PROLOGUE
1042 Words
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her.
As far as her heels could take her, and even when the sole of her feet turned sore against the hard and wet granite, she did not stop running.
"I can't die like this, I can't die like this." She continued to mutter underneath her breath. Sweat mixed with the drops of rain on her face.
She was shivering with cold, but it was not enough to weaken her resolve to survive.
The men were behind her, all four of them. Vampires were sent by the guardians to kill as many witches as they could. None of the witches should survive.
She held on to her amulet as she ran into the forest. The main road was no longer safe!
She stopped to catch her breath and ducked behind a tall cinnamon tree.
The branches of the tree gave her shelter from the rain. She pressed her back against the hard stem, panting heavily.
As she looked at the dark sky, the round moon reminded her of the moon goddess who had proclaimed death upon her kind. She ground her teeth in hatred and anger.
"Find her! Not one of the witches must make it out alive!" She heard their master growl.
She recognized him, she recognized them all.
Once upon a time, they were all one family; the werewolves, the vampires, and the witches. They were all ruled by a heavenly body they called "The guardians."
But, all of that had changed. Now, she was an outcast. All witches were outcasts who had witnessed the fall of their grandmaster.
Accused of treason, of wanting to rule the realms by himself.
But, the guardians did not stop at casting the grandmaster to eternal damnation. Not at all!
They made a grave decision to exterminate the race of the witches. If any of them had inherited the power of the prodigy - the power to control minds - they would be a dire threat to the guardians.
However, Stella refused to resign herself to fate.
She would not die like this, she would not lose her head to the sword of the guardians, or her blood to the tongue of the thirsty vampires running after her.
Her tattered red dress stuck to her body like a second skin. The sky opened its mouth and unleashed its wrath upon the earth.
She was lucky. The smell of wet earth helped mask the scent of her blood, or the vampires would have caught her by now.
Frantic, she pulled her dress up. The pendant she had hidden in her panties was still safe there. It would keep her masked from the guardians when she escaped, and it would keep her powers in check.
But first, she had to find the river. If she could conjure the power of water, she knew she would be able to escape this realm to another.
"I see her!" An angry voice yelled out.
"s**t!"
Stella threw the amulet back into her panties and pulled her dress down. Her legs picked up their former pace and her heart pounded against her chest, beating so fast she thought she would pass out.
"The bloody witch is heading for the river!"
"Do not let her get to the river! Heavens alone know what these bastards are capable of!"
Hot scorching tears traveled down her eyes to the flesh of her cheekbones as she ran, but they disappeared with the drops of rain that fell on her face.
Now, they were bastards, they were bastards because the guardians were threatened by their powers.
She refused to think back to the family she would be leaving behind, to her mother's green eyes, her father's bright smile. She refused to think about her sisters who had been slaughtered by the wolves, torn into shreds and their blood sucked by the vicious vampires.
She refused to recall the look on her mother's face as she screamed.
"Run, Stella!"
Stella shook her head vehemently. A sad smile crept up to her face. She was running, she hoped her mother could see her.
A large body of water came to view in front of her.
The salty river of salvation was staring right at her.
"That's the bloody river! Get there before she does!"
Everything in her thought of turning back, but she would never do that!
She would escape and live among the humans, and the river was her only means of getting there.
She was close, so close…
Until she felt a sharp pain at the back of her right leg.
"I've got her!"
She ignored the pain, she ignored the sting of the arrow and continued to run.
They started to laugh behind her.
"Run all you want! The poison won't let you get far!"
Stella's lips curved into a thin smile.
They underestimated her a great deal, and that was why her escape plan would be successful.
She did not stop to run, not even with the blood that continued to gush from her leg.
Finally, she got to the river.
The laughter of the men was far behind her.
Stella stepped into the river. Thunder rumbled in the sky, the rain continued to pour without mercy. Lightning and hail, are both sent by the moon goddess of the sky to ensure the destruction of her kind.
But they would not succeed.
With an aching heart and shattered bones, Stella closed her eyes and stretched her hand towards the river.
The water rose beneath her, the higher her hands went, the higher the water rose. She formed the body of water in front of her into a circle, carefully reciting the spell of portal creation.
She screamed out in anger and pain.
"River, oh River! Flow gently for me, such precious cargo you bear. Do you know a place where I can be free? River, deliver me there!"
On her command, the water rose and rushed towards her. She did not run, she did not turn.
She felt the water grab her with sharp claws, pulling her into the depth until she was completely immersed in its glory and rage.
Swallowed by the river, she smiled and opened her eyes.
She was finally free.
- Writer
