The Shadows of Erisdar (ON HOLD)

Chapter 20

Isadora was walking down the street in a small, old town. She spied Darryl exiting a bookshop down the road and sped up after him. Isadora was used to men falling at her feet for her attention, except for the mysterious Darryl. She wanted his admiration.

On the outskirts of the town, near the livery yard, she found him tying a saddle bag to his horse. She greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

Darryl reeled back in surprise. "Isadora, what are you doing here?" he asked when he recognised her.

"I came looking for you," she said coyly.

He frowned in confusion. "Why?" He had an idea why, but he had always remained curt with her, trying to keep her at a distance, but she was persistent.

"I wanted to talk to you," she told him, "About us, and our future."

Darryl sighed in dismay. "Isadora, there is no us. There never has been. I'm not interested."

She blinked in shock at his words. She had never been rejected before. "What? But you always greet me at the stall. You always buy herbs and tonics from me, and only me. Everyone in town has seen it. They all know what you've been doing."

He shook his head in disbelief. "What I've been doing is being polite. And I buy from you because you have everything I need. Find someone else who wants to be with you because I'm waiting for a velari."

"A velari!" she shouted, stepping back in disgust. "That's for other races; humans almost never find one."

Darryl sighed. He couldn't exactly share with her what he was. "I've made my choice," he told her as he mounted his horse, deciding he'd go to another town from now on.

Fury raged within her at her words, and she stormed closer, pointing an angry finger at him "Mark my words, you will regret this, Darryl. That's a promise."

Darryl merely scoffed, shaking his head as he trotted off.

***

Isadora stared in envy at the girl walking with Darryl. She was beautiful, and Isadora could see the smile in his eyes. She wanted Darryl. He should be falling at her feet, she thought.

If she could not have him, then no one would, she decided. Darkness swirled in her eyes, and smoky tendrils coiled around her hands.

That night, she followed him into a dark alley. "Oh, Darryl." She said, catching his attention, and he whirled around. "I see you found a new interest quite quickly after casting me aside."

Darryl rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I thought we were over this, Isadora. There was never anything between us, now let it go." He said, turning to leave.

He hardly moved before he was frozen in place, his face contorted in agony. She brought him to his knees as she circled around him. "If I can't have you, then no one will," she said venomously. "And I will make you regret it."

With her hands out in front of her, she began weaving an intricate pattern with the tendrils of magic. She spoke in a voice laced with hatred and envy. "From this day forth, any woman you admire will turn to hate you. Even your velari - if she exists." She said bitterly before letting him unconscious. She stepped over him with a sadistic smirk and walked off.

Alex gasped for breath as the memory finished. She had hardly practised this skill as it always drained her. How could you do something like that to someone? It was utterly cruel, and for what? Jealousy? Alex suddenly hated the woman for causing pain to someone who had never done her any harm.