Made of Blood & Starlight

Magic

The first thing I thought when I was walking up to the other Chosen in the back yard of the house was that I am in way over my head.

When I woke up to Kenna banging on my door before the sun came up, I dressed in the clothes that magically appeared in the dresser and quickly ate the eggs, toast, and veggies that were waiting for me in the kitchen before running out of the house in a feeble attempt to not be late.

I left the house and made it to the middle of the back yard where the four girls were standing in a semi-circle around Agata and two other older women I assumed where her sisters. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves as I stepped up beside Kenna, who gave me a small, reassuring smile.

Agata looked at me and scowled. "Lovely of you to finally join us." She hissed at me and the ghost of a smile I had vanished at her tone.

One of the other women shot Agata a glare and waved her hand at her. "Oh hush sister. It's the poor girl's first day." She stepped towards me with a soft, motherly smile and wrapped her arms around me gently. Awkwardly I gave the new woman a hug. When she pulled away she held onto my shoulder and looked me in the eye and I couldn't stop my skin from crawling.

Her smile was sweet, but her eyes were pitch black as if her iris' broke and bled, covering the entire surface in the oily liquid. Now that the woman was close to me, I could see her slender, forked tongue flicking between her teeth.

"You must be Amara." She said, her voice soft and sweet towards me, but I couldn't help but feel as if it was in my best interest to be cautious of her. "I am Oda, Agata and Vana's," She waved a hand at the other woman who smiled coldly at me. "Youngest sister. I am going to help you expand your knowledge of magic."

I did my best to give a genuine smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you." She nodded and stepped away from me, falling in line with her sisters.

Agata cleared her throat. "Now that we are all finally here," She shot a glance at me. "We can begin.

"Morgan, practice watering the garden with controlled rain. Cassandra, light and put out the bonfire. Kenna and Aradia, work on your basic casting. Amara, you will work with us to see what your gift truly is." All the sisters stared at me while the other girls dispersed to wherever it is they practice their magic.

I suddenly felt very small as they gestured for me to step forward. Vana moved closer to me and began speaking what I assumed to be Latin. I opened my mouth to ask what she was doing, but Agata cut me off. "Vana is casting a circle around you. We aren't sure of the extent of your power, and we cant have it possibly destroying the island. We learned that lesson with Cassandra and her hellfire."

I nodded and stayed silent as she finished the spell and a circle with various swirls and patterns burned itself into the grass beneath my feet. I swallowed the sudden fear rising in my throat and looked up at the three sisters, staring intently at me.

"So," I started, "What do I do now?"

Oda once again stepped forward, but did not touch me. "Magic isn't something you just do. It's something you feel deep in your bones." She told me.

"Close your eye, Amara." I did as she instructed. "Let your whole body relax, let your mind explore your body, let your soul embrace your magic."

I stood in the circle, listening to her gentle voice, coaxing myself into exploring this new magic in my soul. At first it felt warm, comfortable. The magic began creeping out and I felt the release in my body, like a sigh after a long stressful day. I nudged it a bit more, urging it into the sunlight.

Instead of the gentle sigh I was expecting, the magic in me snapped free.

I screamed as pain shot through my limbs. My eyes snapped open and I saw shadows spilling from my fingertips. The darkness was flowing into the air, curling upwards, but not out. It was hitting the invisible barrier Vana cast.

The darkness filled my vision, blocking out the wide-eyed looks of astonishment Agata, Oda, and Vana gave me. Tears filled my eyes as they disappeared and I was lost in complete darkness.

I shook my hands, trying to get the magic to stop flowing, but my veins only welled up with more power. From behind me I heard a deep growl of some creature of the night my power summoned and a scream ripped through the air as sobs wrecked my body.

I heard voices from the outside but their words were distorted and quiet, I couldn't make sense of anything happening past the small circle my magic trapped me in.

A wave of nausea washed over me and I fell to my knees. My body lurched forward and I vomited, but no bile left my body. Instead dark smoke spewed out of my mouth like a dragon breathing fire. My eyes burned and my head began to feel foggy and light. The shadows stopped flowing from my mouth and the shadows lessened to simply curling from my fingertips.

I felt the earth sway from beneath me and barely felt pain as my body hit the ground. The shadows faded away and I saw the three Elders as well as the Chosen gathered around my circle.

"Amara, are you alright?" I couldn't distinguish voices, nothing made sense to my scattered brain. The light hurt my eyes. I didn't want to see. Despite my fear, all I wanted was to be back in the shadows of my gift. I felt it call to me, my blood-surly now black from the shadows that ran through my veins-called to me.

Tears still flowed freely down my cheeks, wetting the soil around my face, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I wrapped myself in shadows and never came out.

My magic began to sing in my veins again, calling me to the shadows. I was not designed for this world.

"Pax animi."

The words, spoken by a voice I could not recognize, felt soft on my ears. Lulling me into a state of sedation. My mind slowed and shut off. The last thing I remember was feeling comfort in the quiet.