Convicted

This is a book I am currently working on. Every few days, I will add another chapter. Please send me reviews of what I can change to make it better! Since I will be adding new chapters, I will respond to any reviews and send 75 GPs with it on top of the auto-reward if this is your first time reviewing my story. Hopefully, this will encourage you to send reviews for each chapter!

Chapter 1

The sound of our footsteps echoed off the stone walls of the chamber. There were no other sounds, for everyone inside was asleep, either willingly or forcefully. It didn’t really matter which, so long as my sister and I had access to the last cell on the left.

Black silk flowed behind us as we strode down the passageway. We watched as cell after cell passed by, each containing someone from our village, someone like us. Until a few weeks ago, we had remained secret. When we first settled here, we found a deserted village in Missouri, which was later named Ravenwood. Our ancestors planted a tree and enchanted it with very advanced magic. The magic they used ensures that witchcraft continues to be passed from generation to generation. If this tree were to ever die, our magic would be lost, as if it never existed.

Through the corner of my eye, I glanced down at my sister. To anyone else, she would appear calm and detached, but I know her better. I could detect the barest quiver in her bottom lip, the slight shaking of her hands, and the fear, but also anger, in her eyes.

Considering the circumstances, she had a right to be frightened. She was nearly five years younger than me, and until now, she has never seen the evil that the world contains. It makes it even worse when the violence is pointed towards your family.

And we can't foreget to mention her gift.

Like all of us, Kori has a unique power specifically chosen for her. If she has been using it, then she already knows what we will see in the next minute or so.

Unlike me, Kori has a mental gift. She is able to see things, through premonitions. When she was younger, she only got her visions through dreams. Now that she is stronger, she can conjure them at any time.

Very rarely do I ask Kori what she sees, for there are some things I would simply rather not know.

I have control of the element fire. Any physical powers, such as mine, are considered “dark magic” by our ancestors. This term is no longer used, because we have learned that mental powers can be just as dangerous as a physical attack.

As we neared the and of the hall, we focused our attention on the cell. In the eerie silence, I could hear my heart hammering in my chest. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was terrified. However, I had to put on a good show of being brave, for my sister’s sake. Perhaps this time, I should have allowed Kori to warn me of what we were about to see. At least that way, I would have had some idea of how to prepare myself.

One last step brought us to the cell.

Inside was a small woman huddled up in the corner. Her bare arms were wrapped tightly around her legs, a weak attempt to keep warm. Feeble bones protruded beneath her skin. Her chest rose and fell as she sucked in short, shallow gasps. Tangled brown hair fell across her face. Her eyes were shut; tears slid down her cheeks, and dripped, forming a puddle on the cold floor.

It nearly killed my sister and me to see her like that. She was the one person we loved as much as we did each other. Our mother.

Instinctively, I waved my hand in front of the lock. It clicked, and then the creaking door swung open, crashing against the other iron bars. Our mother’s head snapped up and her eyes flew open.

“Mother!” Kori cried, and threw herself onto the floor beside her. They wrapped their arms around each other, both shaking from the sudden surge of emotion.

I lowered my hood, then unfastened the clasp on my cloak. For wizards and witches, a cloak is like your soul. When you are born, one is created just for you. They are all enchanted with a spell that protects us from dangers that only affect those who practice witchcraft. Without it, we get deathly ill over a rather short period of time. Like my mom has.

I wrapped my cloak around my mother’s shoulders. It wouldn’t work as well as her own, but perhaps it would help a little.

As I knelt down beside them, my mother lifted one arm away from Kori to pull me into her loving arms.

Trying to be casual about it, I rested my hand on my mother’s bare arm. With little effort, I began to feel the energy flowing through my arm, out the tips of my fingers, and into my mother’s body.

I sent as much energy as I could, but I had to keep in mind the safety of my sister. Should the humans come looking for us, we had to be ready to leave.

“Thank you,” my mother whispered. She already looked healthier. The color had returned to her skin.

We all pulled away from each other, but remained seated on the floor, side by side.

“Have you two been okay at home?” My mother was gently running her fingers through Kori’s perfectly curled hair.

“I suppose, but it hasn’t been the same without you.” I smiled, which felt good. With everything going on, I had been very tense and stressed. It felt nice to just let loose, at least for a while. “Other than the first wave, no one else has been captured.”

My mother nodded. “Everyone is doing a good job of keeping quiet.”

“It won’t last.” Kori’s soft voice sent a chill down my spine. The worst part about it is knowing she’s right. She's always right.

“What do you mean, sweetie?” My mom was an expert at staying calm when Kori said things like that.

“You know as well as I do that they can’t stay quiet forever.” Kori’s monotone voice raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Her eyes glossed over, which was a sign that she was having a vision.

“The humans will eventually get tired of waiting for us to point out the others,” she continued. “They’ll start torturing us.”

Kori’s voice began to crack and tears formed a river down her face. Like the strong witch she was, Kori told the rest of her prediction, “Even our strongest warriors won’t have the strength to endure their punishments for very long.”

Sobbing, Kori fell over into our mother’s lap. She gently rubbed her back until Kori finally drifted off to sleep.