Redemption

Chapter Fourteen: The Malin

"When do we begin?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"First, we need to get you to a safe area. The Malin will have sensed your magic, so it won't be long until they show up trying to collect your powers. The best thing we can do is to find someplace to hide and wait them out."

Micah barely had time to get the words out of his mouth when a loud "pop" resonated from a few yards away.

Micah turned toward me and put his index finger urgently to his mouth, begging me to keep silent. He had a frazzled expression on his face as he pulled me over to a nearby area covered with tall bushes. I crouched down behind them, concealing myself.

Micah, on the other hand, did not hide. He remained in the open, his muscles tense, as if bracing himself for a fight.

"Micah, what are you doing?" I whispered, but he ignored me.  

"There he is!" someone yelled, as a group of people walk into the area.

I hunched lower behind the bushes, concealing myself from the strangers, like the coward that I was. I could barely see them, but it appeared to be three men, all in their late thirties.

"Alright, witch, you're coming with us. We're going to pay a little visit to King Casimir," one of the men said with a sly smile.

"I'm not going anywhere," Micah replied calmly. 

"They always have to act tough," the man muttered to his comrades, and they chortled. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be. We're not going to hurt you."

"Yes, because the Malin have proven themselves to be so trustworthy," Micah said sarcastically.

Don't taunt them! I internally begged.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. That's entirely up to you," the Malin soldier said. "Either way, you're coming with us."

"I'm not going anywhere," Micah said once again.

"The hard way it is then."

Like the soldier who attacked Christopher and Abigail, the man gathered a strange blue light in the palm of his hand, and hurled it toward Micah.

Micah effortlessly leaned to one side, causing the light to miss him. He let out a small chuckle.

"Is that all you've got?"

The soldiers glared at each other, before simultaneously shooting three firebombs. But Micah dropped to the ground before any of them even came close to striking him.

He was back on his feet inhumanly fast, and took off running toward the men. They began throwing the firebombs more frequently, one right after the other, but Micah was faster; he always dodged the beams before they could touch him.

Eventually, the men realized that their attempts were futile, that their adversary was much more skilled than they were. They tried to run away as Micah charged at them, but Micah was faster. He sprinted in front of them, blocking their path.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked with a tantalizing smile.

One of the soldiers made a desperate attempt to punch Micah in the face, but Micah grabbed the man's fist before he even came close to making contact. He gave his hand a hard squeeze, causing it to make a loud snap that even I could hear from my hiding spot. The man screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clasping his injured hand.

Another of the Malin charged at Micah, but Micah simply moves to his left, causing the man to run directly into a tree. He fell lifelessly to the ground.