God Child

An endless darkness of shadows seemed to devour the lone figure almost obscuring her face as she walked blindly towards an unknown destination. Her pale skin, the only part the shadows could not touch, was almost glowing in the morbid blackness of the night. She shivered once trying to shake herself into awareness only to continue aimlessly in an almost haphazard direction. As if spelled, unable to wake, she continued walking. The horrible images in her mind were her only companion.  Her feet began to pain her as she mechanically lifted them to trudge forward. The frigid wind nipped at her cheeks hungrily making it feel like claws were tearing at her flesh. She ignored it all as best she could, it was pointless to worry about things she had no control over. Her mind, in its desolate state, could only think about propelling herself forward.  The ever present dark forest was not as empty as the hollow shadows consuming it first appeared. A rustle in the undergrowth quickened her pace. In the distance a single eerie howl confirmed her suspicions. She had made it this far through the seemingly endless forest trying to elude them, she would'nt let them get her.  Her eyes had been darting along the ground in front of her to prevent her from stumbling but she glanced up from time to time to see her progress. This time as she glanced up she saw a flickering of light a short distance off. Her consciousness was beginning to fade but she knew she had to continue.  Half alive she stumbled finally into the campfire light she had seen and fainted.  ‐------------------------------------‐---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rhea looked at Silas concerned. The unconscious child at her feet mumbled incoherently as the light from the fire illuminated her dirty face. The suddenness of the child's appearance in the middle of the night did not worry her half as much as the intense glow that was radiating off her skin. "Have you ever heard of both powers in one person?" Silas voiced Rhea's fears, crouching next to the figure crumpled on the ground.  She looked at the girl perplexed, "no," her voice quivered with a disturbed edge. She began frantically pacing around the fire, her eyes darting back and forth wildly. "What should we do?" A demented howl roared through the starless night echoing savagely from every direction. Silas sprang into action pulling Rhea instinctively behind him attempting to protect his wife and the girl from the encroaching presence.  "I don't know but whatever we do we must act quickly. " Suddenly a blood curdling scream ripped from the child's lips and instantly the forest fell into an eerie silence. Abruptly she sat up. Her eye lids shot open and her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Rhea knelt wrapping her arms soothingly around the trembling child.  "She appears to be having a night-terror." Rhea began rocking the girl gently whispering motherly nonsense to ease the sleeping girls fears.  Silas sent a probing stream of his power into the unnaturally silent woods. A dark magic saturated with evil answered him with a quickness that stole his very breath away. A deep fear the likes which he'd never known hastened his need to run.  "We need to leave NOW!" The authority in his voice propelled Rhea into complete obedience. Gently she laid the slumbering girl back on the ground and began quickly gathering their things.  Silas turned his attention to the girl wrapping her frigid body in warm blankets. Their horses pawed the ground nervously as Silas lifted the limp bundle into the saddle.  "You're bringing her, " Rhea stated incredulously. He paused for a moment staring at Rhea , remembering the child they had lost years ago. The grief he had felt at the pain she had barley managed to live through touched him still.  "Yes," he whispered emotionally. Carefully he swung himself into the saddle behind the sleeping for. Securely he wrapped his arms around the child,  "We already lost a child to forces we could not control. I will not willingly abandon this child to an evil fate when it is within my power to save her. Either you're coming or you're not. " Swiftly Silas turned his horse and kicked it into a run.  Although Rhea was stunned at her husband's rash decision deep in her heart she knew he was right. After all they had been through she would not desert him at a time like this. Losing no more time, she jumped into the saddle of her agitated mare. Without thinking she cast a spell into the wilderness to befuddle and misdirect whatever forces were pursuing the child.  "Detorquerentur" The journey home was swift and clear, although Silas and Rhea were beyond exhausted they knew they had no time to rest. Their task of hiding the girl was incomplete and Silas was at a loss of what to do.  "We need to hide her powers, " Rhea's weary voice spoke volumes of truth.  Silas nodded, not sure how they would do it, as he carried the still sleeping girl into the house.  "We must take her away," he concluded looking around at a lifetime of accumulated memories. "Why?" Rhea questioningly looked at her husband.  "Rhea, have you lost all compassion? This child needs us, " Silas looked at his wife.  "Fine," Rhea glared at him,  "for now but when she is safe we will talk more about it. " "I'll look in the books," he hated saying it,  "pack only what we need to survive." His wife began weeping and jerked her head in a heartbreaking agreement.  Riffling through his immense library with an urgency that didn't ease his fear, he became frantic. His numb senses picked up a trace of the evil following them. What seemed like hours took only a few minutes and he had what he wanted.  "I think I have it," he told his wife weakly as he looked at the meager belongings she had packed.  Tears running down her angry face she looked at her husband, "What do we need to do?" He opened the ancient volume to the spell he had found. It was a magic binding that used the person's own magic to sustain it. Silas and Rhea's magic however would be all but drained in the process.  Rhea read over the seemingly simple spell and gasped.  A look of horror on her face she shook her head.  "There must be another way. How can we do this to her?" She was holding the child now, still unconcious she moaned incoherently. The closer the evil presence came the louder her mumbling became. The evasive magic Rhea had used was working thus far but she didn't know how long it would last. "We have no choice they are getting closer, " the hair on Silas' neck was standing up. The couple had a short period of time to make their decision.  Rhea agreed and gently placed the child on the floor. Extending the child's arms at ninety degree angles to her body they placed candles around her. An equal number of white and black, to represent her unique power, were placed at crucial intervals.  Rhea, kneeling, placed her hands on either side of the girls head and took a steadying breath. Imitating his wife's breathing Silas knelt at the girls feet and placed a hand on each ankle. The couple looked into each other's eyes releasing their magic to cover the young child between them. The purity of their powers illuminated the house almost blindingly. They began chanting the binding spell,  "Alligatio" Repeating the spell three times a coin sized stone appeared on the girls chest. Silas quickly spoke,  "Torques," and a chain formed around the stone to form a necklace.  The girl sat up abruptly almost screaming,  "where am I?" Silas and Rhea exchanged a look of apprehension. If the spell had worked the girl would remember nothing of her past.  "You are safe, " Rhea smiled gently at the girl, warming up to her.  The girl began to shake all over with a look of horror on her pale face. "Who am I?" She cried.  Rhea began to weep again and Silas looked gently at the fork.  "We don't know, if you'd like we can call you Maral." Silas had given her the name of the child they had lost.  Rhea looked at him sharply then she looked at the frightened child sitting on the floor in front of her. She slightly nodded her head in approval. He had chosen a good name and it made her happy to have a new chance for a child.  The girls puzzled look turned to a smile, "I like it, " she looked intrigued, "are you my parents?" Rhea's heart warmed.  "If you'll have us we will take care of you."  Maral looked slightly confused, "there is something evil out there. " At her words Rhea and Silas quickly gathered their packed bags and ushered Maral out of the house to the awaiting horses. "We will come back for the rest when they have left the area." Silas consoled his wife as she looked regretfully at everything they were leaving.  Riding through the night away from their house Silas scanned the mountain range for a small cave.  "You and Maral stay here, I'm going back to make sure they haven't followed," he said turning his horse back towards their house. "I love you," Rhea wished she could voice all of her concerns.  Silas turned and smiled weakly at her.  "Who is chasing you?" Maral asked completely oblivious to the danger.  "No one to concern yourself with, " Silas stated as he rode off. Silas left his horse a few leagues from the house trying for as much stealth as he could manage. Crouching behind a large hawthorne bush, it's white blossoms heavy with fragrance would cover his scent. Cautiously he peered around the bush to observe the destruction of his home. Three black witches were standing around the house, from their agitated movements Silas assumed they were arguing. The taller man was instructing afrit's in the destruction of the house.  Afrit's were some of the most powerful beasts he had seen and it took an immense black magician to summon them. They produced a small flame from their long noses.  The hungry fire soon consumed the small cottage.  The figures turned their backs to it and began almost sniffing the air for the girl. Slightly confused by the absence of a trail to follow they became irate.