The Magic Pawn Series: The Discovery (Volume 1)

Chapter 7: Run and don't look back

Everything had happened so fast that I did not have time to realise what or who had thrown me to the ground. I got up and I stood in front of Melissa to shelter her. She was crying.

The moment when I saw this creature holding Ress down, I froze. It stood above him with its mouth wide open and its teeth coming out filling him with a black slimy liquid. This creature looked worse than everything I had ever seen in my nightmares – and I have had many. The feeling of fear that it provoked me was simply paralysing. It was much taller than me, and definitely strong; Very strong. Its body was almost human-like. Head, hands, body and feet, all purple. Its presence gave you the shivers. It was a body so rotten. A living-dead with its wings coming out from its back like those of a moth. They were like membranes covered in this dead transparent skin through which you could see dozens of red stripes. Its long fingers were so skinny that you could see the bones and they ended in claws instead of nails. It was a monster; a failed experiment of nature. A very agile one which seemed to hold not a human being but a puppet – that's how light Ress was for it.

Edward recovered from the state of shock. He realised that his friend's life was hanging by a thread.

This creature was getting ready to have a taste of Ress and it would have done so if Edward had not shot an arrow at it hitting one of its wings.

A few seconds of waiting followed next. For a brief moment the monster was off beam but as it realised what had happened it pulled out the arrow in no time.

'Take Melissa and run!' Edward shouted at me.

Some vines appeared around the creature all of a sudden, and wrapped themselves tightly around its feet, holding it in place. Edward was using his affinity on earth.

'Run!' He yelled at me seeing that I was not reacting.

I took Melissa by the hand and we started to run without looking back. Melissa was losing her breath and could barely keep up. We didn't have time to go back to town to get some help. It would have been too late. I had to go back for Edward and try my best to help him. Although I had no idea how to do it, I hoped that the adrenaline would make my magic surface. I could not just sit and do nothing while my cousin was fighting that creature. Damn it, Katelyn, think!

'The locker room; that's where you should be safe.'

Melissa tried to protest against me locking her in there. I promised her everything was going to be alright but I had serious doubts about that.

As I had expected it, when I got there it was too late to do anything for Ress. His body lay in a pool of blood and the creature stood above him.

What did I think I was going to do?

'What are you doing here?' Edward shouted at me as he was trying to hurt the creature.

'There's no point, we have to leave.'

'I'm not leaving my friend here', he said with tears in his eyes. 'I have to find its weak spot.'

'If there even is one.'

I got in front of him and stopped him before his next attack.

'There's no point, do you understand? He's dead!'

Edward pushed me aside and took the shot. To my surprise he hit it in the head. I was expecting for the arrow to come out through the back but it did not. Instead, the creature was howling. It stood above Ress and then it was instantly next to Edward. It took the bow from him and broke it, then threw Edward next to Ress. After that, it came and faced me for a few seconds. I felt my soul cramming inside of me and how I got smaller and smaller before that terrifying face and that foul smell. Its big eyes were red as blood and had cracks all around them. Its ears were pointy and sharp. My heart pounded. I was shaking but I did not know if it was so because of the fear or because of the cold. I was going to die. The thought that everything was coming to an end so sudden was horrible as was the thought that everything I had fought for my entire life was for nothing. Nothing in my life mattered anymore.