The Licensed Mage

25 Sight

Frozen tears lined her face as she sobbed. She saw nothing but darkness as she looked around. She doesn’t know how long it was before she realized that her vision never changed when she closes her eyes. It was then she realized, she’s blind. She collapsed to her knees ignoring the sting of the ice as she sobbed into her hands. The wind dug nails into her back as it howled but she felt nothing as desolation and defeat filled her. She sniffed as her nose picked up a strange sent and felt her fingers were sticky. She slowly sat back on her hunches, the ice around her limbs cracking as she moved. She touched a frozen finger to her face and felt it come back sticky like before and held her finger to her nose. She screamed in horror as more tears froze on her face as she realized it was blood coming from her eyes. Somehow she could tell without looking that it was the black blood she’s come to dread. Her fingers scratched her face as she clawed at the blood, trying to get it off screaming. She screamed for years, for centuries, for millennia’s. Exhausted, the life drained from her, she collapsed her to side. Slowly she felt herself freezing to the ground, becoming as frozen as it. Suddenly she felt the being before her. She felt no presence, heard no breathing and couldn’t see but she knew he was there, looking down at her. She wanted to scream but found even her lungs drained of air. She knew this was it, this was the end. She opened her eyes to unchanging darkness and felt drops of blood fall from her nose as she cried. She waited for the end but the being simply stared at her, unmoving, unchanging. She gave up as she heard the ice harden around her, freezing her into the ground. The wind shifted, blowing the smell of its black blood into her face. She wanted to cringe, to scream and yell but only cried more. She has given up, what use was it to fight any more. The smell became stronger as the being bent towards her…

        “Claire get up!”

        Claire moaned as she held her head together, feeling like it’s splitting apart. She buried herself deeper under her covers mumbling, “Shut up, go away.”

        The sheets were pulled away, uncovering her as she tried to make herself into a ball and disappear. She moaned and groaned in pain as the sunlight poured in.

        “Get up Claire. We’re gonna be late.”

        Trying to keep her ears from ringing she poked an eye open and to her surprise saw Raven standing by her bed holding her sheets. She found herself uncaring that he was seeing her in her nightwear but managed to mumble, “How the hell did you get in here?”

        “Your door was unlocked. Now hurry up and get changed. We gotta get to Emily’s school.”

        Claire tried to hold her stomach in place as she rolled over to her clock and moaned louder, “It’s barely 7 o’clock, go away.”

        Raven stood next to the bed and yelled, “GET UP!”

        Claire screamed and fell off. She curled up and moaned, yelling against her better judgment, “WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM?!”

        She swore her ears were bleeding as Raven walked around to where she laid on the floor, “You wanna find Emily’s killer don’t you? Then get up! We gotta get going.”

        “Fine, fine, damn. Make yourself useful and make some coffee.” Raven stood there with his arms crossed waiting for Claire to get up. Claire sat up and saw him standing there waiting, “Well get the hell out. I ain’t changing in front of you!”

        Raven chuckled as he walked out the room, “You’re a cranky one when you wake up Dunsworth.”

        Claire flicked a finger and threw her pillow at the door closing behind him. She sat there for a minute trying to stop the nail digging into her head when she heard a twinkling sound. She turned and looked over the edge of the bed to see Crystal sitting there laughing at her.