A Love of Magic: Jace's story: Chosen Saga Book 1.5 Page 7

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  By Niki Livingston

  The alleyway was deserted. Hiding in a recessed nook, she took some time to catch her breath. Her protective light had faltered. She wondered what drug they had given her to make it unpredictable, which worried her more than not having access to her powers.

  She could feel her powers inside of her, but they quivered unsteadily, on the verge of crashing. She felt naked without her protection, not knowing how she would safely pass through the Artemisians who dominated the streets beyond the alley. Earlier, her healing seemed to overcome the poison in her body. But now, as she willed her light to drive away the mounting sensation of the drug, the converse occurred. She felt more powerless as the minutes passed.

  Peering up at the strip of sky between the buildings, she gauged that the first sun was beginning its descent to the horizon. She glanced back down the alley, noticing a few creatures roaming past, but none looked in her direction. She proceeded down the alley, her eyes straining to catch movement in the cross street ahead. It remained clear as she crept forward.

  She peeked around the corner at the end of the buildings and was taken aback by the massive pyramid dominating the skyline. She had seen one in her travels on Esaki and was surprised to find an identical one on Enyo.

  Without thinking she stepped out of the shadows of the building and collided with an Artemis creature.

  “Filthy human,” he roared. His large stature cowered above her. “How did you escape?” He did not wait for her to speak, instead grasping her wrists with his talon-like fingers and hauling her down the street.

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  *****

  By R. l. Weeks

  From her Award Winning Haunting Fairytales Series

  The Enchanted Kingdom

  ENCHANTRESS

  Edward reappeared in the kingdom of Milborn, where Gertrude had told him when they made their first deal, he could find more magic. He’d heard of the Castle of Hearts before. Apparently, it was hidden in the confines of Milborn forest, surrounded by enchanted gates, tall trees, brambles, and snowy mountains. There, he heard, lived an enchantress who took care of the castle.

  The villagers looked at him cautiously. The town had an air of mystery hanging over the small market stalls and wooden shops. A man fell out of a tavern across the road. He stumbled down the steps, followed by the door slamming shut behind him, with a lot of insults being shouted as the door shut. The man tried to throw his bottle at the tavern door but missed by at least four-feet. ‘Idiots,’ the man grumbled and walked down the path, swaying from one side to the other, almost getting knocked over. ‘If they knew what I’m capable of! Who I am!’

  ‘Sir,’ Edward called. The drunk man looked back and waved his hand dismissively. Edward ran across the road. ‘Sorry to bother you,’ Edward said to the man who had now turned, looking annoyed.

  ‘Do you know where I can find a horse? I need to venture into the enchanted woods, up to the mountains.’

  The man laughed wheezily. ‘You’ll die in there. You’re mental!

  Edward bit the inside of his lip and forced a half-smile. ‘Can you help me or not, Sir?’

  The man sighed and started walking away. He looked back at Edward. ‘Come on then!’

  Edward smiled genuinely and ran after the man. He followed him for two miles. Silence hung between them. The drunk man was taller than Edward and twice as wide. He was handsome, though, and his muscles looked like they would rip his tight t-shirt at any second. Edward looked around at the run-down houses surrounding the winding path they walked down. Snowdrops began to fall, floating down from the white sky, landing on Edwards dark hair and the drunken man’s black hair, which was tied in a little ponytail at the back of his head. ‘Why do you want to go into the forest?’

  Edward noticed that there was a slight feminine edge to the man’s voice. ‘Um,’ Edward hesitated. ‘It’s complicated. I need something from a castle in there.’

  The man gasped. ‘You’re going to the castle? Impossible! Do you know how many times I’ve tried to get into that castle?’ The man looked down at Edward and smirked. ‘If I couldn’t, you won’t be able to!’

  ‘You underestimate me,’ Edward smirked back.

  They reached the edge of the woods. ‘If you make it in there,’ the man said. ‘You must promise to share your riches with me.’

