Chapter 35

Part 1

Mana swirled, collecting into a tiny sphere of water at his fingertip! “Waterspout, penetrate!” The head! I slipped the shot, avoiding a spiraling drill beam of water which pierced the wall behind me!

(Need to get a better angle!) With Bryn at the other end of the room, there wasn’t a proper line of attack. I ran to the large room’s side while forming an idea. Another shot; my left leg the target! Barely dodged again, it blew by and through the bricks, concrete, and wood! (Once Magekin are locked in on a spell, they can reproduce it non-verbally. If I can disrupt him, he’d have to take time to cast it again.) Once more, another shot! My head again, just like I hoped! I lurched back completely ready to make my move! (Catch this!) That wasn’t dashing around aimlessly; it was me making my way to a desk! Chucking that rusted furniture across the room, flying like a football, beamed at high speed right toward Bryn!

“Re-repel, all those who wish harm upon me!” He spoke fast enough for that bubble to catch the desk’s corner just short of his nose! “You! Waterspou—” Too late!

His vision was blocked just long enough for me to close the distance! Less than a foot apart, still no familiar in sight! (Don’t have time to find it right now! Gotta’ hit him!) Leaping up, next came a blistering soccer kick to his chest! The second my foot made contact; I could tell I needed to hit Bryn harder. His mage’s robe was sturdier than a brick wall but with some flabby rubbery substance underneath absorbing the impact. That attack managed one thing though, launching Bryn out of the window! (I’ll have to keep on him!) Jordie Mack and his team were still down in the room, but time was short! “Jordie, take your team and get far away! Quick!” In the second I’d turned my head to instruct them; my target was gone!

Not in the woods beyond the chain-link fence, or either side of the window, and not down near Bramble below; Bryn was nowhere. “Above, Young Fate!” Just as Bramble said! Up on that disc, Bryn had climbed atop his armament, floating high over the schoolhouse!

Through beleaguered breaths while clutching his chest, the warlock spoke. “Waterspout…penetrate!” Not one shot but multiple were rattled off! A cascade of drilling liquid beams fired from Bryn’s finger and loose spaces within his robe! I reached for another desk while dodging, planning to use the grungy school equipment as a weapon. “Slice, blade of liquid!” Another spell was cast! From the corner of my eye, my outstretched arm appeared the target of a watery crescent blade! With hardly enough time to react, I retracted my hand, nearly losing it along the way!

(Too close! I need to —) Floorboards beneath me creaked and gave way under my weight! “Crap!” Bryn’s spells damaged the already weathered building, leaving me to crash back down to the previous classroom below! I managed to brace myself, mostly. “Ow…” Pushing up off the ground elicited pain in my hand. That ‘Slice’ spell had done far more than I realized at first; four of my fingertips had been sliced right off! “Fuck! Ugh…” A bit of panic set in, but upon closer inspection, I’d somehow avoided losing any bone on my right hand. Only to the fingernail tips and some flesh had been sheered away. It wasn’t much a of comfort, especially with blood pooling down into my palm from my index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers. (The seed should handle this, right?) Again, no time to worry! Another blade was entering my vision from the side! I violently jumped back, avoiding that water spell and slamming against the wall to my back. Those pukwudgie scars again! Fissures of pain radiated up my spine, surging the remaining sickening grease into my stomach!

I would’ve vomited if there was even a second to spare. “Waterspout, penetrate!” Again!

(He can’t see me from here!) On the first floor, with a roof, ceiling, and possibly brick wall between us, assumedly, Bryn couldn’t have known my location. All that and yet… (I should be safe…) Four shots, one grazing my left thigh, two into my right shoulder and hip, and finally across my forehead! Pain was more immediate with dime sized chunks of flesh blasted out of my body. The seed, or maybe my position beneath the roof, kept me from being skewered like a pig. No bones were directly struck, but that relief was surmounted by the fear of blood pooling down by my sneakers.

“Slice…” Another spell was coming from above! “Blade of liquid!” I moved! My sneaker slipped through the floor’s grime and blood; as I fell to my knees… heaps of my flowing silver lochs were cleaved from atop my head by another watery sickle! If I were a second later, the horizontal blade would’ve easily decapitated me.

I couldn’t think, just dashed out into the hall! (The opening at the end of the hall! No! Bryn’s out there, I’ll be in the open.) The entrance! (No! That leads out into that open front. I’ll be completely exposed!) Panic, panic, panic! The opposite end of the hall! (There’s got to be a window around the back, right? If I can make it there, maybe I can duck out among the trees!) A thought dawned on me as I ran, Bryn’s blasts were beyond accurate for someone guessing, and my sharp hearing confirmed it.

