Chapter 2 - Psychokinesis

"Captain!" a sailor's voice cut through the roar of the storm, his words lost in the howling wind. "Storm ahead!" he shouted again. 

The ship pitched and rolled in the tumultuous wave, the deck slippery with rain and sea water. Crew members scrambled across the deck, grasping onto anything sturdy to keep from being swept overboard. 

With all my strength, I pulled on the rope attached to one of the rigging, fighting to keep the ship on course. But a searing pain in my side interrupted my efforts. I looked down to see a dagger protruding from my abdomen, its bloody blade glinting ominously in the flashes of lightning. The ship rocked beneath me as I wondered who had stabbed me from behind. It swayed harder, and I stumbled against the wooden rail. I spun around to the traitor and a blow across my face sent me sprawling to the wooden floor. 

 As I jolted awake and gasped for breath, I realized it was only another nightmare. My clothes and the sheets were as though someone had poured me a bucket of water while I slept. With a heavy sigh, I swung my feet to the ground.

Though it was almost dawn, the room remained gloomy. I shuffled to the window, its creak filling my ears in the silence. The cool breeze enveloped me and I savoured the cold feel on my moist clothes. 

The sky outside was a beautiful mix of orange and indigo. It's been two days of Valerie's consistent teaching, but I was yet to cast a single spell. I knew my time was running out; in three days, they would hang me. I had tried to flee, but warlocks heavily guarded the borders of Zoar. 

There was a loud bang on the door, "stranger!" A hoarse voice came immediately. "It's about time."

Not only was I learning spells, but also training to fight and hunt. Zach had told me I need to learn to fight and hunt if I wanted to live amongst them. 

 I grunted in response, my back still aching from hauling logs of wood and gallons of water, and other warlocks knocking me down during training more times that I could count. 

The sunlight stung my skin as I stepped out. Making my way into the woods, I headed for the wide clearing where we trained. The rest of the trainees watched as I approached, their forest green eyes beaming under the scorching sun. 

"You're late, stranger!" The trainer appeared inches away from me, his eyes piercing mine. 

"Forgive me, Aurelius." I stepped back from the intensity of his nearness. "My rest was poor."

"It's Sire," he corrected sharply. "Never shall you address me by my name. Your rest is of no concern to me."

I rolled my eyes, grateful he didn't notice. I could barely muster the strength for today's training, let alone endure more hard labor. 

Aurelius turned away from me and walked. "There will be no training today," he declared and pointed his wooden staff towards Fabian, a fellow trainee. "Step forward." He commanded. 

I've always wondered why a seventeen-year-old boy would want to train to be a warrior. He was slender and tall enough for his age and his ginger hair fell both ways, dangling above his sharp chin. He walked forward and stood in front of the rest of the mates. 

Aurelius observed us for a moment and spoke, "I propose a duel between you two." His gaze shifted between us. "Immediately. Without the use of magic."

His words thundered in my ears, and I scowled at him. 

"Our magic..." he continued, "holds little sway over demons. It is important we learn to battle them without it." He struck the ground with his staff, signaling the commencement of the duel. 

Without Fabian's magic, I'll undoubtedly crush his bones to crumbs. I was five years older thus, his skinny arms wouldn't defend an attack from my chiseled ones. 

"I refuse!" My words earning a gasp from the warlocks around. "I will not partake in a duel with him."

"Don't be a frightened kitten." Fabian's throaty tune-like accent was thicker than any of ours, which made his mockery hit hard on my ego. 

"Have you gone nuts?" I scoffed. "Without your magic, I could best you easily and still crave more." 

His face contorted with fury and he charged towards me, flinging himself into the air with his foot positioned for a strike. I evaded his kick, but he followed up with a punch to my face. A groan escaped my lips as I staggered, my back colliding roughly against a tree behind me. While I tried to stay steady, he continued to throw punches and kicks at me and I found it hard keeping up to his pace. He was skillful. Thus, defending myself was difficult, and I could dodge only a few of his attacks. 

Though my strikes found their marks, he shrugged off the blows and retaliated with more ferocity. Not too long after, my whole body was cramping in pain. I was too hurt to defend myself against his relentless assault. My knees wobbled, my body becoming a burden to it. 

After more strikes to my face, my jaw clenched, and my hand balled into a fist. It was humiliating. Who would've thought that a slender seventeen-year-old could best me? 

Alongside the anguish surged fury. It burned through me, almost consumingly. 

