Earth was a mess.

One day of chaos had chased many of the humans from their homes. The cities had begun to empty as people had begun to use their powers on each other. Nations had sent their armies to come in and arrest most of the inciters. The remaining people had been told to go home, but most were camping outside the city. Houses were beginning to refill, although many were not sheltering their original occupants.

The sun was peaking over the walls of the sleepy subdivision. Stilas woke to the sounds of birds singing. Joyful cheery songs filled the empty morning air. He rolled off of the bed and stood up. Blood began flowing through his stiff legs as he stretched his arms. The bed was too lumpy to get a good night's sleep. It didn’t help that the pink room was decorated with stuffed unicorns.

Stilas picked up one of the toys. The plush animal was grossly inaccurate. Unicorns weren’t pleasant to be around. The horn on their head was used to skewer victims. Their hooves weren’t soft and their fur wasn’t pink. He rubbed his left arm. The sleeve of his shirt was hiding a scar that he had received from one of those hooves.

The toy burst into flames as Stilas threw it at the window. Broken glass fell onto the grass around the toy. He smiled as the chirping stopped. The smell of roasted poultry that replaced the noise let him know that he had hit his target.

“Grumpy?” The raspy voice of his Dark Master friend asked

Stilas turned around, “It woke me up.”

The purple cowl of the Dark Master bobbed, “You’re using magic.”

Stilas held up his hands, “I have to move around.”

“It’s fortunate that so many humans are throwing around magic.” The Dark Mast hissed, “The Elders have been too distracted to notice you yet.”

Stilas picked an apple off of the nightstand next to the bed and bit into it, “You came here to tell me that?”

“I came here to check your progress.”

Stilas flashed a fake smile, “You don’t trust me?”

“I trust you to do what I say because you know I can kill you.” The Dark Master growled, “How many have you taken?”

“Four.” Stilas took another bite

The Dark Master threw out his arm. An oak staff shot out of the sleeve and slammed into Stilas’ chest. The impact drove his breath away and pinned him to the wall.

The apple fell out of Stilas’ hand and rolled across the pink carpet.

The temperature of the room fell five degrees. “I did NOT bring you here to play!” The Dark Master stepped up and grabbed Stilas’ throat. Hot breath blew past Stilas’ cheek.

“Stop playing and get me an army.” The Dark Master whispered in Stilas’ ear, “Or I’ll use you as the distraction when the fleet breaks the atmosphere.”

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“I’ve got a plan.” Stilas choked as he tried to nod

The Dark Master released his grip on Stilas and stepped back. The staff vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “What is it?”

Stilas bent over and took a few deep breaths. He held up his hand. Words didn’t want to form.

“Speak.” The Dark Master ordered

“Prisons.” Stilas wheezed as he braced his right hand against the wall to stand up straighter.

“Hmm.” The Dark Master hummed, “That could work.”

Stilas braced his hand on the soft, pink blanket covering the bed, “I was going to hit one in a few minutes.”

“Good.” The Dark Master purred, “You may continue.”

Stilas started to say something sarcastic, but the Dark Master vanished before it got out. He bit his lip. Yelling at the empty room wouldn’t help him.

Stilas reached into his pocket and retrieved the marble. He closed his eyes and rolled it between his right pointer finger and thumb. The warmth of the stone moved through his hand. His breathing slowed as the calming effect took hold.

Stilas opened his eyes and looked around the room. There was enough space for him to walk between the foot of the bed and the pink dresser pressed against the wall. A pink toy chest rested under the window behind him. In front of him on the other side of the bed was a pink closet that He didn’t care to open. He kicked the stuffed animals and pieces of glass to the edge of the wall. There was just enough room between the bed and the chest for him to work.

Stilas knelt down and touched his pen to the pink carpet. Ice tingled down his shoulder as black magic dripped out of the tip of the pen and ate through the carpet to scar a black mark on the wood underneath. He rotated on his heel and burned a circle into the floor.

Stilas palm the marble and pressed it into the center of his palm. He clasped his left hand over the stone and pressed down as he poured magic between his palms. The stone flattened as the smell of burning flesh filled the air. He gritted his teeth as blood retreated from his hands and left his hands ghost-white save for the black tattoo on his right hand.

The magic snapped the circle with a bang. The jagged shards of glass left in the window jumped out as the wave of force that was released blasted everything in the room. Anything that wasn’t nailed down was pushed around. Even the pink blanket had retreated off of the bed to hide by the base of the closet.

Stilas released his grip on his right hand and let out a labored breath as he examined his work. His entire palm was coated by the stone. He bent his fingers experimentally. His hand still worked and moved as it had before he modified it. He stood up. It was time to put it to the test.

Stilas grabbed the map out of his pocket and spread it out on the bed. He studied the location of the prison. Once he had the location firmly in his mind he folded the map and replaced it in his pocket. He took the pen out of his pocket and turned to the wall. Magic flowed through the pen as he drew a circle on the wall. The air crackled with power and snapped as he finished his drawing. Blue ripples filled the portal as it connected to the location that he had envisioned.

Stilas stepped through the portal and pointed the pen up and down the hallway. The whir of a security camera caught his attention. A quick fireball melted it before it was able to see him.

Stilas clicked the pen twice. The air in front of him hardened as an invisible shield knotted in front of him. A flick of his pen knocked out the wall in front of him.

The hole opened into a large room. Magic flowed out of the tip of the pen as it twisted through the air. The cells of the jail swung open. Cheers rang out as the inmates rushed out of their cells. Alarms flared as guards ran out into the sea of bodies.

The man closest to him was dripping blood from a split lip. Stilas smeared the blood over his palm as he grabbed the man from behind and pinned him close.

Stilas smiled as his palm turned brown then quickly changed back to white. The enchantment worked!

Dark Magic pulled at the edges of the tattoo on his right hand. Shadows dripped onto the ground as Stilas tightened his grip on his first victim and smeared an X on his forehead before snapping his neck.

“Time to hunt.” Stilas grinned as he banished the body of the human to the pocket.