Chapter 2: A Taste Of Fire
MICHAEL
"Michael!"
I held my breath and slowly moved my feet, turning my neck to see a sharp blade pressed under her injured neck. Her eyes were red and her face pale, her lips stained with blood and it shuddered as the thick, dark-red oil streamed down her neck.
"Run," She whispered, and without wasting any time I ran for my dear life. The life I knew I would lose soon.
I pounded my feet on the wet soil and dashed through the dense forest.
I tried using my magic but gasped as I failed.
"Over here!"
I halted and changed where I was previously heading to. If I should keep on running in that direction, I will fall into their hands.
"Catch that wizard!"
I increased my pace.
Wizard? Is that what they see me as? A wizard?
It can't be.
I tried using my powers again but they failed and rendered a whole tree to ashes instead of taking me back to my mom and saving her from the captivity of the Knights of Avalore.
My lungs gave up as I fell to the muggy soil. My body shook as I drew near to exhausting the energy in me. One more run and it's over. My eyes dimmed as my trembling hands tried to get a hold of something, anything to keep me going.
My throat ached as I thirsted for food. My whole being groaned at the thought of drowning myself in fire, my only source of food. The reason why my powers are malfunctioning is because of starvation. I need fire. I crave it. I want to bathe in it...no, immerse myself in its fiery taste.
Only me and my mother know about this. If the villagers were to find out that I eat and bathe with fire, I'll be done for!
They'll probably think that I am a demon who managed to escape Hell. And I've come to this world to terrorize them with my uniqueness and extraordinary features.
Even I do not understand why I crave fire. Out of all the normal and harmless elements of the earth. Like water, wind, etc. My mom tells me that the reason why I crave it is that I am different. I am human but different.
Try telling the villagers that I am a human like them. They would nail me to a cross upside down! And accuse me of blasphemy!
I need...
Soon my eyes followed the figure running past the trees before me. And with a small lamp that burns with...gulp...fire.
I rose to my feet and ran after that figure. I was able to move and overtake it in a blur.
Startled by my movements the figure, whom I found out to be a person clothed in dark robes crumbled to the floor with a tiny scream. The scream of a female. As tiny as it sounded, it was able to cut through the dense forest and echoed everywhere.
The lamp almost fell from her grip due to my sudden appearance. And without warning a double-edged sword, held firmly by her right hand was pointed at me and I shuffled back in fear. The image of the sword reflected memories of how many times I wrestled internally with fear upon encounters with similar situations.
I tried to see her face clearly but it was too dark to make out anything. So I wondered who she might be. A lady that could wield a sword it's not something I witness every day in Avalore.
I studied her closely, trying to figure out who she might be. She has a bag with her and I hope she is not in the same situation as me. Runaway.
I tried moving closer to her but the way she swung her sword in the air and pointed it back at me told me that it was best to keep my distance. If I do not want to get chopped into a thousand pieces.
What should I do now? My mom is in danger, and I'm being surrounded by the knights of Avalore and wanted desperately by its villagers. My magic is vain, and my cravings for fire are back with full force. I saw a flame of hope, followed it, and startled the bearer to the extent that she wanted to chop me into a million pieces! What should I do?
"Fire..." I said softly to her and she stiffened, "Please, I need your fire." I begged.
She snapped and I was fortunate enough to avoid her swing. She attacked again and I was lucky to dodge it.
She hurt me and my demon could feel it. He could sense my hesitation to fight back and maybe devour her at once. Even I could not understand why I was holding back. I have never been afraid to hurt anyone. Instead, I sometimes pity my victims.
She ran out of breath in no time and I noticed she is not yet a skilled fighter. If I were her enemy, I would have used this opportunity to kill her. But, unfortunately for me and fortunately for her- I was not her enemy.
I am a desperate human and believed to be a monster in need of her fire. Her fire that I lust for.
I observed, that now is the perfect opportunity for me to seize her lamp to satisfy my hunger and make my magic work properly.
I moved toward her as fast as I could to grab the lamp in her hands, but she panicked and threw her double-edged sword at me. I never expected it nor did I ever think she could be smart enough to do that!
The double-edged glaive pierced the skin of my chest, broke the solid chest bone, penetrated my ribcage, and aimed for my heart. The heart I want to believe I have and that is if I were fully human.
An indescribable pain overwhelmed me as dark blood pooled out from my mouth and stained her sword.
The pain, caused tears to trickle down my face. It scared me. Not only was she able to hurt me with her sword, but she also succeeded in making me cry.
I fell to my knees in shock and tried hard to endure the slowly rising pain building in my heart. My clawed digits fisted around the sword and pulled it out with a loud cry.
She was frightened at the appearance of my now large horns and red eyes and the dark wings that emanated from my back.
My demon. He is in control now.
He moaned in pain as more blood spilled out from my lips. He was hurt. I was hurt. She hurt us...we will never forget that.
''Whoever you are...'' My demon began, ''I. Will. Find. You.''
The lamp fell from her hands and the fire in it was gone. She kicked it away and ran.
I will find you and make sure you pay for what you have done.
I fell back and became one with the marshy soil. Blood oozed out of me like a tainted river.
I am so sorry Mom, I have failed you in staying alive. I hope you survived when I failed to. I hope you're not in so much pain as I am. I wept silently while drowning in my blood.
I closed my eyelids and saw death hovering above me. Grinning and pleased to be the one to end it all.
The abominable existence of a freak.
But what we both did not understand was that my near-to-death experience was just the beginning of life much worse than this.
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Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone