• The Stranger •
I remounted my horse and trotted over to the girls whispering back and forth.
"...Onix." I caught Marie saying.
"Are you two going to gossip or can we get going?" I grumbled.
The Sorceress, Sithra I think, looked up at me. "Of course." She fluttered and got on her own horse.
"Which way to Ziruh?" Marie asked. We rode out of the village and back onto a trail leading into a towering mountainous range.
"The abandoned Emerald Mine." Sithra explained. "It's inside Deadman's Mountains."
"Why is it called-" Marie began.
"-Take a guess." I interrupted, annoyed with the constant chatter erupting from that princess's mouth. I faced her, sarcastically. "Because everyone who passed through seems to live a hundred years."
"The rocks are extremely loose." Sithra whispered to her. "Rock slides are common and completely unpredictable."
"Fabulous." She grumbled.
———————
"Freak, get out there and get those apples harvested!" The slave driver ordered. My family had been slaves as long as we remember, but with strange gifts. I overheard some royal members of the kingdom mention mages. That's when I knew what I really was. If I only I could harness and control my powers... I could escape!
"Hurry up!" He barked again and threw me outside. I grumbled and climbed the ladder up to the fruit filled tree.
It all happened so fast... someone screamed and the whole orchard was in flames. A massive reptile soared above.
I ducked for cover with the other slaves in a tool shack, but then my eye caught a mother running outside desperately with a baby in her arms. The dragon came back around and started to dive down to the helpless victim and her baby.
"Lookout!!!" I shouted and ran out. The mother screamed as I pushed her to the side. The dragon blasted me with its white flames.
I lay on the floor, burnt and bleeding. A figure slid off the spiny back of the dragon. He came over, black cloak swaying behind him. The dragon behind him was dead.
"Wha...?" I sat up, confused. Looking around, the entire field was burned and deserted. I was alone, and about to black out.
"What is this magic?" He kneeled down and dipped his finger in my pooling blood.
———————
I didn't remember how I got there. I just remember being thrown in an isolation room with nothing but four corners. He slammed the door, locking me in. I could tell he was watching me on the other side of the one-way glass.
In confusion, I looked down at my hands. They were bruised and scarred from working, but my wrist burned. The veins were glowing blue-white. My blood was filled with spectral energy. Somehow, I killed that dragon and its power became mine-
———————
"-Onix!" Sithra's voice echoed and I snapped out of the memories. We had stopped at the foot of the canyon.
"We're here." Marie added, awe in her voice as she looked down the monstrously huge maze of rock.
YOU ARE READING
The Darkness
FantasyA snappy sorceress, a cunning princess, and a mysterious mage must band together in a quest to gain the legendary Golden Rain, which grants immortality to any who drink it. Battling dragons, avenging royalty, and learning to trust one another is muc...
