Run!
689 Words
"Run!" A voice said as I was pulled away. Felix held my hand and we were running down a dark hallway much like the ones of the castle though they looked off.
Felix looked terrible. His face was covered in dirt and his clothes were ripped and he had cuts all over his body. His sword was drawn and his normally calm blue eyes were full of fear unlike I've ever seen.
I looked down at myself, at the baby in my arms, and my own cuts and scrapes. Asher looked alright though. He was crying, which was a given given the circumstances.
But what were the circumstances?
Laughter filled the air, laughter that sounded like thousands of voices, sent shivers down my spine.
I knew that voice. It was the voice that invaded my nightmares.
It was Nezzura. She was here.
"Silly child," the voices said as the light around us seemed to be sucked into the growing shadow before us. Felix pulled my to a stop and shoved my hard behind him.
"Ha," the shadow said as its form slowly took form, "you think you could beat me with that toothpick? I've been alive since before your world even existed, I think I can handle a child."
She looked like one of those plaster dolls that little girls hung onto. Except her 'plaster' wasn't covering up a wooden doll but a black mass. The 'plaster' was an ashen gray that was peeling away to reveal darkness. Her eyes were a dark, swirling, violet that seemed to suck any thought of hope out of the air.
"Princess," a voice said from behind me, reminding me that we weren't actually about to die, "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
"So you've said," I told him.
"No," My father stepped forward and gripped my shoulders, "if I was stronger...I could've..."
Suddenly I wasn't in the long corridor that held Nezzura. Felix and Asher were gone, only me and my father remained.
"I will do whatever it takes," a voice, Erin's, said, "to win this war. I found...a man that could help us. That could guarantee our victory."
"Give me the name," My dad said. I stood in corner, knowing this was a memory of my father's that had somehow reaches me through the mirror.
"Norrix," Erin said softly, "he's a...warlock."
"You wish to use dark magic to win this fight?!" Fergus jumped in, anger clear in his eyes. However, he was the only one complaining. My father just had a thoughtful look in his face.
"No, Poppa, no," I muttered as he placed a calming hand on Fergus's arm.
"We can't leave anything to chance, Fergus," My father said, "we have to win this fight. Everything is over if we don't."
"That means bringing dark magic into the fight?" Fergus asked, "even they won't dare mess with it!"
"How much more loved ones must we lose? We've lost far more than enough!" Erin stepped in, "Maxwell, Elizabeth, your little Asher..."
"Don't you dare speak his name!" Fergus bellowed as he lunged towards Erin. My father stepped between them and held Fergus back.
"Fergus," My father said with a voice full of authority, the voice of the true leader, "this is my order. This war must be won. I'm not losing anyone else."
"Once you step down this path," Fergus said, defeated, "you can never come back."
"I'm well aware," My father said turning towards Erin, "where is he?"
"Behind you," a voice I recognized too well, said as a blade pierced through my father's chest.
"No!" I screamed as I raced forward and kneeled beside my dying father. Fergus was no where to be seen and Erin...was just standing there. Norrix wiped off the blood from his sword.
"Did we have to kill him?" Erin asked.
"He couldn't commit himself fully to the cause. You, however, would give your life for it. I can see that. That's why I chose you for this job. The clan now needs a leader and his girl is far too young."
"Yes, I will take the responsibility with pride," Erin said. Norrix nodded before glancing down at Claif's dead body.
"You've made a noble sacrifice, Claif," Norrix said, "giving your life for the cause."
"Monster!" I screamed at him before I was yanked back into reality.
- Writer
