Casting Flames

Chapter Ten

Once upon a time, a young girl met a mysterious young man in the woods. He was handsome, intelligent, and spoke as if he knew secrets about the Universe she could never understand.

The next day, she discovered the Casters who had healed her dying world had taken control of Asia and the Middle East. He showed up on her doorstep that day and, from thin air, conjured a single rose. She accepted it, enchanted by his magic and swayed by his promises to keep her safe.

A few weeks later, they began talking about running away together. A few months later, they did.

He put her on a boat and told her they were going to settle down somewhere in France, a place she had always dreamt of visiting. Once they arrived, she was caught in a fairytale life, surrounded by kind Casters that lived peacefully with humans.

But then everything began to change.

He began to change.

He was gone a lot, and the Casters she once called her friends began to distance themselves. When he came home one day, telling her that France was now part of the empire, she didn't fully understand. She didn't know what that meant. She didn't know they were enslaving humans. She didn't know they were killing them.

She didn't know she was pregnant with me, either.

***

I remember the day my mom told me who I was. I had known for a few months that I was a Caster, but I didn't know what kind.

"They're called elemental casters," my mother said, sitting with me on her bed. "There used to be other kinds, but they're all that's left now.

"The elemental magic was like medicine, and it cured the world. But as they healed the forests, cleaned the rivers and the air, and fixed all that had been broken, the Casters became very powerful. You see, the more magic you use, the more energy you absorb."

"Like a sponge?" I asked, one of my front teeth missing.

"Yes," my mother laughed. "Kind of like a sponge. But the sponge grows larger every time you cast a spell. And you were born with a big one."

"So I can absorb more energy?"

"Exactly," she didn't laugh again. Instead, she grew very serious. "You can't use magic because your sponge is too big. You come from a line of Casters that can soak up and bend heat energy. But there is only so much energy a single family or bloodline can absorb. If you cast, the other people who can use heat magic will sense you, and they'll want to take your magic."

Sadness swelled in her eyes. "Emery, Casters are very dangerous. You can't let them find you. Ever. Do you understand?" Her tone terrified me. So, I nodded.

That was the first time I realized why I couldn't be a Caster. Why I had to hide. It wasn't because of the Soldiers. It wasn't because magic was illegal. It was because I was a half-blood. And full-blooded Casters would kill me to get my magic.

Luckily, my mother had stolen a spell book before she went into hiding. She used my blood to create a binding potion, shielding me from any casters that might have wanted to take my magic.

And that's exactly what I need to do again. I just hope it's not too late.

***