Powers Awaken

Powers Awaken
Letting a scream escape me, I felt the creature's teeth sink into my arm, instantly tearing the skin and drawing blood. Hissing in pain, I used my free hand to grab hold of its jaw and began to try to fight to break free.

"Let go." I growled while managing to get the creature's mouth open wide enough to pull myself free.

Jumping back, I managed to avoid it clamping down a second time. Realizing it missed, it let a loud reptile-like hiss escape as it lowered down onto all fours and began to quickly scuffle towards me.

Turning, I clutched my injured arm to my chest and ran towards the end of the hall that I was currently in. As I moved, the walls themselves began to seem to move, almost like they were trying to guide me somewhere.

Too scared of the creature that was chasing me, I continued to move until I found myself in a large room with a pond sitting in the middle of it. Below my feet sat lush green grass that I could barely see through the fog that hovered close above it.

Unable to grasp where I was, I looked over my shoulder to see the lizard creature still making its way towards me.

"HELP!" I screamed in hopes that maybe, just maybe, someone would be here. "PLEASE HELP ME!"

Despite my pleas, no one appeared, and realizing I was alone, I continued to move but stopped as a piercing pain shot through my ankle. Looking down, I found the creature's mouth clamped around my leg tightly. Hissing, it yanked, causing me to fall to the ground on my hands and knees while I fought to break free.

"LET GO!" I shrieked, kicking out with my free foot in an attempt to kick it in the face. "RELEASE ME!"

Looking around, I searched desperately for something to use as a weapon to get the beast off of me but came up empty-handed.

"Think Valerie." I hissed as the beast tightened its hold, causing an agonizing pain to shoot up my leg.

Closing my eyes, I felt a strange sensation begin to build in me. Confused, I tried to pinpoint what it was as my need to escape grew. With each passing minute, I began to make out a bright, burning light that was forming behind my eyelids. Gasping, I instantly recognized it as my magic wanting to help me out of this situation.

It was hard to explain the calm that settled through me as I placed my hands on the earth, allowing its energy to begin to flow through me so that I could use it to break free.

"Mother earth, please help me." I murmured, closing my eyes once more as an all-consuming light rushed through me. "Grant me your powers to eliminate those who wish to harm me."

Letting out a breath, my eyes flew open just as two tree roots shot out of the ground and began to quickly snake their way around the creature that was attached to me. Giving my leg a strong yank, I managed to break free as the roots finished snaking around it, holding it in place as it snarled and struggled to break free.

"That was..." I gasped, beginning to feel light-headed as my magic disappeared.

I never got the opportunity to finish my sentence as a strong coppery taste shot up my throat. Heaving, I watched in horror as blood poured out of my mouth and onto the ground below. Grasping at the ground, I tried to stay conscious as black spots danced before my eyes and the world around me began to spin. But despite my attempts, in the end, I lost and collapsed on the ground in my own blood and spittle, drifting off into the sweet darkness that promised no pain or suffering.

The sensation of tiny little needles stabbing into my skin roused me from my fevered sleep. Groaning, I tried to drift again, only to be stopped by more intense pain flowing through me. Opening my eyes, I squinted as the bright light nearly blinded me. Confused, I waited for my vision to adjust before looking around to see exactly where I was.

To my surprise, I was no longer in the field that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere in the castle corridors, but instead was in my room.

"How..." I murmured just as I caught movement in my peripheral.

"You're lucky we found you." A woman with long brown hair and kind gray eyes said, pulling a needle out of my arm. "Otherwise, you may not have made it."

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to make sense of her words. "Lucky, who found me?"

"Sir Tristan and Gabriel." The woman responded simply. "They detected the unauthorized use of magic within the castle grounds and rushed to you."

Furrowing my brows together, I tried to wrack my memory to see if I knew who this Gabriel was.

"He is Sir Tristan's right-hand man." The woman explained, seeming to catch onto my train of thought. "He had been away until today."

"Right," I said, trying to relax. "What about that thing that was down there?"

A shiver raced through me as I remembered the lizard-like creature that tried to take my life.

"The kobold?" The woman asked, grimacing. "It has been returned to where it belongs."

"Where it belongs," I repeated. "Where does it belong?"

"It protects the labrinth beneath this castle. To ensure that enemies don't try to sneak in from underground," she explained while pulling even more needles out of me.

Initially, I hadn't realized it when I woke up because there was so much more to make sense of. However, looking now, I found a dozen tiny needles making an intricate design on my arm. I could only assume the pain I felt when I woke up was them.

"What is this?" I asked, motioning towards the needles.

"Acupuncture. You severely damaged your meridians while drawing all that magic." She responded, frowning. "How a novice could handle that much energy in their body is amazing."

"I'm not..." I started but stopped realizing that this wasn't the same body I had back when I was an all-powerful mage. "Nevermind."

Lifting a brow, the woman waited to see if I was going to try to speak again. When I didn't, she busied herself with pulling the rest of the needles out of my arm.

"I'm going to let the sire know that you've awakened." She announced, giving a bow. "Try to stay put and not move around much while I'm gone."

Nodding, I watched as the woman hurried out of the room, leaving me alone. Once I was sure she was gone, I lifted my arm and took in the tiny little holes that were marring my skin. If my memory served me correctly, the design stood for connection and peace. That meant that it would allow my meridians to calm down and come together as one again.

"Does this mean that I have already almost died?" I murmured, understanding exactly how much damage must have been done by my rash decision.

"You did."

Flinching, I turned and watched as Vladimier entered with a sour expression on his face. Moving quickly, he lifted a hand, and before I even knew what was happening, it connected with my cheek, sending a shock of pain through me.

Eyes growing wide, I met his enraged gaze. This time, I was sure. This wasn't the man that I used to know. However, if it wasn't, then who the hell was he exactly?