Chapter Ten
Did I miss something? How did I go from an alley behind a run down hotel at night to a forest at noon with no people in sight? There was no doubt that there was something magical going on. And I knew that the warlock had nothing to do with it. He looked too shocked when he realized what had happened. But what had happened?
There had to be some kind of portal but I needed to figure out where I was now. Did it transport me to some different place or was I in an entirely different demention. There were too many questions that needed answering. I turned and looked at the place I had come from. There was a cave in the face of a rock wall. I dissipated the energy ball still burning in my fist and slowly walked over to get a closer look. It didn't seem like there was anything unnatural about the cave. No shimmering that would indicate a portal, no irregularities in the air around it.
I was about to step through when I heard a twig snap behind me. I spun and crouched low, energy ball once again in my hand, looking for the threat and fully expecting one...but there was nothing. ~Stupid idiot~ The sound reminded me that the warlock was still out there. ~Stupid~ I knew better than to let my guard down when there were enemies around me. I mentally chastised myself while scanning the area for any sign of a threat. There was nothing.
I straightened from my crouch and turned around to enter the cave, this time more aware of my surroundings...but not enough. The warlock blinked behind me already in motion and tackled me the same way I had him. The momentum carried us forward and into the cave. I punched him in the stomach and felt pain flood my senses when his elbow connected with my nose. He threw me into the wall of the building and drew an atheme as he stood. I crouched there trying to recover, wiping blood from my mouth while he stood over me.
"You cannot keep me from finishing my masters goal. He will have the ring, and there is nothing you can do to stop him."
He swung his arm up to stab me and in that moment I hurtled myself upwards into his gut throwing him off balance. The knife was dropped and he was on the floor. Before he could recover I threw an energy ball at him.
"What the hell were you talking about?" I asked as he went up in flames not really expecting an answer. But he screamed one word before exploding.
"Dannok!" Well there wasn't anything I could do about it now. I glanced around and realized I was back in the alley where I started. Even more surprising was the fact that the blond was still there sitting on an overturned wooden crate...playing with the atheme the warlock had dropped. She didn't look scared or even concerned that she had just witnessed a man bursting into flames. In fact she was very calm and collected about the whole ordeal.
"Do you have any idea why he would want to kill you," I asked.
She tilted her head to the side and considered me for a moment. I knew I looked horrible. There were stains on my clothes from rolling around in the dirt and muck, and I could still feel blood running down my face from the hit I took. The last thing I expected her to do was reach in her purse and calmly hand me a handkerchief.
This puzzled me more than anything she had done. I was not used to dealing with people after demonic attacks. Most of the time they were too busy running away to be bothered with. But this was usually better. Scared people are more likely to rationalize what they see and forget the unnatural. I took the cloth and she finally spoke.
"Thanks for the help. Normally I can handle a warlock on my own but this one got around my defenses." Now it was my turn to stare.
"You're a witch?" I stated. It wasn't a question but she nodded anyway. With this discovery many of her reactions began to make much more sense.
"I'm Sara," she said, "and this attack is only one of many. This clan of warlocks has been after my family for generations." She looked around and chuckled under her breath. "You wanna get out of here, get you cleaned up?"
It was a good offer, one that I was thankful for. She took me to her house and let me stay in her spare bedroom, brushing off my protests that I could get a hotel. She said it was the least she could do after saving her life. Turns out that the only reason she was at the hotel was to hide from the warlock I had killed. He had been getting closer to finding her and she wanted to protect her family. She showed me where everything was then left me alone to my thoughts.
But too much had happened to me in the last few days. I was tired, bruised and battered, and my mind was on information overload. My exhaustion finally caught up with me and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Did I miss something? How did I go from an alley behind a run down hotel at night to a forest at noon with no people in sight? There was no doubt that there was something magical going on. And I knew that the warlock had nothing to do with it. He looked too shocked when he realized what had happened. But what had happened?
There had to be some kind of portal but I needed to figure out where I was now. Did it transport me to some different place or was I in an entirely different demention. There were too many questions that needed answering. I turned and looked at the place I had come from. There was a cave in the face of a rock wall. I dissipated the energy ball still burning in my fist and slowly walked over to get a closer look. It didn't seem like there was anything unnatural about the cave. No shimmering that would indicate a portal, no irregularities in the air around it.
I was about to step through when I heard a twig snap behind me. I spun and crouched low, energy ball once again in my hand, looking for the threat and fully expecting one...but there was nothing. ~Stupid idiot~ The sound reminded me that the warlock was still out there. ~Stupid~ I knew better than to let my guard down when there were enemies around me. I mentally chastised myself while scanning the area for any sign of a threat. There was nothing.
I straightened from my crouch and turned around to enter the cave, this time more aware of my surroundings...but not enough. The warlock blinked behind me already in motion and tackled me the same way I had him. The momentum carried us forward and into the cave. I punched him in the stomach and felt pain flood my senses when his elbow connected with my nose. He threw me into the wall of the building and drew an atheme as he stood. I crouched there trying to recover, wiping blood from my mouth while he stood over me.
"You cannot keep me from finishing my masters goal. He will have the ring, and there is nothing you can do to stop him."
He swung his arm up to stab me and in that moment I hurtled myself upwards into his gut throwing him off balance. The knife was dropped and he was on the floor. Before he could recover I threw an energy ball at him.
"What the hell were you talking about?" I asked as he went up in flames not really expecting an answer. But he screamed one word before exploding.
"Dannok!" Well there wasn't anything I could do about it now. I glanced around and realized I was back in the alley where I started. Even more surprising was the fact that the blond was still there sitting on an overturned wooden crate...playing with the atheme the warlock had dropped. She didn't look scared or even concerned that she had just witnessed a man bursting into flames. In fact she was very calm and collected about the whole ordeal.
"Do you have any idea why he would want to kill you," I asked.
She tilted her head to the side and considered me for a moment. I knew I looked horrible. There were stains on my clothes from rolling around in the dirt and muck, and I could still feel blood running down my face from the hit I took. The last thing I expected her to do was reach in her purse and calmly hand me a handkerchief.
This puzzled me more than anything she had done. I was not used to dealing with people after demonic attacks. Most of the time they were too busy running away to be bothered with. But this was usually better. Scared people are more likely to rationalize what they see and forget the unnatural. I took the cloth and she finally spoke.
"Thanks for the help. Normally I can handle a warlock on my own but this one got around my defenses." Now it was my turn to stare.
"You're a witch?" I stated. It wasn't a question but she nodded anyway. With this discovery many of her reactions began to make much more sense.
"I'm Sara," she said, "and this attack is only one of many. This clan of warlocks has been after my family for generations." She looked around and chuckled under her breath. "You wanna get out of here, get you cleaned up?"
It was a good offer, one that I was thankful for. She took me to her house and let me stay in her spare bedroom, brushing off my protests that I could get a hotel. She said it was the least she could do after saving her life. Turns out that the only reason she was at the hotel was to hide from the warlock I had killed. He had been getting closer to finding her and she wanted to protect her family. She showed me where everything was then left me alone to my thoughts.
But too much had happened to me in the last few days. I was tired, bruised and battered, and my mind was on information overload. My exhaustion finally caught up with me and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.