Despite being terrified by the dark water, I hugged the coastline as close to shore as I could and swam the ten miles to the Dartmoth’s property. It didn’t take long at all.
I phased back while in the water and pulled on my shorts and sneakers. My heart pounded in my mouth as I walked across the immense lawn. The pristine property was well lit and most likely under surveillance. My attention was directed to the loud voices coming from an area enclosed in trees and I quickly made my way there.
Peering through the branches of a pine tree, I made out a group of people circling someone. Sneaking closer, I recognized Akin, Herra, Gavran, Limus, and two other men I’d not seen before. There was a break in the circle revealing Thayde who stood in the middle.
My heart leapt upon seeing him, but I was worried. What were they going to do to him? He wasn’t yelling back or defending himself. He was just standing there, allowing their abuse. A moment later, the yelling stopped. Something was said and he pulled off his shirt. Then, the two men I didn’t recognize took him by the shoulders and he allowed them to push him back to a thick wooden pole planted in the ground. He didn’t struggle as they tied his arms tightly behind his back, around the pole.
I wanted to scream and run toward them, cut him loose, and run away. But that was impossible - I didn’t even have a knife with me.
His brothers and sister moved into a semicircle in front of him and then Herra stepped forward, planting her feet shoulder width apart. She said something and Thayde stiffened. His head bowed and even from where I was, I could see the pain in his face. She held him there in her power for a good minute, and when she stopped, he fell forward against the restraints but remained standing.
Gavran stepped forward hesitantly. He seemed uneasy, as if he didn’t want anything to do with what was happening. When he looked back at his father, Limus simply pointed to Thayde. Nothing happened.
Thayde slightly nodded at Gavran, almost to reassure him that it was all right and that infuriated Limus. He yelled, startling Gavran, and a blue light flew from the tip of his finger, hitting Thayde in the chest. The light grew across Thayde’s chest making him shudder, but it didn’t last long, as Gavran stopped almost as soon as he started. Limus glared at him as the young boy stepped back in line.
As Gavran returned, Akin sauntered forward until he stood directly in front of Thayde. He smiled nastily, balling his fists. In an instant, he had punched Thayde in the face, whipping his head to the side. The blow was so powerful, it sounded like the crack of a bat. Blood dripped from Thayde’s nose, as he straightened his head to face his brother. He was met with a blow to his stomach, followed by a punch to his sides.
Each time Akin hit him, Thayde raised his head to face him. The last punch was an uppercut to the jaw and blood exploded everywhere. Wiping his hands on his pants, Akin returned to the line. Thayde sagged against his restraints. If he hadn’t been tied to the pole, he would have fallen to the ground.
Without a word, Limus stepped forward and held his palm out, facing Thayde. A white bolt flew from it and hit Thayde in the chest, throwing him against the pole. The ropes that held him disintegrated. His lips pulled back over his teeth in a grimace of pain and slowly his body arched backwards, lifted off the ground by Limus’s power. When I heard him start to groan in agony, I couldn’t watch anymore.
“Stop!” I screamed, sprinting from my hiding place, “You’ll kill him! Please stop!”
The bolt of light extinguished and Limus’s three children stepped protectively in front of him. Thayde collapsed to the ground. I tried to run to him, but one of the bigger men pulled me into his arms, holding me tight.
“Please, please don’t kill him!” I begged.
Limus stepped between Akin and Herra.
“Kill him? We wouldn’t kill our own kind. But he has to pay for what he did.”
“What he did?” I shouted. “What about what Akin did to me? Did you punish him?”
He didn’t answer me.
“Of course you didn’t! But Thayde rescued me from that, that,” I couldn’t find the words, “monster!” That was a good word. “Akin should be tied to that pole!”
“Who are you to tell us how to judge our own?” Limus snarled, stepping closer to me.
“It isn’t fair!” I cried. “Just leave him alone.”
He reached up and touched my face. It felt like it singed my skin.
“You’re in love with him,” he said.
I didn’t say anything. I merely looked around him to where Thayde lay on the ground, not moving.
“How could you do this to your own son?” I said, gritting my teeth.