Branded Souls

Emotions Out of Control

Abby's PoV

I patted my breast pocket, hearing the runes click. I usually left them in the tower where they were safe. They weren't safe with me. But if this didn't work, I'd have to go back to carrying them.

Suddenly Emily stopped at the edge of the village. "What's the hold up?" I asked as I caught up.

She furrowed her brow. "Abby, I'm going to go first and 'terrorize' them."

I scanned her over. She didn't seem malicious. But honestly, she had never seemed malicious. Hex was better at reading people than me, but Hex needed to rest right now.

Her eyes flashed something, but it was too fast for me to catch it. My breath hitched. She had to have heard it.

I turned toward the village. Finally, I nodded.

As she entered the village, people screamed, and Emily laughed. It was an awful laugh.

I leaned onto my stick. I didn't want to resummon Hex yet, not when he was probably just as drained as me. He needed time to rest. But I needed his magic, especially since I'd been unable to restore my Mana since my fight with the cyclops.

I watched everything happening. Emily seemed hesitant. Scared.

"Where is your wizard now?" She called.

"Here!" I ran in. I was certain that my face was not doing well at hiding my thoughts.

"Exarmaueris!" She shot something at me, causing me to lose my grip on my stick.

It flew away, far from my reach. Immediately, gasps echoed from the people. Many whispers of "Nebula" rang in my ears. I felt something grab me by my heart. Anger, distrust, and fear all molded into a single emotion.

I turned back to Emily. I knew I couldn't hurt her. I knew this was fake. I knew I should calm down.

"Use your magic like the wizard you claim to be!" Emily was smiling.

I clenched my fists. Calm down. Calm down. Breathe. Don't get angry. She's right. It won't look right. You have to use your magic. Breathe. Breathe.

If I had Hex, he would be telling me to sit this one out. If my emotions were out of check, so was my magic.

"Seven stars!" I screamed, barely making sure I had the right hand symbol.

It hit her dead on.

I started walking toward her as she tried to recover. "Fumus!" She yelled.

Immediately, smoke overtook the area. I heard her coughing as I choked as well.

"Try to hit what you can't see!"

I wheezed. "Nine stars, Regulus!" I fired off toward her voice.

The smoke began to clear and I ran toward where I'd heard her last.

Her body was bloody on the ground. Dead.

Immediately whatever awful magic had grabbed my heart loosened. No no no no no no. I knelt down and felt for a pulse. No!

"The daemonium is dead!" The village cheered.

I couldn't stop myself from crying, and immediately turned and ran. I tripped over my stick and broke it as I ran. I was such an idiot. Such a moron.

But at least there was only one job left.

Kill Nebula.