Hopeless Magic

"I can't allow that," Lucan replied, half laughing. "She is a liability, and clearly mad."

"I said no. She is free to go," Kiran turned his frustration on his father.

"I will decide who is free and who is not," Lucan's voice turned cold.

"We had a deal, Father!" Kiran protested with carefully controlled rage.

"Let me remind you that I am also your King and my word is the law!" Lucan shouted at his son and Kiran flinched in response.

"Your Highness, please. She cannot do anything on her own. You said it yourself, she's mad anyway," Kiran begged softly and with more respect.

Lucan thought over Kiran's words for a moment, looking me over with calculated suspicion. "Fine," he said simply and turned around, walking toward a black sedan, surrounded by Guards.

"This is the second time I have saved your life." Kiran turned his attention back to me. "But I promise you, if we should ever meet again, you will be begging for me to end it."

"The next time I see you, Kiran, or your father for that matter," I replied calmly, I had found sanity again, at least for the moment. "You will be the ones hiding from me. I promise you that."

Kiran laughed in response, "We will see," He sobered up, looking at me one last time, "After this, I will not protect you anymore; you are on your own."

He turned around, following his father. I couldn't take it anymore; I couldn't hold back the rage. With a frustrated shudder of magic, I sent all of the Guard around me, including those holding on so tightly, falling to the floor in helplessness. I righted myself on the concrete and with one last guttural scream, I released another powerful blow of electricity against them, sending the remaining Guard thirty yards back and struggling to get to their feet.

Kiran glanced back at me, hardly paying any attention, before climbing into the sedan behind his father. A Guard shut the door behind him. I watched as the car drove away, through the blood soaked snow, off the farm and out of my life.

I looked back at the last of the Resistance members being loaded into the trucks and panicked, not seeing Avalon anywhere.

Where are you? I demanded telepathically.

It doesn't matter. Do not come after me. He replied sternly.

You know that's not going to happen. I said honestly.

All right, fine. But follow Amory's orders first, find our parents. Like he said, they're going to have to come out of hiding. Avalon instructed me, still the leader of the Resistance. Unwilling to believe it should be any other way a tear escaped my eye, falling hot against my cheek.

South America? But where in South America? I asked, frustrated. I didn't have time to search the entire continent of South America; I had to save Avalon before I lost him for good, too.

Start with Silas; he must have seen this coming. Start with him; he'll have some answers for you. He's in Peru, in the mountains, the colony is not far from Machu Picchu; once there, just follow the magic. Avalon's instructions got faster, the farther from me the armored vehicle drove.

I should be coming after you now, before.... before anything happens to you! I begged desperately.

No. There are too many of them, you'll just end up locked away with me. Avalon was firm, but the emotion behind his command was heart wrenching.

But what if.... what if they sacrifice you before I can get to you? I broke down, tears of rage and heartbreak poured out of my eyes and I fell to my knees, left alone in the wreckage of the farm.

I have a plan. His thoughts turned smug. I am going to give you all of my magic. All of it. Lucan cannot sacrifice a human, now can he? He asked, pleased with himself.

But he can kill a human. Pretty easily.... I replied dryly, realizing it might be our only chance for survival.

Yes, but he won't. He'll save me for collateral. You know that. He reasoned soundly and I couldn't argue with him. We both knew it was our only option. We won't be able to communicate though; if I do this, our connection is cut off completely.

Avalon, I am.... I am so sorry. I begged for forgiveness, using the shared emotional channel we shared, one last time.

I don't blame you, Eden. Avalon answered, forgiveness flooding me. This was a tragedy, but it was not your fault. And now, you are our only hope. You cannot fail. Not for my sake, but for the sake of your people.

I will find you again, Avalon. And I will rectify this. I promised.

I believe you. He said with the utmost confidence in me.

Stay strong, and Avalon.... carry on. I echoed Amory's last command to me and I felt Avalon close his eyes in a silent agreement.

Then I will see you soon. Avalon whispered inside of our heads, preparing to release his magic completely.

Yes, you will. I swore and then felt my blood flood with my brother's identical magic and our minds close for good. We were completely separate, in both mind and magic and it dawned on me how very alone I was now.

I had a mission, an impossible task ahead of me and there was not a moment to spare. But before I could continue on the epic journey ahead of me, there was one last thing I needed to do. One final end to tie up.

Chapter Forty-Five

I watched as the last of the prisoners were driven away, before turning sharply on my heel and running from the barn. The farm was eerily quiet, covered in fresh snow and not occupied by a single soul other than myself. I shuddered, but not from the cold, from the dark realization that I was entirely alone in this world. I was completely alone.

I trudged through the deep snow around the vandalized farmhouse, passed the torn apart porch, and explosions still burning their magical flames. The sky was a haunting gray in the middle of the night and light bounced off the blanket of snow illuminating my path to the back of the house.

