Fireborn

1 ¦ The Vision

I will kill them all, she hissed in my mind. The Gatál will pay for what they've done.

Her thoughts. My thoughts.

The woman's unspoken words tasted like bitter ashes in my mouth.

"Shield," I whispered under my breath.

A gray energy field thrummed in front of my hovering spirit, protecting my psyche from her vile emotions. The woman didn't seem to detect my presence at all, never once looking up at me. Her emotions slowly ebbed away, and rational thought returned to me once more.

It had taken me years to master my fear during my visions. As a young child, I'd cower in a corner, crying and praying to the gods for the nightmare to end. Now I had the strength to confront my visions and use my unique sight to my advantage.

I gazed around the room, observing my surroundings with cool detachment. The machines came from a land with knowledge far beyond our ken, perhaps from another plane of existence or a different world.

How can machines operate under their own power?

A metallic screech resounded in the chamber and made my skin crawl. The lab door creaked open. A tall, slender man entered the facility. His silver horns protruded from his forehead like antlers and glistened in the harsh, cold light. Dressed in a blue lab coat, the Wizard prepped his instruments and elixirs in silence.

Having never seen a demon before, I stared shamelessly at his horns and matte black skin. Surely a demon couldn't be a Wizard, could he?

He gave a frustrated sigh and broke the silence first. "Liselle, please. I beg you to reconsider."

How can that woman be me?

"I won't discuss this with you any further," she hissed in reply.

The demon grimaced as though her words had caused him physical pain. A sickening darkness crept upon my soul when I realized the truth.

This isn't a treatment for an illness. It isn't even a form of torture.

It's an experiment. A voluntary one.

The Wizard inserted a syringe into a glass vial and drew a portion of red elixir. He injected the substance into a different glass jar filled with a saline solution. The serum swirled and danced through the salty liquid until the contents resembled diluted blood.

The technician squeezed his eyes shut. "Please change your mind, Liselle," he whispered under his breath in Risan dialect.

The woman squared her shoulders and jutted her chin. "Don't try to use your magic to dissuade me. It won't work."

He walked over to the woman chained to the metal slab, hung the glass jar from a metal hanger, and wrapped a rubber device around her bicep.

"Liselle Alta, are you prepared to join the ranks of the Fireborn?" he asked in a strained voice that feigned dispassion.

"Yes," she replied in a harsh monotone. "I am."

"You will have never known pain like this before." The Wizard probed the crook of her arm for a suitable vein. His voice faltered slightly, and he cleared his throat. "Even stalwart barbarians writhe in agony."

"I'm not afraid."

"Once we begin, there's no turning back. Consider your actions carefully."

"Just do it," the woman said through clenched teeth.

"As you wish."

He jabbed her vein with a needle, and she didn't even flinch. Squeezing his eyes shut, he released the valve, and the stream of red liquid traveled through a flexible tube until it entered the woman's body.

My body. I still couldn't believe it.

A sudden surge of stabbing pain rushed through me as though I was being skinned alive. The sensation intensified until it felt like I'd been impaled with a spear of burning flame.

I shouldn't be feeling this! It's a vision!

Don't panic! You're in control!

My breathing became erratic, and I began to hyperventilate. Wide-eyed, I gaped at the woman. She pressed herself against the metal slab, writhing in agony as she struggled against the restraints.

A ragged groan came from her throat, animalistic and monstrous.

The Wizard cupped her cheek. "It'll all be over soon. Be strong, my love."

The agony pierced me like a sword, far past my threshold of pain. Tension built within my chest until it could no longer withstand the pressure.

My soul exploded into a thousand fragments of black ether.

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A/N: Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed this chapter, please vote, comment, share, or add the story to your libraries and reading lists. ♥