3

Without using his hands or fingers, a man with leather boots lifted Eden off the floor by using pure energy, as if someone squeezed her body to hold her in place. One of his eyes was purple like hers, the other brown. His blue tunic shone in the sunlight beaming in from the window. A bonded Damned, but the gold on the edges of his sleeve told that he was a token member of the council. Her dad had told her of such Damned and had hoped she would be one too. They were given special privileges he’d told her but not what. Was this Damned using magic now? How else did he hold her up without physically touching her?

“An impressive protective spell, my lord,” the man said. “But not unheard of for one of the Damned to be able to wield.”

“Let me introduce you all, to our honored Damned.” The elder rose from his throne and waved an arm out. “This is Micka’l. He’s, as you may have guessed, one of you. Or rather, a portion of you. His mother was a half and that still makes him one of the Damned, but his father brought him here as a child to be trained in our ways. Now, he scans all of the Damned on the day of accountability for the taint of magic. Each of you will receive the council’s mark upon your flesh.”

Her body trembled as Micka’l glared at her. A chill of fear crawled across her scalp. Something was very wrong here. And what mark did the elder speak of? She hadn’t ever heard of such a thing. Did her father know or was it one of those secrets for only the high council members and elders were privileged to know?

“You will not like the mark. For not only will it maim you physically, but it will also suffocate your powers. It also has a mute spell attached to it…meaning you won’t be able to show or tell anyone about what exactly happened here today. However, all your supernatural abilities will be transferred to the council.”

“Why? You don’t use magic.” She struggled with her tongue that had seemed to grow thick in her mouth.

“Perhaps this girl is stronger than you thought.” The elder’s voice vibrated through the room. “For no one, once grabbed by your power, has been able to breathe well, much less speak.”

The elder strolled around her until his brown eyes lit with amusement. “Let’s see how smart you are without your magic.”

Her thoughts jumbled as her tongue grew even thicker in her mouth. The chamber swam before her in spots of darkness.

Lies. That is what she had been taught…what everyone believed. The council didn’t shun magic! They somehow absorbed it to keep control of everyone. And they didn’t want anyone to find out the truth much less think for themselves. It was all a ruse.

A glimmer of light flickered inside her, she didn’t know its source, but she forced her attention to it.

“She’s fighting me.”

With all her strength and will, she concentrated on making the glow brighter. She’d never felt magic or power or whatever this was before. Yet it surged through her like a river bursting through a dam that couldn’t hold back the flood.

“Stop her!” someone shouted.

She felt as if a snake coiled around her lungs, squeezing tighter and harder. But if she didn’t stop them, they’d kill her or take away her magic. She couldn’t let that happen. Not after everything she had learned. She forced her mind on the glow echoing the beat of her heart.

“Guards!” the elder bellowed.

Behind her, a thump sounded.

“As soon as they came within the shadow, they died,” someone shouted. “Get back!”

Shadow? There was no darkness, only pure pulsating light. Her magic clashed against another force. One trying to suffocate her powers. She focused on her newfound abilities, remembering the words of the book she’d read and shoved harder.

A scream rent through the air.

Eden frowned as her body dropped to the floor. The scent of burnt flesh made her choke.

Spots danced before her eyes, and she struggled to breathe.

“She’s turning blue. Is that supposed to happen?” a woman asked.

“Move,” a man’s voice answered. “If she doesn’t tie off the power she’ll die.”

The marble floor was warm beneath Eden. Coils of silver churned around her. Gradually air flooded into her lungs. Her vision, though spotty, returned.

Next to her, a boy with dark violet eyes watched her. Then she realized his hands pressed to her stomach.

“What happened?” She pushed him away and felt an electric shock severed them.

“Look at what your magic has done.” The girl, whom Eden had saved from being strangled, tucked her discarded knife into her boot.

Eden eased up onto her elbows. All around them, a ball of light shriveled. Outside the bubble, bodies sprawled. Micka’l, the quarter Damned, was the only one still standing, but his body was black and smoking. Had she done this? Shards of guilt and horror sliced inside her gut.

Outside of their reach, the marble floor had been torn into pieces, columns crumbled.

“We must leave,” the boy said.

“What about the council?” Her voice sounded scratchy. Panic swelled in her chest and she laid a hand on her breastbone to try and ease the pain. She’d done this and now she and her family would pay the price.

“Too late for that. We must run and hide.” He helped her up and the flicker of static returned. “The council will hunt us down.”

“Who?” one of the girls asked, soot covering most of her face. “Everyone’s dead but that one.”

“The other councils.” Javan frowned. “They are all connected like a hive.”

Dread sank into Eden’s gut. If one council was damaged, the others would soon learn about it and come to reap vengeance on whoever had done this. She swallowed against the boulder growing in her throat.

While they hiked toward an opening in the far wall, stones lay crumbled in a heap from where a blast of magic had ripped through.

A groan behind her made her stumble. Was someone still alive?

She turned as Micka’l shifted toward them.

“You’re not the only one with magic, witch, remember?” His voice sounded like he mingled sand with rocks.

“Look out,” one of the others cried as Eden threw her hands up.

Waves of black spun around them until the world vanished.