“Waterspout, penetrate!” Cutting down my left forearm, Bryn shot me again!

“Damnit!” I winced in pain, but persevered. Zigzagging from one side of the hall to the other seemed a good move, though once more, he successfully hit his target! A chunk of muscle was blasted off my right calf, and I fell, rolling in agony. “Th-this isn’t going to plan.” I was stuck fleeing from my magically aware opponent, who knew my exact location! (Am I out putting too much mana? No, Anesha said most Magekin wouldn’t be able to track me with such accuracy. But then, how?!) Using the wall beside me, I struggled upright… making eye contact with Mack Attack descending the stairs!

Fear-frozen Jordie Mack’s team were rooted in place before me. “Fa-Fate! Sheesh! You’ve seen better days; you okay?!” Obviously, not. Their camera man led the brothers, with a gun at the ready, but I knew it wasn’t enough to keep them safe. The state I was in spoke volumes to the danger! “BB, wait! He’s on our side!”

“Yeah, no duh, Jordie! That still doesn’t tell us what’s happening—”

“Get out of here! Seriously, leave!” I interrupted! The situation was terrible; my preparations hadn’t accounted for everything.

“So, your name’s Fate, then?” Snide and nasally, Bryn cooed from far behind. He floated atop his discus armament; the moon’s light casting a vastly different silhouette from previous! His mage’s robe rocked and wobbled, engorged on thin shoulders as if a waterlogged igloo was placed onto a scarecrow.

(…I don’t have time to worry about that.) Distance between us created another predicament. Bryn hovered in that hole on the opposite end of the building, over hundreds of feet away! (Those water spells, I saw them; they move in a straight line. I’m not sure about the blades, but if they also do, then this distance is bad. He’d shoot me dead before I could ever reach him!) Tolerating the pain of my wounds wasn’t a problem; losing blood, ending the fight quickly, and not having my throat sniped, were. There was the vomit! Vomit and fear bubbled up in my mouth.

“Before, you kicked me…do you know how much that hurt?!” Shrink wrap rubbed over a kitchen counter would’ve been less painful than Bryn’s wailing. “I planned to just rip the seed from your chest and be done with the affair, but not anymore! I’m going to stab you a thousand times over with your own blood!” Couldn’t hold it in. All over the floor, I puked up all the food in my stomach Anesha had cooked. “Eww! You disgusting animal! Vile human!”

Honestly, it was for the best. With the vomit, part of my fear poured out onto the wooden floor. “On, and on, and on! I hate to be that guy, but Magekin really never shut up.” Mouth running ahead of me, again.

“Learn your place. Waterspout…” Anesha’s advice played back in my head. The witch would always tell me, ‘Stop overthinking things’, ‘Rely on my instincts’, ‘Trust my training’! “Penetrate!” The distance didn’t matter! The number of shots didn’t matter! The manner of attack didn’t matter!

(Just go!) I sprinted, ignoring pain, fear, concern, and my own overthinking nature! One shot, I stepped over it! Another, I ducked it! He aimed for my legs, I leapt both! Four more came from his mage’s robes, a twist in the air, only a graze! Faster! (Faster, even faster!)

In the end, the distance didn’t matter. I reached Bryn! “Y-You!” Fear, and I were reflected in his eyes. A step forward, twisting on the ball of my sneaker, ready to blast him in the chest with my harshest possible back-kick!

(This kick…I destroyed a train with it before. Is this too much?) Hesitation for only a second.

“Repel, all those who wish harm upon me!”

“Shit!” Weather due to that split second of indecision or me rushing to get the kick in before he could defend, I failed. My foot met that rubbery wall of mana, losing direction and speed! The resulting aftershock blew past Bryn, and out through the hole! Air pressure blasted all the dirt, dust, and trash out of the open portal in an explosion of debris, wafting outward into the forest. I would’ve apologized to the woodland critters, if not for the furious self-berating! (My chance, gone! Idiot! I missed the perfect chance to…kill him. That could’ve…would’ve killed him.)

Part 2

“Your blood, tainted as it is, I do respect your ability. You are amazing for someone born of a Magekin and a human, a half-born, a wretch.” Prattling on and on, truly Magekin do so love the sound of their own voices. There felt an ounce of irony there, but I ignored it.

“Do you plan to talk me to death? If so, I believe it will take you around another hundred or so years.”

