Runaway Magic

six

As the flames started to lap at my feet, an eerie sense of calm descended over me. The angry and confused faces of my neighbors surrounding me faded into the background, a fuzziness stealing across my vision. In a way, this whole situation was funny. Laughable, even. Mr. Kasumova had been so adamant about punishing me for my witchcraft, when I hadn't even done anything. Despite Kenna's urging, I'd never come close to performing a spell in my life.

The fire bit the soles of my feet first. Luckily, the bottoms of my feet were tough and callused from the numerous times Kenna had coerced me into walking across hot coals as a child. The orange and red eating my skin barely hurt. But as the flames crept higher, inching their way up my ankles and calves, I had to press my lips together and clench my fists to stop myself from screaming. My fingernails dug into my thighs so hard I felt a bead of warmth well up between them, but the pain was nothing compared to the intense agony I felt.

Finally, just as my thoughts began to stumble and I thought I might tip into unconsciousness, both the world and the pain disappeared. For a moment, I opened my eyes and saw pure darkness stretching out before me. What the -? I thought distantly. Is this heaven or hell?

For the sake of my soul, I sincerely hoped it was heaven.

Then, I heard a voice calling my name. Shouting it, actually.

"Sera! Sera, wake up!"

"Shut up," I groaned, wincing as sunlight suddenly assaulted my eyes. I rubbed them hard, belatedly realizing that I could move my arms again. Finally, the pieces clicked in my brain, and I realized what my sister had done. "Kenna, you're a genius!" I crowed, possibly complimenting my younger sister's intelligence for the first time ever. Immediately, I regretted all the times I had scolded her for performing magic. After all, it was her match, her fire, her magic, that had saved me from death. The entire town had been willing to watch me burn - except for Kenna.

And Mama.

As I rose unsteadily to my feet, my heart plummeted again.

"I already told Mama," Kenna said quickly. "But we'll be long gone before Mr. Kasumova and the other men have any idea where we are."

"Ok," I said, nodding.

I didn't know what else to say. Thinking of Mama threatened to cleave my heart in two, so I tried not to worry about her, all alone in a town furious at both her daughters. I knew she would sacrifice herself if it meant Kenna and I could survive, and escape we had. Even though we were only in the woods near the village, we were nestled deep enough within its heart that no one would come close for at least a few hours. In the meantime, Kenna and I hard to plan. We needed to get somewhere safe, somewhere far, far away from our town. Unfortunately, nowhere in Kenj was safe for a witch, unless...

"What if we leave Kenj?" I asked, gauging my sister's reaction. Uncertainty flickered across her face like a candle flame. "Think about it, Kenna," I urged, "If we make our way to the border, we can cross into Ijinislj. Magic isn't banned there, so we'll both be safe."

"What about Mama?" Kenna whispered. For a moment, I remembered how young she was. If I was nervous, I could only imagine how frightening the idea of leaving our town was. It's not like either of us had a wealth of worldly knowledge to draw from, either. In all honestly, I had no idea how we were going to get to Ijinislj. But I didn't tell her that.

"Mama will be fine," I promised. "Mr. Kasumova might want us dead, but he loves Mama. Besides," I added, begging her to agree, "we've talked about escaping for years. What's stopping us now?"

Defeat settled across Kenna's shoulders. "Fine," she sighed, "but we better start walking."

"Six sonnes, four trejs, and two sadrejn," Kenna said, counting out the meager amount of coins gleaming in her palm.

"That can last a little while," I said. "A few days, maybe a week if we stretch it."

Aside from the money pilfered from Mama's emergency stash, all we had was the clothes on our back and our wits, as frazzled as they were. I wasn't going to sugarcoat; our odds didn't look so good. Two poor, hungry country girls made easy targets, especially once night fell. But I kept my concerns to myself, content with watching Kenna skip through the forest as if she were a little kid again. I wanted to skip too; I had never been that far from the town before, and my heart swelled knowing we would never have to return.

"We'll buy food once we get to another town," Kenna decided. "Maybe someone will give us a place to sleep for the night so we're not out in the cold."

"What do you want to eat?" I teased, knowing food was always on Kenna's mind. Asking her about it was a guaranteed way to cheer her up.

"Pirozhki and syrniki," Kenna replied without hesitation, slowing down to walk beside me. Sourly, she rubbed her empty stomach. "I could definitely go for some food right now."

"You could always go for some food," I agreed with a hollow laugh. But, shockingly, Kenna was right again; I hadn't eaten in almost two days, and I was beginning to feel the consequences.

Luckily, just as the sky began to darken, we spotted lights in the distance.

"Civilization!" Kenna crowed, picking up the pace. Cautiously, I trailed behind her, casting wary glances in every direction. Even though we were already far away from our town, I worried we were being followed. As if to confirm my suspicions, a twig snapped somewhere in the distance. Kenna didn't hear it, but I did, my entire body going stiff. "Hurry up," Kenna whined from ahead. "I'm starving!"

I couldn't argue with that.

"Just be careful," I whispered as we approached the outskirts of the town. The houses here were old and dilapidated, but lights still shone from inside. As we passed, I peeked a look into one of the windows. A father was cooking dinner in the kitchen with two young boys and another man seated around a small table. One of the boys glanced upward, waving when he saw me looking in. I flushed, darting away from the cozy scene. The chasm in my chest widened, aching for our abandoned mother and the father we had never known.

"Didn't you just tell me to be careful?" Kenna scolded, waiting for me with her hands crossed against her chest.

"Shh!" I said, wincing as her loud voice echoed throughout the empty streets. The shadows had begun to lengthen, casting the small town in deep darkness. Thinking back to the snapped twig from earlier, I grabbed Kenna's hand and dragged her back into a brisk walk. Mama had always warned us that streets were dangerous at night, especially for unaccompanied girls. We had already escaped one angry man today, and I didn't want to face another.

"Hey!" someone shouted from further down the road.

I froze, shoving Kenna behind my body. Glass shattered as a dark figure sprinted away from a closed-down shop, their feet soundless against the cobblestones. Another figure chased after the thief, disappearing behind a row of houses.

"Let's go," I hissed to Kenna, feeling her weight disappear from my back. When she didn't respond, I turned around, the reprimand on my lips wilting into a gasp.

A figure stood behind Kenna. One arm wrapped around her waist while the other, gripping a gleaming dagger, rested by her neck. Kenna looked at me with wide, startled eyes.

"Don't move, or I'll slit her throat."