Chapter Twenty-One #2
“That leaves me then,” I grin. “You guys distract him, and I’ll build my power. Water has a way of getting through when other things can’t. Hopefully, it will work. All I need is a tiny crack, and I should be able to use that to shatter the ward.”
Reed nods, along with the others.
“Alright, you got it, boss,” Coen grins, knowing that I find it weird when one of them calls me boss.
I roll my eyes but quickly make my way back out into the hallway, so that I have the space to build my magic properly.
Something tells me that it’s going to take a lot of magic to break through the ward, and I’m not even sure that I’ll be able to do it.
We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
I can hear the guys shouting, heckling, and launching things at the ward that The Owner has wrapped himself in, and I know that it’s only going to be a matter of time before one of them gets hurt.
Reaching for my magic, I’m surprised when, alongside my usual magic, another answers the call.
It must be the magic that the Choosing gifted me, because other than the brief glimpse of it that I had earlier, I’ve never felt anything like it before.
There’s no mistaking that it is mine though, I’m not being influenced by other magic, and it’s not someone else’s magic trying to control me.
I know that much.
I’m going to need all the help that I can get, so I decide to risk using the new magic without knowing what it does. All I need to do is get through the barrier. Once I’ve done that, we should be able to take The Owner into custody with ease.
Unless he has something else up his sleeve of course, which is entirely likely, considering he obviously likes to buy spells.
My magic builds, and I step back into the doorway, ducking as The Owner spots me immediately and throws a knife my way.
He’s got shit aim.
My magic continues to build, stronger and stronger. I try not to let the surprise show on my face as it grows far past the point where it usually stops. My scales ripple across my body, I feel my fingers shift, and my eyes change.
Finally, when I feel like it’s at the max of what I can feasibly hold, I release it, commanding and directing it to find a gap in the ward and neutralize the threat without killing because unfortunately, it would be better if he were alive.
My instincts told me that I needed to add in that caveat.
“What the fuck?” Coen asks in shock.
I don’t know what to reply, as I control the inky black water that seeps through the ward like it's nothing but a piece of fabric. It shatters the ward within moments and wraps around The Owner, rendering him completely useless as it knocks him out. I double-check, and the water lets me know that he’s still alive but will remain unconscious for a while.
My water is black.
My water has never been black before. The water used in magic is as it is in nature, and is clear, it doesn’t even have a hint of any color to it, and it has always been that way.
I have never heard of a water supernatural having black water, and although it’s still water, it isn’t entirely behaving like water either. I can feel things through the water that I shouldn’t be able to. I can sense his life force and his emotions.
Testing the theory, I command the water to pull on that life force, not a lot, just enough to see if my theory is correct, and I can.
The Owner screams.
My eyebrows rise slightly, well, that works then.
“What are you doing to him?” Reed asks me curiously.
I pull the water back from playing with his life force, and The Owner slumps, still unconscious and closer to death than he was moments before.
“I was seeing if I could affect his life force,” I explain. “I can.”
“With the water?” Doc asks with surprise.
I nod, “Yeah, it would appear so.”
“That’s so fucking cool, and will come in handy as well,” Coen grins. “Also, black water, that’s fucking awesome.”
“Is it water?” Doc asks the question that we’re all thinking.
I shrug, “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m controlling it like I would my water, but it does so much more and doesn’t behave like my water normally would.”
I have a feeling that I’m just scratching the surface of what this black water can do.
“Well, it’s fucking strong, that’s for sure,” Reed replies.
I nod, it is and I know that what I just used is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this new magic.
“I’ll pull it back, and then we can put some magic dampening cuffs on him and get him into the van,” I say.
“Is he going to wake up as soon as you take the water back?” Coen asks.
I shake my head, “No, he should be down for a couple of hours.”
“Are you sure you didn’t kill him?” Doc asks, not sounding bothered by the prospect at all.
None of us would be. He’s scum, and if it weren’t for the fact that we need the information that he has, then I would have pulled on his life force until he couldn’t handle the torture anymore and succumbed to death.
Unfortunately, I can’t do that.
He would have been the perfect guinea pig to see exactly what this new magic is capable of.
I sigh and answer Doc’s question, “I’m sure, the water says he’s still alive, although I’m reasonably certain that it’s willing to change that if I want it to.”
Coen’s eyebrows rise, “Yep, that’s definitely not normal water. Alright, let's do this.”
I smile at his nonchalance and then pull the water back, it comes easily, wrapping around me and then dissipating again, as the magic settles back down.
I feel different.
Stronger.
By the time that I’m finished assessing this newfound power and have tuned back into the room, the others have secured The Owner.