I watched Fabian move back, shaking the fallen strands off his face. His olive skin glistening under the heat of the sun. As he dashed towards me and struck a blow at my face, I crossed my arm over my face in defence. Then there was a blast. 

It threw Fabian into the air and he skidded across the ground, yards away from me, grunting painfully. 

"I said no magic, didn't I?!" Aurelius roared. 

***

~Valerie's POV~

I sat on a small log behind the woods, the roar of the ocean filling my ears. The sunlight played on the water, which swayed and flowed back and forth, gently licking the shore. The air was salty with a mix of lavender. This was the same place I sat when I saw the stranger, the one who now occupied my daydreams. Our times together were splendid; during magic training, hikes, or simple errands. Whenever we were together, it felt like time froze and the world ceased to exist. 

But.... It wasn't right. I shouldn't get attached to a stranger, especially one who his likelihood of being a warlock was slim. I was afraid of what might happen if he turned out to be human or a demon. 

There was something about his green pearly eyes that I couldn't place. A long stare into them might suck you in a world of fantasy. His coal dark hair reflected like a thousand diamonds and the curve of his lips when he laughed was his most spell-binding features. But despite his charms, I was not about to give my heart to the stranger until he proved to be a warlock. 

"Valerie," a voice interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see him approaching. "Your father seeks you." He said. 

It was Nix, the only son of Marcus, one of the three elders in Zoar. "The stranger finds himself in trouble once more," he continued. "This time, he was not tasked with hard labour."

I stood up abruptly, my gown swishing beneath as I moved towards him. "What is his punishment?" My words rushed out, my eyes searching his for a response.

"He's been bound to the prisoner's post in the agora." He stated. "Aurelius has decreed he received a flogging... A hundred lashes... With the thorned whip." He watched my expression as he relayed the information. 

My breath caught in my lungs as I trotted towards the agora. As I emerged from the woods, I saw the stranger shirtless, chained to the prisoner's pole. I bolted to my father and sank my knees to the ground, tugging at the end of his cloth as I pleaded for the stranger's life.

"This is no behavior befitting a matriarch, Valerie," the anger thickening his voice, "pleading for him?" He shook his head. "This lad nearly killed your brother with a blast of psychokinesis, just like he did to us in the council chamber three days ago."

I looked up at the stranger. His pained expression adding a mix of shock as he looked from me to Fabian. 

"He's yet to master his abilities, father." I rose to meet my father's gaze. "You granted me a week. "

"That is the only reason he still draws breath," my father said. "He's merely being punished for his wrongs."

I trembled watching the warlock approach the stranger with the thorned whip. 

Blood splashed across the floor as the thorn clasped his flesh. Once pulled, blood trailed down his back. I fought hard to hide my tears and tremors, his yells causing an ache in the depth of my heart. 

"One hundred lashes with the thorned whip are too much. He will bleed out!" I screamed. 

The whipper was just on the fiftieth stroke, but the stranger's eyes slowly started to close. Only moans and soft grunts came from his lips. I fidgeted, looking from Aurelius to my father and then to Fabian. My father's expression was unreadable, but Fabian's lips twitched as he watched the scene in front of him.

"Enough!" my voice thundered.

"You have no right to stop this, Valerie." Aurelius slammed his staff against the ground.

"That's correct," Fabian stood firm, holding the front of his robe with his right hand. "Aurelius disciplines his pupils as he deems necessary."

"Release him at once!" I commanded, clearly ignoring them. 

The whipper paused for a moment, turning his gaze to Aurelius, who gave him a gesture to continue. As he flung the whip back, preparing for another strike. I pushed my hands at him. "Ephoneo!" Like a command, an invisible force threw him backward, and he crashed to the ground.

Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Fabian hurried towards me, his steps heavy on the ground. 

"Ekklamptō," I whispered, raising my fist. He slumped to the ground in a deep slumber.

"Valerie?!" Aurelius hollered. 

Another gesture of my hands as I approached the stranger broke the chains binding him. He sprawled to the floor, his breathing faint. 

My father appeared before me, his tall figure towering over me. He gestured, and my head throbbed with pain so intense it felt like my brain would dissolve. "Father," I whimpered.

I groaned, clutching my head. "Please," I begged.

"The first rule of Zoar - we inflict no harm upon ourselves, except in defense of the coven," my father's gaze bore into me, chilling me to the core.