WitchBite

Mercurial Embers

 In an ashen cloud of mercurial embers, the faint silhouette of his body shape collapsed beneath it's own weight. Crumpling with crisp flakes that threw themselves airborne as the form of Aramis met the concrete of the floor.

My scream, dwarfing the raucous thunder outside, ripped through my throat. It peeled the paint off the car like a murder of vicious claws, crunched the stone like angry fists and thumped Victoria in the chest like a hammer. Yanking her from her feet as she was flung back, colliding with a nearby work top. Sending forgotten tools, and errant metals clattering to the ground with her body.

Jace was upon me instantly. The mass of his muscle pinning my struggling frame to the ground. Through my own, careless, struggles; I noticed his face, contorted and red, wet with tears. A clearer mind would have bade me to stop. To ask him what was wrong. But I couldn't. I was shattered, in a million pieces and a planned to impale each and every shard in to Victoria while blind anger still held me.

Jace was much stronger than I was. Despite my kicking, and writhing, it did naught to push him away. My arm somehow wriggled free, immediately diving into my bag and clutching one of the spell packets I'd prepared earlier. I tightened my fist around it, before slamming it in to my attackers face. It ignited in a burst of pale blues, coiling flames like venomous fingers around his head. The smell of burning flesh and hair caught in the air as Jace clutched at his face in anguished screams.

I rolled onto my front, clutching my bag closer to my chest as I scrambled to my feet, and leant against the car. Tears stained my cheeks, stinging my eyes and cursing me with a watery inability to focus.

The flames were snuffed out with a snarl. His eyes a shade equivalent to a deathly iceberg, fangs bared, his blistered skin knitting itself back to its original plushy tones within seconds.

He took a step forward, a conflict arising in his body language. Tense with a retributive anger, but trying to restrain himself. To relax and understand. His features returned to their more human, gentle, appearance and he took another step. My breath hitched in my throat, as there was movement behind him.

Victoria shakily rose to her feet. Clutching her forehead with a groan as she leaned on the work top, pushing herself up from the floor. In the moment Jace was distracted by her reappearance; I dashed to the blackened ashes of Aramis, whimpering somewhat as my hand dove into the warm softness and gripped the cool metal of the knife. The handle dug into my palm as I squeezed my fist around it with such a tightness that I was certain I would never let it go.

My breathing shallowed, my eyes focused, and my jaw clenched. I made to launch myself in her direction when I heard it.

Clack! Clack! Clack! It echoed through the garage, the unmistakable, unmissable, and completely foreign sound of slow, purposeful heels. So out of place in the madness that it caused all three of us to focus our complete attention on it. Staring into the shadows of the room expectantly, fearfully. Like prey that knows it's cornered.

Jace stood closer and protectively in front of Victoria, who defiantly peeked from behind his muscular arm.

The overhead lights buzzed violently, flickering as they seemed to fight in an attempt to stay lit. With a violent pop, like a gun shot, the bulbs exploded, one after the other. Plunging us all into almost darkness. The orange street lights, filtering from the window, and the odd flash of lightening was all that lit the figures in the dark.

I wielded the knife close to my chest as I took a single step backward, my heart leaping from my chest as the car beside me screeched with new found weight. A crouched silhouette landing heavily on the bonnet. Two pin-prick sized sparks of silver, pierced their way into the room, as the figure leaned forward.