Unleashed

Aliyah Taking a slow shallow breath to avoid being detected, I slid the blade from its sheath, feeling the power within it come alive. It was an energy unlike any other and crafted by one of the strongest wizards, my father. The enemy was in sight and I signaled Ralph, my right-hand man, to get into position. I could see his fingers spark from my crouched position and lay in wait as he came around into position, preparing for my command. Creeping forward, I heard a twig snap beneath my feet and looked up to see the wolves’ ears prick, his head turned towards me. Muttering profanities under my breath, I signalled to Ralph to freeze the wolf in place and launched forward. I could hear the angry snarl directed towards me as I raised my blade high into the air. An image of a women, similar to what I imagine my mother would have looked like, being mauled to death by this vicious beast as my blade sliced through the air creating a sudden silence within the forest. Looking down with disgust, I sliced my blade a second time through the air, but this time to remove the layer of blood dripping from it.   Stepping back, I ensured my shoes weren’t affected from the pool of blood that now covered the floor beneath his body, as Ralph stepped out from behind the tree to stand beside me. “Lethal,” he remarked as he looked down at the wolves’ body. “That’s kind of the point, Ralph,” I rolled my eyes towards him as I squatted down to use a leaf to finishing cleaning the blade. “You saw her again, didn’t you?” it was more a statement than a question and one I wasn’t prepared to delve into. “We need to finish the job,” I reminded him, and replaced the blade into the sheath. Walking over to the nearest tree, I scanned the trunk for indents to climb. As I climbed, I could see Ralph scrunching up his nose as he used his magic to lift the body off the ground, ready for me to hang. He always hated this part, and secretly so did I, but I dare not say it aloud in fear of a beating. It was my father’s parting warning for any other wolves in the area to dare not cross. * Walking back to the coven, I can hear the rapid beating of Ralph’s heart and feel the anger and fear radiating off him. Using my peripherals, I looked down to see his hands balled into fists and I sighed aloud. “Don’t.” I asserted, the fear already building up inside me at the repercussions. “Please, don’t. It will be thousand times worse if you do.”  “I could take him,” he grabbed my elbow, halting us to a stop. “obviously not fully take him but stun him enough for you to get away.” At the firm look I gave him, he continued, “ok maybe not get away, but enough for me to take the punishment for you.” “Ralph,” I placed my hand on his cheek. I could see the hurt in his eyes knowing he couldn’t do anything to stop the events that were about to occur. “Maybe he won’t know this time,” he held my shoulders, bending down to look into my eyes, searching and hopeful. “Yeah,” I tried to sound convincing and mustered up a smile, albeit a fake one. “Maybe, he won’t.” * Knocking on the office door, my anxiety began to rise. Quickly closing my eyes, I drew a deep breath to try to calm the racing of my heart and smiled softly at Ralph’s gentle squeeze of my hand. “Enter,” Joseph, my father, called out to summon us in. Standing in front of his desk, he didn’t bother looking up, which made us equally uneasy. “It’s done, sir.” I informed him and waited for acknowledgement of any kind, but nothing came. Looking to Ralph, I hesitated before trying again, “The wolf is dead, sir.” “I heard,” he returned and finally placed his pen down, looking up at us. “Tell me.” He looked between us, “What went wrong.” Ralph stepped forward in a challenging manner, “What makes you think somethings wrong.” It was the sadistic smile that unnerved me the most because it told me all I had to know. I was about to be punished to an unbearable state and healed to be punished all over again. While still looking at Ralph, he addressed me again, “Aliyah?” “I, um-” I began. “It wasn’t her fault,” Ralph jumped in and instantly regretted it as he was suddenly pressed up against the wall choking as though a hand were wrapped around his throat; my father remaining at his desk with his hand raised. Cupping my hands around my face, my eyes filled with tears as I begged my father to leave him alone, “Please, father. Please, leave him. Hurt me instead. I need him to get better. I’ll do better next time, I swear.” With a simple flick of the wrist, my father tossed Ralph firmly against the wall and I watched his body slump to the floor in a heap. “Yes, you will do better next time.” His eyes pierced me with a look that made my stomach lurch, as he got to his feet. “Let me help make sure of that.”