THE BEGINNING (Ruthless James is born)
1119 Words
STELLA
I tightened my grip on my phone and quickened my pace, my heart thudding too fast for no reason. Driving would cause attention,I didn't want that.The road was hollow.
I called James again.Straight to voicemail.
My chest ached.
“Please,” I muttered. “Just answer.”
I could hear footsteps behind me,I turned quickly
“James?”no response
My eyes searched everywhere,across the road,a familiar face staring at me,the lady from the interview I think.
Maybe walking was a bad idea,I turned back in fear. My steps faster this time. I could feel someone following me.My breath hitched.
I kept looking back,not wanting any surprises.I bumped into someone, so tall.I looked up quickly. My eyes met a masked man…curly hair just like….
“James?,”I said, my voice low. “Is that you,” fabric soaked in something wet sealed over my mouth and nose. I inhaled by reflex, finding it difficult to breathe
No…no…
I tried to scream, but the sound died before it could exist. My body betrayed me faster than my mind could keep up. My arms went heavy. My legs wobbled like they no longer belonged to me.
Sedative.
Panic exploded in my chest.I clawed at the hand holding me, nails scraping skin, but my strength drained too quickly. The figure leaned close. I felt breath against my ear.
“Sleep.”
I swear I heard it in James voice.
JAMES
Posadese’s hand crushed my throat, lifting me off the ground like I weighed nothing. My feet dangled, air a distant memory. Pressure built behind my eyes, my vision pulsing red and black.Blood spilled from my nose, sliding over my lips, dripping down my teeth.
I smiled. I couldn’t help it.
“That’s it?” I rasped, my voice broken, blood bubbling with the words. “That’s all you’ve got?”
He smirked.
“Arrogant just like your father ” Posadese said calmly, lifting me higher. “That’s why you’ll fall.”
The world tilted violently, pain exploding white-hot through my spine.Crack.
I felt my neck snap.
The sound echoed before the darkness took me.
My body went limp, consciousness tearing away from me like a thread snapping clean.
Just long enough to feel myself being dragged.
Stone scraped against my skin. Chains rattled. Thrown..hard…into something cold and deep.
Wings erupted around me.Bats,hundreds of them.
They shrieked and scattered as my body hit the dungeon floor, bones crunching beneath me. Iron slammed shut above, sealing me in darkness so thick it felt alive.
“Where all arrogant fools end,” Damien said distantly.
“SOMEWHERE IN SAFIRE MIRAYA”
The hall rang with celebration.Firelight danced across stone pillars as witches, generals, and loyalists packed the chamber shoulder to shoulder.
Posadese stood at the center dais, arms lifted, basking in it.
“Tonight,” he announced, his voice magnified by magic, “we reclaim what was stolen from us.”
Cheers erupted.
Damien stood beside him, bruised but proud, chin lifted like a man already tasting his reward.
“The gates of Hell will open,” Posadese continued. “And we will march together. No more hiding,no more fear,”
The covens roared their approval, staff striking the floor in unison.
“The strongest among them,” Posadese said, smiling wide. “The Alpha,the god they feared.”
He paused,just long enough to savor it.
“Dead,” he finished casually. “Like a chicken slaughtered in the dark.”
Laughter burst through the hall.
“We will invade,” Posadese declared. “And we will win.”
The hall shook with celebration.
“I will reward my most loyal servant,” he went on, turning, one hand extending toward Damien. “For his unwavering faith, his sacrifice…”
The massive gates at the far end of the hall blew inward. All eyes turned towards the gate.
Stone screamed as metal hinges tore free. Wind rushed through the chamber, extinguishing torches in a single violent breath.
I stepped inside.Red burned behind my eyes, lighting the darkness as the doors slammed against the walls behind me. Cracks spidered through the stone beneath my boots with every step forward.
A slow smile pulled at my mouth.I loved the look on their faces.Frozen,pale,realization.
They really celebrated?
My head tilted slightly as I looked at Posadese. Then Damien.
“…You were saying?” I asked calmly.
In a blink, I was in front of the dais. Posadese barely had time to inhale before my hand closed around his throat, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.I threw him roughly on the ground as I turned back to Damien,my smile sharp.
The hall trembled. Posadese stood almost immediately, pointing his finger towards me.
“Everyone's quiet now,” I said, walking casually.
I appeared in front of Lunacriz, Posadese's son. My eyes stayed on Posadese.His jaw tightened, ... Now this is fun.
“Please” Lunacriz said, his lips shaky
I plunged my claws into Lunacriz’s chest, ripping his heart out and flinging him before Posadese.
“Noooo!!!!!” Posadese roared. The hall shook violently.
“You're a dead man,” Posadese picked Lunacriz and vanished.
Damien's face twisted in rage.
I pinned him inches away from me, taking his arms and the one of his legs. His mouth opened but nothing came out.
Screams erupted everywhere .I stamped my foot on the ground making everyone fall.
“You killed my brother ,“ A whimper came from behind me.I turned.
A small girl stood there, shaking, tears streaking her face. I bent down, smiling.
“The blood is on your father…”
She threw something at my head and ran.
I groaned….
My smile vanished.
A familiar scent hit my nose,making me tilt my head sideways.
CARRINGTON
Owen and Carrington finally breached Safire Miraya Hall.
The devastation hit them first. The shattered pillars, scorched floors, the eerie silence that swallowed every sound. Smoke curled in the high windows like black fingers. Shadows danced across the broken stone, twisting shapes that didn’t belong.
And then they saw him.
James. Standing among the ruins, calm.
Owen ran forward, but each step felt heavier, as if the air itself resisted him. “James!” he shouted, voice cracking.
Carrington moved slower, irritated.”This devil has been trouble since birth.” She muttered ,not wanting to get too close
“James,” she said, voice smooth, icy.
James turned his head.
His eyes,black as midnight, no hint of mercy fixed on them. The shadows seemed to cling to him, bending toward his presence.
“And who the hell… are you?” His voice dropped to a whisper that filled the hall, low and lethal, yet somehow audible in every corner.
- Writer
