WORK IN PROGRESS: Three Witches #1: Magnus and Magnolia

Chapter 19 (Magnus): Bolts Of Lightning

When I woke up, I checked my phone, unsure how many hours I'd been passed out.

Wrong question.

The question should have been how many days I'd been out and the answer was three. Three days, and I was still on the disgusting  shitty motel room floor in the exact same position I'd been in when I last remembered being conscious. How do you sleep for three days without moving?

As I became more and more aware, I catalogued the various aches and pains that started making themselves known to me. Basically my right eyelid was the only body part that didn't hurt. I started to smile at that, but that hurt like a bitch. With a deep breath, I gathered my courage and tried to push up, but that effort stole my breath so I slowly rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. After spending half an hour deciding if the stain on the ceiling tile looked more like a tiger or a dog, the three assholes suddenly popped into my line of sight.

"After the first trial, we're required to ask if you would prefer to do the wise thing and relinquish all claim to the witch. You barely survived the first trial and they only get worse," Tarek said.

"All in the fae realm are desperately hoping you continue because there was no end of laughter at your...nakedness, shall we say, dingle-dangling in the wind. You've proven to be the most entertaining trialist in years just for that fact alone," Yonaka said. "But don't let our amusement sway you one way or the other."

"Sway," Sumrak giggled, setting the other two fuckers off.

"I will not be relinquishing my claim to Magnolia," I said.

Stab.

Fuck!

"Not even if we were to tell you that the second trial begins immediately?" Sumrak said.

"Not even then," I said, wondering if more people died in the second trial since they were fucking whipped from the first.

Stab.

"Stupid, " Yonaka said. "And foolish. At least you stay true to yourself."

"On your feet then," Tarek said.

Knowing my future depended on it, I got to my feet, almost biting through my bottom lip to manage the pain. But I managed it.

"I'm ready." Be stronger than the pain, Magnus.

OK, no stab, but I was going to motherfucking fake it until I made it. I wasn't bowing out.

"Sit down on the bed before you fall down," Sumrak ordered me. I threw back the covers and sat on the cool sheets.

"You would have accepted the second trial? You're in no way physically ready for it but you're stupid enough to attempt it?" Yonaka asked me.

"Yes," I choked, tasting blood in my throat.

Stab.

"Clearly natural selection hasn't weeded you out yet," Yonaka said. "But I suspect it's not out of the realm of possibility very soon that there's one less idiot in the world."

"So no trial today?" I asked, my voice barely recognizable it was so thready and weak.

The three of them appeared in front of me.

"No. Sleep and heal," Tarek said and he almost sounded kind. Then all three flew close, tapped my forehead and I fell back on the bed, out for the count again.

*************

Slowly coming out of the sleep fog, I fought to awareness. Compared to the last time I awoke, I could tell much of the pain had dissipated. How long had I been out this time?  Where was my phone? I thought about it and realized it was on the floor, where I'd been the last time I'd come to.

I was wrong, though, because my phone was right next to me. So sometimes the little fucks could be decent. Looking at it, I saw it was three days after the last time I'd come awake. To test out my body, I moved my right arm, the left and rolled slightly to see if my ribs still called me out.

Tentatively, I sat up and that seemed to go OK. I counted it as a win that I hadn't passed out, and I looked down at my torso and saw the wounds from the first trial had turned to scars.

"They must not completely despise you since they summoned me here," a deep voice said. "But for the love of all things Fae, could you cover your motherfucking dick?"

I reached for my gun that wasn't within reach at the sound of that voice, not having realized someone was in the room with me. Across from the bed, standing with his back against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest, a big man with black hair and strange silver eyes that almost seemed to glow stared at me.

I couldn't even talk, but I felt the first thing I needed to do was put on some shorts. Making my way to the dresser, I was impressed I could walk, and I grabbed a pair of basketball shorts out of the drawer and managed to wrestle them on. Then I turned back to him, leaving the drawer open that had my second gun in it.

"Who are you?" I asked in as strong a voice as possible. At this point, I was feeling better but wasn't sure I was ready to fight this fucker who'd broken into my room.

"I'm Oberon, King of the Fae," he said. 

Of course he was. 

"And I'm Magnus, king of the elves," I shot back. "So fucking pleased to meet you, your highness."

He actually grinned at me then flicked his hand at me and a small bolt of lightning flashed right past my face, immediately followed by two more that wrapped around me without touching me. The bands of light pulsed and crackled and although I could feel the energy from them, they didn't hurt.

"Don't you know you're supposed to kneel before a king?" he asked mildly.

"Fuck you, you delusional asshole. Like hell would I kneel before you."

Stab.

He smirked at me. "Your remind me so much of another giant asshole I know."

"Why are you here?"

"Like I said, the Fae summoned me. Something they rarely do since I don't enjoy being magicked from one place to the other, but apparently this was a special situation. You must be connected to a witch."

"I am."

Stab.

I was waiting for this asshole to pull some shit.

"The fae take their witches extremely seriously. You must have fucked with one, which brings out their claws."

Not saying anything, I waited him out.

"Whatever you did to piss them off with the witch, it must have been extreme because I'm not usually called in for the trials. But they came to me and said I was needed today in preparation."

"So I am having a second trial today?"

"No. Like I said, they must not totally hate you because they called me in to help heal you."

"Don't need or want healing, so no fucking thanks. It's probably some trick to get me to relinquish a claim on Magnolia, so get the hell out. Don't want your help. I won't give up."

Stab. Stab.

"You've already gotten it, asshole," he said, indicating the lightning bolts wrapped around me.

"Take 'em off," I demanded. "Get these fucking things away from me."

"You're done anyway." Then he flicked his hand and the bolts of lightning were gone.

"Get the fuck out of here," I told him, actually feeling much, much better. "Don't let me see you again because if you've ruined my chances with Noli by...I don't know, illegally healing me...I will fucking kill you."

"Then you'll be glad to know that you'll have a chance to try because you will see me again, and when you do, I'll have my Sceptre with me. He's my right-hand man so to speak."

"When will this be?"

"For your second trial," he said. "When we try to kill you."