Reckless Magic

“Let her stay if she wants tofight,” a different masked man, to my right taunted. “If she wants to try andprotect the spoiled brat, let her,” disgust filled his voice, and there was nodoubt in my mind that he meant to kill Kiran.

“Eden, go. If they are willing tolet you go unharmed, then go,” Kiran commanded me. His magic was strong and Icould feel the heat from his boiling blood radiate off of his skin. He was notgoing to give up this fight easily, but neither was I willing to let him. “Whatdo you want with him?” I deflected Kiran’s command and addressed the leaderonce again. Nothing in my body was willing to settle this dispute calmly;talking it out was only a decoy until I figured out what to use to myadvantage.

“We want a new King,” anothercloaked figure to my left shouted. “A King who will give us our magic freely.”

“A King who will let all of ourpeople free,” Another man roared louder. Their response was turning into theirwar cry.

“We want to destroy this bloodlineand end the bloodshed and prejudice. We want what we were promised,” the leaderspoke softer, but equally as menacing.

And then the battle began. One ofthe men to my right let out a battle cry before shifting into a grizzly bear,towering over the still human rest of us. He crossed the distance between Kiranand himself in less than a second. I closed my eyes expecting the fight to beover before it began, but I heard the roar of the bear and opened my eyes tosee that Kiran had eluded him.

Kiran was fast, much faster thanthe overly large bear; but he would not last long. Another man joined hiscompanion, shifting into a chocolate brown wolf. Kiran used his skill andpower, making it impossible for either attacker to touch him, but there werethree other men closing in.

I focused my magic, making itpalpable in my hand. The three men, who were apparently going to remain men,were circling Kiran waiting for the opportunity to strike. The men who chose toignore me had made their first mistake. I threw the magic at them with force,sending out a type of pulse, knocking them off their feet and surprising themall.

Unfortunately for Kiran, Idistracted him just long enough for the wolf to get a hold of his arm and bitedown hard. He let out a shout of rage and threw the animal-man off of him and intothe wall with such force that he crushed the red brick, sending shrapnel flyingaround him. He sunk to the ground before shaking his head and rejoining thefight.

Blood dripped down Kiran’s arm ashe tried to keep the grizzly bear at bay. The three remaining men stood totheir feet undeterred by my weak attempt at disabling them. I tried the pulseagain, but this time they were ready for it. The man, who had challenged me tostay, sent me his own version of a pulse; it was not as strong as mine though andI was able to block it with a defensive surge of magic. He continued on thepath to fight me, while the other two men did their best to out maneuver Kiran.

I once again focused my magic,feeling the electricity surge through my veins. This time when I centered it inmy hands I could see the white heat from the force of it. Just as I was aboutto send my powerful blow, the man on his way over, threw another one my way,knocking me off of my feet.

My hands flew apart and the magicwas sent up uselessly into the sky, illuminating the dark clouds above. Istruggled quickly to my feet, ripping the seam of my dress at the thigh. I sentquick pulses of magic his direction as rapidly as I could. They were smallsince I was unable to take the time to focus my magic firmly, but they did thetrick in keeping him from advancing farther.

Kiran, with four men surroundinghim, was struggling to stay ahead of them. Although he was super-humanly fast,there were just too many of them to stay untouched. The bear caught him by theback of the neck, shaking him roughly, before Kiran was able to break free.Blood dripped down his back, covering his torn tuxedo in thick crimsonstains.

He fought on, defying all odds. Hecontinued to block pulse after pulse from the remaining humans, while keepingthe animals at a safe distance. My fight with my one attacker intensified as hegot a blow past me, punching me in the stomach and knocking the wind out of me.I fell to one knee, ripping my dress further and tearing the skin away fromthat leg. I stood up quickly sending a stronger pulse in his direction throwinghim against the metal door, and denting it.

I turned to Kiran’s defense andcentered my magic quickly but effectively. I threw my arms their way sendingall men flying in different directions. The men recovered quickly; but thequickest of all was their leader. He stood to his feet, walking directly overto Kiran and surprisingly punched him in the mouth and then again in the eye.

No one was expecting such a humangesture, especially me. When the leader thrusted his fist into Kiran’s face,the sleeve of his cloak slid up the length of his arm and I painfully realizedwhy he was so familiar. Around his wrist was a thick tattoo of a snake eatinghis tail and around his bicep, the lower half of a phoenix rising from flames.They were the unmistakable tattoos belonging to Avalon.

My mouth dropped open and I stooddumbfounded amid the bloody battle. If I would have known how to react orcontinue I would not have been given the chance. The mouthy and vengefulattacker from before recovered from the last blow I sent him and sent me one ofhis own. The electric pulse hit me with such force that I was blindsided andunfortunately unprepared.

The wave of magic threw me flailingover the side of the building and towards the ground below. Time slowed downand I felt as if I was watching the entire experience in slow motion. All fiveof the attackers’ heads poked over the ledge of the building as if to watch mefall to my death. But most surprisingly was Kiran, who himself came flying overthe edge, diving in my direction.

Before I could realize how long thedeathly fall was taking, Kiran was diving towards me and gathering me into hisarms. Once in his arms, we seemingly were going to float to the ground. Irelaxed, grateful to be wrapped in his protective hold.

My reaction was premature; I hearda guttural scream from the top of the building and witnessed the electric waveof magic fall from the sky and on top of us. Our descent was quickened to asickening speed and we hit the ground with such momentum that we indented thecement sidewalk that served as a landing pad.

I closed my eyes expecting to openthem to severed or paralyzed limbs. The landing was painful, the groundcrumbling around us. Somehow Kiran managed to land on bottom, giving me asofter landing via his body. I heard several bones snap and wasn’t sure if theywere mine or his.

I heard him groan underneath me andforced myself to assess the damage to my body. Upon opening my eyes andwiggling my toes and fingers, I realized that I was generally unharmed, exceptfor some bruising and the gash on my leg from earlier. I awkwardly peeledmyself off Kiran and struggled out of the hole we created with the impact ofour body.

By this time the students andteachers from the dance began to exit the building, investigating what musthave sounded like a car crash to them inside. I looked down at Kiran’s limp andunconscious body and let out a scream I didn’t realize I was capable of. Iturned my head to be sick and heard other students around me gasp and let outcries of their own.

Someone came to my aid and beganasking questions, but the only sound I could make was a throaty sobbing noise.I watched the men teachers bend over and pick Kiran up out of the hole formedaround his body. They carefully carried him inside and I was left on thesidewalk watching after him, feeling more than helpless.

I knew he wasn’t dead, I couldstill feel the small pulse of his magic; but I didn’t know what kind of damagewas done. He looked peaceful but mangled in his unconscious state. For thefirst time I realized that I had no idea what the word Immortal actually meant.What kind of destruction could we actually withstand?