Mage of Shadows by Chanel Austen Page A

Traversing time and space is a fascinating mystery to us and even as the times change, that unfulfilled need to answer what if I had done this? That never varied. Doctor Who has been around for half a century, and was still popular around the world for that exact reason.
    I've made mistakes. I was far from perfect. I deeply regretted the events of the night before, regretted it with every ache brought on by the constant throbbing that plucked at my nerves, thrumming like a badly tuned violin. I would never forget my mistakes- they were a part of me. They made me who I am, even if I was ashamed of them. Maybe especially because of my shame.
    I knew I could do better; I knew I could learn from my errors and do so much more.
    I desperately felt every mistake, every decision that had brought me to where I was. Standing several feet from the body of a girl who couldn't have been much older than me, my own hazel eyes locked in a seemingly eternal moment with an officer of Normal law. An officer who had chased me from an unfortunately similar scene just the night before.
    This girl had been murdered with a gun, but she died because of magic. The bloody epithet that had been left behind would live in my memories forever, marking her death unnatural. One-Bit and Two-Bit, the thugs I had tossed around for 'practice,' also had received their wounds because of magic. Two-Bit nearly died.
    So what made me different from the person- or people- that killed the fair-haired girl sprawled out in front of me now?
    Maybe nothing.
    In that moment, the desperate need to run was balanced out by the sudden realization… and the sense of responsibility that came with it.
    Maybe it was better this way, I decided wearily, and my aching body agreed with yet another painful throb. Maybe I couldn't run from what I had done last night… it was one mistake too many. Officer Rodriguez and her cadre of uniformed justice had been on my tail since they cornered me in the alley. It was a sign… it was time to stop running.
    I wasn't meant to get away.
    In the light of that split-second epiphany, I was surprised how relieved I was… I had done wrong, now I would have to face it. But I could face it directly, no more running away from my prob-
    She looked away.
    She looked away.
    It was as if the world suddenly started to spin again. In that long moment I had known nothing but those sharp brown eyes locked on my own, judging me… innocent?
    Rodriguez hadn't recognized me. She couldn't pick me out from any other student, even when looking for a criminal… I had escaped once more, right under her nose at another crime scene.
    I didn't feel elated to get away once more, instead… the anguish of everything returned. Physical pain welcomed the mental guilt that accompanied my actions once more. The weight of it crashed down on my shoulders once more and I felt my knees buckle, as if they threatened to give out.
    I should have been happy- relieved to escape a crime that I had committed yes, but only out of youthful naiveté and necessity… didn't I already suffer enough for my actions? My body rebelled with every step, and my mind plagued with the replay of the flames engulfing Two-Bit, the hideous cracking sound of One-Bit's emaciated body hitting the unforgiving brick wall of the alley.
    There was no relief in escaping justice this time. I had been forced in that split-second to reconcile that I was at fault, my actions were criminal, and I deserved to be punished. What had I been thinking? Attacking thugs in the dead of night… The age old adage of 'two wrongs didn't made a right,' had never sounded so true.
    I could do nothing, though. As guilty as I felt I knew that if I did something like turning myself in, it wouldn't be enough. It would be recompense for my mistakes last night, true, but I had other debts to pay… other mistakes to right.
    Not only for me, but for my parents, old friends, and old enemies… life is hard enough for a Normal. I was a