Prologue

"Run." he whispered in my ear. I ran. I had the feeling that this was a game, that he was toying with me. I don;t like to be toyed with.

"Stop." he commanded. I stopped. I had run around the large square room three times. I hunched forward, hands on my knees,pnating. My captor stepped towards me.

"Tired, my little princess?" he cooed.

Standing up, I glared at him. I was many things, hurt, sore, angry, but his 'little princess' wasn't among them. This jerk had had me thrown in a cell, tied up, and now he was calling me his 'little princess'. This was going to end.

Right. Now.


Chapter One

My captor reached up to touche my face. Slapping his hand away, I growled at him to let me go.

"You really have no idea why you're here, do you?" he said, his voice softer, younger almost.

Standing up straighter, i shook my head. "No, I have no idea."

Suddenely, his features changed. His stringy brown hair turned black and sleek. His murky green eyes became gray. My capotor's wiry frame became lean and well built. He no longer looked like a ratty hobo.

"W-what are you?" I stutter.

"Just as trapped as you are." he replies.

"Oh I highly doubt that. You have had me trapped here for days. You've hurt me, stretched me to my limits, and pissed me off like no other. You had better tell me why I'm here and what's going on, or so help me I will kill you myself." I nearly shout.

He just stred at me like I was crazy.

Sighing, I turn and walk away sitting in the corner farthest from him. I put my head in my hands as tears threaten to escape my eyes.

The door to the room opens.


Chapter Two

"Callion!" I hear someone shout. "We let you live and yet you continue to disobey us."

"Are you so scared of us that you'll take innocent people? She doesn't even know why she's here! You told me you wouldn't hurt her." Callion yelled back.

"She is not innocent! No magical being is!" the bam replied, furious.

I look at him. He was the man that 'Callion' had looked like before. The man marched over to me and knelt down, SMirking, he slapped me, causing my head to hit the stone wall. I touched my cheek feeling a bruise already forming. The man stood and left.

Callion came over to me, taking my hand form my cheek. After he inspect it, he looked me in the eye.

He sighed. "I guess i have to start from the beginging. A long time ago, there was awar. This war pitted humans against anything having to do with magic or the paranormal. The war lasted years, hurting both sides. Finally, the Diffs, as we call otrselves, surrendered. We all but disappeared, staying hidden.

"Some of us were found and kill until finally, the humans were satisfied. Now, we're nothing but myth. I am a wizard. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's true. The only reason they keep me around is because i can change to look like anyone or anything. They keep me here to try and physically exhaust any Diffs they find. They make me hurt my own kind. You're here because they think you're a Diff.

I just stare at him.

"A Diff?" I ask, bewildered.

"It's short for Different." he replies, smiling.

"So, you're a wizard. Can you, like, cast spell and stuff?"

"Well, yes and no. I can't spell another wizard or people-slash-Diffs that know they're being spelled. Everything else is open game." Callion answers.

"Your name is Callion, right?" I continue my questioning.

"Yes, yours?" he replies.

"Tide, but everyone just calls me Ty. How old are you?"

"Pretty name. I'm seventeen. You?"

"I'll be seventeen September first." I answer.

"C'mon, we better get you back to your room before Tristan comes back or he'll kill us both." Callion gets up then stretches a hand out to me.

Taking it, I get up. I only have one more question.

"Callion, what am I?"


Chapter Three


Callion stoppeed in his tracks.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Tristan thinks you're an angel or a dragon, something with wings." he says. "But I think you're human. YOu would know it if you were a Diff. I mean, at least one of your parents would be a Diff if not both."

Uh-oh, he said the forbidden word: parents.

"Well, umm. I don't know who my parents are. Plus i have an incurable case of anmesia. I can't remeber anything since before I was six-ish." I reply, holding back tears.

He looked at me. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Does this mean I might be a Diff?"

Callionjust nodded his head.

We finish our walk to my cell in silence.

"Tommorow, we'll work on getting you out." he said as he turned to leave.

This was just great. I could be anything. If I am a Diff, I think Tristan is wrong. I love the water much, much more than I love t fly. And I LOVE to fly.


Chapter Four

That night I went to bed thinking about what I could be. Questions raced through my head. Who am I? Who are my parents? What else does Callion know?

Around midnight, I finally let my mind rest. Let this sit till morning, i told myself. Of course, that got me thinking about how Callion was going to get me out and if I could talk him into escaping, too.

Sleep was being rather elusive tonight.

I felt my neck. They're not there. Mom's necklaces aren't there, I remind myself. When Tristan kidnapped me, I'd had six things wiht me. Two bracelets Fire, my best friend had givven me, my phone, my iPod, and two necklaces taht were my mother's. Before I was in Foster Care, the court has stuck nme with someone who claimes to be my mom's best freind. She'd given me the short puple cord wiht the butterfly pendant on it. She said that my mother had worn it everyday. The other was a thin silver cahin tha thung just below the center of my chest. It held a beautiful heart chsrm carved out of a dark wood. Anna, my mom's freind had said that my father had given it to my mom the day I was born.

I sighed. Those two necklaces were all i had left of my family, the memories I can't remeber, my past. I wanted tehm back, needed them back.

I steched out on my mat. My 'room' was simple. It had four walls. Three were cold, hard metal, but the one that held the door to the hallway that led to other 'rooms' was glass, plastic, or something along those lines.

In my room, I had a mat and sleeping bag positioned in the darkest corner as far from the clear wall as I could get. A shower, toilet, and sink served as a bathroom are, hidden by a partition. Overall, it wasn't a very comfortable place.

I finally thought myself to sleep aroud two in the morning.


Chapter Five

"Tide. Tide. Tide! Oh my-"

"What!?" I woke up to someone shaking me.

"C'mon, we gotta go." he said, dragging me to my feet.

"What about my phone, my neckalces?" I asked, stil groggy.

"There's no time, you'll have to leave the."

That definetely woke me up.

"No!" I said. "Those necklaces are my only tie to my past, my family! I can't leave them."

"I'm sorry, Tide, I'm sorry." he said, trying to hug me, but I pushed him away.

A thought came to me.

"I'll only leave if oune of two things happens. Either A: I get ALL my possesions back, or B: you escape wiht me." I state.

A wide-eyed Callion stared back at me.

"I'm waiting." I say, tapping my foot.

"Possesions it is." he finally says, his face solemn.

"What?" i ak, bewildered that he didn't choose his freedom over my things.

"Obviosly, thise necklace are important to you. Plus Tristan would notice my absence A LOT more than you things." he replies, trying to sound casual.

"Can you still come wiht me?" I aksed in a small voice.

"What?! Why?!" he asked, very confused.

"Because," I say. "you're the first person that's been even remotely nice to me in a very long time."

"I don't believe that." he said, indignant.

"Believe what you will, but i have the scars to prove it." I reply.

"How am I nice to you? I hurt you!" he siad, exasperated.

"Well, for one, you explaind this mess to me, and second, you're helping me escape." I answer.

He sighs. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."


Chapter Six

Later that afternoon, Callion had finally figured out how we would finally get my things and get out of here

"It's simple." he'd said. "I'll change to look like Tristan, order his servants to get your stuff, change back once I'm alone, come get you, and we'll be on our way."

"So what am I gonna do?" I asked.

"Sit tight and hope for the best?" he smiled.

I smiled back and punched him playfully in the shoulder. He grabbed me up into a hung.

"We'll get through this." he whispered into my hair.

A few minutes later, he led me to a small, cramped space where I would be hiding.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 24.07.2011

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Widmung:
To my Mom, for encouraging to do my best, and coming up wiht the name 'Diff'. Love ya Mama!^_^