The Arrival
I should've killed him.
That's what I kept repeating in my mind the moment I heard the verdict of the judges. I was charged with multiple accusations: attempted murder, magical creature abuse, illegal magic usage and... adultery.
I believe most of the charges were nitpicked except for the attempted murder. It really crossed my mind but I never truly attempted to kill him, I'm not that kind of person. For that I was sentenced to the most notorious and vile prison of Amadhea Kingdom: the Sasiago Magical Correctional. So here I am, tied up on a bus on my way to the prison. The ivory handcuffs—which were made with the husk of a mythical beast and were tied to floors of the bus with a thick vine— were not only for blocking my magical pathways but for blocking my veins too.
These handcuffs are too fucking tied.
I'm alone in the front row of the bus with a fence of thorny vines separating me from the driver and another convict at the back. The bus is made of wood from the inside, and the outside is coated with a resin that blocks any magic spells: the Avalos Resin, found inside a tree of the same name.
The convict is all beaten up. Probably going directly to prison to wait for his trial. I was lucky enough to pay the bail and wait for the trial at my apartment, shower myself, style my curls which takes me a lot of time, read a few books of spells, and prepare the defense I'll be giving to the community lawyer I was provided.
I need to clean my name although I must admit I regret not casting a heavier spell on him; one that would destroy him psychologically but I'm not adept in magic.
What kind of spell I used on him?
I went for mimicry, my specialty.
Probably because it's one of the easiest to perform. You just need the blood of the animal you'll want that person or yourself to mimic and draw the corresponding pentagram mixing the blood of the animal and your victim.
The sudden stop of the bus snapped me out of my line of thought. The Mage of Order who was driving identified himself at the entrance, gave the paperwork with the commitment to the gate mage, and passed the checkpoint. We finally arrived at the entrance and a group of mages opened the door and yanked me out of the bus.
"Move. Now! We don't have all day" said the mage.
His voice was high-pitched which made me wonder how young he was. The Mages of Order wore full armor made of Avalos Resin —just like the bus— to protect for protection. Not only does this mage have his face covered by the helmet but also has the robe's cap on. By the color and the insignia on his shoulder, I can tell he's a recruit.
"Move, move, move!" said another mage that was behind the first one. "Harith, Jule, Xebeth! Hurry up and take the woman inside". This one wearing a crimson robe covering his orange resin armor. His insignia had four wands next to each other inside a shield. He must be the captain. I groaned as the two mages held me tight by each arm and the last one grabbed my neck from the back as if I were a puppy. My instant reaction was to push the one from the back with all my force. Being a mid-size woman has its benefits because the mage stumbled a few steps back.
"I'm no dog for you to grab me like that" I yelled.
The mage from the back got his footing again and jumped to grab me again but this time pulling my hair down, cracking my neck from the force.
"Pull a stunt like that again I swear I'll reap you right here. I don't care if I lose my job" said the mage.
One of the mages to my side loosened his grip. "Easy Xebeth! We got a code".
"Fuck the code. Why should I care? Have you forgotten?" The mage changed his attention to me. "We know what you did to Rebenit the honorable" I spat at the mention of honorable. Rebenit is as honorable as I'm a saint. "You know how we call low life like you? A horny leech".
"Stop Xebeth," said the captain. He moved closer to my back, probably closer to this Xebeth moron. "There's a code. She's a convict but she is still a person. Now take her to admission".
"As you command, sir" Xebeth moved his grip toward the back of my collar and pushed me forward.
Oh! How lucky I am. The captain is a decent person at least.
The mages of order began to walk me inside. The prison had a particular design. The entrance was a round arch that stretched into a long corridor connection to the main building which looked like some kind of dome.
From my back, I could hear the captain yelling at his underlings. "Why the gate hadn't closed yet? You're supposed to close it as soon as the transport gets in" I assumed he was yelling at the gatekeeper.
Suddenly I heard a commotion on my back. Some of the mages were groaning and I could hear the sound of the dirt being dragged as if someone's foot slipped.
"Stay still, asshole" grunted a mage of order. The mages that escorted me inside stopped to look at what was happening. "Help! He's trying to get away". I couldn't hold the urge to look back. I don't care if the fucker called Xebeth assaults me again. There's only one thing in this world more curious than a four-tailed cat, and that's me.
I saw the convict who came with me on the bus running away towards the gate before it fully closed. I felt tempted to do the same but I was farther away. First I would have to break myself from these three before crossing through the rest. Besides, that would only make me look like the monster many think I am and that's not what I want. I need to make an appeal and clear my name.
