I never was meant to become a sorceress, yet fate screwed me and that is exactly what I have become. You probably think, stop whining and get to the magic.  There is a slight problem with that. I have no magic and to top it off, I am in Magical prison. You see, the only way for a non-magical entity like me to become a sorceress, is to kill a real sorceress and steal her power. Only thing is, I never killed anyone but none of the assholes I have spoken to believe me.  The worst is, the moments leading up to me getting my powers is blank, literally and figuratively. I cannot remember what happened and the torturers and scryers have been unable to see anything. No matter how hard they tried and believe me they have tried.

It started with mundane torture, if one could call torture that, intimidation and sleep deprivation. When that did not work they kicked it up a notch, constant noise and little food. The constant noise would be enough to drive anyone batty and as they changed the pitch and type of noise constantly there was no getting used to it. Trying to sleep was impossible and with the little food, my body really needed sleep. The food was enough to keep me alive but that was it. They thought after a week I would crack, I did not. It was difficult to tell people something, when you did not know anything. The only thing I did know, was that there was no way I killed anyone. It seemed to anger them when I kept telling them this, to such an extent that the torture not only continued but increased in intensity. Broken bones, being whipped, burned with ice, fire they have done it all. Pain and I are old friends now and I have become a professional at being able to distance myself from it. I was ordinary before this, but now even without magic I have become something else. It could be because I know I am innocent or fate planning even something worse for me. Though currently I do not know anything that could be worse than the daily torture. No that is not true, for all they have done, they have never raped me. Likely it is that they do not want to sully themselves with my non-magical murdering self. Whatever the reason, for that small mercy I am thankful.

I closed my eyes as I heard the key turn in my cell door. Looked like todays torture was about to begin. Kaile strode in, his arrogance and cocky manner still setting me on edge, even after all this time. I did find it strange that it was his attitude that caused me more emotion than the fact that he was my main torturer. Out of all of them, he has caused me the most pain and seems to relish it. I am just waiting for the day he takes it too far and kills me. At first, I held out hope, hope they would realize that I was innocent, hope someone would show me mercy, hope that someone would come rescue me. None of those things happened and after 6 months I have given up on everything. Wait that is not true, I now hope that Kaile loses his control and kills me. It is the only way I will get out of this.

I will not die of my injuries, their magic sees to that. After any session my worst wounds are healed. Thane, he was the healer, usually left me with some injury, nothing life threatening, but something to ensure I was in constant agony of some kind. In the beginning I took him to account for this, asking where his humanity was, that went well, they do not consider themselves human. Then I tried asking him how he could do it, being a healer, he simply just stared at me with ice cold eyes. I soon realized I would never get any sympathy from him. To them I am worse than any monster, you see a magical entity’s soul is linked to their magic. By having this sorceress’s magic, I had part of her soul, ensuring she would find no rest or peace and not be reborn till I died. A state they were keen to help me achieve.

I felt the manacle clamp around my wrist, I had not even realized we had reached the torture chamber. Everything had started to be a blur for me. Time seemed to freeze and jump and do what it wanted, so most times I just fazed out of what was happening.

“I have something different for you today, Ice whips. Save yourself the pain and just tell me how you killed her and stole her magic.”  Kaile asked in his harsh voice.

I do not know why he bothered. Since month three I have not said a word. After pleading my innocence and then for mercy for three months, with no result, I just figured why bother. I honestly have become distant from this, like watching a movie where you were just waiting for the end. I felt the first lash of the whip. It was indeed different, the pain of the lash breaking my skin was followed by the feeling of ice. It felt like my blood froze and the pain was excruciating, if I could have I would have screamed. Unfortunately I could not, not due to another type of torture of theirs, this was purely me. I had decided I would not give them the satisfaction of hearing me beg or scream ever again, thus the three months of silence. I knew this angered them, but I did not care, this was for me. It gave me a small sense of victory not to scream anymore.

“How did you manage to trick the truth stone?” he growled out before I felt the sting of the whip again.

The truth stone was one of the Mage Councils artifacts’. It forced whoever it was used on to tell the truth. I should feel honored it was used on me. You see like any magical object it only had a limited number of uses before becoming nothing more than a lump of stone. The art of creating an artifact of this kind had been lost in the ages and now they were guarded and only used in extreme situations. The first successful stealing of a sorceress’s powers was seen as such a situation. Many have tried to steal powers before, I am the first person to be successful in over 800 years. When the stone was used on me; it showed nothing when they asked how I killed the sorceress. It showed I spoke the truth when I pleaded my innocence. You would think this would give them pause, but no it was deemed that along with the art of how to steal a sorceress’s powers I had learnt to trick their most powerful artifact. It was argued that if I was truly innocent, when they asked how I got my powers it should have showed something instead of remaining blank.

“Just tell me and all this pain will end.” I heard Kaile say.

