Losing Battle

Ch. 1 Witches and Wizards Alike

I stepped out of the club after a long night of dancing. I walked down the dark deserted road quickly, my heels clicking on the sidewalk. I held my leather jacket shut the cold air nipping at my skin. I glanced over my shoulder to check for cars only to discover I was being followed. I crossed the street quickly my breathing ragged and shallow. I picked up the pace trying to lose the man following me but he stayed just one step behind me. I broke into a sprint which was difficult in these black stilettos. What did he want? I continued to run until the street light above me shattered.

"What the hell," I muttered as the man behind me laughed. That wasn't possible, he couldn't have done that to the light. I kept running but he was getting a few steps closer to me with every second.

"Got you," he laughed grabbing my arm. The jacket slipped off as I squirmed. I screamed struggling against his hold before falling to the ground. My dark hair spread out around me, my icy blue eyes locked on the man.

"Please don't hurt me," I begged him. He grabbed my arm yanking me to my feet.

"You will give your life for ours," he laughed. I gasped as we were suddenly standing somewhere else. "Your life will protect us from another coven." I looked around at the woods surrounding us on all sides. There was a house of the edge of the clearing. Did he say coven?

"Coven what does that mean?" I sobbed, he was talking crazy as if magic existed. This goes against everything I was taught growing up, witches aren't real they are just fictional creatures. Witches make for a good movie but that's all they are.

"You will be sacrificed to a higher power to prevent them from coming after us," he snapped dragging me into a house locking me in a bedroom. I looked at the floral wallpaper before my eyes landed on a window. I ran to the window pulling it open to discover there were bars preventing me from leaving. I felt my panic levels rising as the walls felt like they were closing in. I was going to be killed by mentally ill people. I stood in my silver party dress with spaghetti straps and thought only of my family, the family I would never know. I had no idea who they were but I knew they were safe and hoped they never learned of my death. I walked around the room the scratchy fabric brushing my knees. I jumped as the door swung open. I found a woman standing there with a red dress. She laid it on the bed as I watched her.

"Put it on," she ordered stepping back out of the room. I felt tears spilling down my face as I pulled the dress on. The silk fabric I usually would have liked taunted me. I wondered if they chose red to hid the blood stains. I looked in the mirror as anger filled my body. I had been stupid and careless. I was followed and left myself vulnerable. I put myself in this position and if I died it would be my fault. I wiped my tears from my face as I woman came back in.

"Please, you don't have to do this," I said softly as she looked sadly at me.

"Its you or us," she said as two men grabbed me. We walked outside as I began to fight for my life. I couldn't just give up so I fought, screamed, and pleaded for my life. I was 22 and had barely started to live. I looked at the stone slab and knew that was where I was going to die. I looked around at the people gathering to watch me die. I saw the man who grabbed be off the street standing by the stone. I was forced onto it as I struggled. Two hands grabbed my legs while the other two grabbed my arms to keep me pinned down.

"Please," I cried as the man walked toward me a knife in hand.

"This won't hurt and the knife will send a message to him saying we will have done what's asked," he said as I looked at him.

"If I make it through this I will make it my mission to kill you," I said firmly blocking out my fear with my rage. He lifted the knife into the air thrusting it toward my chest. I gasped as there was an explosion a brilliant white light filling the clearing. The man was sent flying across the clearing as a few people gasped. The two men released me as another stepped toward me carefully.

"She's magical, she's related to him," a woman said as I sat up. Who was I related to?

"He will come for her now," another woman said fear filling her eyes. I was so surprised that I didn't even try to escape as the man who kidnapped me got up. "Lake what do we do with her?"

"Use her as leverage," he said as I stood.

"What do you mean I'm magical?" I jumped in as I looked down at my glowing hands. This isn't real, this can't be happening, I must be dreaming or something. Lake took hold of my arm making me face him.

"How could I not see the resemblance?" He gasped touching my cheek before retracting his hand.

"He knows about her now and to keep her here puts us all at risk," a man yelled before aiming a gun at me. Lake pushed me behind him glaring at the man.

"To kill her would put us in greater danger than keeping her as a gift to him," Lake snapped harshly as I grew irritated, they were making decisions for me.

"Don't I get a say in any of this?" I shouted as everyone fell silent. "Who is the person you are so afraid of and what is he to me?" An old woman stepped forward walking up to me. Everyone seemed to bow to her, she must be a leader. She took my wrist touching my forehead with her other hand.

"There is a magical protection over you preventing a clear read of the connection. I suspect he might be your father," she said as my heart stopped. My father is feared by these people. Would he hurt me once he came?