Flawed

Ch. 10

I laid in bed awake, tossing and turning and trying to make sense of everything in my head. As much as I wish it weren't true, everything seemed to add up. Why else would I have been accepted here on a full ride? Why had my father run off without so much as a "see you later, thanks for the great lay!" It's exactly as my roommate said, he didn't want to take responsibility. My heart ached for my mother, there was no way she knew the truth, her relationship or whatever it was with my father had been a lie. I pulled out my cell phone and glanced at the time, 2:45 am. I groaned and decided to go out to the living area, maybe I could watch some TV and fall asleep on the sofa. I closed my bedroom door as quietly as I could behind me, but before I could make it to the TV the bookshelf caught my eye. Maybe I should do some research? I glanced at the titles, Early History, Legends, Potion making, Affinities... I pulled Early History and Affinities off the shelf. I sat down at our small table, and decided to start with some Early History. I flipped through a few pages of boring old men before I came across a passage that seemed interesting.

Before the Great War, all affinities walked the earth in peace, helping others, healing dead lands and using there connection to create a better world. Dragons patrolled the skies and protected the humans, mermaids the sea, fairies helped with the lands and food was plentiful, those with air controlled the weather, no droughts or flooding's plagued the world. Everything was prosperous and all was well. Before the war, our kind were governed by one king, King Theduex, of fire affinity. He grew paranoid that someone would take his kingdom away from him. He asked his dragons for help in procuring a way to make sure during his reign no one could ever overthrow him, and he found it in the shadows of the earth, magic from demons as he grew more powerful the shadow magic became restless. Demanding blood and war as payment for power, as the shadow magic ate away at his soul, King Theduex was powerless to stop what he'd become, The first Flawed. Wars broke out between the affinities, people were dying in hundreds by day. Eventually the most powerful warlocks and witches of the age banded together, Lionel Lane, Christopher Jones, Marie Monroe, Sylvia Snow and locked away King Theduex in a prison he could never escape. Alliances were formed, and the elders were appointed, no single person shall every rule over our people again. Unfortunately the peace we once had was never restored. Shadow magic was outlawed and anyone who dared defy the elders were met with immediate death. The mermaids returned to the depths of the sea, taking with them the safety of the deep, Dragons returned to the skies, and fairies disappeared from our world, never to be seen or heard from again. Magic lingers but it's faded over time...

I slammed the book shut, holy crap on toast. Dragons, Mermaids, Fairies? Shadow magic that eats at your soul. What's next, vampire and werewolves? I'm not sure I'm strong enough for this, yesterday I was your average 18 year old girl starting her first semester in college, and today I'm apparently a witch who might potentially be a successor to the throne. It's all too much. I needed to get some sleep if I was going to be able to function tomorrow. I made my way back into my bedroom where I must have drifted off into a restless sleep...

Why does this living room look different? When did I get out here? Two red satin over-sized chairs sat in middle facing the fire. I noticed one of them was occupied, "excuse me?" who are you?" No response, "Hello?? I'm talking to you." I came up the backside of the chair and tried to turn it around, but my hand just went straight through. Odd. So I walked over to the side of it. A boy, or a man I guess, he couldn't have been more than late twenties sat with a drink an amber drink in his hand. "Ignoring me isn't very chivalrous" I waved my hand in his face, but he didn't even flinch, his expression stayed the same. Cold eyes looking at the fire. I heard a creek and looked over to see someone dressed in a black cloak enter the room.

"I wondered when you'd arrive" the man said his voice low.

"Not soon enough." The cloaked figure replied.

"You best get on with it then, you haven't much time."

"I wanted to savor this, but perhaps your right. Quickly before anyone realizes my absence. Aren't you going to fight back?" He pulled a dagger from beneath his cloak, the silver danced with red and orange from the fire.

"It would be futile, my time on this plane is done, and it is written in the stars." He took one last sip of his drink and stood.

"For my daughter, and the good of our people." He plunged the dagger into his stomach, "Long live the King." He whispered and twisted the blade.

I screamed and ran over to the fallen man, "Holy shit, Holy shit." I tried to apply pressure to wound but my hand kept going through the body, I tried screaming for help but no one came. It was in the moment before he took his last breath that he looked at me, his blue eyes seemed eerily familiar. "Run." He whispered.