot embers. The magic moved through my body, caressing down my arms like a soft breeze, and making itself known now to everyone in the room. The sound crackled in the air like spitting electricity as I focused all my attention to the rough fingers tightly encircling my right wrist. Small sparks began to spring from my fingers as I pushed all my emotion into the magic that had taken over me.

“What are you doing faerie!?” The guard screamed, and attempted to release me like he had been burned, but he was too late. Like a cracking whip I released it fast from my body onto the guard’s hand. The white sparks that had crackled from my skin, jumped to his, spreading across his fingers and up his forearm; leaving thick and bloody lightning shaped wounds across his skin as it travelled through his body. The guard let out a guttural scream and threw me away from him, clutching his arm in agony, as the magic worked its way up his shoulder and onto his neck.

 I landed hard on my side, my left shoulder letting out an audible pop with the impact of the hard ground. Pain shot though my arm quickly, but I didn’t have time to think of it, as my focus was on my father on the other side of the room. I crawled away from the screaming guard and towards my father, digging my nails into the dirt ground in pain as I moved what felt like inches towards him. I knew that I just needed to touch him; I had pulled enough energy to save us, but I just needed to grab him.

The second guard noticed me too quickly, and stomped towards me, slamming his booted foot hard into my right calf. I screamed as the pain shot up into my thigh, and struggled to move under the weight of him pressing down into me. I reached my arm out for my father, my fingertips just inches from brushing his arm.

“You bitch!” the second soldier spat out nastily at me, and struck his arm out to hit me hard across my left cheek. Pain spread like lightning across my face, making my eyes water and causing me to whimper pitifully. “Did you kill him!?” The guard screamed at me, pushing the heel of his boot even farther into my skin. I was sure if he pushed any harder, he would snap the bone in half. I could feel my heart thundering in my chest, this was it, surely, I would be killed for using forbidden magic to attack a king’s soldier.

When I didn’t answer, the guard swung his leg back and kicked me hard in the stomach. I screamed in blinding pain, as I felt rib crack under his thick boot. I attempted to scramble away from him, pulling my arms up to cover my face the best I could against him. He did not relent though, as he swung his leg back, and struck me again. “I’ll end your life for this you wretched Faerie whore!”

The guard reached down and picked me up by my neck, slamming me into one of the cottage walls. I coughed as my back hit, bright red blood splattering across the soldier’s uniform. I glanced behind him to look other guard weakly, and I could see my victim now laying on the ground unmoving. His screaming had stopped, and large red lightning wounds covered his body. No doctor, faery or human, would be able to save him from my magic now. I watched his chest rise and fall as his breathing began to grow shallower, and knew that he would be taking his last breath within the next few seconds.

I chuckled to myself, feeling even just a little victorious. If this would be the end of my life, at least I took a monster out of this world with me. The guards grip tightened around my neck at my laugh, and I involuntarily reached to try and pry them off. Failing as my entire body was weakened from being beaten into the ground. The guard laughed at my attempt, the sound revolting as it came from his thin lips, and squeezed my throat even tighter. I tried to suck in one last breath as my air supply was cut off, and my vision began to blur. My eyes slid to my father still laying in a heap where the soldier left him, and felt a single tear slide down my cheek. He was still alive, and I could see his chest slowly rise and fall with each breath his body forced him to take. The only regret I had in this world being that I didn’t tell him that I loved him before my life was taken.

I closed my eyes as my vision began to turn black, and let myself sink into the darkness that was waiting for me. Ready for the next life.