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Mercy, he mouthed, still unable to talk.

As if he had given any mercy to Aidric. To all the Wielders he had killed in medical experiments and Aidric’s brutal raids.

It was so easy. Her fingers danced through the air, increasing the pain in his head until blood gushed from his nose.

“I am not mercy,” she responded. “I’m your reckoning.”

Still, it was not enough. Life flowed through her veins as she watched his leave his body. When blood streamed from his ears and eyes, he stopped moving.

She stood still, appraising him on the floor. The amulet beat with her heart, in sync with her. This was all meant to be. Fate wanted her to have it so she could kill Rakkley.

What are you doing? a voice inside her demanded. You need to destroy it.

I only needed to get the amulet away from him. Destroying it seemed unnecessary at this point. A waste.

Destroy it. You know you have to. It’s corrupting you.

The inner battle in her mind made her dizzy.

She tried to breathe and sort out her thoughts.

She could take off the amulet and then use it against Rakkley when the time came. She wouldn’t have to destroy it, but taking it off seemed like a good compromise.

When her hands reached for the clasp, she stopped and closed her eyes to focus on the task. Slowly, she took off the amulet and placed it on the desk.

Just as the amulet hit the desk, her legs gave out. She stumbled, knocking a chair over. Her head hit the floor. Everything went black.

She came to moments later, and her head pounded. Grabbing the sides of the desk, she pulled herself up and stared at the body of the Primemage.

Was that her doing? The Caster’s body was contorted. Frozen in a scream of agony. She gagged at the sight of his tortured body. She had enjoyed it. His pain and suffering.

On wobbly legs, she knocked a pile of papers to the ground in an effort to stabilize herself.

Pull yourself together. She closed her eyes and tried to make the spinning stop. She had used too much Dark Magic. She felt utterly drained.

Her Shadowflame was weak. Gray instead of its normal black. But then she saw it. There, on her ring finger, was another signifier. Two triangles with a dotted line through them. Pain.

She wanted to scream, but she knew she had asked for it.

Mira fell to her knees. Anything more seemed too much effort. She needed to focus just a little bit longer. Now that the amulet was no longer around her neck, she wanted to destroy it.

She looked for the scroll in her jacket. It was hard to decipher the words of the destruction spell Tanaka had given her. Letters swam in front of her.

Focus. Just a little longer. Don’t look at the body next to you. Focus on this.

She connected with her powers and spoke the spell, but only her White Magic answered. Her Dark Magic was spent.

She did not trust herself to take the amulet with her. It had to be destroyed now.

Her hand wrapped around the emergency kit on her belt, and she fished for the replenishing potion. It wouldn’t give her a lot of power, but she hoped it would be enough for the spell.

The taste of green apples danced on her tongue, and seconds later, everything seemed clearer.

She stood on shaky legs and focused on the strands of her magic again. The Shadowflame on her hand appeared slightly darker, although still a light gray.

This time when she spoke the spell, she could feel both of her powers connect. The amulet rattled on the desk. An invisible force flung her against the wall. The impact reverberated through her body. Picture frames came crashing down around her. Slowly she stood back up, staring at the amulet, which glowed red in defiance. It had never envisioned to be destroyed, let alone by a Caster. She stumbled but made her way back to the desk and placed her hand above the amulet. She could feel its powers. Its pull. It wanted to be worn. She let her Dark Magic reach out to it. I’m your master, she said to it. But it didn’t obey. She needed more power. She asked for all three of her signifiers, directing them to it. But the amulet remained defiant. It wasn’t enough. She needed more.

Instead of connecting with her White and then her Dark Magic, she attempted to use both at the same time. She had never done that before, but perhaps that would allow her to destroy the amulet. She focused on the white and dark strands in her mind and took hold of them. They brimmed with power. Suddenly, her magic connected effortlessly with the amulet. It stopped glowing. When she spoke the spell this time, she felt no resistance. With a howling sound, as if it was screaming, Mercer’s amulet shattered. The force of it pushed her back, and she fell to the floor. For a moment, she just wanted to go to sleep. To rest.