Elaine was alone and out hunting Demon Hunters at night. The city was usually empty at night, because of her and her vigilante group. As soon as she saw yellow veins under the skin of someone with her second sight, she would attack. It was easier to just fly up into the air and chase them down that way.
She decapitated one, that was the third one of the night. She wiped the blood off her sword as it turned the signature clear yellow slimy goo that it really was.
She suddenly felt an all too familiar feeling. Negative energy hit her like a truck, and she knew who had just arrived.
"Are you having fun killing my men?" Turbuk said haughtily as he walked out of the back alley.
"You again, what do you want?" she asked.
"So sour your emotions for me, but you want to know what's sweet? Revenge." Turbuk smiled.
"Revenge for what?" she questioned further.
"Killing so many of my men and, in tandem, essentially foiling my plans." He frowned.
"What's a couple million goo filled hooligans?" She shrugged with a smile.
"They aren't hooligans, they have a purpose, a cause, not unlike you," he said.
"They have fake cores, I don't even consider them sentient beings at that point. You'd be surprised how many have been captured and analyzed, only one in a thousand was actually human and not one of your fake, man-made monstrosities. Even the Intergalactic Federation banned the use of making fake cores, least that's what I heard from Zlyena. You think they aren't already onto you? You think that me and Hex, and all of his and my friends having powers doesn't have anything to do with the Federation catching on?" she asked.
"I suppose you are right." Turbuk ran his fingers through the beard of his goatee.
"I'm not going to stop until I find the machines that are shitting out those Demon Hunters and break every last one I see." she said.
"Well then, it may be time to remove you from the picture, albeit slowly." Turbuk raised his arm.
She knew what was coming, and threw up a magical shield, not one of demonic energy, but a Zoriyan one that Zlyena taught her how to make. Unfortunately, she heard words she had only slight recollection of, ones from the Forbidden Book. She felt a blast hit her and knock her onto the ground. She got up, only feeling a slight unease.
"What did you do to me?" She looked at him through the disappearing shield.
"It's a curse. There's a cure, but I don't feel like telling you what the cure is." He smiled and started to walk away.
"Wait!" She ran after him and grabbed his sleeve.
He looked back with disdain
"What is it?" he asked.
"What... Will happen to me?" she asked him.
"You'd think I'd just up and tell you?" He smiled.
"Why wouldn't you?" she questioned further.
"Hm, you are right, you knowing what will happen to you and you being unable to stop it might make things much worse." He combed his fingers through his beard again.
"Just tell me damn it." She tugged on his sleeve angrily.
"You'll start losing weight, slowly. Think of it like an anorexic spell. Only it won't stop until your body can no longer sustain itself. You'll become nothing but skin and bones, isn't that fun?" He grinned at her.
"Why would you do that to someone? To anyone?" She let go of his sleeve and wiped the tears that were pooling under her eyes.
"What, trying to stay strong in front of me? I would actually like to see you cry, though." He chuckled.
"Shut up." She knew she couldn't do anything, it was a forbidden spell, the only cure would be to read the book again, and she didn't know what the name of the spell was, so she was out of luck.
"I'll be checking in on you every once and awhile, to see if you've cured yourself or not, which will be highly unlikely." He turned back towards the back alley, his devilish grin still on his face.
She felt the negative energy in the air disappear, and walked home. She walked past people asking questions, and even past Kalan who was trying to ask her something. She walked to her room in a daze. She plopped onto her large Gothic bed, took her hat off, tossed it onto the floor, and grabbed a pillow. She sobbed quietly into it.
She knew what was coming, and Turbuk was right, it did make it worse for her, but she had to be strong, she had to learn how to hide it, especially in front of Hex, she couldn't let him see her in a weakened state. He had become more and more hateful as of late, just when she thought he was going to start being friendly towards her, he did a one eighty. Every time he looked at her recently, he would give her this cold stare that chilled her to the bone, and physically hurt for her to look at directly. His sharp words cut her to the bone, every time she was around him recently, it felt like she was swimming in razor wire.
She didn't know what brought it on, but she needed to be extra guarded, anything that he could see that was a weakness for her he could exploit. She knew to only tell two people, Dr. Gage and Kalan, and would have them swear not to tell a soul. She dozed off on her pillow that was wet with tears, and before she knew it she had cried herself to sleep.
Read the rest of the book here: https://www.moonquill.com/book/113