Barefoot

I close the window with unease. Dade and his men are too far to actually tell where they are at this moment, so I'll go back to bed and get some sleep. That and it was currently raining cats and dogs. There's no point in going out there tonight.

I cover myself back up, feeling the chill in the air. I pull the covers up to my chin and shiver. I close my eyes as I snuggle as far under the covers as humanly possible. My necklace suddenly releases a soft warmth, warming me and allowing me to relax into a much-needed deep sleep.

Suddenly, I find myself standing barefooted in cold mud. I blink, confused. Wasn't I just in bed?? Then, the smell hits me. I lift my hand, covering my nose as I look around in confusion. It was still dark, the sun had yet to rise but I could feel it coming.

Mago yells out, "What the hell? What just happened? Where are we?" I nervously lick my lips as I softly say, "Quiet Mago, I don't know but I can feel dark magic in the air." Mago grows silent as he watches everything with fear.

I look around the small town and notice that everyone was still sleeping but it was still too quiet. Something about the town was... off. I take a step forward, flinching as the cold mud smooshes in between my toes but for reasons unknown to me, I was compelled to walk further.

I turn down a street and keep walking, noticing that not even a bird could be heard in the distance. The foul smell in the air was turning my stomach as I walk further and further. When I come to a stable of animals, I find them all dead.

Mago curses and says, "This isn't good Lyra, this isn't good at all..."

I stare at them for a moment, knowing that they hadn't died of normal causes when suddenly, I turn my head. I tilt my head to the side, feeling an odd pull towards the edge of the town. The air around here was sinister and heavy, making it feel as if a weight had been placed on my chest.

As I slowly walk over, I suddenly feel something pulse under my foot. I quickly lift my foot to find what looks like black roots. They were pulsing and growing, stretching out and down into the ground. I bare my teeth, disgusted by the way it had felt. Not only physically but also magically.

Mago makes a gagging noise as I try my best to ignore him.

Dade...

I try my best to walk around the pulsing black, squishy roots as I make my way closer to the center point. I have no idea why or how I ended up here, but I would question that later. Right now, I felt a sense of urgency in my heart.

When I come to the spot where the black roots were packed all together, I come to a stop. The slimy, squishy, pulsing roots covered every inch of the ground here. I don't want to walk on them... I don't want to step on them at all.

I summon my power, levitating. Levitating was draining but I would rather drain myself than touch the roots again. I slowly make my way to the center as the first rays of the sun begin to break through. In the distance, I hear the villagers starting to move.

The urgency in my heart rises as I come to a stop in the middle. I look down at the small black hole with a frown. The smell here was even worse... What the hell is this? I lean forward, keeping myself hovering above the ground as I slowly move closer.

Mago's voice trembles as he says, "Careful Lyra..." He doesn't have to remind me though.

My long hair threatens to touch the roots, so I quickly stop and twist it up into a bun. I nervously lick my lips with a look of disgust on my face. I don't want to get closer to this thing, but I know deep down I need to.

When I get right on top of it, I freeze. My mind races as images of horror movies start flashing through my mind. Nothing's going to pop out and attach itself to my face, right? Right!? When I hear someone yelling about the dead animals, I grit my teeth and suck it up.

I don't know what this is but it's clearly black magic. I reach out my hand, ignoring the way my fingers slightly tremble. I focus my magic on my hand as I try to figure out what was inside the hole. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise before scrunching together.

"It's a dark relic??" I say in a soft, shocked voice. Mago sucks in. How did Dade get his hands on this? All dark relics were locked away and held by the council. They had been locked away for hundreds of years so it's not like we were still going around collecting them and locking them up.

I dismiss the thought, for now, hearing the townspeople getting closer, I know I needed to hurry. A girl floating above the big creepy hole of death in her nightgown would not go over well with these people.

I use my magic to try and pull the relic out of the hole, not really knowing what it was but I could tell it wasn't large. The black roots pulse, almost as if they were angry at my attempts. I ignore it as I send more of my magic into my hand.

Come to momma...

Suddenly, something black comes flying out of the ground and hits my hand! Pain rocks through me as I almost fall. I flick my hand out of reflex but quickly realize that whatever had hit my hand was in it!!

It pierced my skin!! I wobble, almost losing my hold on my magic before everything suddenly flips upside down! It was like the whole world had flipped itself! I fall, landing on something before rolling and falling again. I vaguely recognized the room that Bolin had given me, but my mind was currently on my hand and the pain.

I had somehow come back to the room and fell straight onto the bed and then onto the floor! I grip my bloody hand, shaking as I try to see where the black piece went in. I bite my lip to keep from crying out as I try to calm myself. I'm going to have to dig it out...

I mentally try to prep myself for this but when I look back down at my hand, the hole created by the black thing had closed. The blood remains on my hand, but the hole was gone! My breathing is fast and shaky as I blink in confusion.

Mago softly says "Well that can't be good..."