Into the Night {In Edits}

Chapter Six

I had woken up in a cold sweat, my body racked in convulsions as it fought off the sickness inside me. I was barely out of bed, shuffling my half-asleep self across my bedroom floor when the nausea struck. Somehow I managed to make it to the bathroom sink before my stomach did its usual inside-out routine and was where I now stood, my hands braced to either side of the plastic bowl as I did my best to stay as still as possible. I needed to save what energy I could, give my body every chance I could to win this battle.

It wasn’t something I caught, or an environmental factor that had me ready to drop to my knees. What made me ill was the same thing that every other magical creature on this earth fought. The black.    

There were three kinds of magic in this world; white magic that is used strictly for the good, grey that is both white and black and neither at the same time, and black magic that can end the lives of thousands with the right words. What kind of magic one wields is based completely on their disposition. Are you a good, self-sacrificing person? Someone who would be willing to give part of their own life’s energy into the healing of others? Then your magic is white and typically used for healing or protective purposes. It’s a box I would check.

Next you had grey magic which straddled the line between the two. Grey Madges generally don’t identify themselves as evil, just the opposite, but the fact that they are willing to use their magic to harm others in defense situations excludes them from the white –do no harm –category.  Grey Madges do the same as white Madges; they just take things a step further. Another box I would check.

Last is black magic. Generally this is the kind of magic most are familiar with as it tends to be the most sensationalized. “Grandma’s Cold Miraculously Cures Itself” isn’t the kind of thing that makes headlines; “Unexplained Mass Grave Found in Rural Mountain Town” not only makes the news, but sparks a federal investigation. Not that the government would ever find any clues for it, generally if all they found is the grave then the ritual requiring all that blood was long since over.

Blood magic, sacrifices, satanic rituals, and the enslaving of others whether by magic or the influence of are all activities that fall into the black magic category. I wouldn’t check that box…even if that love spell I tried in high school could’ve technically counted as black as I was trying to force someone into emotions that weren’t theirs. It was my first and last shot at and actual spell as it went horrible wrong. Maybe if I had done a little more investigating I would’ve realized Luke and his dog had the same colored hair, my bad for assuming the hair on his jacket was his and not of the dog that had slept on it…

The truth is that a White Madge is just as powerful as a Black Madge; the difference is that a White Madge still holds themselves to a certain set of ethics. Like say, no, it’s not okay to kill that sheep just so that you can gain more power over so-and-so. Or, no, you can’t kill that person just because they threaten your twisted sense of righteousness. Or –best of all –no, you cannot enslave any certain culture just because it will make you feel important.

My situation comes about when a white or grey magic wielder finds themselves tempted by the black, given just a taste of what power comes with throwing your morals in the trash. Black magic is a very seductive thing. It’s an addiction that can easily consume your entire being, leaving you to be nothing more than a hollow, evil, shell of what you once were. I was dangerous enough on my own; I couldn’t imagine what kind of destruction I would cause if I lost that sense of remorse for my actions. But it’s not so simple to fight off. It gets inside your essence and tries to kill off what was still good within you just like a biological virus will in your bloodstream.

How did I catch this affliction in the first place? Why my actions last night of course. Finding joy in others pain is just one of many sadistic traits of the black and a gateway for it to enter your system. The problem was that it was already in me, and no, repeated exposures doesn’t help vaccinate you towards it. In fact it makes it worse, makes it easier for the black to learn its way around your system every time you let yourself be exposed.