Page 2 of Magic Claimed
“You really need to take a bath more often. It’s putting me off my food,” he drawled.
I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw cracked. If I had access to any sort of facility, I would. I used the hose they washed down the horses with, but it was the middle of winter and I didn’t want to die of pneumonia. It wasn’t a nice way to go. I knew that from experience.
I dug my fingernails into my palms behind my back as Esoti spun in his chair to face me, his light blue eyes raked my body. The end of his full lip curled in disdain. I knew what I looked like. My face was smeared with dirt. My hair hung in lank strands down my back. The dress I’d found in the rag bin was three sizes too large, but at least it was warm and I used a long scarf to bind it around my middle to stop the hem dragging on the floor.
He placed the wand on the desk and picked up a steaming fresh roll. He plunged two thumbs into the middle, tore it apart, then slathered a chunk of butter over the fluffy insides. My mouth watered as he slowly ate the doughy, buttery goodness. He licked his fingers and regarded me thoughtfully. “I find your presence bothersome.”
My blood turned to sleet. I knew that look and I knew what it meant. If I could run, I would, but the pain from the magical collar he’d put about my neck was far worse than the pain of dying. At least, with death, the pain ended. For a time, at least.
Esoti cut a hunk of steak and chewed it. His lips shone with the grease. “I’ve ordered a new wand from Samuel. I want you to retrieve it for me. It’s powerful. I want to test it out on you.”
I flicked a gaze to the window. Rain struck the glass against the inky darkness. As though sensing my trepidation, wind howled and hammered the pane. My mind whirled. Esoti hadn’t given me a time when he wanted me to return from this task and often liked to keep me guessing so he could punish me when I got it wrong. I wondered if he was in one of those moods. If so, I was in for a long night.
I swallowed heavily and took the chance to speak. “In the morning?” Esoti’s brow lifted. “Master?” I continued. I wished to the seven hells and back he wasn’t my master, but he insisted I call him that. As if his ego needed any more of a boost.
“This is a matter of some urgency. You will go now,” Esoti said. A shadow flashed in the dark depths of his eyes as his gaze raked me over like I was his favourite mystery waiting to be solved. If I knew the answer, I’d gladly give it to him if it meant I’d never have to see his face for another second.
Below the hem of my dress, my bare toes curled on the cold stone and dread made my limbs heavy. I’d be lucky to get back to the castle unscathed in this storm and at this time of night.
I didn’t know why he wanted me to go, but I knew better than to ask. Sometimes he liked to settle in his quarters to his own devices for the evening and he’d forget about me. I counted those evenings lucky. Tonight wouldn’t be one of those evenings.
Samuel was the county’s best wand-maker. Esoti often had him craft numerous wands for himself, as well as his best sorcerers. Humans he deemed worthy of being gifted with his magic.
“That is all.” His eyes were glacial.Until later. My mind supplied the rest of his sentence.
“Yes, Master.” The words were sludge on my tongue when I really wanted to tell him to fuck off. He turned to his meal, and I took it had finished with me for now. I opened the door to slip through, when he said, “I’ll have that roll you stole.”
I froze, my gaze finding him over my shoulder. He didn’t look at me. Just speared a perfectly cooked carrot and popped it into his mouth. Slowly, I pulled the roll from my pocket and left it on the corner of his desk before hurrying from his quarters.
Tonight I’d pay for that, as well as the crime of my existence.
Chapter Two
The thing about being despised is that people want nothing to do with you. Those deemed naturally magical are the most loathed of all, thanks to a war I had nothing to do with. The Bloodthirsty War was deemed to be the most ruthless of them all in human history.
I crept along the hallways and down the stairs to the ground floor. A gaggle of humans flounced towards me. I flattened myself against the wall to let them pass, knowing if I didn’t move, they’d knock me over without a second look. They had body mass on their sides. They were well fed, while I was really nothing but skin and bone.
“Ew. What is that stench?” one of them gasped. As far as I was concerned, I smelled no worse than the horses I often slept with in the stables for warmth.
“Shit stinks, Rosemary. Hold your breath as you pass.” They held their noses as they passed, carefully keeping their eyes off me.
“Watch your fat asses too.” I really should be used to everyone’s treatment of me. I wish I was. I wished I could hold my tongue better than I did too.
Rosemary gasped, her gaze jumping to me. I smiled, peeing my lips back and revealing all of my teeth. She stumbled and then raced after her friends and disappeared around the corner.
The girls looked to be about my age, as if I knew how old I actually was. By my estimation, I was at least twenty years old. If I could eat more, I’m sure I would have breasts that were bigger than my thumb and skin that was dewy and glowed like those girls. I sighed. No use wishing for something that would never be. Not unless the world drastically changed, and I was more than a mistake of life.
I made my way to the stables, where I knew I’d find boots and a waterproof coat that were used by the stable boys when they tended to the horses. I ducked inside the locker room where they changed into their work gear. I slipped my feet into the smallest pair and took one of the coats from a hook hanging above them. They were still damp on the outside from the day’s work, but still dry on the inside. The scent of perspiration wafted around me as I adjusted it on my shoulders.
I stepped out into the pelting, cold rain and trudged through the courtyard and onto the stone-paved road that would lead me to the next village where Samuel lived. The round trip would take me hours and I’d be lucky if it would still be dark when I returned. It would be easier and faster if I could take a horse, but I was banned from riding them.
I ignored my weary bones and groaning muscles from the work I’d already done today. Esoti kept me busy and exhausted, as though a starved, skeletal girl was his biggest threat. Ridiculous really, considering he was an immortal, all-powerful being of ancient magic.
I wrapped the coat tight about me, snuggling into the folds for extra warmth, and trudged along the dark streets, empty because of the less-than-desirable weather. Rain poured over my head. Cold water trickled beneath the collar despite my best attempt to adjust it. My mind slipped from my drudgery and to the past everyone knew.
The Bloodthirsty War went to hell and back when the scientists of the twenty-first century created cold fusion. Apparently, it was invented to endlessly power something called technology that their lives depended so greatly on. My imagination could never quite supply the images in my mind for me to understand exactly what technology was or how it worked. There was certainly no trace of anything like that a thousand years later.
The first attempt at cold fusion ripped a tear between dimensions and that’s when magic first entered the world. True magic. Not the sleight of hand that humans once deemed magic and entertained an audience with. With true magic came true magical beings: the Fae. As soon as they stepped foot on earth, technology stopped working and the humans at the time lost their way of life.
