Chapter 11

Mirror

  He woke up covered in sweat and breathing quickly. His body shook even though he wasn’t cold. He bolted upright and put a hand to his chest. His breath caught in his throat, his healing didn’t leave scars and there was no way to find out if it was truly a memory. He was still happy to find that there was no hole in his chest though.

  The Thrasher’s words echoed through his head. “Subject?” it must have just been a dream but, the pain had been so real. He backed against the wood and lowered his feet to the floor. He ran a hand through his hair and stood. The mirror on the door mocked him showing the caged beast he was in his dream. He growled and shifted his eyes back to blue.

  He put a hand on the edge of the mirror. It had been glued to the door and didn’t seem to be removable. But, that wasn't going to stop him. He called a small knife and after several minutes he managed to get under it. Slowly being sure he didn’t crack it he started to peel it off the wall. The wood underneath had been scratched and stained the wrong color. Caspian grunted and threw open the door, mirror in hand.

  He jumped out catching the attention of Kye who was walking off to the side of the caravan, “Hey, what are you doing?” Caspian ignored him and walked to the side of the road.

  It was mid-day and the sun shone clearly through branches above. He quickly found a place where the ditch at the side of the road was a bit deeper. Resh was pulling the horses to a stop, “Caspian!” he shouted.

  Crash! The mirror split into tiny pieces at the bottom of the trench. Caspian smirked and started walking towards the front of the caravan. Resh glanced at Kye with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged and reached towards Caspian. Resh saw his eyes light aflame as he laid a hand on his shoulder.

  Caspian whirled and instinctively called a dagger. The cold metal pressed against his attacker’s throat. Kye’s eyes were large and his heart was beating rapidly. The expression on Caspian’s face was what had scared him the most. His eyes were red again and his face showed no emotion. But, Kye could sense fear lurking beneath the surface. Caspian slowly took the blade off his neck and backed away, “I’m sorry.” he said, eyes turning blue again.

  “It’s alright.” he said quietly.

  Caspian turned his back on them. He still held the dagger in his right hand, “Sorry.” he said again, dropping the bloodblade.

  It vanished as it left his fingers. Resh glanced at Kye, worried. He nodded to tell him he was okay, “What happened?” he asked, keeping his distance.

  A stale laugh echoed off the caravan, “I remembered something.” he paused as if he were going to continue.

  Several seconds passed, “What was it?” Resh asked urging him on.

  Caspian turned a sat down leaning against the caravan, “I was in a cell. I was a prisoner but he called me subject.” his eyes were distant and he looked as if he was thinking out loud.

  “Who?” Caspian glanced up at him.

  “The Thrasher. A punisher of sorts, a hangman for those who won’t die.” he said staring at the trees behind them.

  Kye decided to drop it and moved over to the caravan. He offered Caspian a hand. He took it and let him pull him to his feet, “We should get going.” Resh said climbing onto the front seat.

§

  Nova ran through the woods until she made it to a meadow. The flowers hadn’t bloomed yet and dead moss and brown grass wet her feet. She was breathing hard and her heart beat in her ears. She didn’t see the shadows moving behind the trees. Didn’t hear the snapping of branches or pulling of bowstrings. But, she did see them as they stepped from the forest and into the daylight. Arrows aimed at her and stealy glares bore into her eyes.

  She fell backwards away from them hoping to run until she realized she was surrounded. She put up her hands and inspected the humans around her. They wore black and had hoods pulled over their faces. Handkerchiefs were pulled up over their noses. Their hands were wrapped in cloth and they had beautiful black and gold embroidered bows.

  Nova admired the craftsmanship. Her bow was nice but everything about those bows screamed money. A female stepped from the crowd a dagger clutched in her right hand and a crossbow in the other, “Where is he?” she asked getting an odd look from the elf.

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  “Who?”

  “The demon.” her eyes widened.

  “That was a demon?” the female in front of her gave her an odd look.

  “Where did he go?” she asked sharply.

  “They went down the road that way.” she said pointing the way they had gone.

  “They?”

  “The two firehounds and the hu- demon.” she corrected herself.

  The female narrowed her eyes and slowly reached for a crossbow arrow on the inside of her cloak. Nova went rigid with fear, “Please don’t kill me I won’t say a thing.” one of the people beside the woman whispered something in her ear.

