Believing in Myself

This chapter and last one were deleted because of a glitch... But since when do I let something as trival as a glitch stop me from writing? Onward!

Chapter 3


A lone figure walked down a hallway without much light in it. One could barely see the floor here. But this thing knew what its destination was, and had no trouble navigating the narrow paths that seemed to sap the very essence of life from the air. Stopping at a door, the demon raised its claw and knocked hard.

"Enter…"

The voice behind the door sounded a bit lax, yet held authority. The demon pushed the door open and a quick glance around the room was all that was needed before he saw the person standing next to a window, staring out toward the sky.

"Sir… we have a problem."

"What now?"

"A… angel has appeared."

The man made no move, as though the statement didn't bother him. His voice was still in the expressionless, flat one he used.

"And that's a problem, how?"

"It could mean they are on to us…"

"Don't be stupid. We've been planning everything to keep those fools up there from interfering."

The demon mumbled something, which caused the person to turn around and look at him. The man's face was sharp, and looked to be about 34, although it betrayed his true age. His body was lean, yet not very tall. A slight trace of muscle could be seen.

"What is it?"

"The angel… has found him."

At this the man turned back and faced out the window again. He sighed.

"I was afraid that it might come down to this. I had hoped that he would remain dormant. But it seems now… steps must be taken."

"Sir… Why is it he is so important to the plan? I don't see how he could be a threat."

"Idiot… if you only knew the magnitude of the problem. Look, you know magic is bound by laws, correct?"

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"Laws?"

John and Jessica had moved their talk to the living area. Jessica was sitting down, but John remained standing.

"Yes. All magic is bound to certain laws. Take my magic for example. Angel magic is not allowed to bring harm or destruction of any kind. We cast defensive and healing magic mostly."

"Ok… But what does this have to do with me?"

"You see, human magic is bound too. Magic cast by humans are aligned to one of four elements. Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth."

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"I know that sir… all demons know that."

"Yes… however, there are certain exceptions to this rule. There are those known as The Destined, casters who can, for reasons beyond what anyone knows, cast magic of all four elements. They are not bound by the same laws and rules that apply to the rest of the world."

"That is why we have only been killing a select few? They are these so called Destined?"

"Exactly. About four Destined remain in this world. And we believed that the human we are watching may be one of them. However, as his magic was never awakened, there was no need to take action. However…"

"Now he must die."

"Correct, before he can learn any magic."

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"Alright… so then… if I can cast magic, why has my father never taught me anything?"

"You dad never knew magic. Your mother is where to inherit this ability. And since your father could never teach you magic when you came of age at 12… the magic inside of you slowly waned away."

John stared at her for quite some time. He couldn’t seem to process all this at once. It was just way too overwhelming and way too unbelievable.

"But… I can't! I can’t possibly cast magic! And even if I could, how can you teach me?"

"Well… I was hoping you'd have something that would resemble some kind of book or scroll… Magic from them can be taught to anyone with the gift."

"But I don't have anything like that. My mother never left behind anything that could even remotely resemble magic."

John frowned as he looked around the room. Since when had life become so complex? First his father dies, and now some strange angel comes, claiming she can help him teach magic. What next?

As if in answer to these thoughts, a pounding on the door caused them both to jump.

"The hell! It's the middle of the night! Who is it, more angels?"

"No, I was the only-."

Another bang and door came off its hinges. There in the doorway, standing nearly 6 feet tall was a demon. Scale covered much of its lower body, and some of his upper torso. The horns on its head curved out past his white colored hair, and it bared fangs at the two. The lunged out, claws posed to strike, when Jessica raised her hands and closed her eyes. A white light surrounded her body and the demon suddenly stopped, as though it hit something. Satisfied with her barrier, Jessica began to pull on John, urging him to follow her.

"Do you have a basement or something we can hide in?"

"Well, not exactly- whoa!"

Jessica pulled on him again, stopping a staircase going down. She reached out and grabbed the door, intent on opening it, when John’s hand stopped her.

"No! We can't go in there! My father told me never to go in there!"

"We don't have a choice!"

Another bang caused them both to turn and jump as the demon managed to break through the barrier. Jessica hurried and opened the door, pushing John inside and coming inside herself right after.

They entered a room, impossible to exist. A room that certainly defied anything John had ever seen. A room that was filled with magic.