I had zoned out again for a while but had no idea for how long. I also did not know what the question had been this time, not that I really cared. It no longer surprised me that they made no effort to hide the fact that the only way this would end was with my death. You would think they would try to tempt me with offers of living, but that was never on the table. No, their offer was; tell us and the pain ends. I guess they knew the degree of pain I was constantly in and that I would eventually beg for death.

I would not admit to doing something that I knew to the depths of whatever soul I had left, that I did not do. No matter what they did, I would not betray myself and to me saying I killed that sorceress would be a betrayal. We were at a stalemate, one I knew I would win. Every day Kaile and Thane came closer to killing me, it was just a matter of time.

It did not take me long to figure out that Kaile, Thane and Arron had some kind of connection to the sorceress whose powers I had, Lissa. Kaile sometimes let slip her name and the times he did were the ones I thought my end was near. He always though, seemed to pull himself back just in time, but I knew one day he would not. I was just waiting for that day. Nothing more was needed or required from me but to wait and that is just what I was doing.

“Kaile the Council has decided, they will do the ceremony tomorrow. They feel that if we haven’t gotten anything out of her by now, we never will. It is over.” I heard Arron say. I never heard him come in and by the feel of my back I had zoned out again.

“No!” I heard Kaile shout and felt the pressure of the whip hit me twice in quick succession.

I did not feel any pain from it as my back was a constant throb of pain, just the pressure of the whip hitting my flesh. I heard a struggle behind me, Arron must have prevented Kaile from striking me again. Do not think this was any show of mercy for me, Arron was exactly like Kaile and Thane. All three wanted me to suffer, Arron just seemed to want it more and if my torture had been left to him I would be long dead.

“If you kill her, Lissa’s soul will be lost forever.” Arron stated and therein was the only reason I was still alive.

If they killed me, then the part of Lissa’s soul I held would be lost forever. I had to be sacrificed in some ceremony which would reunite Lissa’s soul with the rest of it, ensuring her whole soul moved on. Fractured souls could not be reborn or reformed into something new, they drifted lost.

Kaile let out a primal roar and I heard a loud thud before I felt the manacles on my wrists being removed. Kaile grabbed one arm and Arron the other as the two dragged me back to my cell. My bare feet dragged on the stone floor, scrapping them raw, but this was usual and the only reason I knew this was happening, was because my head was flopped down and I could see it.

They threw me into my cell, my head hitting the wall and then the floor when I collapsed. A sharp pain laced through my head but as my body had begun to shut down from the pain I could not feel it. I knew I had a concussion, had had one countless times since getting here, but it did not concern me. Thane would be here soon, and as it was a possible life-threatening injury, he would heal it tonight. He would only heal the life-threatening ones today, the rest he would heal tomorrow. This was to ensure that I was healed enough to feel the full extent of whatever torture they did to me.

I felt paralyzed but was still awake, part of the torture. I would not pass out from the pain. I could not use unconsciousness to escape the torture, their magic saw to that. Thane would release me from the spell and I would sleep as best I could, sometimes I managed a full sleep, other times just small naps.

Hours had passed and still Thane had not come. I only knew it had been hours by the position of the moon. I had been zoning in and out constantly. The pain I felt in spikes of lucidness, was enough to make me forget my vow to myself and scream. Only this time I could not make a sound, not because of myself but because my own body would not allow me. My head was the worst and I knew the last throw against the wall must have done serious damage. That night I can truthfully say was the worst I have ever had, because of the pain. With all the torture I have experienced I thought I was used to pain, but that night proved me wrong. Between my head, my back and feeling like my nerves were dying, the pain was constant and extreme. When I felt my limbs start twitching all I felt was relief. For some reason I knew this was a sign of my approaching death. A death I was ready to welcome with open arms. Unfortunately for me, it seemed luck also wanted to screw me over for it was then on the brink, that I heard Kaile.

“What the fuck?” I heard him question then, “THANE!”

The rest was a serious of sounds, pain and flickering lights as I went in and out of consciousness.

“She cannot undergo the ceremony like this, what the hell were you doing Thane?” I heard someone ask. I could not recognize the voice, but then in my current state I doubted I would recognize my own mother.

“Me? What the hell about you Arron? You knew hours before Kaile started what the council had said.” Thane must have spoken but his voice sounded different.

“She deserved it, the torture. I wanted to see her suffer, one last time before she received the release of death.” Arron spoke, it was not the same as the first voice, so that must have been Kaile. “I did not know you would not go heal her.”

“I did not know she had been injured. I thought … no I did not think, maybe I did want her to suffer. I knew Kaile would torture her.” I heard Thane admit.

“You damn right I would have.” It was the first voice, Kaile. “So we are all to blame. Now we just need to fix it, so that the ceremony can take place.”

