How to Catch a Fish (ManxMan)

Chapter Eleven: An Intervention of Sorts

~Chapter Eleven: An Intervention of Sorts~

"In your dreams, witch."

Feinting left before dodging right, I manage to avoid the next barrage of spells, as they fly harmlessly into the trees. Or, at least, that is what it looked like, but one witch was slower to fire off the spell than the others, and I jump into a roll to avoid it. Only...it is not a normal spell, and it follows me.

"Oh, Sk-" I do not even have a chance to finish before it hits me as I try to dodge again, connecting painfully with my side. I end up spinning into a tree trunk before landing on my face in the dirt. This time, my magic is much slower to react to healing the damage, which is a clear sign that I cannot keep this up.

Not even a minute into the fight and I'm already losing.

Hurried footfall brings my attention back towards the witches in fear that they are approaching, but they are stationary. Instead, it is a sixth witch - a young woman - joining the fray, and I do not even bother to hide my grimace as their number grows. "I found the camp," the new witch says, out of breath but excited.

Suddenly, Tiezoch runs out of the forest behind the witch with the other five members of my platoon close behind. "Ata!" Tiezoch shouts when he sees me on the ground.

There is a moment of silence, as both sides size each other up, before spells start flying and the ground starts shaking. Ignoring the sense that something is wrong, I start running towards the fight, ready to jump into the fray. However, the more I run, the farther they get.

The earth shakes as Tiezoch uses his magic on the witches, pulling a boulder from the ground and crushing one with it. Sidr is not even trying to use his magic but instead uses his anti-magic swords to cut through any spell thrown at him. The other members of my squad barely seem bothered by the witches' attacks.

For a moment, it looks like they are going to win.

However, more witches start pouring out of the trees, going unnoticed by my squad.. I open my mouth to shout a warning, hoping that they will hear me, but a hand closes over my mouth, and I am yanked back with a muffled cry. I try to elbow the person, but chains shoot out of the ground, circling around my arms and legs and forcing me down to the ground.

"We aren't going to kill you," the witch leader says, a cruel smile on his face as he crouches down beside me. He jerks a thumb towards my friends. "I told you we'd come back for them."

Sidr and Tiezoch suddenly collapse, like puppets with cut strings. I yank against the chains but to no avail. "No!"

"A few months in prison should change your mind," he says, the metal collar appearing in his hands. It closes around my neck with a click before he stands up again.

Suddenly, he is gone, and I am kneeling on a field covered in black blood. The chains clink together when I try to move, no longer holding me down but hanging loosely instead. I can still feel the collar around my neck, but only my magic is gone this time. The curse lingers - a cold so strong it makes it hard to breathe.

Something moves to my left, and I turn to look. A blood-covered body stares up at the sky with unseeing eyes. "Heather," I whisper in horrified recognition. It is not just Heather but the bodies of every demon I know, Hellion army or not, thrown into piles, left to rot.

Suddenly, Heather's head turns to look directly at me. "You failed us," she says simply.

I jump out of bed and hit the floor hard when the blankets catch around my legs. I barely manage to untangle myself before my entire body bursts into flames. My clothes turn to ash in seconds, not built to withstand spontaneous combustion. Falling to my knees, I press my forehead roughly into the unforgiving wood floor, willing the fire to stop. While it does go out, it takes a full minute longer than it should, and it leaves me feeling exhausted.