The Clan of Outcasts (Seasons 1 and 2)

Part 18: "Unleashed"

Jaran nodded. "It was like my body just went numb, and it was just something I was going to do anyway."

"That is her Gift," Azelie stated. "She can enthrall people into doing what she wants, and she can even manipulate reality in small ways when she is sufficiently motivated." The pretty girl shrugged. "She is the reason I lost the ability to speak. She ordered me to stop talking, and I haven't been able to utter a sound since."

Jaran slumped against the wall in the dark, narrow stairwell. "How can we stop someone so powerful?"

"Jaran?" Korsan's voice resounded from above.

Jaran and Azelie looked up at the two familiar faces on the landing above them.

"Korsan!" Jaran raced up the steps. Aurelle stood just behind the old Mage. "But you were in there," Jaran gestured back toward the main hall. "How did you get back here?"

Aurelle smiled. "I turned us both invisible in the flash, and we snuck back here."

Korsan nodded. "We both knew that being outside the castle wasn't safe because that would be the first place Zayra would search for us, and we couldn't get far—I'm still pretty weak from the dragon's claws." He reached down and fumbled at his belt. Horror spread across his features as he looked down. "Blast!"

"What is it?" Aurelle asked.

"My talisman," Korsan answered, "it's gone!"

"What do you use it for, anyway?" Asked Jaran. "I see you holding it from time to time, but I never understood why."

Korsan slumped into a nearby chair. "It serves as a reservoir of magic so I can cast spells without taxing myself. It also protects me from being harmed by other Gifts."

Aurelle watched him. "That's why you could still recover after being injured so badly by Erlis."

Korsan nodded. "I don't know where it could have gone," he said.

"It might still be here in the castle," Azelie offered.

The Mage stared at the young woman. "I wondered why you didn't speak..." he murmured slowly.

Aurelle sighed and glanced toward the door. "It must have come off when we were trying to escape Troy."

"Who is Troy?" Jaran tipped his head.

The Illusionist shivered. "He calls himself an Abnormal, and Gifts don't really affect him. He's the one who has been messing with our Gifts—causing the surges."

"That was him?" Jaran's eyes widened; didn't the Angel in Beren's room claim to be an Abnormal as well? Were they possibly related somehow? "But why would he do that?"

Korsan stroked his beard. "He claims that he is only allowing Gifted people to achieve their full potential—"

"But at the same time," Aurelle interjected, "his surge in Edri turned poor Velora into an actual wolf." She scoffed, "He doesn't seem to care about that like we do. And he's got Zayra's trust, so that tells you how dangerous things are going to get for us."

Jaran huffed and began pacing. "We have to find Beren, make sure he's okay."

"Where did you last see the King?" Korsan asked.

Jaran's face fell. "After the coronation, Zayra surprised us. She forced me out of the room—Jade was there—"

"I'm sorry," The Mage interrupted. "Jade?"