Soul of Magic

TWO

The town was a lot farther than Kyra had anticipated so it was already nightfall before she arrived. A lot of people kept glancing at her as she walked by and it was understandable, a woman, especially one of her age, doesn't normally travel alone, not to talk about at that time of the night.

The sudden burst of strength that had gripped her was gone, being replaced by an even larger feeling of tiredness.

                                  "Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, Kyra", she said to herself as she walked, "One foot in front of the other".

She finally looked up as the road branched into various streets and realised that she had no idea of the town's layout, and she had been too busy avoiding the stares to ask. Fortunately, about three men were passing by just then. Unfortunately however, when she tried to ask them for help, not even one of them acknowledged her presence.

                                "Don't mind them, they're just being rude", said an old woman as she came up behind her, "So, tell me girl, what are you doing outside all alone at this time of the night?"

                             "I just arrived in this town", she replied, "Can you please tell me where the tavern is?"

                                 "My God! You're travelling alone", she said, her eyes widening as looked Kyra from up to down again, "How old are you?"

                                  "I clocked seventeen three weeks ago", she replied, earning another scandalised look from the woman, "Please ma'am, I haven't had a decent meal all day, can you please point me towards the tavern?"

                                   "Of course, my girl", she replied, giving Kyra a pitiful look and thinking she had probably run away from home to meet a man, "The tavern is just right down the road, don't turn to the left or the right and you won't miss it".

                              "Thank you very much", replied Kyra, quickly continuing on her way before the woman could ask more about her supposed runaway.

True to her words, Kyra found the tavern just a few buildings away from the point she had met the old woman.

The tavern was a two-storey building, looming high in a town filled with only small houses. Its wall were pretty clean, signifying that it was recently built. A sign announcing the tavern as The Den hung above the doorpost, shaking as if in greeting as Kyra opened the door.

The inside of the tavern was a lot warmer than the outside. Everywhere was pretty organised too, at least as organised as a room full of drunken men can be. The tables were distributed across the room, the chairs varying from one to four round a table, or as much as the occupants needed. The whole room was as noisy as the marketplace but somehow, they knew when Kyra stepped inside, all eyes immediately zoning in and nailing her on the spot.

                            "Hello", she said with a sheepish smile and a quick wave as the looks started becoming uncomfortable. Using her hair to hide her face, she quickly crossed the room to an empty table, the last thing she needed was trouble and no one made trouble like a drunk.

                                "Welcome to The Den, what can I get you?", said a fat woman who came to meet her as soon as she was seated.

                                 "Please bring me your best loaf of bread, a bowl of meat sauce and a cup of your best wine", she listed off and the woman was about to go and make do with her order when she stopped her, "Also, do you know where I may lodge in for the night?"

                              "Of course, my husband, Paul-", she said, pointing to a man at the top of the staircase in the room who waved back in response, "-owns an inn, it's right upstairs".

                               "Thank you very much", Kyra replied, thanking the woman again as she brought the small feast to her. She demanded three gold and two silver coins as payment and Kyra gladly paid it, even adding a third silver piece as yet another 'Thank you'. The woman was very surprised as she left, it was customary for a customer to haggle before paying but Kyra hadn't even blinked an eye as she paid, which might have a lot to do with the fact that the money wasn't exactly hers, it was her Uncle's.

Her Uncle was so rich that he sometimes left coins lying around the house, forgetting to pick them up. Being the good daughter that she was, Kyra would pick the coins up for him until her pouch was full and then return it to him only for the whole process to begin again. Nevertheless, it proved helpful as Kyra was now in possession of three pouches filled with gold and silver coins in her satchel, making her almost, if not the, richest woman in the land, not that any man in the room would allow that to happen if they knew.

Anyway, Kyra descended on her meal ravenously, forgetting for a few minutes what her Aunt had taught her about how a proper lady should behave in public. She had just finished her meal, playing with a piece of bone and enjoying the cup of wine in her hand as she crossed her legs on the table, much to the disapproving glares of the people around , when commotion suddenly erupted outside.

                              "It's happening again", said one of the men as he stood up with a flagon of ale in hand and swayed outside. The other men seemed to understand what he was talking about as they all followed him outside too, different expressions on their faces. Kyra had no idea what was going on but she followed suit anyway, more out of curiosity than anything.

Stepping outside, she realised that the whole town seemed to have woken up. Everyone was packed tightly around something, Kyra having to shove her way to the front to see a man dressed in very rich clothes riding on a horse and dragging an half-dead man behind him.

                              "Please, have mercy!", a woman shouted, tears running down her face as she ran after the man on the horse but he wasn't listening.

                               "Now you will see what happens to traitors", he said to the spectators before calling, "Dragur!".

Immediately, a burly man wielding a wicked looking axe stepped out of the crowd, earning a gasp from the people but no one made a move to stop him even though they all seemed to think that whatever was coming next was unnecessary .

                               "Yes Master", boomed Dragur, kneeling in front of the man.

                               "End him", he commanded, pointing to the man on the ground.

                                "No!", Kyra shouted just as the man raised the axe above his head.

Suddenly, a burst of energy shot through her body, causing everything to seemly slow down as she felt everything around her in great details. The winds caressed her cheeks in strands, whispering strange words to her which she somehow understood perfectly. The energy collected in her palms and she directed it at Dragur and his master, immediately sending both men flying backwards in a gust of wind. The both of them were knocked out cold as they landed.

                               "Witch!", someone suddenly shouted from the crowd and all eyes turned to her but this time, they were filled with contempt.

                                "Wait", was all she could say before the whole town rushed at her in a fit of fury. The strange energy she had felt before had deserted her by now and all she could do was turn tail, grab hold of her satchel very well and run like her life depended on it.

The reason why Kyra had always been filled with so much indecision about her life came back to her as she ran for her dear life; she was a witch and in her world, witches weren't meant to survive.