I guess I was an it now, fitting because at that moment it was exactly what I felt like. Seemed death was not ready and fate wanted me to suffer a bit longer. Thane had forgotten to remove the spell, so no matter what I wanted or my body demanded I would keep returning to consciousness. This continued for two days. You would think the assholes would have realized I was awake and removed the spell but due to my injuries I could not open my eyes, move or speak. I could just hear them and every now and then feel them as they did something to my body. My head was the only thing left giving me pain, but that was enough at this stage. I needed no other pain to stay in the hell I have been in the last six months, the pain from my head made sure I stayed there.

Then I heard crashing and running footsteps “She is innocent.” I heard Kaile shout, “Lissa is alive, we and the council have been charged with killing an innocent. A supreme hearing has been called.”

Just then I heard more footsteps, and someone ask sharply, “Is she alive, will she live?” Someone else exclaimed, “My god what did you do to her, she looks terrible.” A different voice replied, “It does not matter, we have to do everything in our power to ensure she lives and recovers.”

It was awesome to hear that I looked terrible and what had happened to me did not matter. I should have known it was not just my three torturers that were assholes, but seemed the whole council was. They did not sound concerned about me, more what my death would mean for them.

“We have to hide her, only we can know she is alive. Whoever set this up obviously thinks we killed her days ago. They knew about the planned ceremony, but not that it never occurred.”

A different voice replied, “So it is someone high up, just not on the council.” I could hear murmurs at this, as people tried to figure out who was behind this.

“They must have known Lissa was alive and waited for this. The timing of Lissa revealing herself and these charges are just too close together to be coincidental. Kaile, Thane and Arron we need to question you. We have to find out when Lissa was turned.” Whoever was speaking must be in charge, though obviously I did not know who it was and had not heard his name.

“Tyr, Kor and Arc, you three take care of the girl. Use any and all resources to ensure she recovers. Anything she needs give her, we have done her an immense wrong, one I doubt we will ever be able to repair or repay.” The leader continued. Maybe he was not as big of an asshole as the others.

I felt a hand on my forehead and then felt a finger lift my eyelid followed by a loud curse, “She is still awake, for fucks sake Thane.” Then I felt a light breeze seem to drift over my body, followed by blessed darkness.

The next week was bliss, no torture and plenty of sleep. I still had pain though. My head injury was severe and could only be healed slowly due to the complexity involved. Head injuries were apparently always tricky and previous injuries had left their mark. Thane had never been thorough in healing me. I guess he figured why worry about my mind when I was scheduled to die anyway.

Over the week I had learnt that Tyr was my new healer. Seemed the elite groups were always three; healer, strategist and empath. The elite groups only became what was known as Guardians when they found their fourth, always a female, she was the balance. Lissa had been the balance for Thane, Kaile and Arron. The Elites also changed their names T for healer, K for strategist and A for empath. They could all fight exceptionally well and their talents supported each the others. The empath was not called that because he felt others’ emotions, but because he could sense things and communicate telepathically with his team. An ability he could then share, when they found their fourth. The healer could heal the most extreme of injuries for his team mates, as well as accelerating their own natural healing abilities. The strategist could formulate plans and see weaknesses of an enemy in an instant. As a team of three, when they fought together they were formidable. When they found their fourth they were near indestructible.

These teams or Guardians were needed to prevent the earth from being overrun by entities from other dimensions. Other super natural groups fought with them, each with their own structures and leaders. All though, were under the watch of the supreme council. A council made up of people from all the entities allied together to protect earth’s dimension.

Earth’s dimension was made up of earth, heaven and hell. Demons were not necessarily evil and angels were not necessarily good as we defined it, so demons and angels also fought. Fighting against us were entities from other dimensions. Earth was a resource they wanted control over. People from our dimension could ally with the entities from other dimensions. This meant that we had earth humans, angels, demons, shifters, sorcerers, witches, fey and elementals fighting with or against us. Good and evil was not set to a race or type or even side. You could be on earth’s side and be evil just as someone could be from another dimension and be good.

Tyr, Kal and Arc had been fighting together for over thirty years. Another thing I learned was that sorcerers lived much longer than humans. In fact, all the magical entities had longer life spans than human. Their brief life span was why magical entities did not mix much with humans, not because they thought humans beneath them. They needed humans to keep this dimension as we were the original settlers here. The other groups found their way here over time. Humans came close to extinction a few times, but our strain or spirit always managed to survive or be saved. When the last human falls, earth dimension would be free for claiming by any of the others, no fighting could prevent it then. It was to their benefit then for those who wanted to stay in our dimension

All this I learnt bit by bit as I healed. I still would not talk, but now it was because I felt nothing. My spirit was broken and I had no energy or wish to do anything. I was dead inside and to everything around me, seemed they would not need a ceremony to kill me if they still wanted to. I was dead in all but actuality.

I was kept company by my new three, who constantly talked to me and tried to get me to react. They bought me treats and gifts, as if these things should have meaning to me. But after all that had happened I was beyond caring or feeling. No delicious chocolate treat, silky soft shawl or rare book could elicit a response. They never got angry with me or demanded I respond, they just continued to be kind and gentle. It did not matter, I knew what they were capable of, their names might be different but they were the same. If it had been their fourth they would have done the exact same.

