Sorcery (Louis Tomlinson)

xl. Nightingale

The Christmas snow fell peacefully from the twinkling heavens to land over the small town below. Houses and shops resembled a replica in a snow globe as a breeze blew the delicate snowflakes around a single figure marching carefully through the cold. Her jeans and boots were wet from the snow, her scarf blew wildly in the wind and her face was tinged pink. Her hands wrapped her jacket tightly around her, not for her own warmth, but for the infant's.

Small sounds of distress escaped the little bundle in blankets pressed against her chest, the woman occasionally cooing words of comfort to the newborn. He had been born only a few days earlier on a magical day for both Terrans and Luxiens: Christmas Eve.

Here, in the cold December night with wind that whipped at the woman's small frame and temperatures that chilled her bones, it was her faith in the good spirits that made her look to the glittering stars and keep trudging on.

"Please Fate, have mercy. He needs rest somewhere safe." The woman mumbled, praying quietly as she kept moving forward.

Her sparkling eyes gazed down at the newborn, her sole motivation to keep going. He was the reason she braved the cold, the reason she walked despite her aching feet, the reason she had for everything. Her son, who she knew would be the strongest of them all, who would have eyes just like hers and a heart that gleamed like a Swarovski diamond. Her son, who would be the most talented Luxien ever born, needed to get to a portal.

He hadn't even been born in Lux, the woman having gone into labor on the way to a portal with important Luxien leaders in it. She knew even before then that her baby would be special. She just needed to show him to the leaders and he would be safe. He would be the long awaited answer to the dark force Lux had fought against for so long.

Just then, the woman felt strange, checking her surroundings to see a man walking a little ways behind her. He was clothed in black, hood pulled up to keep his face concealed. The woman thought nothing of the man's sudden appearance, but she wasn't ignorant. She watched carefully from the corner of her eye as he followed the exact path she took, even crossing the street to walk on the same sidewalk as her. That definitely wasn't good.

Without thinking, the woman burst out into a sprint, catching enough speed to lose the man. She turned corners and ducked into alleyways, hoping her evasive maneuvers would be enough to get him off of her trail. She hid behind a trash can, her sudden movements having woke the baby from slumber. He began to cry, the mother quickly hushing him and trying to keep him quiet for both of their sakes.

She held her breath in anxiety as she waited for the man's boots to pass her, for him to walk by her like it was nothing. She didn't see him pass, her heart sinking when she felt a hand on her shoulder, tightly gripping.

The woman screamed and broke free of his grip, beginning to run from the man, knowing exactly what he wanted from her.

"Come back here! I need him!" The man yelled as he chased her. The woman was frantic, she needed to get her baby somewhere safe. Using her talent, the woman raised her hand to conjure a blue orb of light in front of her, preparing to jump through the teleportation vortex and get to safety. She hadn't been able to use her talent earlier in fear of Nox finding out, but she had nothing to lose now.

Just as she prepared to jump, the woman felt warmth on her ankle, followed by a sharp pain. She screamed as she fell, rotating her body mid-air to land on her back to keep her child safe. The woman quickly spotted a shard of dirty ice cutting into her ankle, her eyes looking to see the water-talent Nox member getting closer, making more ice spears to hurl. With a deep breath, the woman yanked the ice shard out of her skin, groaning at the stinging sensation. She didn't have time to waste, though.