“Wands are for children.”
Lana didn’t even bother to look up from her spell at the condescending words. She didn’t have to. She had heard similar statements so frequently that she could picture the disapproving expression, the gaze filled with part concern but more disdain, extremely clearly in her mind. She continued muttering the incantation under her breath, a familiar headache starting behind her left eye.
“Didn’t anyone ever show you how to perform magic without one?” The voice grew louder and more annoying.
Lana still didn’t react. By her estimation there was still a roughly twenty percent chance that the speaker would go away on their own if she ignored them. The muttered words grew more feverish, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead from the strain.
At the tip of her battered wand, a faint glow began.
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” The young man, not getting a response from her, stepped closer with a scowl. His magical power rippled out unknowingly from his skin, responding to its owner’s emotions.
“Don’t.” Lana whispered desperately in between magical cadences, hoping against all hope that he would move away.
A deep growl rose from within her soul. Lana tried to push it down, but it casually brushed aside the attempt. Formless, yet immense and terrifying, it stared hungrily at the unwitting victim that stood in front of them.
Young, about her age, nineteen or so, he wore the standard Academy uniform, but with enough expensive decorations added to it to announce that he was from a Family.
Which meant he would be missed.
“Run!” Lana abandoned her magical attempt, clutching her wand like a lifeline, and forced out the warning with the last of her spare energy, all of her focus on the battle within.
“How are you still at this school?” The young man, ignoring her cautionary shout, leaned forward. The magic drifted from him like a heavy perfume, stirring the force within her to fight even more fiercely.
“I’ve heard about you.” Unable to hear the invisible predator inches away, he smirked. “The daughter of the most powerful witch and wizard in the realm. The one who should have been a force to be reckoned with, a new world power.”
I must feed. Let loose the chains so I may eat!
“Instead she never graduated from using a practice wand. A tool for children.”
Lana took a deep breath, gathering all her strength to imprison the beast roaring hungrily deep within her. She gained ground, with a flash of triumph, and finally had space to speak.
“You don’t understand, and I cannot explain everything to you here. Just know this… Magic isn’t what we think it is. It is far more ancient than humans, and will feed on our fossilized corpses long after we are gone.” She gestured with her wand. “The more powerful something is, the more control is needed to prevent disaster. So please… while I still have that control… please go.”
She stared at his face for a few tense seconds, hoping for a positive response.
“What a pathetic excuse for a witch.” He reached out, grabbing her wand and tossing it to the ground. “Grow up and learn to use magic like an adult….”
The voice ripped out from her body, soundless yet deafening to the both of them. The young man turned pale as he sensed the danger, falling backwards as he scrambled to put distance between himself and the now perceived threat.
An invisible claw tore out through Lana’s chest, causing her to scream in agony. It grasped the student, tearing something from deep within his body. Terrified and painful gasps filled the air, but he was too far gone to do more. The invisible appendage retracted, bringing a bright light with it.
As it exited the young man, his body collapsed in on itself, turning into dust and scattering on the breeze. The beast pulled the light within her, leaving no visible wound for the extreme pain she had been forced to endure.
Lana collapsed to the ground, barely breathing. The beast, which some called Magic, consumed its prey happily within her soul, before becoming dormant once more.
Shakily, after what felt like an eternity, Lana reached out and grasped her battered practice wand. Feeling the extra lock slide into place she sighed with relief.
She stood up, and brushed off her robes. With sad expression she looked at the empty space where not long ago a living, breathing human had stood.
“I told you to run.” She whispered painfully.
With that, she abandoned her spell and headed back to the dorm. She thought of the glances, the words, the gossip that would await her. The daughter of the strongest, dependent on a wand to use even small amounts of magic. But they didn’t know. They didn’t understand.
She would find a way to destroy Magic. Destroy the beast.
Before it became strong enough to escape.
Nothing could stop it then.
