Chapter 27

**Merianna**

I whipped a pulse of energy through the rune that I had drawn on my hand. I had drawn a similar one on Jasnine's hand earlier and knew that she would feel my call for help through hers like a string of shivers running through her arm. It was something that Nelia and I had perfected through our rune studies together, and was originally cooked up so Nelia could let me know when dinner was ready in The Order's hall.

I could feel my energy traveling through the linked runes and knew that Jasnine had received it when my own tingled.

I couldn't exactly wait patiently for her to come along though. Flattened Merianna didn't have as nice a ring to it as Noch would think. Jumping into the shadows, I sprinted around the man's hulking form.

"You will have to try harder than that little one." He said with a positively evil smile that made his white teeth glare in the dark.

He whirled around the moment I was streaking past behind him. He lunged and grabbed my hand through the shadows, which all dissipated with my shock at his touch. I didn't have time to react before he whirled me around like a puppet and sent me flying into the cold fireplace. My head and back struck the rough stone with cracking force, and once again I went crumbling to the floor.

Cursing under my breath I coughed through the cloud of ash and I tried rolling out of the dusty debis.

Glaring up at the man I drew my short sword and aimed the tip at him while I sent another stronger pulse of energy through the rune again. Only to have the tingling of the rune suddenly stop short...

I gaped at what I knew Jasnine must have done...

That tramp erased her rune! She's leaving me on my own!

"That Skank!" I couldn't help but yell out loud.

The man gave me a puzzled are-you-crazy look. "What are you on about?"

"Nothing!" I yelled back indignantly. Jasnine promised that she would come and help the moment I gave the signal. Blast her! Curse her to the depths of Tartarus and back! May she burn with her lies!

I dove at the man with my sword, ready to fight with all my might. I needed something to take my frustration out on. It was probably not a good idea. This fight might be one sided and I might lose, but it would be satisfying beyond belief if I stood even a slight chance of winning.

Roaring out my frustration I swung my sword down on him. He was a mountain of a man, easily just as tall as Noch, which was 6 foot over the limit. This man's hair was as black as obsidian with eyes being a dull grey green that seemed to suck in any semblance of light. A strong featured face was shaped tastefully by a short trimmed beard.

Before my blow could connect with his ribcage a slash of shadows solidified in its path and stopped my momentum with a screech of metal.

I whirled back and readied myself again. The section of shadow in his hand was shaped like a solid sword. With the way that it deflected my blow, I wouldn't be surprised if it could cut right through me like one as well.

"You are well taught." He smirked. "Let me make a deal with you." My eyes and senses tracked his every step as he started circling around me. I was ready for any straight or sneak attack that he might strike with.

"A Black Nirn making a deal with a Witch? This is a historic event. Where is a scribe when you need one?" I retorted back while following his movements, taking one step away for every one of his advancing ones. Dread sank into my gut as I spied dark figures marching towards the building through the windows he moved passed.

He laughed at me and came to a stop in front of the cellar's closed door. "You have spirit young one!" He praised. "Were you of other decent, I might have taken you into my coven!"

"I don't take that as a compliment. I've heard enough of Nirn initiation stories to say no thank you." A nervous sweat broke out over my warm skin as I felt the coven closing in on us.

"Pity really." He mused darkly. "Since I like your spirit, I wondered if I should offer to let you live as one of us, in exchange for what you stole from me." He said smiling that evil smile again.

Alarm bells were going off in my mind at that little offer. Not only because there was no way I was giving up the wand, but because his offer had one very big hole in it.

"Unscathed?" I asked while eyeing the men and women that had come to a stop around the building in a big ring that made it impossible for me to escape any which way.

He gave a deep laugh that made white smiles appear all around outside. I shivered at the eerie sight their faces made in the dark night.

"Of course we cannot promise that. You broke into my home and removed something that is very precious to us and vital to our future plans. There will most certainly be consequences to follow, be you one of us, or not." His eyes promised unimaginable pain within my immediate future.

"Alright then. Self-preservation it is." I ducked down swiftly to push my hands tightly against the wooded floor, sending a big pulse of magic flowing from me into the earth beneath the floorboards and foundation. I pulled together the energy of the earth and manipulated it.

He yelled out in surprise as the floor began undulating and groaning underneath us. All the Nirns outside have also started falling due to the violence of the earth. A deep rending sound groaned up from the earth's depth. Smiling into the face of the astonished Nirn leader, I had the ground heave and start splitting from the space between him and me. I wickedly grinned back and gave the earth another nudge. It answered me by ripping apart violently and tearing the house down the middle while it snaked outward in a jegged line to the Nirns surrounding the building.

I gave a mocking wave and jumped into the tear without any hesitation. My right foot found the ledge that I had created during the chaos, then pushed off and found the ledge on the opposite side with my left foot. Jumping from ledge to ledge I dodged Nirn witches that fell from the edge and tumbled down into the darkness of the rift beneath my feet.

My heart was just about beating out of my chest with the thrill of the situation as I raced through the movements of the earth. I could hear the man yelling over the deafening cacophony that surrounded me as rocks, damp sand and screaming bodies came tumbling down around me.

I had to jump out and head into the shadows soon. The burning need to find Jasnine and kill her for leaving me in this situation was intense. Almost as intense as my loathing for Noch's stupidly smartass comments.

As I raced to the tip of the tear, I willed the earth to stop splitting and the ledges to form higher as I got closer. My steps were sure as I ascended to the edge of the earth again. I barely missed a blast of binding magic that flew past me as I jumped out of the earth and back into open air.

Catching the airflow around me I wrapped it around my legs and body both to shield me from what they might throw and to give me more speed. My legs flew me over the ground in leaps and bounds as my body deflected hastily crafted spells. I spied a deep dark shadow that was created by the closest building in my sites and dove for it for all I was worth.

I felt energy building behind me as I raced for the shadows, which meant that something big was coming my way if I couldn't hide quickly.

Pushing myself I strained to reach safety. There was no way in the Pits of Tartarus that I was going to end up being mauled and mounted on a wall as a trophy!

One more step!

My hand reached out desperately for the shadows right in front of me. Then, just before my fingers could dive within the darkness to allow me to jump into the shadows, a hard blow caught me on my right with crushing force and sent me flying into an open stretch of flat earth between the circling homes.

For a second I wasn't sure what had happened. I was numbly aware of my body flopping end over end, of something flying off of my body and being flung somewhere else.

I came to a stop on my back as my momentum died along with the protective pocket of air around me. I blinked up at the stars and bright glowing full moon above me while my ears rang from the impact.

"You've made a dangerous mistake little one." The man's voice growled menacingly from somewhere close by. I felt dazed as my fuzzy vision picked up dark shapes starting to loom over me.

*This, is not going to be fun*... I thought dully.