The backyard had been untouched and was a stark contrast to the destruction of the house, barn and everywhere in between. The snow was completely pure, not a foot print, or animal trail in the miles of snow that lay like a fresh sheet across an empty bed.

Somewhere buried beneath the virgin snow was the cellar and I was determined to get to it. I built the magic in my blood, slowly bringing the electricity to a boil and unleashed it against the iced-over back yard.

My magic was foreign to me, a melting pot of dozens of energies that didn't belong to me. The most alien of all, though, was Amory's ancient electricity. I could still feel his distinct identity running through my veins and it was enough that I had to turn my head and be sick.

I recovered and forced myself to focus; pushing the iced-over snow away from the place I remembered the cellar being. When I didn't find it right away, I let more magic out, creating a small blizzard of my own design, moving the snow out of the way. The barren, frozen ground below the surface of the snow felt symbolic to me, empty and arctic, descriptions that were synonymous with my own heart now.

The cellar door was there then, underneath the mountains of snow and frozen to the ground. I blasted the cellar door off and was suddenly hit with a fierce urgency. I ran down the stairs, the temperature dropping severely the deeper into the earth I ran, but I hardly noticed.

I didn't bother with the torches, or even my magic. I ran blindly through the underground tunnel, completely focused. I ran straight into the heavy stone door that separated the secret initiation room from the narrow tunnel, banging my head.

I stumbled backwards, frustrated. I stared at the door in the darkness for a moment, trying to decide whether to respect what it stood for or if it even mattered anymore.

I couldn't make myself believe that it mattered at all, so I raised my hand and exploded the door off of its hinges and crumbled the heavy stone into long, jagged pieces.

I walked over the rubble; into the room I had never been allowed in, never belonged in. The space felt smaller now than it had through Avalon's eyes. I spun around slowly, trying to decide where to start, my fingers drifting gently over the chair used for restraint.

I turned my magic on the candles, hundreds of flames bursting to life in unison. The cauldron in the far corner of the room bubbled with iridescent foam and the tube used to extract whatever was inside, sat on the workspace next to it, protected in a glass case.

I walked over to the luminous liquid with careful steps and trembling fingers. I had seen Lilly go through this; I knew the recovery period was extensive. I was worried the process wouldn't even be possible without help. But I had to try.

I had finally made my decision. I would join the Resistance.

It seemed silly now, maybe even unnecessary. I couldn't move forward though, until I had righted this wrong.

These people hadn't asked more of me than joining their cause, a cause I had looked down on in judgment of its motives. And in the end, I betrayed that cause.

I had blood on my hands. Lives had ended because of me. And the rest, loaded up in what felt like cattle cars, probably being driven to their death. I had lost those I loved most.

There was no more indecision clouding my mind. No more hopeful scenarios to dream about. Happiness had died, and it was time to fight for retribution.

I pulled the cylindrical tube from its glass case, marveling at the weight of the glass. I plunged it into the lighted liquid, the bubbles burning my hands, leaving blisters. I gripped tighter to the cylinder, afraid I would drop it into the depth of the unknown, and unwilling to stop until I had filled the tube.

The liquid was scorching hot, and the glass became almost impossible to hold, the more light entered the cylinder. I tried protecting my hands with magic, but either the luminous solution was immune to my magic or it was too strong for it.

The tube was nearly filled and my hands felt like the skin was being melted from them. I took several quick, deep breaths preparing me for the worst and then courageously lifted the cylinder from the liquid and pressed it firmly to my neck, just below my earlobe.

A horrifying scream echoed in my ears and it was several moments before I realized that it was coming from me. My blood grew hot, beyond boiling and I fell to the floor in agonizing pain.

The liquid continued to drain into my blood from its point of contact with my skin and I forced myself to remain conscious, to hold the glass. I couldn't see how much light had drained from the tube, but my body and consequently the room around me began to glow in the royal blue that defined my magic.

Tears of pain streamed down my face, tears that were unstoppable. I tried to breathe through the pain, but it was excruciating. I reminded myself I lived through the King's Curse and I would live through this as well.

I fought for consciousness, pressing the glass firmer against my skin. If I fell into the deep abyss of sleep now, I wouldn't finish the job. I would have to start over and go through this again. I had to close my eyes though, the blinding blue was growing stronger, turning to a pure white that burned my retinas.

My arms were violently trembling and I wasn't even sure if my fingers and palms would be recognizable when this was finished. I lay on the cold dirt floor, flailing and fighting forces that felt much stronger than myself.

The last drop of iridescent liquid dropped from the glass into my bloodstream; there was reprieve. I threw the cylinder on the floor next to me, as soon as it contacted the rocky dirt it shattered into a million pieces of shrapnel, glistening in the candlelight.

The light finally extinguished, I lay there, too exhausted to move, too afraid to look at the damage done to my hands. The liquid spread out inside of me, infecting every blood vessel, pumping strongly from my toes to my heart to my head and back down again.