My body slowly healed, but even it retained some scars. Scars from Thane not healing me fully that now were too late to heal. Whip marks could be seen on my back, a knife wound on my right upper leg, a puncture mark on my left where my kidney is and a faint scar on my left cheek. All these would be constant reminders for the rest of my life, however long that maybe. I still welcomed death with open arms, it was the only constant truth that still remained.

I was resting outside in a gazebo. Cushion covered seats, made it possible to sit or lay down and look out at the beauty outside. Tyr or one of the others, carried me out here nearly every morning, I still could not walk. To any other it would have been truly beautiful, with a riot of flowers and a waterfall, it made you feel like you were in a hidden Elven enclave. To me it did not register, it was just there and I was here. I was numb to my surroundings.

“The hearing is today Lady.” Tyr said in his soft gentle voice, almost like he was afraid I would bolt if he raised his voice. If I had any laughter left I would have laughed, but as is I just continued to stare off into the distance. They all called me Lady now, as they still did not know my real name. It was another thing I had kept from them and to myself. It all seemed so long ago now, so distant, like it was fading, though it had been little over a week since I nearly died.

I heard him sigh softly before lifting me in his arms. He had one arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders, his arm under my arm and resting against the middle of my chest. His other arm was under my knees, holding me tight against him. He had to carry me this way as I did not lift my arms around his neck to hold on.

Kal was waiting for us in my room, a large bright cheery room that had magnificent views overlooking the cliffs and forest below. A princess would feel at home in a room like this. To me it was just a room, I might as well have been back in my cell. What use had I of things for a princess?

I saw a blue dress and shawl waiting over the one chair, it must be what they wanted me to wear. Tyr and Kal made quick work of getting me changed and dressed. Kal platted my hair for me, a task he had become proficient in over the last week. My nudity did not bother me, they had all seen me bleeding, broken and with tatters on when I was being tortured. My nudity was just another element, one which could not be helped. They had tended to my wounds and had to help me with everything, as during that stage I could do nothing. I had briefly wondered where the women were. During everything I had not seen one other female, but it was a fleeting thought and not worth effort. I was a breathing doll, but doubt anyone could classify me as living.

Kal picked me up and carried me out of the room with Tyr following closely. Seemed the time of judgement had arrived and for the first time in a while I hoped, I hoped they would let me rest and kill me.

We followed a throng of people entering a huge oval building. A few people gave us curious looks, but most were too interested in getting inside and seated for the trial. We got three seats near the front, right by the isle, it was too lucky to be anything but pre-arranged. All other seats close and near the isles were taken by now. At the back wall was a raised platform for what looked like 20 people. Then off on either side were raised boxed seating areas. Directly in front of the platform was a single box with place for five people. Armed guards were placed around the raised platform and boxed seating areas, with a few more scattered through the building.

I saw people begin to enter the box on the right, but did not recognize any of them. One was a woman with striking black hair and features. If you could imagine Snow white come to life this would be her. She looked over the crowd with a regal look, like we were all below her and should be bowing. Evil danced in her eyes and posture. Do not ask me to describe it or explain it further, my earlier thoughts of good and evil, this woman broke that, she filled every definition of evil. I looked around and saw people starring at her in wonder, mesmerized by the beauty and delicacy she portrayed, none of them seemed to be able to see the evil.

Just then people started filling in the box to the left. I could not help my body going rigid and turning to hide my face against Kal’s shoulder as I saw Thane, Kaile and Arron entering the box. The fear and dread they filled me with was the first true emotion I had felt in the last week. I could feel my body trembling but was powerless to stop it. This was an instinctual reaction, something I had no control over. Of all things, I would never have wanted those three or anyone for that matter, to realize the soul deep fear I now held for those three men. I hated having this weakness. Kal used the hand holding my chest to turn my head up to face him.

“You are safe Lady, they will never hurt you again,” Kal said softly. In his eyes I saw the truth of his statement. The truth as far as he believed it, but I knew differently, just because he believed it, did not mean it was true.

I looked to the Truth stone they had bought out for this hearing and linked to it. Something that I had realized I was able to do, after about the third time they used it on me. I do not know why, maybe it was because I was innocent or because I stuck to my truth even through all the torture. Never saying I killed the sorceress, even when saying so would have bought me a reprieve from the torture. I asked the stone if Tyr, Kal and Arc would treat me the same as the other three and got the answer “Never”. You would think this would make me believe, but like I said truth had degrees. Something that was true now, would not necessarily be true later. Truth changed with the world, people and situations around us. Someone could say they will never ever kill another, but then a loved one is put in danger and they kill to save them. Truth is not a singularity but evolving, the only way to understand truth is to accept that.

