Chapter 14

Octavia was discussing midwife techniques with the two shamans of the Bloody Hawk tribe, Kara and Kourrem, when the hunting party limped back into camp. Hill bandits had ambushed them. They had taken a few younger men hostage and badly injured the remaining. Octavia almost fainted when she saw Adrian. He was pale from loss of blood and the sword wound on his side was bleeding sluggishly. Her blood boiled in her veins as she helped to tend to the wounded. Adrian couldn't her hand as she finished working on him.

"Don't let your rage lead you to something you'll regret." He croaked. Octavia helped him to sit up and drink from a flask of water. She had to fight hard not to let her Gift escape from her grasp.

"It's hard Adrian. There's too much of it to control." She told him frankly. He didn't hear though for he had fainted from pain and exhaustion. Ulasim on the other hand did hear her reply. He tried to stop her as she left the tent. He reminded her off her duty to the sick.

"The warriors of the tribe will get their people back. You don't have to get involved." He growled, grabbing her arm. This was a mistake. Octavia needed only a touch to sent Ulasim flying metres away. She radiated power, whipping the wind into frenzy. The men of the tribe that were preparing to go and rescue their men tried in vain to stop Octavia. She just disposed of them like Ulasim. Warrick watched from afar as she walked off to confront the hill bandits. In fact most of the tribe followed her to watch, try and intervene, or help, depending on their nature.

I don't know if you guys know the song "One of my Kind" by Rouge Traders vs. INXS but I had it playing on loop when I wrote this next section so it's suppose to be listened to that…

Octavia blocked the bandits escape by sending out a magical barrier in front of her. When the criminals realised that she had trapped them they turned on her. The first few she dealt with by blowing them away with raw magic but when she saw what they had done to the poor men that had been captured she became numb. The bazhir men, some only her age, had been beaten to near death and tied to the back of the bandits' horses. Those that couldn't walk were simply left to drag along the ground. It was then that Octavia became creative. She had never performed a curse before but she knew several ones that would make her lesson stick. To bind the spell she sliced both of her palms and, using her blood, began to work her magic. The next man to come at her she levitated into the air. Shouting ancient incantations she tore at his mind, picking out all of his memorise, everything that made him who he was, and with a clench of her hand she crushed them.

She used this spell on several other bandits as well. Once all of his men had been dispatched the leader of the raiding party came forward to challenge Octavia. She smiled evilly, bearing all of her teeth.

"For you I have saved the best till last." She called above the roar of the winds that surrounded the pair.

"It is not I who shall being dying today girly." He menaced, slashing at her with his swords. She sensed Adrian's blood on the tip of that hateful weapon as she sent it flying from her enemy's grip.

"Who said anything about dying?"

She raised her hands, send her magic out in waves that caught the man and help him hostage. She raked trough his mind until she found the memorise he had of every life that sword had taken. Octavia moulded his mind, making those memorise the sole subject of his entire being. She would torture him with those memorise and others, of monsters and demons until he wanted to claw his own eyes out just to make them stop. As she let her blood bind her magic she did not notice that it had changed colour; from crimson red to bright copper with flashes of gold and silver…