Familiar's War

Chapter One

 Mammoth jaws snapped shut on air, a growl thundering through the relatively silent cave. Drool dripped from serrated tusks the size of a baseball bat and landed in the dirt leaving large wet spots that had particles of still dry dirt resting on top. Black claws were digging deeply into the ground, the shadows hiding the rest of the creature's body from view. The very air was stale, but began to stink of decay as the deep darkness shifted, causing the atoms that had been frozen in place to be disrupted. It caused the air streaming into the cave to hiss ominously as it slunk it's way past the objects in the room. A sudden light sparked white and blinding on what seemed to be a pedestal of some kind. The light reflected off of a colossal fire colored eye that had no pupils.

"I believe it is time," A velvet voice trilled. The sound lingered in the cave hauntingly as it had once again been plunged into darkness.

***

Xael glared at her arm with amber eyes, her lips in a pout. Her arm really hurt, but she supposed that was what she got for trying to recite a magic spell. She wasn't the proper age yet to have stable magic levels so when she tried the magic would react badly. Her eyes traced the dark blood as it dripped down her tan skin slowly turning a bright red as it was oxygenated. There were many scars that littered her arms, and many in other places because she was a stubborn child of fifteen. It must be a relief to her guardian that she was almost sixteen, then she wouldn't be getting hurt every other week. At least, one could only hope.

She wasn't really known for being the brightest, but she did have tenacity to help her in her magical duties. Xael stood from the table in the kitchen where she had been practicing and walked to the bathroom for bandages. She had to keep her thick chestnut locks of hair from the wound as she wound the bandage, making sure it was tight but not too tight. Once she accomplished her task, she walked to the living room hand trailing the cream colored walls. She found Maude sitting in front of the TV focusing on the ball of golden energy in his palm.

"What are you doing Maude?" She questioned curiosity coloring her tone as she moved closer before kneeling next to his palm. His magic was her favorite to look at because the color of its energy matched the color of Maude's soul. It was an intricate mixture of every shade of gold and white. She wasn't sure what color her's was yet since she hadn't matured fully.

" Xael, what have I told you about distracting me when I'm trying to work with my magic?" Maude griped as a frown settled between his eyebrows and his lips tightened into a thin line. The girl was persistent in her quest to catch him off guard when he held pure energy in his hands that could burn her severely if he wasn't careful. He almost wondered if the girl's soul was the color purple, she was mischievous enough for it. Maude sighed before dispelling the warm energy from his hands. Magic was a source of comfort to all of its users.

"Hey Maude, we learned about familiars today in school. I was wondering what your familiar was," Xael explained as she stood from her crouch before throwing herself beside him on the couch and forcing her head onto his lap. Maude looked down at her unimpressed before he started to run his fingers through her hair gently.

" I'm surprised you guys are just learning about them, when I was in school it was the first thing we were taught. My familiar is actually a long story to explain." Maude stated calmly. "I didn't meet her until a few days after I became magically mature. The rest of my classmates got theirs as soon as they turned sixteen, I actually thought I was broken since everyone has a familiar."

"What? I thought you could only get your familiar the moment you turned sixteen." Xael exclaimed looking up into Maude's emerald green eyes, his long blonde hair forming a half curtain around her face since he had leaned forward a bit to look at her. He had a thoughtful look on his heart-shaped face, but a soft smile probably from the memory of it.