“Indeed. We shall settle this in a way befitting a wretch, such as yourself, barbarically!” A spell was coming! “Rising of the earth, upsurge!” Down by my feet several cracks formed in the stone, creases that split into a long rectangle and folded up right before my face! The risen wall of earth flipped up, standing wider and taller than I, yet it did not slam onto me. On the face of the monolith small beads of mana plumed! The next move was obvious. “Bind!” Ribbons of light shot forth! With spell knowledge as my best weapon, a twirl of my saber’s blade tangled the magical bindings, holding them steady in a knot! “Unsurprising. I would expect no less of one from Edith’s coven. Your ilk are trained in such barbaric magics, are they not?”

Without mage’s robes, my defenses were lacking. (That is a handicap.) I left behind my hat; thus, my mana control was affected. (Another handicap.) My broom was unreachable. (Yet another.) I could not help but chuckle.

“What is it you find funny, Anesha?”

“Oh, I’m ever so tickled. No robes, hat, or my broom; why, I am dreadfully enfeebled in this situation!”

“Indeed. Should you wish to surrender, that time is upon you.”

“Surrender? Gods, no! I was wondering should I bind my own hands behind my back, giving you further handicaps; as only then would you pose me any serious threat.”

“You…” The vein in Killian’s forehead bulged. I took pleasure in knowing he’d been upset, disgusting little man he was. After a deep breath, he opened that swill pit of a mouth again. “You needn’t worry yourself. I will bind you just fine, beyond satisfaction! You will writhe, squeal, and beg. I will stretch your body to new…” Rambling on. Allow Magekin to speak and they will do so endlessly.

(While you are busy filling the air with verbal pollution, I shall contact Fate.) Keeping the signal as faint as possible, I’d only need speak when the connection was established. (There!) My body, cast in mana, translated to Bramble. Within my mind's eye, I could see my familiar and Fate’s forms. “I will fight alone, do so as well—” A flicker!

“Ignite!” Dispelling my saber and cartwheeling away from the explosion, I narrowly escaped with my head! My jacket, however, had been slightly singed from the blast; a slight I would aim to make Killian regret. “You would try such a thing? How deplorable, unbecoming, gauche, I must say. For you to look down on me to such an extent that you would think I would not notice you contacting a familiar, insulting. I have studied Master Caelan’s craft; I am a master when it comes to familiars.” I reformed and swung my saber, unleashing a blast of energy! “You!” A snap of his fingers, he launched another blast to disrupt mine! The magic met midair with an explosion…an opportunity I seized!

“Striking flash, oh thunderous arrow!” An unimpeded spell; I unleashed a bolt of lightning, flying up the slope! Upon the dastard’s throne, he was hoisted away, avoiding my attack! (I must conserve mana, so no more reforming weapons unnecessarily. Forcibly internalizing mana would also take a toll upon my body. Confidence aside, it would be foolish to weaken myself further.)

The throne landed on 4 extended, spider-like legs in the ravine, kicking up bushels of gravel as it did. We finally stood upon even ground, somewhat. “Sneaky, underhanded, wretched! Rising of the earth, upsurge!” An oft troublesome spell. The direction of any spell could vary; one simply need follow the flow of mana or direction of a Magekin’s armament to discern the route. Earthbound spells crept along or through the ground, veiling the flow. One’s own senses and reactions were paramount to avoiding such magic!

From behind, a slab of earth rose! Easily pirouetting around the side only allowed the assault to continue. One after another, walls of stone broke forth from beneath my feet! From the left to the right, stone walls reaching so high as to cut off my escape, encircled me and expelled ribbons of light! (I won’t make it!) Absent of choices, a barrier became the solution! Thumb clutching my ring and pinky fingers, extending my middle and index fingers; all I needed was to speak the word…! “Rebuke!” I slammed my hand forward and pointed with a burst of mana unlike any other, conjuring the force field outward around me! An orb of protection, perfectly spherical, impregnable to all that I wished, blocked the ribbons!

“Yes! There it is!” Viewing Killian’s smug grin through my translucent barrier did not shield me from the rancidity of his face. “Firmament Barrier. Unlike any other barrier an individual can create alone. Even the barrier surrounding Graewood requires several exceedingly powerful Magekin, all perfectly in tune, using the mana of the earth itself and the Grand Witch to maintain it. Yet you, spawn of human, a half-born, a wretch, are able to erect one!” His prattling alone was also an assault on my ears, but maintaining the barrier was using too much mana! I dispelled it, and leapt upward, kicking off walls to reach the lip of my stone enclosure. I flipped back onto the ground again, safe. “Tell me, Anesha; the barrier you placed on Graewood, you do not power it alone, obviously.” That was true. “For you to have found others in the world with such a grudge against our way of life; I can only assume it were peasants, low-born Magekin, dirt walkers, yes?”