The captain was furious at the other mages and yelled at them right before ripping something from his neck. From his hand, an elegant gray staff with a zig-zagged shape like lightning emerged. Then I realized that the mages holding me also had their staffs blended in a piece of jewelry. This is a practice you mostly see on law-enforcing mages to carry their rod everywhere without being too exposed. The Jule guy had it pinned to his insignia; Harith also had it as a necklace. I couldn't see Xebeth's because his back was facing me.
The civilians that request a license to carry a staff might do it also, but they have other ways to blend their weapons. The captain pointed the staff at the runaway convict and shouted a spell.
"Etruno Minia!"
A chirping sound came out of the staff's head, and strings of lightning fired straight at the convict's back. The stroke had him falling to the floor. The mages sped up their pace but in a blink of an eye, the convict was already at his feet. This time running faster than before. His movements were beyond human capacity.
The convict was going to make it in time to cross the closing gate.
"You won't escape!" yelled one of the mages that was running behind him. He ripped the staff pendant from his shoulder to release it. His staff looked more like a normal wooden, stereotypical staff, and pointed towards the convict.
No! Wait" the captain demanded. But it was too late. The mage of order already pronounced the spell.
"Livomni!" A white fireball launched from his staff towards the convict. The young man turned to take a glance at the fireball and ducked at the last moment with a reflex that rivals that of a winged lynx. The fireball flew above him and stroke the gate. The wooden panels began to react and burst out of the fence to strike the convict. One struck him in his torso, the second tried to strike his feet but he dodged in time; and the last one struck him in the head. That last wood panel made him lose momentum until the rest of the woods caught up. Immobilizing him by covering every part of his body.
And if that wasn't enough, the thorns vines on top of the gate that worked as a barbed wire moved on their own too. Tangling at every part of his body the wood didn't cover. From this distance, I could see a pool of blood growing on the floor. The young bald man was unrecognizable under the debris of the wood. The thorn vines embedded in the poor man's skin.
The captain was perplexed by the incident. I could not see his face but I could read his body language too well. He was stiff, thinking twice to make any other move or any order. The mage who cast the immobilizing spell stammered as he tried to apologize to the captain.
"Holy Blood Tree," cursed the captain as he recovered from his tonic immobility. "Of all the training you get every three full moons; of all the spells available and you chose a mind spell? You broke the most basic rule of a mage: to not fire a spell if you're not sure it'll hit". The captain walked towards the mage and yanked the staff out of his hands. "Now we'll face the consequences of this mess." The captain turned his gaze to us. "Hurry up and get the woman inside before she gets any ideas"
No, thank you! I'm not as stupid as the young bald man. First, I would have to cross the mages and if I were to cross the gate how would I survive the Forest of the Twisted Gods? I bet the young convict didn't think that through.
The mages that were escorting resumed their job. The one on my side, the Jules guy, was shocked by the event and worried about how it might affect their team. Even though he held me firm he was shaking.
"Relax," said the Xebeth guy behind me. "It's just a mere human"
"If the captain hears you..." said Harith.
"The captain is weak. His care for humans and convicts will ruin Sasiago" answered Xebeth, as we walked down the corridor at the correctional entrance. "I hope the administrators do something about it. We must maintain Sasiago's reputation"
"The way I see it you're just an afflicted soul that needs to feel empowered by hurting others" I had to say something about it. This Xebeth is getting on my nerves. The way he speaks of convicts... of humans, makes me guess that he's not human. Probably an elf.
He pulled my collar back with force, the shirt whined with a soft ripped sound, and forced me to stop before opening the corridor's double door that leads inside. "I'll teach that mouth of yours a thing or two. Hell... Sasiago will do the job. Big mouths like you don't stay out of sight for too long. Either the cells destroy you, or the other convict trashes will. And I'll be there to enjoy it". He chuckled while saying the last phrase. "You saw what happened to your same kind outside? I can't wait for a chance to miss a magic shot and let the non-living get rid of you"
"Xebeth... stop," said one of the other two. Was it Harith or Jule? I couldn't tell. I lost my focus. And their intervention made no difference. This Xebeth was feared among the crew. You could tell by their voice. Only the captain got him to settle down.
I don't know what awaits me in Sasiago. If its reputation precedes it even though I heard it has changed with the latest Court of Sages. One thing I know for sure:
As long as Xebeth is around I better light some candles for Lord Kian's mercy because I'm fucked.
