CURSED SHADOWS

3 {BLOOD}

I dodged one of Neo's spells, rolling out of the way, the orange spark barely missing me. Landing on one knee, I smirked at Neo, who was all the way on the other side of the training hall. I raised my hands, concentrating on my invention, and released green sparks towards his way. Neo, who was in a calm stance, quickly jumped to the side, crashing onto the floor, which thankfully were thick, blue mats. My spell crashed onto the creme-colored wall, causing a serious of cracks and explosions of green. 

"Good one!" Neo exclaimed, panting as he struggled to get up. I smiled. After a few hours of training with him, Neo's usually gelled hair was now messily tousled, and his usual, high class clothing was now replaced with a pair of grey sweatpants and a black undershirt. 

Neo planted both of his feet, aiming his wand at me. "Stupefy!" Another orange flash reappeared and chased after me. Instead of dodging it this time, I put my hands out in front of me, creating a barrier around me and successfully extinguishing the spell. 

"Nice try," I smirked at him, a mischievous tint in my eye. Neo's smile suddenly disappeared, replaced by a face of fear. I held my both hands up high, feeling my magic build up.  Neo's hazel eyes widened further. 

"Elena-" 

I ignored him, a ball of green power forming between my outstretched hands. I snorted, pointing it towards him and releasing it. The green fury raced towards him, making Neo give out a shrill scream. He tried to turn, but was confronted by the creme wall. He turned around, panic full in his eyes. 

"Elena!"

I stared at him coldly, suddenly unable to move. The ball kept getting closer and closer, and in a trance-like state, I kept staring at it. All that power. All that light. 

Let it hit him.

I shook my head violently, trying to snap out of my trance and erase the burning voice in my head. 

Let it hit him!

"No!"

Breaking out of my state, I raised my hands quickly, extinguishing the spell effortlessly. My hands dropped along with my heart, and shock came over me. I almost let it hit him. I almost let him die. Again. I huffed harshly, walking over briskly to Neo's crouched state. I placed a tender hand on his back, signaling it was safe for him to stand up. Neo turned his head slowly and saw my shocked form, and quickly turned back. He stood up, running his hands trough his hair as much as he could to calm it, taking a few deep breaths. After a few moments, he turned back towards me, giving me an awkward smile. 

"That was um, great...yeah....you did good..."

I snorted stepping away from him. "So you're not going to comment how I almost killed you again?"

Neo took a harsh breath, his hazel eyes connecting with mine. "I don't think you'd want to talk about that."

I stared at him in reply, chewing on the right side of my cheek. 

"Besides," He continued, shouldering past me, "You already know that's a problem you need to work on. We've been trying for a long time Elena, I've done everything I could. Every trick in the book! I think we've established that it's a problem far deeper than something that can be simply fixed."

I dropped my head, crossing my arms. 

"I know it's something more for me to figure out, but-" I looked up, turning my head to look at Neo behind me. "I've tried everything too. It doesn't seem to stop." I felt Neo walk up, and gently turn me around, placing his hands on my arms.