Daytona Magic
Stories similar to this that you might like too.
The sun came up, and I was still in the same place as yesterday. It was time to get out of there; the longer I stayed in one spot, the more likely it would be for something to find me. But where could I go? My only plan involved getting my sister back from her current kidnappers so she could tell me what was going on.
She had been kidnapped before, but never by people who actually knew about magic like this. The most common method used against her before was to just kidnap and torture them until they found whatever information she carried.
There was no telling how these guys might try to use the fact that my sister was a witch to control her. That scared me more than anything else, even the possibility of being stuck in here forever.
I started to walk along the wall of the building again, trying to pick up any sign of an opening or entrance. This wasn’t going well at all, because if there were such an entrance anywhere near where I’d landed, then I hadn’t detected it yet.
As far as I knew, there should have been some other kind of door around me somewhere. Then, after another two hours of walking along the wall of the building, I finally spotted it. In front of me was a small crack in the wall, almost too tiny for a person to see.
At least, you would think it would take a long time to spot something that size. But I did not believe that this was a coincidence; I believed this opening represented the first sign of an actual exit. After all, there was only one crack in a wall that big, and it was in the right place.
If someone wanted to hide a doorway, wouldn’t they want it hidden better than this? It didn’t make sense that it would lead outside when I had landed inside. No, it seemed much more likely that whoever put this together thought that nobody ever would find their way into the structure.
But the truth of it was that I would have no problem finding my own way out once I got through it. So I needed to get moving and start doing just that. I looked carefully for any indication of a guard but found none. I was still alone with whatever creature lived in this building.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me of last night’s dinner. I hadn’t eaten since lunch at school yesterday; now that made two days without food. And I hadn’t really been given an opportunity to eat during that time either.
Now that I knew the creatures here weren’t dangerous to me, my hunger was starting to worry me. What would happen if I lost too much weight? Would I end up starving myself eventually? Probably not. If it happened quickly enough, then maybe I could keep my mind busy by thinking of new things to eat. It might work. But I hoped I didn’t have to find out if that idea held true. If I didn’t eat soon, then I’d be in real trouble.
But then I heard voices coming from nearby. The walls had become thin enough between me and whoever was talking, that I could hear them clearly now. “You’re kidding. You can do it?” I recognized the voice of the one man who sounded like he’d been drinking too much coffee this morning.
“Yeah, she’s great,” said the voice of the second speaker, sounding excited. “She just needs a little practice.”
What was going on over there? Did they have magical powers too? I couldn’t tell; the voice was coming from behind me, so I didn’t know what direction exactly it was coming from. They certainly seemed to be arguing about something though, and it sounded interesting enough for me to want to stay close by to listen to more.
Whatever they were saying must have gone on for a while because I began hearing grunts and thuds. Maybe someone was practicing magic? Or maybe somebody was getting hit by a punch or a kick?
Either way, it sounded like fun, and I wished I was part of it instead of stuck in this room by myself. I wanted to jump up and join the action. But I had a feeling the guards down below would not be happy if I did that. Instead of taking any chance to leave, I kept quiet and waited for them to finish talking.
“I mean, she hasn’t gotten a lot of chances to fight yet,” explained the first voice. He spoke slowly and loudly to sound confident in his words.
“Don’t underestimate her,” replied the other guy, whose voice also sounded drunk. “We’ve seen how she can handle herself.”
“Well, we need to make sure our security is tight,” continued the first voice. “Because we can’t have anyone messing up the place with their magic.”
The conversation went on for several minutes, with both men giving their opinion as to what should go into the building. It seemed pretty obvious they were planning some kind of magical community.
There were going to be lots of different people living there who possessed magic; they needed to figure out the best way to protect themselves against others with magic as well as non-magical individuals. That was probably why they wanted to build a wall around the town itself.
Magic users would have an easier time using their power without anyone else interfering, but there would still need to be a wall to keep everyone else out of the city. But who would pay the money for a wall?
A wealthy person, of course, someone who had a lot of gold to spend on such an elaborate construction project. But it also sounded like they would be charging a fee of their own to get in. Not only was there a question of whether magic users could afford to live within these walls, but it looked like ordinary humans weren’t allowed inside either.
I didn’t have a cell phone or any other way of contacting anyone. If I wanted to reach them, I would need to get out of the building and walk until I found a phone booth. Then I’d call them from there and wait for help to come find me.
But I didn’t have that luxury. The guards might not think I was dangerous, but they would never let me wander off on my own. I needed to find a way out of this dungeon before I wasted away. I tried to use my magic to move the door, but no matter how hard I concentrated, I wasn’t able to shift the barrier.
I couldn’t even see where the lock was located. All I saw was a dull gray steel bar blocking the entire opening.
There was another way to escape. I could try to sneak away without being detected. That might be the only option I had left. But I doubted my stealth skills would work in a place full of trained guards. They’d notice me in time; it was inevitable.
I needed a better plan before I gave up all hope of finding freedom today. My mind turned again to the magical powers of the people who lived here. Would it be possible for me to get some of those abilities? Could I steal them somehow, or would they detect the theft? I hadn’t stolen anything since I’d arrived at this prison, so I didn’t know what would happen if I took something else.
But I didn’t know enough about the magic system yet, so it wasn’t really fair to ask. What if stealing magic meant I got caught? Or worse, what if they decided to kill me rather than let me return the items? I had to play it safe. I was stuck here without any real options, which made me sad.
