Were the shadows moving, or was it just her imagination? Hamina Jonsey had never once thought that she would flinch each time she saw a shadow move. But that was before she had found out she was a Magician; before she had gotten involved with Syna.

The book hidden beneath Hamina’s hoodie began to slip down. She quickly righted it and kept walking down the sidewalk.

If she handed this book to Syna… she would be handing over the key to destroying all Magicians. But she had no choice, she could either protect all Magicians, or her sister. 

How had Hamina ever thought she could trust Syna? She grinded her teeth. She would’ve done anything to protect her family, and Syna had known that, which was why she’d taken Izzy hostage. 

There was a flicker to her right and her gaze darted back and forth. 

Nothing there. 

She forced her thundering heart to relax and kept trudging forward. 

Where was that meeting place?

Hamina stopped in her tracks. In her peripheral vision she saw a long black shadow slithering across the gray concrete, not stopping until it was beside her. The Shadow Demon paused for a brief second, then continued to lead her to where Syna was. Hamina followed after a brief second. 

Abruptly Hamina felt increasingly aware of the book hidden under her hoodie. Could she really give it to Syna? Even though lots of Magicians could die?  But she had to. Or else... No! Hamina refused to think what would happen if she didn't deliver. That was it. Decision made. No more discussion about it. She jutted out her chin just as the Shadow led her into an alleyway. 

Hamina was so shocked by what she was seeing that she tripped over her own feet.

Syna held Izzy, who was bound and gagged, with a knife placed against her throat. 

Anger burned through Hamina’s veins, hot and devouring. How dare Syna treat her sister like that?! If it were any other person besides Syna holding that knife Hamina would have attacked without a single thought. But it was Syna. Which meant that she had to be more careful.

“Do you have what I wanted?” Syna’s voice was sweet but the threat beneath her words was clear. If you don’t have the book, then I’ll kill Izzy.

“Of course,” Hamina said in the same tone Syna had just spoken to her in.. “Let go of Izzy first, then I’ll give you the book.”

“No,” Syna replied, “I have the upper hand. Give me the book and then I’ll release sweet little Izzy.”

Hamina would have argued more, but when she caught sight of Izzy’s tear streaked face she decided against it. She wasn’t going to risk Izzy’s life by arguing.

“Fine,” She agreed reluctantly. 

Hamina tore her gaze away from her sister and she just noticed the Shadow Demons floating along the walls. These were 3-D, unlike the one that had led her here; these could hurt her. Kill her. She suppressed a shudder as she slowly walked past them, towards Syna. 

The Shadow Demons made no move against her, but she moved cautiously nonetheless. One wrong move and Izzy would die. She wouldn’t let that happen. 

Hamina stopped once she was a yard away from Syna.

“Let go of Izzy,” Somehow her voice came out steady, even as her heart thumped against her rib cage frantically. 

“Hand me the book,” Syna sounded bored as she held out her left hand, her other arm wrapped around Izzy’s shoulders, her right hand still holding the knife. 

Hamina hated to let go of the only thing that gave her even the tiniest bit of leverage against Syna, but she handed it over.

A wicked smile turned the corners of Syna’s mouth upwards. Before Hamina could open her mouth, Syna sliced open Izzy's throat. Horror and shock engulfed Hamina. She felt like she was drowning. Hamina's vision became a tunnel, and the only thing she saw, the only thing that mattered, was her sister. Izzy made a guttural choking sound, when Hamina heard it, it killed her on the inside. She had one job: to protect and take care of her sister. And she'd failed. Hamina stared into Izzy's eyes, which hadn't even closed when her legs buckled from beneath her. Hamina was there to catch Izzy, before she'd even noticed she moved. If only Hamina had been there for Izzy so she hadn't gotten kidnapped. Hamina felt as though she was breathing through a wet cloth as she gently laid Izzy's head on her lap. Had it gotten colder? Was Syna still there? Were the Shadow Demons still there? Time ticked by achingly slow, only marked by Izzy's wheezing breaths. Everything else seemed to disappear when Hamina looked into Izzy's fading eyes. 

"Don't leave me," Hamina's voice cracked. "I need you. I promise I'll do better to protect you." 

Her pleas were left unheard.

“Ah, such a shame.”

Hamina looked up, tears still blurred her vision but she could see that Syna was twirling around the knife. 

“Y-you promised me she would be safe!” Hamina accused, her throat thickened with unshed tears. 

“And what does a promise from a liar mean exactly? Nothing,” Syna said, seeming unfazed by the whole ordeal. “If you miss her so much, you’ll be glad to know that you’ll be joining her soon.”

It took a moment for Hamina’s grief-stricken mind to gather her thoughts enough to understand what Syna was implying. 

“No!” Hamina’s voice sounded raw. “I won’t let you kill me. Izzy won’t have died for nothing. I’ll kill you with my bare hands if I have to!  We had a deal Syna! She was supposed to live!” Tears sat on Hamina’s lashes and she blinked to clear her vision. She wanted to see the face of Izzy’s killer clearly when she killed her.

Hamina laid Izzy’s head on the concrete and stared at her bloodstained hands. 

This was all Syna’s fault. 

Hamina growled and launched herself at Syna, preparing to choke her, stab her, punch her, or do anything. As long as Syna hurt. As long as Syna felt the pain Hamina felt. As long as the end result was the same: Syna dead. 

Fury ignited in Hamina’s veins just as Syna pulled out a long rectangular device from the pocket of her jacket and aimed it at Hamina. 

A beam of pulsing and blinding white light shot out of the center of the device, one end wrapped around Hamina’s body, pinning her arms against her sides. Hamina struggled but the white light stayed firm.

“What--is--this?” Hamina asked, trying to jerk free. 

“That's only the first step, keep watching,” Syna said. 

Syna pressed another button and hot flaring pain radiated inside Hamina. 

She screamed. 

She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Her every cell burned, as if touched by acid. It felt like her heart was being ripped out of her. Every second felt like a millennia. The pain was never ending. A black spot appeared in her vision, it grew and grew as she screamed louder and louder. Sobs shook her shoulders and her throat felt hoarse from screaming. The black spot expanded, until darkness swallowed her and the pain receded. 

Syna turned off the device once Hamina was dead. She put it in her pocket and turned on her heel to leave. 

Next stop: The rest of the Magicians.