Magic's Minister [COMPLETED]

Chapter Twenty-two

The spell grew impatient with his loitering. It slipped in under the windowsill, twisting around his legs as it thrust him further along the memory into the garden.

He'd never heard her scream before.

She'd always been controlled, composed, fearless. But not even Alena could control herself as that monster in the form of a man ripped her essence from her body. The white light from the Pure Magic the creature had torn from the ground sucked in Sedgewick's every attempt to save her as his spells faded to white before being absorbed into the magic around them. She cried out his name as he dashed towards her only to watch in horror as her brown eyes rolled back into her head, all life drained from them.

Mist swirled around him and the world blurred as he was once again thrust forward into the now destroyed gardens, that monster of a man gone.

He stumbled towards her body and wrapped his arms around her. For a moment her eyelids fluttered as if she might open them one last time, say one last word.

Everything around them faded into black, swirling shadows that lapped over her body, causing all movement to vanish. Sedgewick clutched her limp form to his chest as sobs shook through him. She was supposed to say something, wasn't she? He was sure she'd said something...

"Please don't leave me," he whispered even as her lifeless body confirmed the absence of her soul.

Numbness soaked into him as the world around him began to fade. He'd been powerless, useless. He'd failed her.

I'm sorry...

Pain. So much delicious pain.

The spell fed and fed as it sucked its victim deeper inside a spiral of painful recollections The twists so far had been slight but now it could finally move on to much bigger changes...

Rain poured from the sky, beating down on them as if they were the already-destroyed vegetation. Bilara's spell cracked against Sedgewick's ward, finally breaking through. Gravel-filled mud scraped his cheek as he crashed into the ground. He pushed himself up, his arms shaking from anger and magic use. A crackle sounded behind him and he rolled to the left, mud sinking further into his clothes as he dodged another blast. Blood and mud mixed in his mouth, leaving a salty, grainy taste. He staggered to his feet and raised his staff to strike.