His Equal [Tom Riddle]

thirteen

A small orb of light danced above Tom's palm, and his normally dead eyes glinted with excitement as he inspected his handiwork.

"Well you may not be a lost cause after all, Tom," Kepi somewhat congratulated before extinguishing the light with a wave of her hand.

"Nassor!" Tom broke out of his trance as his eyes narrowed in the girl's direction. "Why did you do that?"

"Do it again." Kepi smiled innocently.

Tom rolled his eyes and muttered the incantation that she had taught him. Within a few moments, the orb reappeared, only to be killed by Kepi once more. 

"Merlin!" Tom groaned in exasperation, placing his head in his hands. He could already feel the physical drain of the foreign magic, and didn't fancy the idea of casting it a third time.

"Again."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Tom questioned, hoping that initiating a conversation would give him a break. 

"Cast the spell again and then we can speak."

"I won't be able to concentrate-"

"Tom, I didn't picture you to be so weak." Kepi's words hung in the air for a moment, and a smirk spread across her face as she watched the boy's face contort in anger.

Almost as if it were a reflex, Tom's arm traveled the gap that separated them and his hand clasped itself around Kepi's slender neck. If attacking her with magic wouldn't work, he'd have to use physical means. 

"Nassor, you may be more...capable...than myself at the moment, but that doesn't mean I won't hesitate to snap this pretty little neck of yours. Do not disrespect me."

"Oh, you think my neck is pretty, do you?" Kepi managed to choke out, her soul squirming as an unusual darkness radiated from Tom. Perhaps it was an effect of their proximity and tension, or perhaps it was something else entirely. She winced as the cold metal of his ring - which she had never noticed before - dug into her jugular. 

First she allowed her father to chain her up, and now she's letting Tom Riddle choke her. Maybe I really do have a death wish, Kepi thought to herself. 

"Let's not forget who has the upper hand here, Nassor." Tom seethed, knocking her backward forcefully as he pried his hand from her neck.

God, Kepi wanted to kill him - truly. But these thoughts of murder were all empty threats as she glowered up at the boy. Despite being a sneaky, aggressive little shit, Kepi couldn't help but appreciate the challenge that Tom Riddle offered her. He had secrets, and she wanted to learn them as much as he wanted to learn hers. Plus, he was as good in traditional magic as she was in ancient magic, which was as humbling as it was infuriating. Throughout her months at Hogwarts, Tom Riddle had become a puzzle she was eager to piece together.

"Deital magic is exhausting for the human body. What wizards practice today is almost medicinal; it is distilled and tempered so simple minds can cast simple spells. What I'm teaching you is raw magic, Tom. You have to expose yourself to it until your body adjusts - it's similar to dark magic in that way. I am helping you."

She and Tom sat in a tense silence, glaring at each other with equal amounts of odium, waiting for one to fold. It ultimately ended up being Tom, who reluctantly cast the spell again, creating yet another orb of light.

"Okay, so now we're going to have a conversation to stretch your mind a little." Kepi could tell that Tom was growing tired and that he was struggling to concentrate on channeling his juvenile spiritual energy, but she pushed forward. Getting out of one's comfort zone was the key to success, after all. "Tell me about your family."