My father wrapped his hands around a man’s neck and squeezed as tight as he could. Why wasn’t he using his powers?
The night I saved Cypress was painted vividly across my mind. These powers were not meant to be used to kill. Cypress said a Druid could be lost to the violence, but I felt that I had lost myself long ago. And if saving my parents made me evil, then I would embrace it with open arms.
I looked around for my number one enemy, Bhaltair, and cried out when I saw him stalking toward my mother. My helpless mother. He had a spelled sword in his hand, his grip harsh and steady. I urged the crackling power surging through me to protect my mother, but the room simply shook. Bhaltair stumbled only briefly. All I did was prolong the inevitable.
My legs were like concrete as I walked closer to them. Lightning strikes surged from my veins to the ground with every step, making it impossible to run. The wind whipped around my cheeks, and the more I cried, the more the castle turned to ruin.
That was when I saw him. Like he moved with a rush of darkness, Cypress was there. He put himself between my mother and Bhaltair. He surged forward, shoving him backward as two swords appeared at his hands as though he had conjured them. Maybe he had. He struck forward, cutting him, before Bhaltair did the same.
I turned my attention toward my father. For the moment, Bhaltair was contained, but my father was in trouble. He had so little power because he gave so much of it away. I had to help. I pointed my hands at his assailant, and my magic rushed through me. Vines swung out attacking the man who battled my father, wrapping themselves around his neck, and with just the slightest nudge of my fingers, I bled him straight from his throat.
He jerked for a second, as realization must have hit him as to what was happening, although he didn’t have much time to consider it. Not when my vines were sharp like metal. They slit his throat, and I retracted them as he fell to the floor, bleeding. I didn’t care about the repercussions for murder. I’d accept my fate, whatever it may be.
Layne. The voice in my head called my attention. Don’t let him harm your love.
I swung around to find Cypress. He and Bhaltair were evenly matched.
I moved as quickly as I could toward their battle. The loud clashing of metal on metal assaulted my ears with every step. Screams echoed around me.
“You were always such a disappointment,” Bhaltair growled at Cypress.
My assassin shot power from his palm that hit a soldier behind me. I hadn’t even realized someone was about to attack because I was so focused on the battle in front of me. Even while fighting, Cypress was protecting me. It was time I returned the favor.
“No matter how hard I tried, we couldn’t get the humanity and empathy out of you.” Bhaltair continued. “You can fight me all you want, but you will never be the superior assassin. If you want to be the best killer, you have to freeze your heart.“
Cypress growled and struck Bhaltair’s side with his blade. Blood splattered across the floor, but Bhaltair didn’t even flinch.
They fought hard, with evidence of both of their expertise in each skilled movement. Cypress was quick and efficient. It was like he could predict every blow before it landed. Bhaltair was crude and blunt. Even though he was significantly slower than my assassin, each hit seemed to do more damage.
My powers were like a kindling flame within me, waiting for direction.
That was when Bhaltair struck Cypress. He moved fast, whipping him around until he was in back of him, and he held his knife against the throat of the man I loved.
“You’ll never be able to strike me fast enough, Layne. If you even try, I will cut his throat.”
That was true. I could shoot my power at him, but I’d never make it in time. Cypress would be dead before I struck.
“Don’t believe a word he says, Layne,” Cypress spoke through gritted teeth. Resignation, not fear filled his expression. I might have hated that more. He didn’t believe I could get him out of this fate.
Bhaltair was a liar, but sometimes in life you had to deal with liars. I’d learned that early on in prison. There were ways to deal with people who dealt in untruth.
“I know what you want,” I said to him. “You want my powers back, and now that I’ve truly experienced them, I can see why you do. They’re strong, almost to the point of breaking me, and if you have even a touch of them, they must make your already considerable strength unstoppable.”
Bhaltair laughed. “She’s smart, your woman. How did you ever manage to get in her pants? She’s too smart for you. Too good for the street urchin you’ve always been inside.”
“That’s true,” Cypress answered. “But I’m better for having known her, and that’s what you’ll never understand.”
In that moment, I had clarity. Funny how it could hit like that. I knew exactly what I had to do.
I was a creature of the moon. A Druid gifted by her embrace. And the moon came at night.
“I’ll go back,” I told my enemy simply. For sure he would see the truth on my face. Liars could always smell a lie.
Bhaltair shook his head, driving his sword into Cypress’s skin. It would leave a mark. “Not good enough. They’ll never stop hunting me or trying to break you out.”
“They won’t know they should. Everyone in here will fall asleep. It’s a gift, a moon power. They’ll wake, and they won’t know anything about this. As though the whole thing had just been a dream. I’ll be gone, and they won’t know otherwise.” I walked
