26 AZ

MY BOOTS POUNDED THE pavement, slipping on crumbled bits of stone that littered the street. I glanced behind me to see the undead citizens of Katolis following me. Their cries drowned out any thoughts I tried to come up with. Everything had fallen apart in the blink of an eye. My grasp on Dad’s staff was all that kept me going, along with the leather tome of spells that he studied and trained hard to master.

I had to return to the palace, where everyone still alive was holed up until Dad ended the dark curse. The undead only arrived when a dark mage from Dad’s past came back to haunt him; Claudia was bent on revenge for Dad and the united kingdoms stopping Aaravos from destroying the world, not caring who she had to kill along the way. I had snuck out of the palace to find a way to stop the curse and potentially defeat Claudia for the final time.

The palace was within sight; only a few hundred meters away. The zombies growled, gnashing their teeth and clawing at me. I dodged them as best I could, feeling them tearing at my mage clothes and dark brown hair.

With my right hand, I signed the symbol for a wind blast and spoke the words to activate the magic. A gust of air shot at the zombies blocking my path, scattering them backward, some crashing into windows and the stone walls of buildings. A small path was cleared. I took a brief moment to look around while attaching Dad’s staff to the holster on my back. A wagon was stopped in front of a building with part of the cloth covering torn down. If I climbed onto it, I could make it to the roof and use the bird wing spell to fly to the palace.

Dashing forward, I dodged past a zombie that had crawled forward by stepping on its head and using it as a launching pad to the wagon. I flailed through the air, my hands finally catching on the wooden railing, and I hoisted myself up and crawled into the wagon. By now, a few zombies had managed to stand up, their eyes glowing a piercing purple. There was no time to waste.

Taking a deep breath, I reached up and grabbed hold of the wooden supports for the wagon cover and pulled myself up, grunting during the process. The wagon creaked, wobbling to the right as zombies started climbing onto it, one reaching for my feet. With a last grunt, I dragged myself on top of the wagon, barely staying balanced as the zombies got closer. The edge of the roof was within reach. Glancing at the zombies, I glared at them. Despite being close to death, I didn’t want to give up.

Reaching to touch the shingles of the roof, I saw the palace looming like a beacon of hope. So close. I cried out, my fingers hooking into the shingles, sliding slightly from the cool clay structure. Finally, I was able to pull myself onto the roof and away from the zombies. I lay there for a moment, catching my breath before crawling up the roof grasping hold of the horizontal wooden beam and using it as a balance as I slowly stood up and took in my surroundings.

I repeated Dad’s words for the bird wing spell and flapped my wings, kicking off the roof and heading to the palace. At this angle, the zombies were easy to spot. The flight was calm and peaceful, almost serene if the groans of zombies were part of the background noise.

As I approached the palace, I saw the gates were blocked off with zombies surrounding them. Frowning, I brought myself closer, dropping in front of the gates and banging on the wood doors.

“Open up. It’s me. Amelia!” I called.

Zombies turned their heads in the direction of my voice, moaning as they shuffled toward me. The doors creaked open as Soren peaked outside. He saw me and the frown on his face turned into a smile.

”Amelia!” he said.

Glancing at the zombies, I said, “Hurry up and let me in. They’re getting closer.”

Soren pouted. “Is that any way to greet your—”

“Soren!” I snapped, pushing his head back into the palace as I struggled to squeeze through the small gap he created.

When he pulled the door shut, he cried out. I turned around to see a zombie’s head shoved through the doorway, its teeth and hands on Soren’s armored arm. A knight close to him drew their sword and swung. Turning my gaze back to the room in front of me, I saw Mom and Dad sitting on a bench, Dad’s arm wrapped around Mom’s shoulders. Knights and uninjured citizens sat close together.

“I found it,” I gasped, holding up Dad’s tome. “I can cure Uncle Ezran!”

Mom looked at me with wide violet eyes, strands of her white hair falling around her face from tiredness. “What?”

The doors shut behind me with Soren huffing, a zombie hand still clutching his arm. He screeched and thrashed his arm around, shouting for someone to get it off him. I giggled as I straightened myself out.

Dad walked over to me, snatching his book out of my hands. “What have I told you about taking this?”

“I found the answer. Uncle Ezran doesn’t have to die!” I snapped back.

“And what kind of spell are you talking about?” Mom asked.

“You’re not going to be happy, but it’s the only cure,” I responded, rubbing my left arm while looking at the ground.

Dad rolled his eyes. “Everything you do is dangerous, Amelia.”

“I’m serious!” Glowering at him, I pointed at the makeshift hospital wing that was built for the injured. “Uncle won’t make it without doing this. We can both save him without killing.”

“No, you can’t mean—” Mom began.

I nodded. “Dark magic. Specifically, blood magic. Dad, together, you and I can use this dark magic spell to cure him. It’ll draw out the poison without turning him. Yes, it’ll be pain-”

“No.” Dad’s eyes narrowed at me. Those were the eyes of someone who had been through so much and seen the way dark magic could affect someone. Yet, Uncle needed this.

“Dad, please. I haven’t asked much of you. I don’t want to lose Uncle Ezran!”

Dad shook his head, his eyes filling with tears. “I know the pain of losing someone, Amelia. This just isn’t the answer.”

I clenched my fists. He didn’t understand.

Shoving Dad back, I raised my lavender eyes to his olive eyes. As I stormed toward the hospital wing, I clutched Dad’s staff closer to me.

This wasn’t over.

I would not lose my uncle.

Waving the staff in an arch at my feet, I summoned magic and let it pulse through me.

“You may be ready to say goodbye, but I’m not,” I said as the torches went out along the walls, casting everyone in darkness. The only source of light came from the dark purple that surrounded me as I opened the curtain to the hospital. “I’ll save him no matter the cost.”