HYBRID (Now a draft)

Nine

Max was in a deep black pit. Falling. Tumbling. 

There was nothing but air around him. Nothing to see. His hat and backpack were gone. His short cropped hair exposed his neck, seeping cold into his body. Air rushed past. He flapped his arms. He kicked his legs. It was useless.

Then a tiny dot of light appeared. A single fleck of light in an expanse of darkness. It started to spin. It spun in circular motion, until it became a circle. Then a dozen. A thousand. A million. The sudden light blinded him. It came toward him in a sudden rush. Everything turned a blinding  white as if the sun had descended upon him.

Max sprung upright in a quick jerk. He was in a large tent , lying on some soft cloth spread across the floor. He gasped. Sunlight filtered into the tent. He glanced beside him. His backpack was dirty, scorched on one side. His hat was nowhere to be found. A few stools and cushions were placed here and there. There was even a tiny stove. He coughed. He moved his hands, they were shackled to two heavy stones. He was a prisoner.

Then he heard footsteps approaching. The flap to the tent opened, and the leader girl stepped inside.Light poured in. Now that there was light, Max could see her face more clearly. Her eyes were a strange yet pretty mix of brown and grey and carried a hostile gaze. Her dark hair was long and reached her waist.Her porcelain face was beautiful, but as he looked closer he could see a long scar like that of a slash of of a knife that stretched from the left side of her lip, across her cheek and ended at the tip of her face. Her expression was hard to read. Her long dress dappled in the slight breeze.

The robed masked figures stepped in one by one behind the girl. Only their eyes showed. Two were of medium height. They had pale colored eyes. Another taller then the girl had brilliant sky blue eyes. The last was the short Twyla , her gold eyes flashing.

They stood in a half circle regarding Max. Max's eyes darted from one to another.

Then the leader spoke. " Hello,little boy." She paused. She reached for the long needle that hung on her side. She unsheathed her silver needle. She pulled it out gently. It glistened deadly in the sunlight. She held it in her left hand while she caressed the metal lovingly with her right. She tipped her head to one side and darted her eyes back to Max. " Have you ever heard  the tale of Kuno ?"

Max sat in the makeshift bed. He didn't answer. But he looked up at her, his brown eyes wide and curious. 

She continued. " Kuno was a notorious thief. He stole and he pillaged. He mostly killed. He was a murder on the run. A ruthless killer. He anticipated every single movement of those who tried to capture him. Until he made a mistake. He didn't anticipate me." She smiled. Max shivered. 

" Let's just say, boy. After that, not many dared to cross my path." She stopped. Then in a blink of an eye , the leader had her needle point a hair length away from his chest. Her smile vanished. " So tell me little boy, How long have you been practicing in violation of the law ?"

Max looked at the girl. " Huh?" He knew he must sound pretty dumb.

The girl pushed the point closer. It started to hum. A violet glow surrounded the silver. " Answer me honestly , boy. Or I won't hesitate to use this on you."

Max began to perspire. Cold sweat formed on his brow. " I've no idea what you are implying, miss." Then he thought. He realized what she was asking. " Do you mean magic? I've never used it before. " Then he remembered. " Or do you mean the magic in the cottage ? That was my aunt's doing. I have never seen anything like that before. "

Twyla stepped forward. "Explain this,then." Her voice was a young girl's.She extended her right arm , her fist closed around something, and dropped it in Max's open palm.

It was the same gemstone he picked up. Except it was warm and gave a faint glow. " I didn't do anything to it. It just burned me." He lifted his bandaged left palm for them to see. He unraveled the gauge to show them the circle imprinted there.

Twyla cocked her head from one side to another. A predator contemplating where to strike. Her golden eyes widened to show dots of amber." This is a gemstone used for storing energy. You, recharged it." " We weren't asking about the illusion, either. When we formed the protective pentagon. You drained our stone's energy. Then you drained out the fire's heat. How did you do that ?"

Max shook his head. " I don't know. I felt nervous, and it happened. " " I haven't done anything like that before. "

The leader's eyes narrowed. The violet glow deepened. The tallest of the robed figures placed a palm over her shoulder. She shrugged it off.

" You could have caused serious injuries to us all! You claim to have no knowledge over magic, yet you used it. You claim that you haven't performed such tricks before, yet you did just so. " " Your ignorance will not be tolerated in my presence. " Her face had become rigid with anger.

The robed figure with blue eyes tapped her shoulder and whispered in her ear. She sighed and stormed out the tent in long strides.

" Who is she? " Max asked quietly.

Twyla looked at the entrance flap, flapping in the wind. " Princess Evellyn. Fourth daughter of the great  king of Natatoria."