  ‘Why would I promise that?’

  ‘Because,’ the man looked at Edward with menacing eyes, ‘I won’t tell you where it is. Promise you will share you fate with me, with a magic bond.’

  Edward raised an eyebrow. ‘You possess magic?’

  ‘No,’ he admitted. ‘But you do.’

  Begrudgingly Edward made a magical pact with the man then took the directions to the castle. The man waved as Edward walked into the forest. The snow was settling more, and soon it was up to his ankles. He looked at the lucid snowflakes with annoyance. It was blistering cold and the castle was still nowhere to be seen.

  Hours passed as Edward ventured deeper into the depths of the never-ending forest. The blistering wind swept over his face. Edward tried to block the heavy snowfall with his hands. He tried using magic to reach the castle. He did not care about his limited amount of magic as he was fearing for his life. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he didn’t transport. The further he went into the forest, the more his magic seemed unreachable.

  The forest was a winter wasteland, even the trees looked like they had died a long, long time ago and were preserved by nothing more than a memory. The wind hurt his ears as it howled louder than any wolves could. Close to giving up, he fell to his knees. His hands fell into the inches of snow, thorns rose from the ground, reaching into the sky, forming a wall. Tears froze almost instantaneously on his cheek.

  ‘Please,’ he begged. ‘Please let me in.’ He could sense the magic pulsating from behind the thorny wall. ‘I need magic.’

  On the word magic, the thorns sunk rapidly back into the ground and a gothic castle appeared, surrounded by meadows of frosty grass. It stood hauntingly against the grey, stormy sky. Several broad towers dominated the skyline, forming a protective barrier around the castle. Two semi-circle staircases mirrored each other. They wound their way up to the gated entrance. In front of the staircases stood a fountain which Edward imagined would have looked glorious in its prime. The weathered, grey fountain now matched the rest of the castle. Edward walked up the steps, the snowflakes drifted down, landing around him. He reached the heavy, wooden doors that arched into a point.

  The gate was up, its fatal spikes pointing down at Edward as a warning. The black, metal knocker was the snarling face of a beast. Edward knocked once, but the door creaked open, pushing against the skeletons of leaves that littered the cold ground.

  His steps echoed eerily on the white marble floor. Stone arches lined either side of him, leading off into other rooms and corridors. Cream, stone pillars stood central to the room, branching off into ivory beams on the curved ceiling. He walked past the arches, each darker than the previous. He couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling of being watched. The castle was quiet; too quiet.

  He continued walking until he reached a black door, surrounded by gold patterns. He heard a twinkling sound and looked up. Above him was a large, silver and black chandelier, and hanging from it were hundreds of small diamonds, all different to each other, like snowflakes. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The room was magnificent, obviously, it was once a ballroom, the main room for e
ntertaining.

  On the walls, there were grand paintings of former kings and queens, of what once must have been a separate kingdom to Milborn. As he looked closer the pictures, he noticed each of them were marked by violence and death.

  Dried, splattered blood stained the plaster frames. He turned on hearing footsteps and turned and saw a woman dressed in an emerald, velvet dress walking down the central staircase.

  There were three, all leading up the balcony that he bet this mystery woman had seen him from. She stopped at the bottom of the staircase and strode over to Edward. Her silky black hair was twisted into a knot, held up by a silver comb, decorated with emeralds to match her dress. As she bore closer to him, he noticed her expression change. A smirk hung on her lips, and a mischievous glint danced in her green eyes.

  She said nothing, instead beckoned for him to follow her, and for some reason, he did. She led Edward up to the first floor. They closed in on a spiralling staircase which twisted upwards, consumed by darkness. ‘You’re Edward,’ she stated while looking up into the twisted darkness.

  Edward nodded slowly. ‘How do you know my name?’

  She smirked. ‘They always want to know the how’s and the why’s…’ she raised her hand, twisting it up in a royal fashion. Edward felt the spark of magic before he saw it.

