The walk down the straight path leading to Ametis, land of the time shifters, was a long one. It, however, gave Evander just the right amount of time to think of his next move. There was no way Agrippa would help him now. He remembered a witch Agrippa had been close to growing up. He couldn’t quite place a pin on her name but he knew the direction to her house like the back of his palm. He had dragged Agrippa from the very hut countless times when she would go to learn about potions and dusts despite being a traveler witch. He could almost laugh at the memory of a chubby kid pulling at his forearm to run back into the brightly painted hut. He could think of no one else he could call family that stuck by him through the trial and even after. He would apologize to Agrippa but he needed to do see Thomas first. He had to make sure the past century of his life had not been wasted serving a megalomaniac.He arrived at a second entrance that day. The entrance to his hometown, a land filled
“Wha- how do you know that name? Who are you” Evander narrows the questions one after the other. First she knew him and now she knew what he was and possible what he might have done and he had no idea or rather he was sure he had never seen her before. She didn’t look like any of the witches brought to the castle so that couldn’t have been their meeting place either.“Doesn’t matter. You’d find out soon enough.” Andela repeated getting on the now elevated broom.“I can’t remember meeting you in the past. I would really love to know your name” but Andela was already gone before those words left his lips.He couldn’t believe it. He thought he would never hear those two endearments attached to his being again but there they were. Inescapable. He racked his brain for an image, something connected to the traveller witch but could not associate her with anyone from before. He struggled with buried memories even as he walked through the huge golden gates that served as the entrance to the ca
“Ev? What are you doing here? I thought you’d be gone for a month?” Clara asked, her confusion plain as day. The blue vest Evander had on usually hugged his upper body so well, the craters created where two muscles met were usually visible through the thin fabric, but the day, he could barely fill in the shirt.“I couldn’t be away from you too long. It just didn’t sit well with me missing this.” He reassured, grinning for her benefit. He had missed Clara but if he was being honest, with the unsettled issue with Thomas, this was the best he could do.Clara, on the other hand, was elated and relieved, she couldn’t however shake the feeling that something was off with Evander.“Are you okay?” She blurted watching as his grin turned into a frown.“I don’t get you, what do you mean am I okay? I know I’ve been a bit distant and all but not bad enough for you to question my sanity Clara. I mean I’m here, ain’t I?!” Evander shot back, the frustration of the past months’ events finally taking
“I’m late for my next class!” Clara hollered at Julianna, a sprightly blonde she had met in her practice of archaeology class.“See you third period!” Julianna yelled as she scurried in the opposite direction. It was a sunny Tuesday and Clara was realizing what Julianna had meant when she said the previous day had been a cakewalk. Half the lecturers had been yet to resume which Julianna had explained happened most Mondays because most of the teachers come from other states, so it was mostly free periods on Mondays. That Tuesday however had been the exact opposite, everyone had resumed hot and ready for school, except Clara. She was not used to the demanding nature of Easton, wasn’t ready for the endless assignments every class seemed to bring. She was halfway through the day but felt as if she had gone through an entire week already. She hurried through the hallway, alternating between her pink parchment paper and scanning through the crowded hallway. She made a turn to the left, th
The wind picked up pushing her hair against her reddened cheeks. Shivers swept through her as howls rang loud in the area surrounding the crater she held onto. The wolf continued to nibble and drag on her boots, it’s razor sharp, crowded teeth burrowed into her muddy boots. Clara ground her teeth in pain as she begged all her muscle strength and pulled her weight higher but it was no use, the tree trunks dragged her right back where she started, red oozing through the cotton fabric and onto the creature’s teeth as it bit even deeper. The dimming night sky did nothing to placate her growing anxiety. How had she gotten there?She did all she could even as the sand gave way to the extra weight of the ten pound wolf holding her legs captive and the tree trunks pulling her down. Clara reached for a tree trunk few millimeters from her sandy support, she lost her balance feeling her muscles protest as all the weight was transferred to her other hand. The wolf ripped off her boots, its claws
The walls were patchy, almost cracked, and present in its interstices were thick lines of crusted blood. Blue trails, so timeless, they had inadvertently contributed to the aesthetics of this black pit, a colourful mural for the dungeon walls. The hardened blood tracks told stories of the countless lives taken in that very room. The dominant yet equally aversive smell of dewy metal akin to the blood of the witches, deepened his need to be excused from the scene. Wails, screams and tortured sobs filled the cramped room as more witches were mutilated, dismembered and frivolously punished. The air was stale with a disgusting mix of charred flesh, sawdust, sweat and rotting corpses. A paroxysm of strong mournful squalls broke out as yet another witch was bludgeoned with the swing of the long, heavy sword, its tip gleaming in the sunlight peeking through the only window in the dungeon. A stream of blue blood jetted from the lower half of the body comparable to a fountain of paint, her plea
The journey from the capital to Jailoon was short and uneventful. Janus wasn't to return for the next three Lecanther days and Evander couldn't wait that long without Clara noticing and becoming suspicious. Agrippa had once mentioned a potion witch she had trained with that taught her all she was allowed to a traveller witch by potion witch laws. Evander disembarked from the thin broom, wobbling a little as he stood on his two feet, the slippery ground doing nothing to help him get his footing. He was struck by a sudden wave of weakness he could not explain, his vision swirling with each step he took deeper into Jailoon. He paused for a few seconds, shut his eyes and when he opened then back up, his vision has cleared out.The village had been plagued with endless rain for as long as Evander could remember but never as bad as this. The puddles of dirty water lured in a variety of bugs, insects and amphibians. The bark of trees separated off the trees, falling limply and weakening the
Some people really deserve to be starved in a cave and then ripped apart!First, she made him come to school on his only actual work free day and not for something reasonable but for this?! Without extra pay?! He already had his hands full with all the work she dumps on him for keeping his secret and now he was stuck tutoring a 'student' who felt it was a wise idea to skip school for half the entire session because her parents were victims of a tragic accident. He could understand needing some time but needing half a year?! What for? What could she have been doing with all that time that she was finding it hard, struggling enough to draw the attention of the personal assistant to the dean. But then again, that didn't make any sense, they hadn't written any tests in the two weeks since she had first attended his class.Lucian fumed, glared at the cause of his added workload, and got even angrier when she flinched, taking a sideways step away from him."Sorry," He heard a quick mumble.