From Darkness To Light

Chapter 2 - A Partner

Everything was silent. No wind, no wolves, no insects, not even the sound of my breath and this strangers - mingling in the crisp morning air. I had bolted upright from my sleeping position to face the intruder, trying to judge whether they were a friend or a foe. My 48 hours weren't up yet; the rising sun made that point clear to me so the stranger couldn't be from my village but I knew that the hunters were not under any restrictions and could be surrounding me as I thought. The stranger approached my frozen form slowly, hands raised in a defensive manner as if to show no threat. They edged forward into the moonlight, revealing their true appearance to my wary eyes.

It was a girl. She had light skin, bright turquoise eyes that glowed in the dawn light and long hair. The hair cascaded down her back - a dark blue at the bottom, lightening in colour until it reached the top where it was a light sky blue. White flecks were scattered throughout, reminding me of the stars that I used to look to in my darker times - they were the only things that I loved in the world, the only things that seemed to care. However her natural appearance was disrupted quite quickly when you took a closer look; she had cat ears peeking out through her hair line and a tail could be seen swaying slowly behind her back with the same colour style as her hair. She seemed so innocent, so kind and she was next to me. I backed away quickly.

'Get away from me!'

She merely shook her head and continued to approach me, mouth opening to speak and hands out as if to calm a wounded animal.

'Calm down. I am not going to hurt you.'

'Don't you know who I am?'

'Yes. Caitlin Shadownius Mystic. Wanted across the realm for the use of dark magic and vengeance for the slaughter of 78 people. Given 48 hours safety from the residents of your village but a bounty of 60000 rupees from the hunters - dead or alive.'

'Then why haven't you run.'

'You aren't the only one who is hunted. My name is Star. As you can see I am not normal and to answer your unspoken question I do have magic. You aren't alone against these hunters.'

'But I'm a murderer. I could kill you! I am a cruel being who kills for joy? Why won't you run?'

Star merely shook her head and sat down next to the lakeside, looking out over the still water merely observing as I paced back and forth, my hands clenching and unclenching - small pieces of darkness flickering out of them like sparks. My mind whirled in an attempt to understand her chain of logic, in the presence of a murderer someone who had even the slightest ounce of common sense would turn and run in the other direction yet this girl did not! Was she stupid? Did her range of magic limit the basic function of a fight or flight instinct or was her curiosity about to live up to the phrase ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’ I glanced over at her calm form, completely comfortable in my presence - no fear or anxiety, just plain curiosity and concern. It didn’t make any sense at all!

The level of self-loathing that I felt towards myself was uncontrollable. I knew what I had done, whether it was Shadow’s action or my own it was still my body which had caused the misery and the bloodshed. The burden was on my shoulders and that was something I would have to live with for the short lifetime I had remaining. The huge bounty was an odd comfort to me, at least some people understood the magnitude of my actions however the stories and rumours about the mage hunters sparked fear deep inside me. Those who were captured by the hunters were tortured, broken down into crumpled balls of pain and fear, ready to do anything just to escape the agony for mere moments or to end it all in one swift blow. Personally the idea of ending me was more attractive than the prospect of being captured or even publicly executed and honestly the guilt would eat me alive before the trial could be held.