“Dirt walkers? Honestly, if the aristocracy were to spend as much time teaching magic as they do creating slurs, you would be an actual threat.” The walls lifted and slammed down toward me! I escaped with a second to spare, readying a bolt of lightning. (Should I summon my familiars? No. Not yet. I’ll reserve some mana aside for it, should the need arise.) Area opened once more, I was offered a clear shot at Killian!

“Become mine, Anesha.”

“…Excuse me?”

Part 3

There existed many ways to disrupt a Magekin’s spell; attacking them, concussing them, binding their hands and or mouths, or even intense stimuli. What Killian proposed could only have been considered an immeasurable psychological attack! “…Have you lost what little of a mind you possess?” With bolt crackling at the ready, even the slightest of odd movements from that warlock would’ve been met with an arrow of electricity.

“Do you grasp what I am proposing? I am proposing a life beyond your wildest dreams, one in which you bear the name Dufort!”

(Unappealing.)

“As I said before, the Firmament Barrier is truly stupendous, astounding, extraordinary! And you, able to summon one forth, well, it is all that and more. Become mine. You shall bear many a powerful Magekin child and further empower the Dufort name! You, born of a commoner, must have at some point been envious of aristocrats. Giving birth to a Dufort will enable you to live as one of us; a true Magekin!”

“…Not only do I find your offer disgusting; I also have noticed a lack of clarity.”

“Oh?”

“Oh yes. You have mentioned becoming yours and joining your family. Yet, I know how all of you ‘high-born’ think. What exactly would I be to you, in your own words.”

“Simple. One of my mistresses.”

(Of course.)

“Relinquish the name Kyteler, and exist as Anesha ‘of the Dufort’. Quite the ring, yes? Life as one of my live-in mistresses will be beyond anything you could have dreamed. Your genetics are exceptional, after all. Your mother, a commoner from outside Graewood’s walls; your father, a mere human; yet you, a Magekin with control so great, it even rivals Reagan’s own! All of that, and you were gifted with such ravishing beauty and a body built unlike any other in Graewood! You are a rarity, an anomaly, a fascination, indeed!”

“…ugh.” I swallowed the bile bubbling in the back of my throat. Being looked upon by the eyes of a revolting man like Killian caused my skin to crawl as if someone had caressed me. “You see me as nothing more than a prize, or maybe a trophy would be more correct. This body you so lust for, it is a gift to me, one which I trained tirelessly. My abilities too; countless days, months, years, all to achieve what I am now. In your mind, it would be best that I exist as a beautiful incubator and nothing more. Foolish. Lo’, should you truly wish to copulate and procreate with a strong witch, then may I suggest you try that spiel with my master. Oh, how I would love to watch her twist your upper body and lower body apart after such a proposal.”

“Am I to assume then, this is your way of rejecting my offer?”

“Yes. I am rejecting your pathetic offer for me to be your baby holster.”

“Hmph. Wasteful. Then…” Killian stood and with riding crop in hand, struck his throne! “Objects, Rise!” Jolted with mana from his armament, the throne separated. A figure staggered free from the back atop long glossy legs; another unfurled from the front with pelvis aimed skyward and sharp, pointed toes staked in the dirt. Leaving the form of ornate furniture, two beings wrapped in black leather gracefully danced to Killian’s sides. “Now, you may properly greet my familiars.” With heads sealed away inside of bulbous leather balls, the lipless creatures could only drool whilst eying me; seemingly unable to utter a word.

Teeth, sharper than a sharks, and tongues hanging limply with rolling saliva; one could surmise what kind of man Killian was. “My…you are ever so transparent, Killian.” The manifestations’ arms had been wrenched behind their backs so intensely their shoulders looked ready to detach. I was left to wonder, in what way could such creatures pose me a threat?

“I’ve nothing to hide. In fact, despite me finding humans to be loathsome, filthy, uncivilized creatures, they deserve credit. Their women are grown with voluptuous bodies, crude as they may be. Breasts and rears so large, one would mistake them for cattle; yet their cries of pain and pleasure, I cannot resist! Which is why…” Pointing that riding crop at me, intent clear from the start. “You shall join these two ladies, should you not reconsider my proposal. They were also once humans who I’d play with when I was a little boy, gifted to me by papa. Their wails were what made me the man I am today. Now, bow down and accept your place at my feet, wretch.”

End of Chapter 35