I had zoned out again and the hearing had actually already started, Kal was no longer looking at me but at the raised platform. I turned my head to look as well. All twenty seats were filled, and they were filled with a variety of entities. Some looked human, others not at all, though they looked vaguely human, like a flickering image over them. It made sense that they were able to disguise themselves in some way. For if some of them were to walk among humans, as they truly were, they would cause a panic.

Kal got up and started carrying me down towards the box in the front. Something must have been said and they were now going to show I was still alive. Absolute silence filled the building as we proceeded to the front. Tyr and Arc walked on either side of me and Kal. As we made our way down, more guards fell in around us, forming a square of protection. I could not see over the bodies of the guards, but I could feel tremendous anger building from my right.

“Impossible, this is an imposter, they killed the girl after torturing her for months.” I heard shouted from the right. “This is a farce.”

Kal sat down at one of the chairs, Tyr and Arc remained standing outside. “It is true, she was tortured for months, but we did not kill her.” It was one of the council, I remembered his voice from when I was being healed.

At his words, angry outbursts came from the box to the right and from all around the building. Most in disbelief, that I could actually be alive. The noise level in the building increased with people arguing back and forth, even those who knew nothing felt they had a right to be heard.

“Silence!” A soft voice trembled over us, the sound was enough to stop everyone in their tracks. “Girl speak!” this I knew was directed at me, but even with the command reverberating in my mind I refused to speak. My voice was mine and I would speak when I wanted to, not because some arrogant entity demanded it. I looked up and starred at the entity that had commanded me, I may be broken but I was not cowered. I slowly looked over all seated on the platform before me, before looking to the box on my right. It was when I looked at Snow White that I saw something that shook me to me depths.

“Mine!” I whispered out hoarsely, my voice not having been used in months. I could hear and feel the confusion from those around me at my words. All looked between me and the woman sitting in the box to the right. I did not have the words to tell them what I saw but I knew something that could. Not only had they lost how to make artifacts like the Truth Stone but along the way they had lost one of its greatest powers, the Truth.

I leaned up and whispered in Kal’s ear, asking him to take me to the Truth Stone. Without hesitation Kal stood up and moved towards it, ignoring the guards as they pushed towards us to stop him. At a signal from the entity whose command I had disobeyed, the guards fell back. They now formed to protect us, rather than protect the stone from us. I looked towards the raised platform and though they had not moved, I could feel the interest and almost excitement coming from them. They somehow knew or guessed something was about to happen, although I do not think they knew exactly what.

We reached the stone and I reached out my hand and touched it, softly saying “Truth.” The world went black around me as I felt myself pulled to another place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A young woman rushed out a small house, nearly dropping her keys as she locked the door. She ran down the pavement towards an old rusted vehicle parked on the curb. As she ran, she was struggling to put on a sweater with one hand while clutching a large tote bag with the other. The sky was overcast and held the promise of rain. The woman was wearing sneakers, blue jeans and a plain white button shirt. The sweater she was struggling with was a soft cream color. I recognized the woman as myself, these were the memories that had been hidden from everyone, myself included. I was finally going to find out how fate had managed to screw me so thoroughly and hopefully why.

I saw myself stop and lift my head to the sky as the first drops fell down. I loved the rain, if I was younger I would run around and play in the rain. Unfortunately I was a child no longer and could not do things like that anymore. I could still appreciate the sharp chill it bought to the air, making my skin tingle as well as the fresh sharp clean scent.

I saw myself throw the bag on the bag seat and get into the car. I tried to recall where I was going, but my mind was still a blank. I would just have to wait and see this play out to find my answers. I heard a phone ring and saw my other-self fumble around in her jean pocket to get her phone out. Luckily she had not started driving yet. It was weird to think of myself in the third person, but this was like watching a stranger, even though I knew that stranger was me.

“Hi Shelly. I just left now, will be there shortly.” I heard myself say.

There was a pause as the person calling must have said something, unfortunately I could not hear her part of the conversation. “Oh no problem I can pick it up on my way. Do I have to pay, or is that already taking care of?” I heard myself say in reply to whatever the other person had said.

“Okay will do. See you guys in a bit.” Was the last I heard myself say, before placing the phone on the passenger seat and starting the car. It was weird recognizing everything, but not being able to put what was happening in context. I saw myself stop and park by the bakery and then get out of the car and hurry inside. After a little bit I came out carrying a big cake. Mrs. Fletcher helped me by holding the door open and then opened my boot for me, allowing me to put the cake inside. Mrs. Fletcher was the best baker in town and she had taken me under her wing. She always seemed worried that I was not eating and often had food delivered to me. After thanking her, I got back in the car and started it.

