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Cinder fled the neighborhood where the others were staying. He was unconsciously retracing his steps back to the Capitol building where they had attended the ritual that morning. Anger and fear drove him. His mind was a mess as he dashed past people who gave him strange looks. Cinder ignored every single person he passed. He had too much on his own mind to be dealing with other people.
Sure, he knew all about individuals that could use magic, he knew about the Capitol and some of the basic rules set in place for the magic users. He knew about all of that, yet for some reason everything they told him just didn't fit well with him. It was like someone was telling him that cows could fly or something equally stupid. But, they believed it. He had so many questions and not a single clue as to where to start to get them answered.
Odain.
Everything seemed to snap into place as the man's name came to mind. Of course he could ask the old man. He said he would answer any of Cinder's questions should he have them. Maybe he could explain why they didn't try to save those people from turning black, or maybe they did try and it failed. But there had to be something more than just going and killing them. Cinder couldn't wrap his head around that notion at all.
He slowed as he entered the huge courtyard that led up to the giant pearly white building with its dome center. Cinder forced himself to walk instead of run. It gave him time to relax and get his thoughts together. In a way, it was nice living downtown. Everything was so close to one another, and the house he'd been brought to with Kydyn was not far from the Capitol building. Whether that was coincidence or not, he didn't really know. Not that it was important either, because it really wasn't.
As he climbed the steps, he found himself eyeing the guards that stood at either side of each entrance into the building. For some reason, they seemed a lot less friendly and peaceful than they had when he'd first come with Kydyn and his gang. Cinder got to the top of the steps leading to the giant double doors and slowly approached them. Standing next to the whitewash wood, the golden bar that acted like a handle stood out so brightly against the rest of the building. Wrapping his fingers around it, Cinder clenched his teeth as he felt like a million pairs of eyes had just settled on him.
With his hands trembling, he pulled it open and slipped inside. The feeling of being watched didn't diminish as he slowly paced across the marble floor to the desk with the red head seated behind it. She looked up at him and once again, he felt small under her scrutiny.
"What's your business?"
"I-I.... Odain. I want to speak with him." It took Cinder a moment to find his voice, but when he did it was almost as if he'd shouted in the empty room and the words echoed through the dome, making him flinch.
She eyed him a moment longer before taking up the phone at her desk and dialing a number. There was a long pause as she waited for someone to answer. "Odain, a visitor," was all she said and hung up. Flicking her wrist at Cinder, her long bright red lacquered nails directed him to where he needed to be. Which was far away from her desk apparently. Cinder didn't mind, he got away from her the moment he could. Standing off in the corner of the room, he leaned on the wall with his arms crossed as he waited for Odain to receive him.
The longer the wait, though, the harder it was to convince himself that he'd done the right thing in going to the Capitol to speak to the old man. Another shiver passed through him as he stood there, staring at the floor. The idea that he was being watched was worse than it had been before and he wanted to leave, to go back to Kydyn's home and lock himself in the spare room he'd been given.
"Cinder?"
Looking up, he caught sight of the old man who approached, a look of concern painted on his face. Odain finished climbing down the stairs and crossed the giant lobby area to stand before him. His wrinkled hands grasped Cinder's shoulders with a strength he didn't the hunched over elder had.
"Yeah. Sorry to bother you, Odain. I just.... I have questions."
"I thought you might," Odain said and smiled. Patting Cinder's shoulder he motioned for the stairwell. "Come, let us talk. I'll do my best to answer all of your questions."
"Have a seat," Odain motioned to the rich brown chair that sat on the opposite side of his black desk. A quill and ink sat out on a raised portion of the desk, papers lined all across it and folders stacked on one end. Cinder took the chair as Odain took his leather one behind the desk. "What would you like to know?"
Cinder hesitated. The questions that he'd wanted to ask and he'd built up while waiting for Odain slipped out of his mind as he sat there. He opened and closed his mouth several times over before he cleared his throat and looked off to the side. He couldn't stop tapping leg, the motion had Odain glancing at his knee several times and a slight tick in his jaw said that it was irritating the old man.
Cinder forced the action to stop. He coughed a second time and clenched his hands tightly together. "I. I just wanted to know. What happens to people who go black on the spectrum?"
"Ah. I see. Kydyn said something, didn't he?" Odain mused, stroking at the short white beard on his chin. "Well, what he said is true. We kill them. I'm sorry to say it, but there is no going back once they've tipped over the edge. They lose their minds, all sense of natural thought. They can't control their magic anymore. It's followed by an insatiable degree of blood lust and violence."
"You seriously kill them," Cinder breathed, eyes wide as he stared at Odain.
The elder councilmen nodded. "Yes. We have to, Cinder. Think of them as losing their humanity. They don't know friend from foe. They're dangerous once they tip. Even more so if they're forced into the black end of the spectrum."
"But... That..." Cinder stumbled. "Isn't there something that can be done?"
"Are you suggesting we lock them away? With all the power we possess to begin with, and to throw someone who has lost themselves in dark magic into that mix, why would that be a good idea, Cinder?" Odain asked the question, but he wasn't cruel about it. He sounded genuinely curious as to why Cinder was even suggesting an alternative.
