“The enchantment won’t hold for long.” Mom turned to face me, her brown hair astray and clothes soaked and torn. “Get Viv and go.”
“But—”
A loud boom echoed through the house as wood splinters and glass shards flew everywhere. Water exploded through the back door, cracking its frame. The rush of water sent me flying backward, parts of my home landing on top of me. I shoved a wooden plank off my stomach and sat up. Dust sparkled in the sun as if time had stopped. A ringing in my ears began to fade, and I tried to calm my overwhelming panic as I stared at a hole where our back door and kitchen cupboards had been.
A hand touched mine and I glanced over to see Mom smiling at me. Why was she smiling?
“Sweetheart. You have a full life ahead of you.” Mom brushed a strand of hair from my face that had strayed from my braids. “No matter what happens, you need to take your sister to the safe house. Do not look back. Go. I will always be with you. I love you, sweetheart.”
My mom moved her hands in a circle and thrust them out toward me. Her air magic slid me backward, and she began an enchantment. Our house plants grew thick vines as she weaved them through each other, creating a wall and shielding Viv and me.
“Mom!” I slammed my fists against the wall, but it wouldn’t budge.
I used a nearby glass shard, lifting it with my air magic and bringing it to me. I began chopping away at a vine, earning a small gash in my hand, but it was no use. Though she was a level four and I was a five, the vines were strong and I couldn’t manipulate them. She had used an enchantment and was more skilled.
“Stay away from my girls,” Mom gritted through her teeth.
Through the cracks, I could see one of the hooded figures. There was no way I could get to her in time, and running around the cottage would leave Viv completely alone.
Mom went to fight, but her body went rigid and she lifted into the air as the dark mage strode closer. From where I was, I couldn’t see her face, but I could hear her pain.
“No,” I whispered, the world spinning. “No!”
The dark mage was controlling her by the water running through her veins. Blood magic. It could only be used by dark mages who had been powerful before their descent. Mom had told us stories, but they hadn’t existed for centuries.
A red glow radiated over Mom’s skin and black liquid floated through the air toward the dark mage who stood only a couple feet away. He was siphoning her magic. Bursts of white lightcracked through the red glow, like Mom’s good magic was pushing out the evil magic. And it looked like the light was about to blow.
“Viv! Get outside!” I ran over to her and guided her outside.
Once I was reassured Viv would stay, I went back inside, but before I could make it halfway through the living room, white light burst out and I briefly shielded my eyes. The vine wall disintegrated, smoke filling the air.
Once everything settled, I found Mom lying on the ground and the dark mage a smoking heap in the kitchen, their black robe covering them.
“Mom!” I ran to her. Her skin looked like it had been burned, and her tears left clear streaks on her smudged face, but she was smiling at me. “Don’t look at me like that.” It was the same smile she had given me earlier, except now, it seemed to hold a definite finality. She wasn’t coming back from this.
She searched my face—for what? I didn’t know.
“Your father, Sal. He—” Blood bubbled from my mom’s mouth and she coughed. Once her coughing stopped, her eyes, which were once full of life, faded, her head lolling to the side.
“No … no. No. No!” The world had ceased just like my mom’s heart, and an eerie stillness of magic crackled in the air and then burst outward like an invisible beacon.
I slumped over. My mother was my world. She had been with me my entire life. Not only was she my teacher, mentor, trainer, and mother, but she was the heart and soul that had fueled me. I would be lost without her.
“Sal?” Viv’s worried voice came from outside. I could hear her steps get closer to the front door.
“Stay out there, Viv!” I could not have her see Mom in that condition. But I still had to fight for her, fight the empty, dark void that had left a gaping hole inside me. Viv was my motivation for fighting.
The dark mage had moved—or so I had thought. I stared at the still body until the bloodied hand marked with a black circle on its left palm twitched. They were still alive.
One of the other dark mages had entered the enormous hole that had been our back door and part of our kitchen. Before he could attack, I felt for the sand with my magic. The sand at the dark mage’s feet rose. A scream tore from my throat as the sand swirled around the dark mage, eating away at each layer of fabric like sandpaper.
“Sal!” Viv hollered from the door. I turned to see her. Broken boards scattered around Mom, hiding the majority of her from Viv’s view. I ceased my magic as the dark mage fell to his knees. We had to leave. If we didn’t, the dark mage would—
“Hey.” Ender’s soft voice broke me out of my own nightmare.
I blinked as I came back to the present and my broken home in front of me. Hot tears ran down my cheeks at the ache of the memory. The cottage looked the same as when I had left Mom almost two months ago—except she was no longer lying lifeless on the floor and caution tape that had once sealed the gaping holes in the cottage now flapped in the warm breeze.
Ender grabbed my hand, wrapping his fingers around mine. The pain lessened at his touch, but it still threatened to prick my heart a million times, over and over. I squeezed his hand, glancing at him. His gaze was guarded as he watched me, and he almost looked … looked like he too was in pain. A phantom pain stabbed my heart—I wasn’t used to empathy.