  The power surged through the castle then the stairs creaked and the spiral staircase twisted down from the ceiling until it ground to a halt by their feet.

  She stepped onto the black metal steps and beckoned for Edward to follow her, and he did. They walked up the staircase. Edward looked around confused, it stopped by the ceiling, but the enchanting woman stopped half way up and extended her hand again, and with another surge of magic a door appeared and so did a metal bridge between the stairs and the door. ‘Follow me,’ she ordered and walked across the bridge to the door. The door was wooden, arched, and plain. It swung open on her touch. He could see flickering candlelight inside and followed the stranger into the dimly lit room.

  The ceiling was spelled to look like a starry sky, it was done so well that he couldn’t see where it ended. It spilt into the walls which then turned to stone, like the rest of the castle walls. No pictures hung, only candlesticks that were already alight. He hovered his hand above the flame, it did not burn, and when he blew, it did not dance then disappear. In the middle of the room was the most enchanting thing. On top of a small solid gold table engraved with beautiful black swirls, was a glistening, rich red rose which hovered slightly above it with magic.

  It was not covered with anything, it was not in a vase, but it looked more vibrant, more beautiful than any rose he had ever seen. The enchantress ran her hand around it as if there was an invisible wall, and turned to Edward with longing in her eyes. ‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes, it is,’ he admitted. He drew closer to it and reached out, then ‘Ouch!’ she had batted away his hand.

  ‘You don’t want it,’ she said and winked. ‘Trust me.’

  He cleared his throat and faced her. ‘Why did you bring me up here?’

  ‘And here come the ‘whys’?’

  He ground his teeth. ‘Tell me what you know, Witch, or I will remove your head from your shoulders!’ He grabbed his sword and pointed it at her.

  She laughed and touched the end. It turned to pure gold and heated up until it dropped. The end broke off. ‘What have you done?’

  She waggled her finger. ‘Now, now. Don’t make threats then.’

  He huffed. ‘You owe me a sword.’

  ‘You could buy hundreds of swords with the gold from that sword, now,’ she said simply and stood by the wall. ‘Why are you here, Edward?’

  ‘You know my name, you probably know why I’m here, so why ask?’

  She shrugged. ‘It’s more fun this way.’

  ‘That’s my line.’ He looked around. ‘I need magic.’

  ‘Ah,’ she stepped forward and took the amulet from around her neck, dangling it in front of him. ‘So you’re after this?’

  He could feel the magic beating through it. Eternal magic. He reached out for it but she pulled it back. ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ he said dismissively. ‘Give it to me.’

  She seemed to consider it but then placed it back around her neck. ‘It’s my burden, not yours.’

  ‘I will gladly relieve you of your burden,’ he said.

  ‘The only way you could get your hands on all of this,’ she said sweetly, ‘is by kissing me. I wouldn’t recommend it. You don’t want any of this. Consider this a warning. Do not try to either.’ With a daring, mischievous grin she turned and left the room, leaving Edward staring longingly at the rose.

  He turned away and headed down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, the staircase creaked and rose back up to the ceiling. He growled and headed to the room. He would get that kiss; no woman could get resist him!

  PLAYING WITH FATE

  Edward walked back into the ballroom and noticed the scurry of maids, chattering, hurrying to ready the table ready for dinner. They were short, most around five-foot tall, all carrying silver platters of food, some covered, some not, and silver goblets. The Enchantress walked in dressed in blue and smiled at Edward. He strutted over to the table, not caring to look at the maids. He looked at her with his best smoulder. ‘So,’ he said silkily, ‘may I join you for dinner, um… what’s your name by the way? I forgot to ask.’

  She grinned. ‘Felicity.’

  ‘Beautiful,’ he replied and took the seat next to her. ‘Big table yet no guests?’

  She looked down at her plate and sighed. ‘Never any guests, but I do have my maids.’