I was a smart girl. I’d been taught to take risks when necessary, but I hadn’t learned to do things without having a backup plan in case things went wrong. Right now, nothing I planned would make the situation any better for me.
So I was going to stay put, wait for whoever came by later, and then beg them to rescue me. At least that was what I decided before the door opened once more.
“Oh, hello,” said the same man who’d brought me down here. He looked just as handsome as he had earlier. His hair was cut short and neat; his eyes held a hint of amusement, as though I amused him greatly. He wore a pair of jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt; it matched his piercing gaze.
“Hello,” I greeted back, standing quickly. I didn’t want to give him any reason to look at my hands again. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”
He chuckled, walking closer toward me. This was unbelievable; I had to be dreaming. I’d been kidnapped, beaten up, thrown into a dungeon, and sent to the brink of death twice, and then suddenly a guy showed up to save me?
It felt like an episode of some kind of show, and I wondered if I was supposed to shout “Cut!” and tell them this story was over.
“You certainly seem to be doing that yourself,” he observed, taking a seat beside me on one of the padded benches. I moved farther away from him, but there was nowhere else to go, and the guards weren’t paying us any attention.
The floor was completely empty except for two metal desks, each with its own chair and telephone. Both phones were dead; maybe the wires weren’t hooked up properly yet, or maybe there weren’t any telephones available to rent.
“How did you come to find me?” I asked.
His smile widened slightly, making him even more attractive despite himself. “My name’s Alex,” he told me, holding out his hand to shake mine. His grip was strong and solid; it was clear he was accustomed to using it for something. He pulled his hand back and ran his fingers through his long, blond hair. “I’m here to keep you safe.”
Safe. It sounded nice. But I knew he lied.
“No thanks,” I said, shaking my head. “The last thing I need is a knight coming to rescue me. You don’t know who I am, so you can’t be my hero. We both know how these things end.”
Alex raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything; instead, he reached inside his shirt and pulled out a cell phone.
“This isn’t real,” I whispered under my breath, but then, before I could stop myself, I snatched it out of his hand and dialed 911. No one answered. I hung up immediately, knowing what would happen next, and tossed the cell back to him.
“What are you doing?” He glared at me in surprise and frustration. “Don’t make this harder for me than it already is.”
As soon as he realized I could call emergency services, he should have changed everything. He should have given me the cell and run away. He should have gone to the guards, told them what I’d done, and claimed responsibility. But that wasn’t how it happened, and I knew why: because the magic system had made him do something different.
So it wasn’t my imagination; he was a magical being. But what exactly was he? And why did the magic system care enough to allow him access to my body?
I glanced over at his phone. It was still sitting where I’d dropped it. Maybe if I called 911 again, they’d answer, and then we’d be safe. All he would have to do was tell them who he was and claim responsibility for me.
They’d bring the police here and save me right away; the law wouldn’t let me be kept locked up in a dungeon forever. I knew the system well enough to realize that, but then my heart sank. How would Alex explain all those bruises? What proof did he have of anything? My parents might believe him, but I doubted anyone would think I deserved a beating, much less three times.
The only option left for me was to escape—to somehow manage to get out of this dungeon, and then find help elsewhere. Then they’d see he was wrong.
“Who are you really?” I demanded of him, trying to sound as threatening and commanding as possible without actually harming him. I couldn’t hurt him, no matter what, until I learned how to do a proper spell on my own. So I wanted him to feel fear for what I intended to do to him when I found the courage to try a spell on him.
But it was hard not to be afraid of me. There were too many unknowns. Why was he letting me live? Did he have a reason he was protecting me? Or was he just another monster from my childhood nightmares, ready to tear me apart once the opportunity presented itself?
For a moment, his face softened; he seemed genuinely worried about my welfare. “Why do you want to know?” he asked, frowning, and then his expression grew serious again. “Look, you must understand that your life is in danger. You can’t trust me.”
A chill swept down my spine. It was strange that I was so scared to trust him, considering how little I knew of him; he hadn’t given me any indication at all that I should, but I was still terrified. Was it his magic controlling me? If so, why?
Then something occurred to me, and the thought filled me with dread.
Could this whole time, he’s been playing me for the fool, waiting for the right moment to strike?
He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out an old, battered leather-bound book, similar to the one I’d seen the demon use before. The pages looked worn, and there were numerous scratches, but it appeared to be intact. He flipped through it and then set it down next to him in front of the bars.
“You’re a wizard?” I asked, wondering how he was going to explain away my healing abilities.
His smile disappeared, and then he shook his head slowly. “It’s complicated,” he said sadly. “And I’m sorry. But I can’t tell you that either. Not yet.”
My hands clenched in the bedding, and I gritted my teeth together. I was too tired to argue now, so I decided to take the coward’s way out and give up.
“All right,” I finally replied. “I won’t ask any more questions. But you’ve got to help me get out of here.”
He leaned forward to pick up the cell phone again but stopped himself. Then he frowned and stared at me for a long time. Finally, he sighed and laid down on his side against the bars. “What’s the date?”
I blinked in surprise, thinking he meant the date of the day we met. That would have been odd and random, though; he’d never tried to find anything like that from me before.
“October twenty-third,” I responded. Then I paused and wondered why he cared so much.
Alex nodded. “That’ll do. Good night, Miss Bellum.”
The End