Beyond Fear (Book 1 in The Element Wars) (Published on Amazon - Sample)

Chapter Thirty-Two - Betrayed

Unable to move Lizzie sat frozen staring at the cell door, a tight lump rising in her throat, the wind knocked from her body as she struggled with what had just happened; the weight of it bearing down on her mercilessly as the tears rose to her eyes. 

She fiercely wiped at them desperately trying to remove all signs of her weakness, but it was no use, as the hot salty tears continued to stream down her face, leaving streaky tracks on her grimy skin.

How? She thought. It had only been a day. What had happened to her friend to make him… She couldn’t think about it, didn’t want to see his face or hear his cold voice; like a nightmare she was unable to wake from.

A sudden noise made her jump, and she huddled closer to the wall, pressing her shivering body against it, as a small boy stepped out of the shadows.

“It’s the Witch’s magic,” he said as if reading her thoughts. “It feeds on emotions, like fear and anger, corrupting people until they are completely consumed, and they lose themselves to her darkness, becoming one of her mindless servants. It’s either that or die.”

 “A magic spell?” Lizzie said incredulously.

“The worst,” he answered solemnly, “You can’t fight it. It finds everyone’s weakness eventually. It seems to work easier on men though, mainly because they’re easily fooled by her beauty.”

“So how do you break it?” she asked.

“You can’t.”

Lizzie felt a cold sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as the boys words sunk in.

It couldn’t all have been for nothing. She couldn’t just give up.

“There must be some way. I can’t just leave him like this.”

He smiled sympathetically.

“Honestly, your friend seemed really nice when he got here but I’d forget him now. His change was quick, really quick, his anger overwhelming and he’s too far gone now…”

“I can’t,” she said, “Lucas is my friend, and I won’t give up on him.”

“You may not have a choice,” he answered.

They lapsed into an awkward silence and then with a nervous twitch the boy sprang to his feet.

“Quick,” he whispered, pulling at her arm.

“What is it?” she asked.

“There isn’t time, just trust me.”

She let herself be pulled to the far side of the cell and watched as he climbed a short distance up the wall and then disappeared, his head appearing seconds later from an invisible hiding place.

She scrambled up after him, and pulled herself into a small cubby hole worn into the stone surface. It was just big enough to hold both of them, and Lizzie was about to ask what they were doing when the boy held his finger to his lips.

She quietened instead and turned her attention back to the dank cell they had just left, the boy beside her staring intently into the darkness.

After a few minutes she heard a soft snuffling sound and then a small creature climbed out of the pool of yellow water, she had been sitting beside.

Lizzie had never seen anything like it in her life.

It was about the same size as a small cat, with a large bulbous head resting on top of an emaciated body and several tiny tendrils, acting as arms and legs, with slimy webbed fingers at the bottom.