Sorcery's Hue (A Malion Series Novel)

Break

"Give that back!" I yelled at him and snatched it from his hand. I remember his eyes widening, and fury immediately surged into them. Mine lit up, and I flared my teeth at him. He took half a step back before lunging at me. I raked my claws across his face, and he stumbled away, clutching his cheek as a mighty roar exploded out of him.

"I've had enough!" I yelled and charged at him, slashing him with one strike after another. His yelling must have been what woke Seline and Victoria because they rushed into the main room to find me digging my claws into the side of Gornath's face.

Seline yelled to stop, but I glared at her in my furious haze and sunk my claws into his throat. Just as they tainted his forsaken skin, a blast of darkness shook the house to its core and flooded the fields. Once I rose off of his body, I got up at Victoria and Seline's heartbroken pleas and didn't stop until I began to float. I felt the darkness writhing within me, and all I felt was rage and heartbreak. When I let out a scream, another, more substantial wave blasted away from me, and so was my mind. I watched from the outside as my body, now consumed by alabaster grey and snow-white hair as it moved towards my remaining family. I remember my eyes...

They were a purple that was as deep as a chasm. I couldn't see where my eyes ended and where emotion began. I couldn't find my soul. Evidently, neither could Seline because she grabbed my mother's hand and tugged, but she wouldn't move.

"MOTHER, PLEASE! HE'S GONE, MOTHER!" She yelled and tugged. Suddenly, my form locked its hand around Victoria's throat, and I sensed a primal spell emerge. Then blood exploded out from its hand like the pressure of a fizzy ale breaking its own bottle. Victoria's head fell to the ground, and my form slowly floated towards Seline, who took off running. I watched and followed her, but just as she made it through the silent streets and into the still field, my form caught up to her, floating like Faric did. Once it got to her, I was forced back into it as she screamed and pleaded.

I couldn't stop myself. I swear it. I swear I couldn't stop my body as darkness forced it to dig its claws into Seline's throat and rip what it could grasp from her body. I couldn't look away. I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't control it... and I know I will forever regret it.

I lay over her body until sunrise the following day, when exhaustion or disgust forced me away from her. I stood up and picked up her body, bringing it nearer to the hills past the massive plains, and once I reached the last tree before the start of those hills, I lay her body there as gently as I could manage. It took me another hour to tear myself away from her body. I didn't trust myself to go back home, but I knew where else I could go.

I dragged my feet through the night with foggy vision and a more than heavy heart until I reached the gates of the Academy of Westwine later in the day than I'd expected to get there. I couldn't move anymore and gave up once I made it to the fountain.

That's when I looked at my reflection. I couldn't recognise myself. An Osrocan with bright yellow eyes and cracks down his face stared back at me. I didn't have the energy or emotion to react, so I returned to a hunched over sitting position, where I stayed for the next few minutes before I heard determined yet slow footsteps approach me. I knew it was him, and looking up only confirmed it. Faric's smile vanished when he saw my face and the blood crusted onto my skin.

"Dark Star." I heard his steady baritone voice drift into the air. My gaze drifted down towards the ground in a stable, thoughtful clambering down his purple robes. He knelt down and took the hood that overshadowed his bright yellow eyes off to rest on his shoulders.

"What has you feeling so distraught, young man?" He asked.

"My family... they were killed..." I told him, neglecting to tell him the reason, therefore. Through an encouraging brush of my chin, I glanced into his eyes and noted their similarities to mine.

"You received your first burst of power, didn't you, Varitran?" He asked quietly. I blinked the tears out of my eyes.

"I couldn't stop myself, Faric..." I told him through sobs. He took me into his arms softly.

"Be calm, child. You have suffered a great loss. Now you must keep your focus. Accompany me on a walk." He said, towering over me and holding out a veined hand. I took it and kept close to him.

"Varitran, you realise you may be a bit old for this..." he whispered as I stared off ahead through half-lidded eyes. He cleared his throat and grasped my hand slightly tighter upon my silence. His was so much bigger than mine. It felt safe.

"As you know, young one, I am the leader of this esteemed Academy. You will be helping me with my work, together with another young man. He is only a decade older than you. His name is Allister Frall." He said, pushing open the door to his office. The interior was immaculate and extravagant. He sat me down at one of two chairs opposite his.

"Wait here. Have you eaten?" He asked. I glanced at the ground.

"Varitran, have you eaten?" He asked again, this time with slight urgency in his voice. I hesitantly shook my head. He let out a sigh.

"Allister, please keep him company. I will bring you both some breakfast shortly." He said, leaning into the room attached to his office by a narrow wooden archway.

Allister Frall... "Golden Drop" or "Drop of Gold"... what a stark difference to the Osrocan translation of my name.

"Dark Star's Blight." Maybe it was an omen, or some kind of prophecy.
Perhaps this was planned by Faric.

He was always a cunning man, planning everything he did meticulously down to the most minor details. After a small chat with the quick-witted, strongly built Allister, Master re-entered the room with a platter of various bits and bobs. I took shame in the speed with which I ate. Master Faric had to bring a second platter in. That time, I watched as Allister picked and chose what he ate carefully. I never understood how one could be so picky.

That was the beginning of my apprenticeship alongside Allister. We grew stronger together, and soon, my power overtook his, and Faric made it his personal mission to train me himself.