After seeing the cake I knew what was happening, though I still could not remember this event. I had just gotten my dream job. After years of study and hard work, I had successfully applied and gotten the job at the Nature Conservatory. I was a veterinarian specializing in exotic and wild animals. I had always had an affinity for animals and had always gotten on better with them than humans. I had a few close friends like my roommates but apart from that I tended to struggle to interact socially with people. Mostly, it was due to the fact that I always seemed to have been studying or working. My parents weren’t rich, and I had worked since I was fourteen in odd jobs to make some spending money, later it was to be able to afford college. My parents weren’t horrible, they had just never understood me or been able to relate to me. Even though I had a roof over my head and always had food, I never had an emotional or personal relationship with my parents. We were more like roommates than a family.

I had never partied in school with the others and I knew I would need scholarships, so any spare time was spent studying. It meant, that at school I had even less friends and was called bookworm and geek. I spent so much time worrying about the future, that I missed most of the present. I had none of the experiences of other girls my age, no boyfriends or wild parties. My focus had been on reaching my dreams of a scholarship and studying for my future. My inability to interact with people helped me focus more and with my affinity for animals, my course was set.

This must be a party for me to celebrate getting the job. I had really lucked out with my college roommates. Both had accepted me as is and never pushed me too hard. They still dragged me to parties here and there, but never made it an issue between us. Thanks to them I did manage to meet other people and make friends outside of just the two of them. It worked out well for all of us, I helped them with studies and they helped me be a bit more social. I would still not call me sociable, but at least I had some people that I enjoyed spending time with.

The car stopped outside a rustic cabin, and I saw myself rush out of the car with the tote bag. Inside the cabin I threw the tote bag on one bed and then opened it, taking out a small makeup case. In the bathroom I watched myself remove the knit cap from my head, showing the French braid I had put my hair in. I always platted my hair, it was just easiest and kept it out of the way. I watched as I quickly applied light makeup, eyeliner and lipstick. The fact I was even putting make-up on, let me know that I had been expecting to meet Ryan at the party. Ryan was a ranger at the Nature Reserve. The two of us had been lightly flirting over the last few months. I did not have much experience with men, but that did not mean I did not want it. I just never seemed to find time before and even if I had, no one had really interested me till Ryan.

It did not look like I was going to change into another outfit, which was not a surprise to me. I never did get into fashion or the need to dress up in uncomfortable clothing, people could like me as is or not. As I moved, I saw the light from the bathroom reflect off my hair, showing a red glint. My hair was brown but had red highlights in it, that if caught right would give my hair a red shine. My eyes were a plain brown and I had a few freckles on my face. I was cute, in that girl next door way and would never win any beauty pageants.

Finished in the bathroom, I saw myself move back into the bedroom and put on one of the side table lights, likely for when I returned later that night. It was still late afternoon, but it would be night when I returned. I reached in the bag and took out my wallet, taking some money from it and putting it in my front jeans pocket. I saw myself have one quick look around the cabin I was obviously going to be sleeping in, before moving to the door and letting myself out. It was as I locked the cabin door that I heard it, the faint cry of an animal in pain.

I saw myself run to my car and from the boot take out my veterinary kit. I slowly made my way around the back of the cabin, following the calls of distress. I was really glad it was still afternoon, having done enough night time rescues, I appreciated not having to fumble along in the dark. I saw myself reach in the bag and take out a tranquilizer gun, one never knew what an injured animal would do. For safety it was sometimes better to tranquilize first and question later.

I had been walking for about two minutes when there was a clearing ahead, the sounds seemed to be coming from there. “It is okay kitty, I am here to help.” I heard myself say. Only problem was the thing I saw myself walking to, was anything but a cat. It looked like a living shadow, with black tendrils reaching out from all sides and angles. It had a face and its mouth was wide open, showing rows of sharp teeth. It tried to call to myself to stop me from going closer to the horror I saw, but my other self was oblivious of the danger. All the time talking softly to the cat she must be seeing. As I saw myself reach the monster and touch it, there was a whoosh of sound and the scenery changed.

I found myself in a large cavern, with flickering torches attached to the walls going all the way around. The flickering light made the scene before me even more eerie. I saw myself laying on a stone alter, with my hands and feet spread and bound to the alter. I was wearing a short white shift. It looked like the one I was wearing during my torturing, but this one was white while that one I had been wearing then, had been red. My eyes were closed and I seemed to be sleeping.

Suddenly a noise began to fill the cavern. A low chant that scraped along ones’ nerves, and crawl underneath your skin. I saw Lissa walk up to the alter where I was bound, an ornate dagger in her hand. Around her beings began to fill into the cavern. Majority were like the shadow monster that I had seen earlier but there were a few humans and entities like at the hearing mixed in.

