The Monsters Within

Chapter 1

Madame Veronica Madrigan stepped down onto the snow-laden street, fists clenched at her sides. She ignored the catcalls emanating from the brothel entrance.

The evening had been a disaster.

I should've struck her, she thought. I should've laid her out for the entire council to see.

Her hands trembled as her anger battled with her self-control.

Irina Maldiv, head of the Elym school council, was positioned to take leadership from Veronica. 

Four new initiates, each brimming with magical power. That was the prize that Irina offered as evidence of her right to succession. Four! 

It was a monumental offering, given the shortage of magical children found in the last twelve years.

What was worse, each child was an elementalist. Each able to bend and shape at least one of Elym's most primitive forces: fire, air, water, earth, and spirit. 

Veronica looked up as she almost walked over a sleeping unfortunate. 

The man, buried beneath layers of trash bags, cardboard, and other refuse, reached out a shaking hand with the palm turned up. 

Paying little attention, Veronica fished several larger coins from her purse and placed then into the man's palm.

The man's arm retracted, vanishing like a snake slithering back into its lair.

She didn't notice. Her mind was engaged in the turmoil of losing her position as Madame and being forced to step down.

The school needed her. The children needed her. And she needed them. They were the future. She was cognizant of the fact. How they sculpted the coming generations would determine their kind's ability to survive what would arrive.

It wasn't the humans. Oh no. It was something much worse, something ancient and nameless. 

Humans were creatures with the potential of a god, but were often cruel and distracted with killing each other. Humans were just an aperitif to the true conflict.

She shuddered to herself, wondering if it was due to the cold or to thoughts of such a dreary future. 

Veronica pushed it from her mind. That was another day, another war. She had to keep her job first, then she could worry about Elym school's future.

A shout echoed out into the night from an alley up on Veronica's right.

Her pace slowed, then she stopped.

Several more shouts followed, one sounding pained, which caused Veronica to start in surprise.

The voices sounded like childrens' voices.

Veronica's alarm was replaced with determination. If someone was harming children, she felt obligated to intervene. 

Veronica reached out for her power.

She was an elementalist of a water affinity, but she had a slight affinity for spirit as well. It was the latter, spirit being rare, that had helped propel her to her psotion of Madame.

If only I could find a strong spirit user, Veronica thought. It would be a game changer. No four non-spirit elementalists combined could match in value a single, strong spirit user. 

She pushed the thoughts aside. Such pipe dreams were not important at the moment. She had to focus on what was occurring in the alley.

Veronica ducked into the shadows. She appeared to be the only person in the area, so any calls for aid would likely go unheard.