The Banshee's Desire by Victoria Richards Page B

party shifted uncertainly. The air stilled and the ground trembled as his anger escalated. His eyes closed and he murmured in Gaelic.
    A strange, ethereal light was being pulled from the other wizards causing them to moan in pain. Efa watched the tendrils of light merge together and then flow like a stream into the old wizard's body.
    "He's taking our powers," one of the wizards cried out.
    Turning to her, Jervis shouted, "Run! Everyone run!"
    Chaos further descended on the village as the old wizard used his new found power to rain hell down on them. Lighting cut down tree branches, the earth cracked wide enough to swallow the village homes, and the wind whipped the pitiful survivors around.
    Efa dodge and darted, narrowly avoiding being hit by a flaming rock. She'd fallen hard in her attempt to escape and she was certain that her arm was broken. The old wizard's magic surrounded her like a net.  Something sliced against the flesh of her stomach, and she knew that he had tracked her without leaving the spot where she had last seen him.
    The blood, warm and wet, spilled down the front of her dress.
    She braced herself for the next attack, but it didn't come. Jervis. He had done something. That had to be it. Gasping for air she hobbled off to the wooded hills in the hopes of hiding.
    That had been an hour ago and during that time, hope had slowly left her. Now with the sound of the banshee singing in her ears, she knew the end of her time was near. She just wanted to know what had happened to Jervis. Where was he?
    Her question was answered when she spotted him being dragged to the center of the village by the old wizard.
    Even from the distance Efa was at, Jervis looked half dead and had obviously been tortured. One of his ears was gone and judging from the way he moved, his leg was broken, too. But it was his face that really got Efa. There were jagged lines of blood running down from his eyes.
    Or rather, where his eyes used to be.
    Horrified, Efa covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Her love. They had done this to her true love.
    Maybe she still had the power to stop it.
    Slowly, Efa staggered back to the village, the first sparks of anger building within her. The closer she came, the angrier she got, and the louder the wail of the invisible banshee became.
    "Ah, there's our little one." The old wizard caught sight of her and grinned, pleased. Efa noticed that blood leaked out of one of his ears, as if the power he'd stolen from his own men was taking a toll on his body.
    "Efa?" Jervis jerked up his head, trying to figure out where she was. "Go away. You have to run."
    "No." The old wizard's grin grew bigger. "She must come to me. She's mine now."
    The wind howled in lament.
    "You may say farewell to Jervis and then--" The old wizard's eyes widened as he focused on something behind Efa. "A banshee."
    Efa barely heard him as she slipped down next to Jervis. She ran her fingers through his soft hair before leaning down and kissing him gently on the mouth. Her heart ached for him, for them.
    "This is most unexpected," the old wizard muttered. His face had darkened with anger again. "And unfair. I wanted to obliterate her light, rid all dimensions of any trace of her--not turn her into a soul eater."
    Efa had no idea what he was talking about. All she could see was Jervis. Soon they would be together in death.
    "Still there will be some satisfaction in taking my time with it." Thoughtful, he turned to look down at Efa. She yelped as he grabbed her broken arm and yanked her to her feet. "Just look at you. Already your life slips away. No wonder your banshee draws near. I may not get to enjoy your pain after all."
    He shook her and then used his magical strength to hurl her a few yards away against a tree. Efa could feel darkness gathering around her as her soul prepared to make the long journey home.
    "Blast it all!" The old wizard shouted. "Even if you become a banshee I will have my revenge!"
    She knew he was about to