Murdering Her Light

by Michael Clement

  Zebulon was moaning on the ground and Faith was out cold. A greenish goo was seeping out of her arrow wound.

  Kneeling down, I smelt something foul.

  Poison, my mind whispered. The arrow was poisoned.

  I looked from Faith to Zebulon, trying to decide who to help.

  Faith needed me.

  But, I needed Zebulon. Without his teaching, I was going to die.

  Faith had been nothing but nice to me.

  Zebulon tormented me every chance that he got.

  My mind thrashed with a terrible decision.

  Finally, I realized that Daniel and Tori were going to return, and only Zebulon could help me.

  With a heavy heart, I sat down next to him and activated my healing ability.

  Instantly, the blood began to pour out of his wrist slower.

  But, I could feel the poison worming its way into his flesh.

  Diligently, I fought for his life. I forced both arrows to be pushed out of his flesh, while I sealed up the wound on his wrist.

  Then, I worked on forcing the poison back out of his arrow wounds.

  It took a long time. I just wasn’t used to using my healing ability yet.

  Finally, the poison was gone from his system, so that I could seal up the arrow wounds.

  Then, I pushed healing energy into his flesh, to bring him back from the edge of death.

  Blinking at me, Zebulon opened his eyes.

  “What happened?” he slurred, unable to think clearly.

  I ignored him and turned towards Faith.

  She wasn’t moving.

  When I touched her hand, she was already growing cold.

  I felt dead inside.

  I had saved a monster and let the woman who had been nice to me die.

  “Try,” Zebulon ordered, still sounding groggy.

  I reached out with my magic, forcing the arrows to eject from her flesh. Then, I removed the poison. With her heart not beating, it was easier to repair the damage.

  “Her heart stopped,” I whispered.

  Zebulon reached over and touched her chest.

  “Let go of her,” he said.

  When my hands were free, he jolted her again, and again, with electricity.

  Tears poured down my cheeks. She wasn’t moving.

  “She’s dead,” he said, as he slowly stood up. “Leave her. We must leave before the Warlocks return.”

  -- M --

  I followed Zebulon through the dead city, leaving my only friend to rot in the street.

  My mind wandered, lost in the realization that I had let her die, in order to become more powerful.

  It wasn’t a realization that I liked to dwell on, but it was the truth.

  By nightfall, we made it back to Burning Tree. No monsters had come near us, now that my repellent pattern was working properly.

  I climbed into Zebulon’s bed with the black sheets, once I realized that he never slept in it. The bed was for his human apprentice.

  It was mine.

  I stayed in my bed for several weeks, unable to accept who and what I had become. I fell into a deep depression with no way out. I barely ate or drank anything. The weight of Faith’s death fell on me and I didn’t know how to deal with the situation.

  During that time, Zebulon returned to the Alamo with his troops and captured Tori and Daniel. They had been trapped in a maze trap that Zebulon had created. The only way into it was to use his handprint.

  He talked to me during those bleak days, as I realized that I was no longer the hero in my story. I was now a villain, through and through.

  It made my stomach turn. I thought about suicide often, but finally, I realized that I wanted to live. I didn’t like giving into the darkness.

  I made a decision, that if I needed to be evil, to be safe and free, then I was going to be evil. I never wanted to be weak again. I was going to learn everything that I could about being a Sorceror from Zebulon.

  It was two days later that Zebulon burst into my room.

  “We need to leave now,” Zebulon grouched. “We don’t want to miss the spectacle.”

  “I’m ready,” I replied.

  I was dressed in a black dress with black shoes with laces that wrapped all around my legs, almost to my ankles. They intertwined back and forth like a wet dream come to life.

  Standing up, I put on my black cloak.

  Today was a special event. Zebulon wanted me dressed. In private, it was still mandatory that I was naked, so that he could continuously make sure how my tattoos were operating properly. But now, in public, I was supposed to reflect his exalted status.

  Nodding to him, I followed the Master Sorceror out onto the balcony.

  The roar of the crowd shocked me for a second, but I was careful to continue walking, until we were both on the edge, looking down on a stage.

  Tied up, on a stage in front of his Citadel, were Daniel and Tori. Shadar crowded the stage, watching with anticipation. Smaller spiders filled every nook and cranny.

  My lovers were standing with nooses around their necks. Flanking each of them were Shadar guards armed with machine guns.

  “Today,” he shouted to the crowd, “is a glorious day!”

  The spiders went silent and began thumping the ground hard, mimicking applause. It was eerie, how quiet they became.

  “The daughter of our hated enemy is before you, caught breaking into my private library with her husband,” he explained. “Per the Covenant, that is an automatic death sentence.”

  Zebulon held out his hand, and from the left, a woman emerged dressed in Gray.

  “ Walker Mercy Adams witnessed their attack on my library. She saw them execute my guards and kill my lovely wife, Comfort,” he sobbed.

  Turning, he said, “ Walker Adams , what is your verdict?”

  The courtyard was deathly quiet.

  The Gray Walker’s hands began to tremble. I don’t know how Zebulon convinced her to witness this event. She hadn’t seen anything that Zebulon claimed that she saw.

  “Death,” she finally said. “My verdict is death. May God forgive me.”

  Zebulon raised his arm happily high into the air. His naked stump was visible to everyone, as he brought both hands down, smacking the banister hard with his remaining hand.

  The trap doors opened beneath my lover’s feet.

  Zebulon had made sure that the drop wouldn’t snap their necks.

  Together, they danced in the air, as they were strangled. Snapping their necks would have lessened the effect on the crowd.

  Every Shadar waited quietly, until my lover’s legs stopped twitching.

  The applause was mind numbingly loud, it went on and on, for almost twenty minutes.

  Finally, Zebulon raised his remaining hand in the air, quieting the crowd.

  “Today,” Zebulon screamed, “We begin a new chapter in our existence! Our betrayer and destroyer’s last child is dead. The elves are no more! We are triumphant!”

  The applause went on for hours this time.

  Zebulon left after a few more minutes, but I remained. I watched their bodies swing in the wind for hours until I was the only soul left in the square.

  Tori had saved my life, and I had loved Daniel. But, I had only loved the facades that they had created for me. Even Tori’s desire to become pregnant was a lie.

  She wanted to kill the Shadar, just like her father had. Eliminating the swarm was her one true goal.

  My heart became ice, as I looked down at their corpses. They had been dead long enough that their bowels had let loose, driving the remaining spectators away with their stink. Flies swarmed their bodies and ravens were cheerfully plucking out their eyes.

  It was time.

  With an ice-cold soul, I drew my blade and descended the balcony.

  I was a Witch… And, there were tattoos to be harvested.

 

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