Chasing Ghosts (under construction)

Chapter twenty-six

"I'll go with you. And do whatever you want. No questions. Just... don't hurt him." Kit squeezed his eyes shut. He felt pathetic. He had all of this magic within him and when he needed it most, he couldn't summon it.

The queen snapped her fingers to her palm and all of the warriors halted their attack immediately and retreated backwards to stand by the queen. Ty pushed himself up and stopped in his tracks when he saw the Queen, her hand around Kit's neck. Ty shot a panicked look at Kit, but Kit couldn't bare to look at him. He had let him down too many times.

"Christopher has decided your mortal life is more important to him than his own. Very noble if you ask me. And the right choice. You will do nicely at Faerie. We have use of your... powers."

The Queen relaxed her tight fingers around his throat and he sucks in a deep, shaky breath. Ty tensed and made to step forward. Kit gave him a quick desperate look and Ty froze. At least without his airways being constricted, he could think clearly. His magic bubbled within him, practically begging to be let out. He just needed a moment of concentration. Out of the corner of his eye, one of the fae warriors were readying a bow and arrow, and his heart sunk to the bottoms of his feet. She didn't plan on leaving Ty alive after she'd taken him. He could try and warn Ty, but he wouldn't be given any time to react before that notched arrow was let loose.

Just one moment.

He tested rolling his shoulders, but that slight movement didn't fly with the Queen, and in a moment he was on his knees, a burning pain lancing through his head. He gritted out a groan of pain and heard the unmistakable sharp hitch of Ty's breath.

Something in Kit clicked. He wasn't sure what had triggered it; his throbbing head and bruised knees or the idea that if he didn't do something now, they would not make it out of this room.

The heat erupted from him before he could warn Ty to get out of the way. White light enveloped the entire room, blinding him momentarily. He felt himself lift up, up, up, until he couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet. The light faded until it was emanating just around him like a bright white aura. Ty was a dark figure below him at ground level, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"What are you waiting for you imbeciles. Take him down!" The Queen shrieked, and suddenly arrows were flying at him. Kit reached out with both hands and one by one the arrows stopped midair and went up in flames, falling back down to the ground in piles of ash.

He whirled on the warrior with the bow and arrow, lighting up a fire between his palms and heaving it down towards him. He reacted a split second too late, the magic scorching the side of his face down his arm. He let out a guttural roar and threw the final arrow directly at Ty, who was fending off the attacks of two other warriors. With a speed Kit didn't know he possessed, He flew headfirst down to drop in front of Ty, taking the arrow in his own chest. A single spike of pain ruptured through him, but he felt no blood. With his eyes trained on the warrior, Kit pushed Ty farther back and away from the direct line of action, despite protests.

"Kit, you're hurt!"

But Kit couldn't feel anything except for the invigoration strength and power coursing through him. He gripped the end of the arrow in a white-knuckled fist and yanked it out of him, dropping it to the ground with a clatter. The warrior looked at him with fear in his eyes, something that made Kit's lips quirk up into a grin.

One by one he took down the fae warriors, not stopping to regret it, not hesitating before moving onto the next one. He wasn't sure where Ty was, but as long as he was out of harm's way Kit could release hell on all of the bastards.

He had barely broken a sweat by the time he stepped over the last body and saw the Queen watching him with keen interest.

Kit stopped a few feet away from her, still feeling the energy, but also noticing a headache start to come on. He didn't have long left.

"Very well done, Christopher. I have no doubt you could kill me, but I know you won't."

"Don't test me," Kit growled, his headache increasing. The queen quirked an eyebrow.

"You're starting to feel it aren't you? All that incredible power seeping out of your body like blood." Her eyes flickered down to Kit's chest, where the arrow had pierced him and smiled.

"You were hit," She said matter of factly.

"Didn't even feel it," Kit tried to shrug it off nonchalantly, but the more his energy began to drain out of him, the more he could feel the wound.

"Don't worry, you'll feel it soon enough." The queen sighed, almost as if she was sad to have had to say that.

Kit really wanted to lie down. Every part of his body was now aching, and the headache pounded against his skull so hard black spots started to burst in front of his eyes. He stumbled back a bit.

"Such as shame you're going to be useless to me now. I'll have to toughen you up. You are far too weak to be of any use to me right now. Oh well." The queen made her way towards Kit, her arm outreached for him. He could do little more than try and step away from her. She took him by the arm and dragged him towards her. She let go of him briefly, knowing he had no energy to get away from her, and at that moment a dagger struck her in the middle of her chest. The force punched the air out of her and she fell backwards onto the floor. Kit stood there dumbly, unsure of what was happening. Bright red blood leaked between the dagger grooves. She looked down grimly.

"This won't kill me you know," she said.

"I know," a voice came from Kit's side, and a hand took his arm. Ty.

"I just couldn't let you take him."

Kit watched between blurry vision as the queen dragged herself up. A ringing sounded in his ears, muffling whatever she was saying. He blinked and where the queen stood left an empty space of glass and debris. Kit turned and looked at Ty. Ty's mouth was moving but no sound seemed to be coming out. Something warm started to seep out of his shirt, and when he pressed a numb hand to it, he was surprised to see it come away red.

Ty launched towards him and Kit felt his warm embrace, his head now in his lap, his eyes staring up into his grey eyes. The black dots sparked up bigger and bigger until they consumed his entire vision and he could see and hear no longer.