It's Not Magic

Eight

Kane

Bang. Another bullseye, dead center in the target. Each bullet I've shot today has gone through the same damn hole each time. Even though the target was fifty feet away, the bullet was still easily able to find its mark.

I took a couple steps back, furthering my distance from the target, and closed my eyes, squeezing the trigger on the handgun I was holding. Hearing the bang and feeling the slight kick of the gun, I opened my eyes, only to see no new holes resting in the target. Why wouldn't I miss for once? Out of frustration, my finger repeatedly squeezed the trigger, emptying the magazine. My frustration lessened, but quickly returned when I saw the lack of new holes in the target.

Squeezing my eyes shut as I released the clip, I took in a sharp breath, releasing it as I slammed the gun over the new clip, opening my eyes as I heard the click. Now there were fifteen more bullets for me to test this with.

But it was pointless at this point. I'd been trying to prove myself wrong for over a year, that this just had to be a mistake, and so far, everything was against me.

I still don't quite comprehend why I decided to live among the magicians. I could've went anywhere, and yet, I stayed in this damn village, living with a group of rising rebels.

Bang. Same hole. Again.

I swung my gun to the right, my arm extended outward fully, and squeezed the trigger. Still, it hit the same hole. This wasn't a dream.

I had magic.

I haven't always had magic. Before last year, I had no clue. I hated magic, grew up hating magic, but there has always been one magician that I've respected.

* * *

On my first assignment not being a trainee, my squad leader thought it'd be a good idea to start off small. There'd been reports of a girl, early teens, who'd been identified as a magician. She's unique, the report said. How, I didn't know. The report wasn't all that specific. All I knew was that her name was Lilia Matthews.

Our squad was sent outside the village, meant to monitor Boundary Road and Greenway Road, where most of the sightings had occurred. It was apparently a good starting assignment for me. We had walked up and down the roads several times within the hours of the patrol, and there were no signs of this girl anywhere. Maybe she'd gotten smart and went into hiding.

But no one on my squad was ready to give up. Lieutenant McPherson, the officer in charge, suggested we split up, so we could find the girl faster, and get on to bigger things, as he put it. The assignment was to locate and exterminate, so it shouldn't be taking that long.

Lieutenant McPherson suggested that I go with him, and no one argued that. The lieutenant and I branched off from the others, going to search farther up the road. He had me walk along the edge of the road and at the edge of the forest line, searching for footprints or any signs of this magic girl.

It had felt like hours walking like that, attempting to please the lieutenant, but it felt the his determination to find this girl and get this assignment over was his priority. At the time, I just wanted out of the academy. And he was my way out.

"Rookie," I remember him saying after a period of what seemed like never-ending silence. "I'm going to walk a bit farther up the road. You stay here and keep looking. And listen for anything over your com," he added, pointing to the little wire in his ear as he walked away.

"Yessir!" I'd replied, watching the man walk off. I hadn't shirked my work after he'd walked away. Part of me wanted to find this girl before he did, to show him that I was worthy of graduating early. I wanted to make my parents proud of me for once.