When Lissa cut the palm of my hand, I saw my eyes fly open and a silent scream escape my lips. I could just watch as Lissa continued to cut me and then herself, mixing our blood. She stabbed me in the stomach and I saw my back arch as I tried to scream, but no sound emerged. They must have cast a spell to prevent any noise apart from their chanting. A black shadow flowed over me and I saw my wounds heal. Only as Lissa cut me, the blood turned my dress red. It was not white with blood on, the dress actually turned red with the blood, changing its underlying color to red. The shadow also repaired the stab wounds in the dress when it healed me. After the dress was completely red I saw Lissa cut both my palms as well as her own. She mingled our blood and put one hand over my head and the other over my heart. I saw my body arch again in a silent scream. The others began leaving the cavern and I saw Lissa untie my bounds. A light blue glow lay over my body, I had seen it move from Lissa to me. She moved me off the alter and placed me next to it, the dagger in my hand. I seemed to be asleep again. She nodded at the shadow that remained and both she and it disappeared.

There was a tremendous crash and three figures suddenly appeared in the cavern. I saw myself startle awake at the noise and look towards the three figures in confusion. I knew them as Thane, Kaile and Arron, but the me in the cavern would have no idea.

Arron rushed up to me saying, “Lissa” but as he reached me and saw I was not Lissa the look in his eyes darkened.

“I sense Lissa’s blood and the pain of a fractured soul.” Thane said softly but I could see the hate and anger filling his eyes as well.

“She is human, but I feel magic flowing in her body.” Kaile said harshly. I could feel anger and hate in the cavern again, but this time it was coming from the three men as they looked at me.

“It cannot be, no one has succeeded in hundreds of years.” Thane said in denial.

Kaille walked up to me and I saw him lift his dagger to strike me with its blunt end. “It is, she has fractured Lissa’s soul and stolen her magic”. It was the last thing I heard before I got knocked out. I did not have to see what happened next, I knew too well.

I was back at the hearing and could see looks of shock on the faces of the group on the platform. They had not known that the Truth Stone could be used in that way. I looked to the right and saw Thane, Kaile and Arron gazing back at me in horror. It was never Lissa’s fractured soul they sensed, but my own. Whatever they had done to me in the cavern, they had stolen a piece of my soul. No wonder I felt so disconnected from everything. It seemed this soul fracturing had been both a blessing and a curse to me. It had allowed me to withstand the torture and not let it break me, but it had made me emotionless and focused on dying.

I looked up at Kal and saw him gazing back at me his eyes filled with sympathy “Lady.” He said softly.

“Kara, my name is Kara.” My voice was low and had a raspy quality to it from not using it for a while. I stayed as I was, just trying to gather my thoughts, after what I had seen. In the background I could hear shouting, but it was in the distance. I zoned out again, my thoughts, like my soul fractured.

“This would have been easier if the girl had been killed by the three, but never mind, nothing can stop this.” I heard a harsh loud voice say to my right, “Finish the ritual and kill the girl.”

Pandemonium broke out all around me as people started fighting. I saw spells of fire, ice, earth, air, shadow, you name it, fly all around me. Lissa calmly walked in between it all, till she was standing in the middle. She had the raised platform behind her and the box I was in, in front of her. No spells hit her as she raised her hands and started chanting. A red shield formed around her and I saw none of the spells could penetrate it. The shield covered the whole area between my box and the platform, with Lissa squarely in the middle. It looked like she was surrounded by a fiery dome of red.

“Protect the girl, kill the Shadows.” I heard the main voice say from the raised platform.

I felt Kal lower me gently down onto the seat he had been sitting on, as he turned to face Lissa. He drew his twin blades from their sheaths, they were his favorite weapon. I had seen them practice their techniques while I had been under their care and knew each of their fighting styles and favorite weapons. Tyr preferred using a bow but used a two-handed sword for close combat. Arc used a katana. Individually they were impressive to watch, having been together for hundreds of years. Unlike Kaile, Arron and Thane, they had never met their balance so had not fully bonded. Even without the bond they were one of the best fighting units and I knew they were held in high regard by everyone.

I could feel the movement of air around me as other bodies surrounded me in a protective circle. I noticed we had our own bubble of protection, but this one was a shimmering blue. Kal jumped out of the box and joined the others surrounding it. Arc joined him and together they began cleaving an area clear of shadow monsters. Tyr had their backs and his arrows found their marks with deadly accuracy. The were deadly and efficient.

I was left alone, surrounded by a sea of people. I could not see much, only the occasional spell zinging overhead. I could see the platform over the heads of my sudden protectors and the entities there seemed to be fighting for their lives. There seemed to be more of the shadow monsters than other beings.

I looked at Lissa as a shimmering ball of fire and shadow seemed to come in existence above her head. In the middle of the ball of shadow and fire, I saw a figure writhing in agony. From what I could see the figure looked human in shape, but I could not make out much else. Whatever was happening, it did not bode well for me or the figure writhing in agony above us.

My protectors were hard pressed as they fought the monsters who were trying to get to me. For every monster the shield kept out, two managed to get in. As quickly as those against us were being killed, more seemed to pop up. Flying debris from the building continuously hit the shield, but on touch seemed to evaporate. It was good to know that I did not have to worry about death from the ceiling falling on me, a state of events that seemed about to happen. The force of the battle was destroying the building we were in, soon we would be surrounded by rubble.

