I clench my outstretched fist, my knuckles turning as white as my fire, draining all life from the guard’s body. Warmth and light pulse through my blood, as theirs boils inside them. Crimson tears escape their eyes; their skin and bones evaporating into nothing. Their wails, gratifying.
Gasping for breath as my body lands on the ground, the flame flickers out. I try to stand but crumble to my knees. I crawl across the ground to Myles, hauling him onto my lap, desperately placing pressure onto his wounds to stop the bleeding.
“No, no…”
Gazing up at me, he brings his hand to my face. “I was meant to find you, I wish…” He splutters blood; I hush him.
He reaches his hand into his pocket and shakily pulls out a silver ring. “I was waiting…for the right time.” He takes my left hand and slides the ring onto my finger, my heart thunders in my chest, taking in the red-stained silver ring.
I shout at the spectators, “Somebody help us.”
No one moves; instead, they are frozen in place. This is not the Vendyl I know. The folk of this town would never stand by and watch as someone dies. Where is the community spirit we’re known for?
“Please,” I beg.
“I wanted… the perfect time, you… You deserve that,” Myles croaks, reaching up to stroke my hair. “I wish… more time.” He gasps for breath, and my lip trembles.
“Don’t talk,” I hush him. “There has to be something we can do. Somebodyhelpme. Please!” I screech at the folk standing around me, gawking at our misery.
No one moves, not even an inch.
“I dream…our little cottage…by the…willow tree…” He grunts as he struggles for breath. “I’ll be waiting for you…”
A copper taste dusts my lips as I lean down to kiss him. His chest falls one last time, and life fades from his eyes.
Chapter Eleven
Andi
“No, No, Myles, please no!”My piercing scream resonates around the square, everyone stares, but no one dares come close. Cradling his head, my fingers entwine in his hair. Clutching tightly, I rock back and forth.
He can’t be dead. This isn’t how we end.
I rub my hands over his face, along his chest, hoping to find any sign of life. He feels different. Cold, inert.
Please.
His once beautiful, tanned skin, was now ashen. His deep, vivid eyes, now pallid.
Please.
Tears slipping down my face, I tenderly stroke his hair. Placing my hands over his wound, blood percolates between my fingers, rolling down my hand, staining it crimson.A glow erupts from my fingertips, a shimmering light, drifting from me, into Myles’ chest. My head snaps backwards, my veins warming inside me, bubbling. A heat flows through me, gushing towards my hand. The bubbling inside me halts.
Dragging in a deep breath, my body becomes my own again. I roll my shoulders, and my neck cracks; the force should have broken it. My fist clutches Myles’ top, and I jump at the rise of his chest.His eyes snap open, gulping in air, he searches around him.
“Where is she?” His brow knits in confusion.
“Myles?” I breathe, sliding his head from my legs.
Exclaims and gasps come from the spectators, trying to comprehend what just occurred. Many of the townsfolk flee to safety, the others too curious for their own good. But I have no answers, I’m still trying to figure that out myself.
“Andi?” he chokes. “There was a…” He shakes his head, reaching his hand up to cup my face, wiping away a tear.
My hand grasps his ripped top, where he should have a gaping wound. Instead, his skin is intact, leaving a faint pink line.What is this magic?
First, I drained the life from all those guards, then I brought Myles back from the dead.Hewasdead.His breathing stopped, the light left his eyes, his body went limp, and yet, I brought him back to life.
The witch was right. My magic was dangerous. I took the lives of many men like it was nothing.
