Stupidity made itself known in the face of danger, and a couple of stones barralled towards Belladonna from the darkness.
Anger blazed in her eyes.
She wasn't thinking, she couldn't.
All she could hear were these voices, all she could feel was anger, it was too consuming and the desire for vengeance that ran through her veins wasn't proportionate to the situation.
It was wild.
A scream rang through the night, blood splattered in the air and a body dropped limp from a neighbor's window as a head rolled to the ground.
"Donna," Eli yelled and she turned sharply to him, a moment of sanity seeping back into her head when her eyes met his brown own, but it didn't last long enough.
The power seized her and the anger collided in her mind, making her into something Eli beheld with fear, as memories of Kestra by the river replayed in his mind.
Traumatized.
Her blank eyes were the color of blood, red lines netting the skin beneath as lightning tore at one another at the tip of her fingers.
"Monster!"
"Witch!" They cried and ran to save themselves, but it was too late and chaos erupted soon enough.
Ice rained down on them, spikes of it, balls of it. A force lifted some off their feet, as red lines work around them like snakes, curling around their entire body and restraining them from moving.
Walls of ice caged the guards that came to attack her, closing in on them.
The cries for help broke through the night, as the guards worked their shields against the raining spear-shaped ice to protect the people.
Eli's hand grabbed two crying children who had lost their parents in the chaos, pushing them into the hands of a guard, as he charge forth to Belladonna, breaking through the turnado to get to her.
"BELLADONNA!" He yelled and she turned to him, her expression blank. The wind was pushing him away and he could barely see her face. "YOU NEED TO STOP! YOU ARE KILLING PEOPLE!"
Her eyes squinted, she could barely see his face or make out what he was saying. But something in her knew that she knew him, and that thing wanted to listen even though she couldn't hear him over the voices in her head.
"DONNA, YOU ARE KILLING PEOPLE!"
Suddenly, she could hear him.
Killing people?
The words slammed against her and her control returned, the havoc around her stilled to a stop, except the running people and those that were struggling for air on the floor after her magic had suddenly dropped them.
She was panting, her gaze dashing around the catastrophe she had caused. Everything went downhill when she saw the head that had rolled to her feet and the blood that had splattered on her.
Frightened by everything and herself, she staggered back, her hand on her chest, her wrist smelling of burning flesh.
"Donna," she heard the voice that had brought her back to sanity again and when she turned to him, his eyes held fear that he was trying to hide.
He was scared of her too.
She looked around again, at the frightened and injured people, then back at the severed head. Her hands trembled, just as her body was quivering, and her eyes watered with tears.
"I'm sorry." Her lips moved but her voice didn't make it. She looked around, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry."
She did this. She did this!
Panic set in.
If only she could just disappear and never come back.
Before Eli could reach her, a force yanked her away from the scene, and her scream rang through the night, her gaze clashing with that of a woman who was looking out through the dark room's window of Kami's family house, before she disappeared into the night.
"You are not welcomed in my home," Kami's father said slamming his door shut, but that wasn't what Eli was worried about right now.
His Donna had just disappeared, the powers she possessed were getting out of hands, the bracelet was supposed to control it.
Why wasn't it working?
Where was she?
He broke into a wild chase, going in the direction the force had yanked his Donna towards, ignoring the stares that followed and allowing his abilities to be displayed in full force.
In seconds, the villagers were a blur behind him and he followed her quickly fading jasmine fragrance as fast as he could.
He needed to find her.
What if she ended up harming more people or worse... herself.
___
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The darkness of the cave felt fitting.
Although she could heard water trickling in the cave, she didn't want to find it. She wanted to wash the blood away but she didn't want to see her face, afraid of what she might find.
Her power felt troubling and it buzzed through her restlessly. The voices had reduced to inaudible murmurs and now that she was thinking, she could remember the death she had caused when she had first acquired this power too.
Tears ran down her cheeks, all she could think about was the disaster she had caused, those she had unintentionally killed before, and the man she had killed tonight.
Was there more tonight?
How many of them had she injured?
She looked down at her trembling hands that she couldn't see. She couldn't see the small dry blood stains but she knew they were there, no matter the amount of intensive wiping off she had done, it still felt like they were there.
Like they would forever be there, painting her guilty.
She buried her face in her hands once again and wept.
How much of a danger was she now?
If death was a solution, she would attempt it.
This power... this evil... she didn't want it!
It was changing her, and being alone only made her think of more gruesome things to do to put an end to this drastic unwanted change.
The sound of leathery wings snapped her attention to the mouth of the cave, and when he stepped in, she didn't even have to guess who he was.
His hair was glowing and his mismatched serpent-like eyes found her too easily.
At his command, a single flame danced at the tip of his index finger, over his claw, the light making her see the glare he wore on his face.
Alaris.
"Make it quick, Nightshade. Whose heart am I collecting tonight?" He moved closer to her, his shadow reaching her before he did, his folded wings massive behind him.
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Happy New Year, Lovies!
Cheers to a lot of adventures this year. Also, you can make a wish here for the characters. You never know, it might come true. (wink, wink).
Check out my insta post for the appreciation post - @at_imagination. I added a little spin to it. Thank you for coming with me this far. I wouldn't have done this without you. Thank you.