  ‘You let them eat with you?’ he couldn’t hide the look of disgust on his face.

  ‘Of course,’ she said and looked over at the doorway. ‘However, they are eating separately tonight.’

  His forehead creased. ‘Because of me?’

  She smiled widely. ‘You’re my first guest in a long time, well, the first I have let in.’

  He raised both eyebrows and bit his lip while grinning. ‘Thought I was special enough to let in then?’

  ‘Something like that,’ she said, sounding bored.

  He gulped at the delicious wine and bit into a crab cake. ‘Compliments to the cooks,’ he said and continued to stuff his face.

  She looked at him sideways and played with her food with a fork, moving the shrimps and other seafood around her plate. ‘Do you have any children? A wife?’

  ‘No,’ he replied smoothly, ‘hard to believe, isn’t it?’

  She scoffed and pretended to just choke a little on her wine. ‘Truly hard to believe.’ Thanks to his ego, he didn’t detect the sarcasm lacing her words.

  ‘You look beautiful tonight,’ he said and wiped his mouth with the gold embroidered napkin before dumping it down on the empty plate. ‘Would you like to dance?’

  She looked around at the ballroom and clicked her fingers. Music boomed throughout the room, classical, and elegant.

  She took his hand and followed him to the centre of the room. He wrapped his hand around her waist and twirled her around.

  To anyone else they would like two beautiful swans, carefree, maybe even in love. But to them, they were in a dangerous waltz. He wanted to use her, to take her power, and she was having trouble pretending to like him. They finished the waltz but the music continued to play. They danced more and Felicity took a deep breath and looked at Edward with flirtatious eyes. She sunk down on his arm as the final dance ended. She bit her lip and he took the opportunity. Leaning in towards her lips he could feel the magic calling to him. He pressed his lips against hers and then, everything changed.

  ***

  Edward blinked his eyes open and looked around at the old ballroom. Felicity stood over him, laughing. ‘I knew you were the type of man who if told not to do something, would want it even more, and I was right.’


  She dropped the amulet onto his stomach. ‘You’re a spoiled, snobby, selfish man, and now your ugly personality shows on the outside. Thank you, though,’ she smiled, ‘for taking the curse from me.’

  He furrowed his brows. ‘You’re… ugly,’ he said, disgusted that he had kissed the haggard woman that now stood in front of him.

  She laughed harder. ‘I looked how I am on the inside when I was cursed, now I am back to the way I looked before the curse. I may be ugly, but I have nothing on you.’ She laughed more. ‘I showed you the rose, hoping you would want it. It’s the power of this castle. Hundreds of cursed hearts live here, mad, dangerous, and now you’re their master. You can never leave here unless you can find someone to kiss you.’

  Edward sat up and his head was throbbing. One minute he was kissing and the next he was waking up. He felt more powerful than he had ever felt, yet horribly different. He recognised the same tingly feeling that he had when he was a frog; when he was cursed.

  He jumped up and looked down at his body. His arms and stomach were covered in thick, long scars. His fingernails were tinged yellow. He turned and ran to the table, grasping for a silver goblet.

  He gasped when he saw the strange man reflected at him. His handsome features were barely noticeable under the wrinkled, scarred skin. His eyes, once a handsome warm brown, were now the colour of grey slush. His nose was longer and more pointed, like a beak. Dark circles and crow’s feet made his beady eyes look even smaller. His hair, his beautiful hair looked like grey bristle.

  ‘What have you done to me?’

  ‘You did this to yourself,’ she stated and walked away. As she left the man who had helped him find his way to the castle walked in.

  ‘You…’ the man started, squinting. ‘You almost look like him, yet you look so… ugly.’

  ‘I’m a beast,’ Edward cried.

  The man raised an eyebrow. ‘Yet, I am not?’

  Edward shrugged. ‘I have been cursed,’ he admitted, feeling sick.