"There has to be something. We can't just go and kill all those people!"
Odain stared for a while before he smiled and shook his head. He chuckled as he leaned back in the huge leather chair. "Cinder. You make it sound like thousands of people are being killed every day. Falling into black magic isn't something that happens all the time or to just anyone. Things have to be done first to push someone toward that end of the spectrum."
"Things?" Cinder asked, though his nerves were growing less twisted the more he listened.
"Bad things. Such as losing family to a murderer. Or being bullied. Or being forced into black magic by someone else. Rape even can tip an individual. It all depends on how strong their mind is and what else has been done to them. It never just happens, Cinder. It builds up, like a pile of rocks that are bound to topple at some point, it just depends on how stable each person's tower is before the end."
Cinder stared at Odain for a long while, silence filling the room while the old man leaned on one arm in his chair. It made a little more sense, how Odain explained it to him. He still wasn't comfortable with the idea of killing people because of it, but he was certain he never would be. Then again, who exactly was okay with killing? Anyone human at least, wouldn't be.
Well, that rules Kydyn out completely, Cinder thought with a frown.
"You're still not settled. Here. Perhaps it will help your understanding if you see what I mean."
"See?" Cinder's eyes lifted and he was taken aback as Odain offered his hand.
"Yes. I'll show you."
"You're holding someone who went into black magic?"
Odain smiled, "No, of course not. A memory, I will share with you."
"You can do that?"
"Yes." Odain kept his hand out, but a frown creased his face as he watched Cinder. "You seem.... Unfamiliar with magic."
Cinder didn't answer at first. He just stared at Odain's hand before he looked up at the old man. "It seems like I'm missing a lot of things, actually. Ever since the ritual this morning I've felt like there are things I should know, but I just don't. It's hard to explain."
"It's all right. Perhaps in time you'll figure it out. And, I am more than willing to offer any help should you need it. Though I'm not sure what this old man could do for you," Odain answered with a laugh.
More than what I'm getting, Cinder thought sourly, but he kept his lips sealed shut to refrain from voicing those ideas. Pausing, he eyed the old man's wrinkled hand again before leaning forward and placing his palm against Odain's. Warm fingers enclosed over Cinder's. The last thing he saw was the elder council man's brief smile. Then it all changed. The office faded away to an open field. It was dark, and the wind blew with unimaginable force. At first, Cinder thought that a tornado or something of equal terror was brewing in the distance.
That idea quickly faded as he was brought up close to the center of the whirling storm. The winds howled, the grasslands torn apart as the air whipped around everyone. There were several people in the field, the sound of their voices chanting together at the same pace created the same vibrating hum that Cinder had experienced twice now. The only difference was that the power was directed at the person in the center of the storm.
She was pretty, with raven black hair that flapped around her face as if it had a life of its own. Her arms were stretched out as far as they could go on either side, pale colored skin showing underneath the silken strands of the sleeves. Her dress was sucked to her body. The woman had a nasty snarl on her lips, eyes glowing a vibrant red at the very center, the irises pulsed with the color, mixing with the natural brown.
Flicking one wrist, what appeared to be a black whip of sorts lashed out at one of the men. It crackled and tore through him as if he were warm butter. Cinder's eyes widened, heart lurching as he watched the spray of blood coat the ground and the person's companion next to him. A second lash reduced the next man to a crumpled pile of limbs and gore. It made Cinder jolt in fear.
"Restrain her!"
Cinder turned to the voice and watched as someone pushed through the crowd of magic users. There were so many people in the field, and even more lay dead or dying in the grass. He held his breath as he waited for the person who had called out to make their way to the center where the woman was wreaking havoc. When they finally breached the center circle, Cinder took a step back.
"Kydyn."
"Idiots," Kydyn hissed and looked straight through Cinder to the woman behind him. "Hold her or we're all dead."
"Kydyn!"
"This is just a memory, Cinder. You're only here to watch." It was Odain's voice, but no matter where Cinder looked, he couldn't find the old man.
"Better," Kydyn purred and the seductive tone was very familiar. "Now, now miss sorceress. Want to calm down and play nicely?"
Cinder stepped out of Kydyn's way, watching as the warlock approached the woman who was hissing and spitting like a wild animal instead of a human. Her arms were pressed against her sides, fingers crooked back as if they were talons. She shuddered and shook her shoulders hard in an attempt to free herself as Kydyn got closer to her. Cinder could tell he was being cautious and in honesty, he hadn't thought the warlock capable of being careful of anything.
"Seaira, if you don't come back.... You know what I have to do."
"Kydyn?" Cinder breathed his name, confusion flooding him.
"Seaira," Kydyn tried again to speak to her, but a cry from the crowd cut through just as she broke free one of her arms from the shimmering binding that held her. The moment it shattered, she had Kydyn's throat in her grip. He reached up and grabbed her small wrist, dwarfing her arm with his hand, but he struggled with her. Cinder shouted wordlessly.
