The Magic Within; Shadows of Two Worlds

Chapter 86 ~ Jamie

     The mundane humans were murmuring as Ella, Lilly, Amelia, and I stepped up, the rest of the HFA standing besides us. I took a deep breath and then began. "Thank you all for coming here. My name is Jamie Glynn, and this is my sister Ella Glynn, and our friends Amelia Larken and Lilly Jones. We are the founders of the Hybrid Freedom Advocates. We are, of course, aware that many of you are here because you want us dead. However, we appreciate your presence anyway. We wish to make it clear we want to avoid violence at all costs. If we are threatened though, we will protect ourselves. Now let us get to the point. We are here because it is wrong that hybrids and people with magic are treated any differently from Mundanes. We are human too. We deserve the same rights. We do not deserve to be hunted like animals. We do not deserve to be enslaved and tortured. No living creature does. It is inhumane to commit such deeds. We refuse to live in hiding any more. We will do anything to make hybrids and magical people legal and welcome in society." I stepped to the side and Amelia approached the microphone. "Life is difficult for hybrids. If you can't see why, then we will give you more in depth reasons. Hybrids die every day. And they're not just hybrids. They're people's brothers, sisters, wives, husbands, mothers, fathers... the Hybrid Hunters aren't trying to make things better. They're ruining people's lives. My own father was killed by the Hybrid Hunters. It tore the rest of my family apart. My mother was broken. She would never stop crying. And my little brother was only ten. He denied it. Over and over. He lives in his own world, and I barely ever saw him leave his room. My friends here, Jamie and Ella, have lost both of their parents. The last time they saw them before they died was before school started. It was too dangerous for them to visit their own parents. Hybrids have lost so much because of the way we have been treated. And for what cause?" Lilly stepped up next. "We stand here at great risk to our lives. We know we will likely take losses today. Every person before you is willing to give up their life for the greater good of magical people all over the world. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. Their lives will always be cherished. Their descendants will know they were a hero. But if nobody listens, and we stay in the shadows, then nobody will be remembered. Innocent people will die for no reason. Instead of being praised, the hybrids who die will be thrown to the side to rot. Like they are now. We can change things. But we need your help." With that, she turned towards Amelia and got down on one knee. "Amelia Larken, you have made my life so much brighter and I'm a light fairy. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?" The ring seemed to be even more stunning than it was when Lilly first showed us. A look of pure joy was on Amelia's face. "Yes!" Lilly slid the ring on Amelia's finger and they kissed. There was some applause from the crowd, along with the other HFA members, of course. After a moment, Ella took a deep breath and started speaking. "As you see, we are like you in many ways. We love, we laugh, we cry. Please help us make this the best day many magical people have had in twenty years. We understand if you don't wish for us to constantly display our magic here. We simply wish that you don't hunt and kill us. Is that too much to ask? With permission from whatever government is formed, Mundanes will be welcome in our world. As long as no magical creatures are harmed, we will be happy to see you. We ask that you do us the same justice here." Ella nodded at us and the four of us spoke together. "We the founders of the Hybrid Freedom Advocates formally request that our kind be accepted by all of the mundane world. Thank you for listening. There was a long pause of silence after we finished, and then everyone burst into applause. Some people were crying. Some people in the HFA were crying, including Lilly. A few stepped out from the crowd and used magic, because they weren't going to hide any longer. A smile spread across my face, and I was pretty sure I was about to cry too. I tackled my sister in a hug, and Lilly and Amelia joined the hug. "I love you all," Lilly whispered, tears still streaming down her face.

And then I heard the gasps.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I jerked back, spinning around. Thousands of Hybrid Hunters were running towards us, weapons in hands. "Now!" I shouted, taking a quick glance at where the dragons would be. Suddenly, they seemed to appear there. The Hybrid Hunters hesitated for a moment, murmuring in shock. Ella was looking out at the mundane people. "Everyone, run! This is going to be dangerous!" She shouted. Many of them bolted. Some were stuck in place and some were trying to help. The dragons raced forward, snarling. We can't lose. We have thousands of people on our side, not to mention two hundred dragons. I told myself. And then I ran to my friends. The Hybrid Hunters were approaching, and fast. They weren't just aiming for us, either. A few of them were kicking down bystanders. Anger rose up inside of me. I raised my sword, setting the blade on fire. "Let's go," I said, my voice dark. The four of us ran down the steps of the Capitol, the rest of the HFA close behind us. We clashed and I heard metal hitting metal, arrows whizzing past my face, gunshots, and too much screaming. I threw the closest Hybrid Hunter to the ground, hitting the next with my sword. I fought on autopilot. Part of me wondered where Jake was. At first we were destroying them. But then I heard roars of pain from the dragons, and watched them fall to the ground, one by one. I cried out, running to the closest one- Cadmus. He looked me in the eyes. He was struggling to keep his eyes open. "...Not hurt... just... tired..." He murmured, then his eyes closed. I panicked for a moment, but then I realized he was right. He was still breathing. I found where he had been shot with a dart. They know they can't kill all of the dragons, I realized. So they're making it easy for themselves. I gritted my teeth then spun to the rest of the battle. I couldn't see where my sister was, so I spoke in her mind. They're taking the dragons down with sleeping darts. They're not dead, but this is very bad. I heard Ella speak back to me moments later. Oh no... I can't see who's even shooting them. I bit my lip, then flew up into the air. My wing still stung a bit, but it was much better. Most of the bystanders were gone, and I was about to help the ones remaining, but I saw the person who I was looking for. Someone in the back of the group, away from the rest of the battle, was shooting the darts. I flew towards her and kicked her to the ground. Her head flew back and hit it first, so I knew she was at least knocked out. I didn't check if she was still alive. I honestly couldn't bear to. I snatched the dart gun then flew off. The battle was a chaotic mess. Bullets almost hit me multiple times. One wrong move and I would be dead. I struck out my sword at every Hybrid Hunter I saw. I blocked a hit from another sword. Barely dodged a spear being thrown. Shot fire at a person. Took someone's bow and snapped it in two. I flew up in the air again, coming down outside of the fight to a woman who was frozen, staring at the battle in horror. "You need to get out of here," I warned, not caring to be polite about it. "Run. Quickly." She nodded, backing away shakily, then she took off. I looked around one last time before going back into battle.