Lies of a Witch

Prologue

-EDITED-

I NEVER imagined my death would be like this.

Throughout my life there were many points I thought I would die, where life had been determined to throw everything it could at me until I finally gave up.

I worked my way around those things.

There was no getting away from this.

Tears pricked the edges of my vision as the air in my lungs was slowly squeezed out. Evangeline Briar, the slender raven-haired girl I trained with and grew up with, who I called my best friend, laughs as I struggle and tightens her hands around my throat.

My bare feet curl into the dirt as I kick at anything in reach, and I switch to my hands, pushing her jaw upwards with all the force I can muster. Her grip slips. I take a deep breath and exhale, her eyes widening as shadows curl upwards from my lips, brushing against her face before she scrambles away, clutching the fresh cut that bleeds across her face.

As soon as her hands leave, I take in more breaths, coughing violently and dragging myself backwards, putting more space between Evangeline and me. My victory, however tiny, is fleeting as the forest trembles, the familiar thundering sound of the Army sending shivers up my spine.

I was once one of them.

Dozens of cloaked figures stop at the forest's edge, the glow of their green eyes appearing through the shadows. They look like bloodthirsty animals behind Evangeline, cloaks shuddering with anticipation. Jade, the little girl I took under my wing and trained, is among them. Knowing she is as excited about my death as the rest of them is worse than death itself.

I swallow and look at Evangeline, "Eva, you don't have to do this." My voice wavers, "Aren't we friends?"

Her green eyes shine as she wipes away the blood on her face. "I see who you are now, Elijah. You are an enemy of the King, you are my enemy." she says and in a flash, the shaft of her silver spear appears in her hand.

Evangeline's spear's blade glows red as she points it at my throat. My breath catches and I push myself away from her when my hand abruptly loses hold of the ground. I look behind me, heart skipping a beat. There is nowhere to go but off a thousand foot drop.

"You tried to kill the King." She whispers and I shake my head, desperate for her to understand.

"No- no, I did it for you!" I yell and her eyes flash but I don't stop, "The truth is he's lying- he's controlling you and everyone else in the Army, he's in your heads! You didn't always have green eyes, they were once yellow! And you once had a celestial named-"

"Shut up!" Evangeline jabs her spear downward.

My hands catch its blade and I yell out as its heat burns into my palms.

"You used to be my brother Elijah, but now you're nothing more than a regret." Her boot slams into my chest and I'm knocked back into the ground.

When I open my eyes, my head is dangling over the edge of the cliff and I can only hear the crash of the waves against its rocks. Then, beneath the noise and ache of my body, is the whisper of something ancient.

Jump. It whispers, Fall.

Her foot lifts from my chest, and I roll off the cliff. 

Evangeline's enraged scream fades away as I tumble downward, turning away from my fate to reach for the sky.