Dark Hunger

Elize shivered. The magic seeped through their mental bond. "I really have to go back, now!" she politely ordered the woman who was flying with her. 

'Control your magic now,' said Caleb through their bond. 'It is trying to take control of you.' 

She focused on her magic. She imagined pulling the fine thread inside her. "Please put me down," she said to the woman simultaneously. 

The woman twisted her lips, "Are you sure? We are having so much fun." 

"I am. I have to return," Elize said sternly. She wasn't sure why, but yes, she was feeling liberated. She wanted to soar higher but at the same time she wanted to go back to Caleb. She could sense his worry in his voice and it unsettled her. 

"Elize…" the magic hissed. "You won't get to live as fully as today…"

Feeling jittery as to how her magic was convincing her to stay and even feeling the pull to do what it was saying, her mind swayed. It had been ages that she had felt this free. 

'Stop worrying, sorcerer king. She will return when she is ready,' said the magic through her bond. 

Elize felt as if her private space was being encroached. Caleb growled, his feral sound coming through the bond. 'Come back, Lizzy.'

"Take me down, please," she said to the woman again. "I came here because you said whether I trusted you or not. Now please tell me that I did right by trusting you."

The woman jerked her head to see Elize. The darkness in her eyes spilled for a moment and then her lips curved up. From the periphery of her vision, Elize thought that she saw shadows of ivory horns on her temples that curled back. Perhaps she was just imagining. But the woman slowly took her down despite her magic resisting it. When they were near the bonfire, she set Elize on her feet. Feeling dizzy after the flight, Elize swayed a little, but then she walked to where her clothes were heaped in a pile. She shimmied through her bra and slacks. When she looked up, she saw that the woman was staring at her with her emerald eyes. She smiled and said, "Come back soon. It was lovely to have someone else here other than me." Her voice was gloomy, yet she was smiling. 

"Can't we stay," the magic hissed as it swayed a little more around the fire. 

Elize nodded shakily at the woman. She looked at the red tendrils that were swirling and commanded them to retreat. Reluctantly, the magic retreated inside her and Elize closed her eyes. She felt herself being sucked in a vacuum and when she opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in the center of the cave, with Caleb knelt in front of her. 

"Elize!" Caleb said and hugged her. She could feel a shiver pass down his body. "I was worried," he said in a breathy voice over her temple. 

"I— I—"

He stroked her hair reassuringly. "It's fine. You don't have to explain." He kissed her temple out of relief. When he pulled back, he found her extremely flustered. "What is it?" he asked, his brows knitting.

"What time is it?" she asked. Was she imagining all that she just experienced?

"It must be midafternoon. Why?"

"When I closed my eyes, I was kind of pulled into a magical world and it was night with a full moon. And there— there was a woman with me. My magic pulled me in front of a bonfire and the magic and the woman cajoled me to dance around it." Her gaze flitted between his eyes. "Caleb, it was very liberating. I loved it. After a while, she grabbed my hand and we started running and before I knew it, her shadow-like wings unfurled from the back and she took me up with her to the black sky. I— we— we flew." 

Caleb's face paled. A rumble vibrated his chest. 

"I don't know who she was but when we came back to the ground, she said that it was nice to have me with her for the place was very lonely." 

A shaky breath left him. He rubbed his hand over his mouth and then said, "Maybe it was just what your mind conjured at that moment or it could be a trick of your magic." 

She shrugged. "Maybe…" 

He got up and pulled her up. "Forget about her, love and tell me where your magic is pooled." 

She looked down at her stomach and placed her hand on her navel. "I saw a red tendril emerging from here. It extended out and then took the form of a man or a woman made out of shadows and smoke and twirled with me."

Caleb walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Close your eyes again and be free, okay? I want to feel your magic." He had thought that he would ask her to control it, but in reality, her magic was more dangerous than he had ever imagined. He placed both his hands on her navel. "Try to be in sync with me," he whispered. 

Warmth traveled through his hands and it reached her navel. He connected her through their mental bond. 'Can you feel me?' he asked. She nodded. Slowly he started probing inside her, inside her skin, her veins and blood and when he was completely in tandem with her, he found the pool. It was like a gnawing lava of heat that protested intrusion. Elize jerked and a feral sound emanated from her which she was shocked to see wasn't hers. The magic vibrated inside her like a tornado. The force was so much that her back arched and she cried in pain. The red tendrils splashed out of her, twirling and swirling. They rose up and formed a face with two horns that were straight. It dropped its jaw to bare its fangs, to scare Elize, to scare Caleb, but Caleb didn't leave her. He chanted in ancient language, "Do, bi sadae!" 

The magic protested. It started pulling Elize away. "Be free of him…" it hissed eerily. "He is taking away our freedom…" 

Elize screamed in pain, as her body became stiff and arched more. The magic was pulling her away from Caleb. She felt as if it had tied like a rope around her waist and snagged her. "Please, leave me!" she begged to no one in particular, her tears rolling out. She wanted either Caleb to leave her or the magic to settle. It was like they were at war to control her body. 

"Do, bi sadae!" Caleb chanted loudly. "Je na cestrlesem!" 

Elize's scream became louder. There was so much pain that she was barely in her senses. "Leave me!" 

"Je na cestrlesem!" Caleb chanted and kept a tight control over her. He whispered to her through their mental bond, 'Speak with me, Lizzy. Je na cestrlesem!' 

Her throat was paper dry. "Wh— what?" She could hardly comprehend what he was saying. 

'Speak with me, Je na cestrlesem!'

With great difficulty she said, 'Je na…"

"No!" The magic growled and lashed at her. 

"…cestrlesem!" 

Before the magic could strike her, it fractured into thousands of wisps and in one swoosh entered her body.. The force was so intense, that Elize's back arched once more and she collapsed.