Alex.J.Cobalt

“Stop this!” Vashna screamed, pulling at the ropes around his wrists, “for the sake of yourself, Maynie, you need to stop!”

Maynie looked up from the alter, hair askew and magic wild in her eyes. Blue energy surrounded her hands as she continued to move them in the ritual movements.

“Stop?”

Even though her word was a whisper, in the silence of the room it carried. The room which should have been teeming with life, but now it was just Vashna and Maynie.

“You don’t understand, Vashna,” Maynie hissed, “you never have!”

She flung out her arm, sending a streak of blue energy towards Vashna. He flinched as it hit the stone in front of him, marking the same spot she had sent all the other spells.

She couldn’t do it, she couldn’t kill him.

So she was making him bear witness instead.

In some ways, Vashna would have rather been massacared with the rest of the Priesthood. At least their lifeless eyes did not have to bear witness to this treachery.

Worse, he thought, blasphemy.

“You can’t re-write history,” he said, “you and I both know that Maynie, Trulaphi will not allow it.”

If there was any remorse that Maynie showed for the name of her once beloved God, Vashna could not see it.

“Trulaphi was hiding us from the truth!” she said. She slammed her hands down on the alter, forcing the magics into the stone. Symbols shot upwards, firing towards the sacred prayers that were engraved upon the ceiling.

“Trulaphi was protecting us,” Vashna said, “he knew what mortals would do if they had his power-”

Maynie screamed. It was a raw, painful scream of grief and loss. Blue energy radiated from her around the temple in pulses.

Then it calmed, just for a moment. Maynie looked up at Vashna, tears in her eyes.

“Please stop, Maynie,” Vashna pleased, “please we can sort this out.”

Maynie screwed her face up, shaking her head.

“No,” she said, “never.”

An eruption of energy left her fingertips as she pieced the veil of time. Vashna closed his eyes at the light, unable to look.

The light died moments later. When Vashna opened his eyes once more, Maynie had disappeared.

Featured Image Credit: Photo by Steffi Pereira on Unsplash

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