Mistfall (34 page)

When Abel turned up in Fiona’s village, he
used that information against Mags. He also led her to believe John
and Melissa were as manipulative as Luca. Unfortunately, Mags isn’t
in her own head to hear these explanations.

If releasing her magic worked, she would
still carry the pain of her friends’ betrayal, along with
everything Abel subjected her to. I made sure they were aware of
that, for my own entertainment.

Time was up and the keys were ready to go. I
told the group that the queen was worried that Mags might lose it
so we had to go elsewhere. We entered the portal and were spit out
somewhere unfamiliar. We were on a white sandy beach somewhere
tropical but not one I or anyone else recognized. It didn’t take a
genius to figure out why Aurora sent us here. They place was
deserted.

John and Melissa quickly released their
bonds, their magic immediately returning to them.

“Now what?” Luca asked, still holding the
husk that used to be Mags.

I pointed towards a sand dune. “Now, you
assholes go and take cover while I release her,” I ordered.

“Why you?” John demanded, ready to fight.

I poked the asshat in his chest, wishing
there was a knife in my hand. I shouted at him, my voice increasing
in volume the more I yelled. “She was brutalized. If she comes back
with her magic, she may very well still be a mess. You fucking
geniuses hurt her and she’s in pain because of it. Her anger will
be unfocused. Do you want to be a target when she goes
nuclear?”

John gave me a look that told me what he
thought of me. “What makes you think that she won’t hurt you?” he
retorted, thinking our adversarial relationship was on par with his
betrayal.

“Because, I’ve never betrayed her,” I
seethed, making sure the Witch knew I meant that for her too. “I’m
also a jinn. I can withstand a hell of a lot more of what she can
dish out than any of you can. Now, if you have no more questions,
hand her over and get the fuck out of my way!”

John backed down and Luca gently laid her in
my arms. With Mags and the key in hand, I gave them a few minutes
to take cover. If it was up to me, I’d line them up in front of
her. I looked down at Mags for any signs of life. When she opened
her eyes, I knew she would live. When she weakly made a grab at my
hand, it gave me hope.

I was able to stand her on her own two feet.
I wouldn’t call it a good sign though. She was swaying like a doll
in the breeze, still lost. I tried to explain to her what might
happen, to prepare her, but she was still just staring through me
like I wasn’t even there.

I put the key first against her cold, clammy
skin so it could gain the magical resonance, DNA, or whatever it
did. Once it glowed, I used it to unlock her cuffs and took a few
steps away and crouched down low.

At first, nothing happened. I thought maybe
we were too late, but then Mags twitched and the wind began to pick
up.

“Come on Mags,” I encouraged her. “Come on
back and I’ll help you kill ever last one of those sick
bastards.”

Dark thunder heads began to roll in and it
began raining. The beach was soaked in minutes as the rain got
heavier. Suddenly, and without warning, Mags screamed as the sky
exploded. Fire and electricity burst from her hands. I just
narrowly missed getting hit. I stayed there with her as long as I
could. It was only when the lightening started hitting the ground,
creating a circle around her that I finally took cover.

Aurora was right about Mags. She was an
Iblian jinn, but she wasn’t. I didn’t know of anyone who had the
kind of power that was emanating from Mags. I still didn’t
understand what it all meant though.

A palm tree tried to impale me as I made my
way to the others and I got out of the way just in the nick of
time. I could only hope things didn’t get worse. Otherwise, no
amount of cover would protect us.

“If you guys couldn’t tell, Mags is back,” I
shouted at the others over the wind when I finally reached
them.

The storm never ended. It raged on throughout
the night, never waning in its intensity. The only thing we could
hear over the wind and thunder was Mags. We were haunted forever by
her mournful wails once the screaming stopped.

The End

Olivia Martinez is a veteran and the mother
to one very lovely little girl named Grace. A native of the Chicago
suburbs, she spends her time dreaming of warmer places to winter
over. In her spare time, Olivia runs a blog where she interviews
other authors.

Links:

The Mistfall
blog

Facebook:
Olivia
Martinez

Twitter:
@olivianicks