  “What is your name?” she asked.

  “Nova Hunt.” she said trying to calm herself.

  “Occupation?” there was a pause, “Don’t lie Miss Hunt.”

  “Thief.” she said hanging her head.

  “Nova Hunt you are hereby sentenced to death for thievery.” her head shot up but, before she could plead for her life an arrow was lodged into her throat.

  Warm blood ran over the female's hand as she pulled out her arrow and cleaned it on her dying body, “Clean her up and bury her beneath the trees.” a smirk ran across her face, “We’re getting closer.”

§

  “Caspian?” Kye asked slowly.

  “Hmm?” they had been going for about two hours and the silence was killing the hyper twin.

  “The tattoo on your back… what does it mean? Or does it mean anything at all? Mine means something and everyone I’ve meant says theirs means something. I was just wondering because you seemed like you didn’t really want to tell us fo-.”

  “You’re rambling. Quit rambling.” he said causing Resh to smile.

  “I wasn’t-.” he began only to be cut off again.

  “Resh tell him he was rambling.” Caspian said a smile playing on his lips.

  “Kye you were rambling.” Resh told him flashing his teeth.

  “Fine I was rambling but I would like an answer to that question.” Caspian’s smile faded.

  “Tell me what yours means first.”

  “Um okay, I guess it resembles who we are and what we thought we were.”

  “Wolves?” He asked.

  “Yeah, lots of firehounds think that in past lives we were wolves and ran through this world mapping it.”

  “Yes I know but, do you believe that?” Caspian asked looking over at him through the horses.

  “I mean, I didn’t get a wolf head permanently tattooed on my arm for nothing. So yeah I guess I do.”

  “So you could say this is a piece of your history you care deeply about?”

  “I suppose.” he replied slightly confused by his questions.

  “Well in which case I have no idea why I have a raven on my back. I hate those birds.”

  “Why do you hate them?” Resh asked mostly to keep the conversation going.

  Caspain’s eyes flashed, “It’s like an instinct, a forgotten memory...” silence began to settle over them again, “Or something that they took away.” he whispered.

  “What do you mean? Who took what away?” Resh asked suddenly very intrigued.

  Caspian sighed, “The people the Thrasher worked for.”

  “Caspian, I think you should tell us everything you remember about that dream of yours.”

  “It wasn’t a dream it was a memory, I was there I could feel everything.”

  “Okay then what happened?”

  “Honestly, I’m not quite sure. I had no control of myself it was like I was stuck in between shifting. Then the Thrasher was calling me a subject not a prisoner. But, it was like I was a prisoner. Before I had the memory I was thinking about magic and how it could block off memories.”

  “You think that someone made you forget?” Kye asked.

  “Hang on let me finish. If skilled enough magicians were able to block off my healing for a bit and put up a wall blocking off my memories they could make me remember or forget anything and everything. I don’t know why they would do it, but it makes since because I’ve been having headaches like my healing is trying to take down the wall.”

  “Is that what you meant when you said your mind was a mess?” Caspain nodded.

  “I’ve never heard of magic doing anything like that.” Resh said slightly awed.

  “Dark magic can.” Caspain said.

  “Dark magic?”

  “Do you know what light magic is?” he asked.

  “No not really, I’ve heard of it, but never really understood to be honest.” Resh admitted sheepishly.

  “Alright well, light magic is an energy that runs through Eviet. Some believe that it’s leftover power that leaks out of spirits. Mages and wizards can channel it with runes, tattoos, symbols, or items. Some have learned the spirits language and can just speak commands. Yet no one understands it when it appears. The language is to old and complex for anyone to decipher. Its powerful and though often used for good it can also be very destructive. In some cases it can be deadly for the mage. When they don’t have some way to channel the energy they can fall ill and die. Cases like those are rare though.”

   “Dark magic is the non physical part of light magic. It's still channeled through runes and tattoos but, if a mage tries to use it without some object or tattoo it will wear on their mind and eventually break them. Because of that its taboo in most countries but its illegal because it deals with the mind and unseen parts of life. It can change your brain and control your body. It's often harder to learn and far more dangerous. It's the half that could’ve taken my memories.”

  “What if your healing fixes you?”

  “I might remember bits and pieces or the whole thing or it might make the dark magic run through my whole body and kill me.”