Dance of Magic - The Books of Beginning [1]

20. Unconscious

Kate was barely able to think. She couldn't just go unconscious, the pain was keeping her mind awake just enough. But she couldn't plan or calm herself or anything. It was the worst spot possible to be in. Still, she forced herself to listen and pay attention when Robert and Wayne Lloyd, the spies and traitors, burst into her prison in a panic.

"Guard her, Robert. Her friends have come to attempt to rescue her. The Dire Magnus has sent the army but wants me to go and keep her allies from breaking in and finding her. If I fail, you will be the last line of defense. Our master needs her power, you must not let the enemy take that from him," Wayne instructed.

"I can easily stop her siblings, they are mere children," Robert scoffed.

"Their allies are not," Wayne warned, before ducking out of the room, leaving Robert with Kate. As soon as she realized what was happening, she begun laughing. It was a slightly broken, insane sounding laugh, less humorous than bitter. Kate did not care how it sounded. She simply wanted to make Robert uncomfortable.

Robert eyed her warily, "what are you laughing about?"

"My family and friends are coming," Kate whispered, her voice hoarse from all the screaming she had done. She was still in such pain, but the thought of the people she loved coming for her gave her new strength.

"They'll never make it," Robert replied coldly, "they'll be slaughtered."

"Don't underestimate them," Kate warned. Then a dark smile crept onto her face, even through the agony, the electricity humming through her, "I'm excited to see them again. Especially Rafe. What about you Robert? Are you excited to see them?"

Robert took three steps backward. There was a maniacal look in Kate's eye, the look of a woman who had been pushed too far. It was even worse then the look she had in her eyes before she punched him. And for a moment, Robert felt more afraid than he ever had in his life.

Then his fear turned to anger, anger that he had let her get to him like that. In his anger, he stormed to the manual controls for the electric chair. His eye contact with Kate never broke as he grabbed the ladder. He felt powerful then, watching her be the one who was afraid. She shook her head and opened her mouth to scream, but then he pulled the lever.

A shriek fell from her lips as he increased the voltage pumping through her, increased the pain rushing through her veins. And he laughed. Though he hadn't been ordered to do this, and would probably be reprimanded for it later, Robert didn't care. This was the type of power he would one day wield, the power to hurt anyone who questioned him.

Giving Kate a final, sinister smile as she convulsed in more agony than ever before, Robert went to guard the door like he was supposed to, leaving her in her misery.

As Kate screamed and twitched and wished for an end to this pain, anger swirled around her brain. How dare he. How fucking dare he.

She was fifteen years old, she had risked her life to save his, and now he was helping a monster torture her all for power. Kate was a forgiving soul, she didn't hate often, but she hated Robert Lloyd and she would never forgive him for this.

The pain was too much to bear. She felt herself slipping out of consciousness, and fear shit through her. She couldn't lose consciousness. That would mean giving up her will, and if she gave up her will, her unconscious would try to save her and in doing so doom them all by giving the Dire Magnus life and the key to victory. She had to stay conscious, she had to fight.

Kate felt deja vu to another time when she was trying to stay awake, another time she had feared if she didn't fight they would all be doomed. And like that time a hundred years ago, she found herself slipping beyond the control of even her massive willpower.

Kate Wibberly spent so much time trying to save everyone, but now she couldn't even save herself. She could only hope that her family and friends would come through for her before it was too late.

That one hope was the last thing that resonated in her brain before her body gave a massive jolt and she screamed out at the pain, before going unconscious.

..................

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, the battle raged on. Abigail set screechers and imps ablaze with magical fireballs. Jake and Beetles kept count of how many screechers they could magically knock out, each trying to outdo the other. Wilamena twirled nimbly, shoving monsters into each other so they impaled each other and not her. Gabriel guided a worried Michael, who awkwardly held the sword he had gotten off a dead screecher in front of himself.

And Emma was fury as she cut through their enemies with a ferocious roar tearing from her throat. She was more determined then ever to protect her family. Her dagger was coated with monster blood and more spurted onto her shirt as she plunged into yet another imp. Her emotions fueled her, her bravery that of the most fierce warrior. Though she was undisciplined and had very little training, she made up for it in brute force of will.

She was so focused in her rage, that as she pulled her knife from the imp's corpse, she didn't see the screecher creeping up behind her in the dark. And her friends were all fighting their own battles. But from across the battlefield, Rafe saw. 

Quickly taking action, he disappeared and reappeared right in front of the screecher. This threw the beast off, and he swung his sword at Rafe. But since Rafe was a ghost, this did no harm, only made it stumble and fall to the ground. By that time, Emma had spun back around and was able to stab the screecher and end its life.

Emma looked at Rafe with wide eyes, "Did you just save my life?"

Rafe shrugged, "I guess."

Emma narrowed her eyes and muttered something like, "you're making it really hard for me to hate you."

Rafe just decided to not respond.

He looked across the yard of the mansion at his allies holding his own. As though they were thinking the same thing, Emma said, "we might actually have a shot at this."

"Amazing what you can do with willpower and a good team," Rafe agreed. 

Then they saw a bright flash as one of Abigail's fireballs soared high, heading for a group of imps charging from the front porch to join the battle, a human man with them. Emma narrowed her eyes and asked, "is that Wayne Lloyd?"

Rafe didn't get the chance to answer or ask a follow up question. The huge fireball struck the imps and the human man, setting them ablaze like a miniature sun, burning them up and killing them. Only the magical fire didn't fizzle and die, it's flames began spreading to the porch, then the walls of the mansion. 

On the battlefield a pause spread as the night lit up and everyone turned to look at the raging inferno beginning to consume the mansion. 

Rafe felt a flash of deja vu, thinking for a moment of the church he had grown up in and how it too had gone up in flames. He thought of Henrietta and the falling bells, and for a few seconds, he was lost to the memories. 

Then he was jolted back to the present by a horrifying realization about the mansion. It was all burning down, with Kate Wibberly still in it.

A/N: Kate went OFF, Robert is terrible, and everything is literally on fire.