When the ceiling did eventually collapse I was surprised to see it was dark outside, I had not realized it was night time already. The stars looked bright in the sky, brighter than I had ever seen them before. This made me wonder if we were still on the earth’s plane, or if the place we were in was maybe the plane of Heaven or hell.

Another interesting thing I had learned, dimensions consisted of different planes. Heaven and Hell were planes of the Earth dimension. Earth itself was a plane in the Earth Dimension. Human’s had just made things confusing by calling the planet we lived on, Earth as well. It was the reason why no matter how deep you went into the planet earth, you would not find hell and no matter where you looked in the sky you would not find Heaven. They were on different planes in our dimension.

“We need to kill Lissa. We are losing the battle, there are just too many of them. We cannot let her finish the ritual. They are trying to bring on the Apocalypse. That is Death they have bound in fire and shadow.” I heard shouted from the platform.

At this I zoned back in and looked at the figure above Lissa with interest. I had been waiting to meet Death for what felt like a lifeime. “It is impossible, no magic can pass her shield.” I heard shouted back. This perked my interest and I tried to look past the bodies towards the shield surrounding Lissa. As my protectors had moved and spread out a bit, to meet the monsters managing to enter our protective shield, I could see more.

I saw an entity reach Lissa’s red shield and begin to push through it, he made it to the other side, but then collapsed in agony, screaming. Whatever the shield did, it did not look pleasant. I began to notice more entities and people writhing in pain inside Lissa’s shield. Even seeing people inside dying in pain, I saw more and more people try and push through Lissa’s shield. People sacrificing themselves just to try to get to Lissa.

My protectors where distracted by dealing with the monsters attacking. I calmly got up and walked out of the box I had been in. Nobody noticed me, but for Death and the only reason I knew this, was because I had been watching him. His eyes were locked to mine as I reached the red shield of Lissa’s. I had no reaction crossing the blue shield but then as it was one cast to protect me, that made sense.

I pushed against the barrier and immediately felt pain, it felt like my blood was boiling under my skin. I understood why there were bodies around me screaming and unable to move. I do not scream, for pain is nothing to me now. I easily made my way around the bodies lying on the ground. I did not pay them any attention for I knew I could do nothing for them. My focus was only on getting to Lissa. The only hope for the people dying around me and for Death, was me getting to Lissa and stopping her myself.

Lissa saw me coming now, but she was locked in her spell with her hands raised up. She controlled the binds holding Death in place and could not move her hands, or the spell would be interrupted. She had a sneer on her face, stupidly daring me to try do something.

“You shall die human!” I heard the harsh voice from earlier say. Looking towards the sound I saw the monster from my memory in the cavern, standing just outside of Lissa’s barrier. The barrier not only kept my protectors out, but those against us as well. This was fortunate for me as it meant there was nothing between me and Lissa. I grinned at the monster’s words. The fool did not realize that death is what I was hoping for, dying did not scare me.

“Not before her.” I managed to say as I stabbed Lissa in the stomach and then for good measure slit her throat. Kal had not noticed me taking a knife from his belt, as I walked past him. After my apathy of the last week, I doubt they even knew I could walk. It had been surprisingly easily to escape from my protectors and approach my own death. They had been so focused on protecting me that they had not thought I would walk away from their protection. My protectors and would be killers all underestimated me.

I felt the spray of blood on my face, moments before an explosion of heat and pressure hit me, throwing me back. I hit something hard, a small huff escaping me. In a daze I realized I had somehow managed to hit the only bit of wall still standing. Fate and Luck really seemed to have it in for me. Silence surrounded me, with the explosion all fighting seemed to have stopped. I was not sure if they were all dead, or just shocked into immobility. I did not care, Lissa was dead and I was soon to follow. Nothing else mattered. Weirdly I could sense seven people in the building. I did not know why or what it meant but somehow with Lissa’s death, I become linked to seven others. The bonds felt weird and different. If I was not busy dying I would be more curious. Since they would not be a problem for much longer, I did not bother to investigate them further or try figure out what they meant.

A figure dropped down next to me and lifted my head. I opened my eyes and locked gazes with Death. “Death” I said softly, just to make sure.

The man nodded his head, a lock of black hair falling forward, “Yes”. His voice was rich and smoky all in one. It was one of those voices you could never forget and just wanted to hear again and again.

“Good.” I said and reached up. I wrapped my one hand around his head and pulled his lips against mine. His lips were warm and firm beneath mine and it did not take long for him to kiss me back. It would have been terrible if my dying kiss had been rejected. Instead it was returned with heat and fire, but then what else would you have expected from Death. As kisses went, it was a fantastic first and last kiss. I had my first real kiss in life, with Death as I lay dying. My last sight was of his eyes widening in shock and surprise. I do not think Death had ever been kissed in thanks.