The warlock choked. He coughed on a cry of pain as the woman—Seaira—forced him to his knees and the same black whip curled around his waist. Kydyn put both hands on her arm, twisting and yanking to try to get her to free him. Cinder moved but found himself rooted to the spot. His legs wouldn't budge whereas the rest of his body was completely mobile.
"Just a memory, Cinder. Calm yourself." Again, Odain's voice came, but he wasn't present.
Seaira shifted her grip on Kydyn's throat and he made awful sounds as he sucked in deep gulps of air. It changed quickly to a scream of pain that had Kydyn curling in on himself. He clawed at the black whip-like thing around his waist until she raised her hand and the magic pulled him up off the ground. Hurling the warlock off to the side, Kydyn hit the dirt hard enough for Cinder to hear it. He winced as he watched Kydyn roll until he was stopped by one of the other magic users there.
"She's breaking the binding!" Someone screamed and there was a cacophony of horrified gasps as she twisted herself inhumanely. The shimmering binds that wrapped her body contorted until they shattered. Once she was free, black whips uprooted themselves from the ground and Cinder watched in horror as blood soaked the grassland.
Cinder was captivated by the massacre. So much so, that he didn't see Kydyn picking himself up off the ground. Not until the warlock was right in front of Seaira again. That time, however, he looked very different. The familiar pulses of purple light through his eyes were brighter than ever. He didn't smile in a cocky fashion. In fact, he looked like he was in pain, but not physical pain. There was something else brewing in the storm of his eyes.
Raising one hand, Kydyn's lips moved but Cinder couldn't hear him over the whirlwind that was the sorceress' power. In Kydyn's hand a swirl of purple light condensed. It solidified and lengthened until it was like a long spear, but sharpened on both ends. Kydyn lunged forward, holding the weapon tightly in his hand. Grabbing onto her, he shoved the spear through her chest. The scene seemed to pause as things quieted. The sound of her tempest ebbed away.
Cinder dared to breathe as he watched Kydyn slowly kneel down with her braced against his shoulder. Seaira coughed, crimson coating Kydyn's shoulder and back as it fell from her mouth and mixed with the dark spots down at his waist. He moved her from his shoulder so that she was laying down in his arms. As badly as Cinder wanted to edge forward and see what was happening between the two, he still couldn't move.
The fields began to fade and his chest tightened. What happened after that? Who was that woman and why did Kydyn know her? Worst of all, why had he been the one to kill her? The questions were like an opened flood gate. They kept going with no end in sight. As Odain's office came into view, Cinder blinked rapidly to clear his hazy eyes. Sweat coated his skin, making the simple t-shirt stuffy to be in.
"That is what happens when someone tips into black magic. There is no stopping them, you saw that. Not even in the face of someone they know personally."
"Kydyn knew her?"
"Yes, but it is not my place to elaborate. He would not be kind to me if I told you anything of that."
"Then why show me," Cinder snapped, glaring at Odain.
The old man frowned. "Please, forgive me. I know you have many questions regarding Kydyn and his companions. But you will learn them all in time. I showed you that because it was the first memory that I could think of. Or, for clarity, the most recent."
"Recent! When? How long ago!"
"A handful of years, Cinder," Odain waved the question off, looking away from Cinder to stare at the huge ornate bookshelf that loomed against the wall on the left. "Do you understand now about why we must kill those that fall into black magic?"
Cinder stared at the man for a long time before he answered. He wanted to ask a thousand questions about Kydyn but refrained from doing so. Instead, he just nodded without speaking because he didn't trust his voice to stay steady enough. Odain looked pleased enough though as he leaned forward in the chair and propped up his arms on the desk, lacing his fingers together. "Good. Is there anything else you wanted to ask me?"
Pushing up out of the chair, Cinder shook his head. "No, that's it for now. I... have a lot to think about. Sorry to have bothered you, Odain."
"Don't be sorry. It's what I'm here for. The council does more than just make laws and enforce them, I hope you know. We also reach out to our community. If someone needs help, we do what we can to help them. Questions, guidance, nothing is a waste of time. We're here to help."
"T-thanks. I appreciate it. I'll be sure to come back if I need anything else."
"You're welcome. Have a good night, Cinder. And remember, any time you need me. Feel free to come here."
Cinder nibbled on his lower lip as he nodded and made his way over to the door that led into Odain's council room. He paused, hand hovering over the handle. Taking one last look at the old man, he smiled awkwardly before yanking it open. Measuring his steps, Cinder made sure he wasn't moving too quickly as to give the impression he was running away, but not too slowly either to make it seem suspicious. Descending the stairs down into the dim lobby, he noted that the woman was no longer at her desk, but the guards were still there.
As was the feeling of eyes boring into his skull.
A cold chill passed over him. Cinder's teeth chattered as he lengthened his stride to get out of the creepy building. Bursting from the double doors, he panted as if he'd run a marathon. Taking the steps down two at a time, he hit the courtyard a little too hard and stumbled. Barely catching himself, Cinder twisted around to give the building one last look before he cringed and hurried back to the house where the others were. He had a lot to ask them, and plenty to apologize for.441Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiSSqBw3an
