The Return of Magic

Dellinian silently counted out the bullets as he slipped them into the magazine of his rifle. He was running low. If he could only make it to Seriana without having to shoot anyone.

Crawling, army-style, out from beneath the engine-less truck he had been hiding under, Dellinian slowly got to his feet, casting his eyes about the dilapidated city around him. It looked as though a hurricane, an earthquake and a fire had all occurred in the middle of an air raid. Debris from fallen buildings littered the empty streets and sidewalks, and abandoned vehicles lay about like a careless child's toys. Sad remnants of the lives that had been ruined -- a purse, now empty and faded, a hundred dollar bill, blowing in the wind like a dry leaf, and a little girl's shoe, torn and dirty.

His gaze lingering on these items, Dellinian fought the anger that began to rise in his chest. Though he knew anger would solve nothing, and would only get in the way of clear thinking, he found it difficult to stop the emotion. It just wasn't fair that so many lives had been destroyed by one man's greed.

A slight sound, like the scurrying of a rat over a pile of loose rubble, caused Dellinian to turn and raise his gun, his finger on the trigger. An empty warehouse with broken windows caught his attention, but for a moment he wondered if he was imagining things. His nerves were on edge from all the sneaking around. He kept expecting cilobans to jump out at him at every turn. Perhaps it had been just a rat after all. Just then a shadowy figure darted from behind the truck Dellinian himself had been hiding beneath just a moment previously. Before he could get a good view of who or what it was, the figure had disappeared into the warehouse.

Hair on the back of his neck rising at the thought of having been so close to a possible foe, Dellinian hurried silently after the figure. The warehouse was vast, but empty. Nevertheless, visibility was low as an unnatural darkness covered everything. Cursing quietly to himself, Dellinian began digging in his pockets for one of the strange items Seriana had given him. In an instant, he had found what he was searching for: a small, golden flash bulb. Throwing the thing at the ground, Dellinian remembered to cover his eyes just before a burst of light erupted from the bulb as it made contact with the cold cement. The light spread through the room, easily dispelling the darkness. Dellinian silently blessed Seriana and her remarkable contraptions.

As the light began to spread, the figure Dellinian had been following began running towards the nearest exit.

Now, we can't have that, Dellinian thought.

"Halt!" he ordered. Not surprisingly, the person did not obey. Raising his weapon, Dellinian fired a warning shot at the fleeing figure. The bullet grazed his opponent's shoulder, exactly as he had intended. The runner froze, which Dellinian considered a wise move. Taking his time, Dellinian made his way towards his rival. The abnormal darkness proved that his opponent had some magic tricks up their sleeve, and, though he felt fairly confident in his own bag of tricks, Dellinian had long since learned to be careful.

♥Kat!e

Today's Novel Idea Prompted by: "This is an epic about question. The story is about a knight. It takes place on our world after a disaster brought about the return of magic. A magical accident plays an important role." The website that provided this prompt no longer exists.