way it echoed off the walls, it felt like he was everywhere at once. Aidan glared at the man and chose his words carefully.
“Were you the one that destroyed my village?” he asked. The man bowed his head once more.
“And what if I did?” he replied. Not cold. But no emotion either.
“Then I kill you,” Aidan promised.
“You cannot kill me. Your power is lacking,” the man said - with such confidence and assurance that Aidan believed him. Who was this man?
“But did you do it? Did you destroy my village?” Aidan asked as calmly as he could.
“I did,” the man said, to which Aidan responded with a lunge, but the invisible hands had resumed their grip. The man sighed heavily as he maintained his gaze upon the floor. “I need you to understand something, Aidan. I hope you will remember these words forever.”
“There’s nothing –” Aidan was cut short as a hand sheathed his words.
“The brandings on your arms are wishes,” the man continued, seemingly unaware of the young boy’s outburst. “You have used one to save yourself from the fire. The other two – are there to be used whenever you like. Only two more. Once you use them, they will be gone, and you will only have whatever power you’ve gained from them at your disposal. That will be the only power you will have to rectify the massacre I’ve just unleashed on your people.”
Every muscle of Aidan’s body fought against his restraints.
“This conversation will be our only real exchange. After I let you go, and you return to the world, our meetings will be different. I, and I alone have given you this power of making your dreams a reality. All I ask in return is privacy. When you make a wish, either audibly or internally, you will be transported here, between the veil of space and time, and you will make your request. I will grant it, and then you will go back from whence you came, as if nothing had happened at all. You will ask me no questions about who I am, and what I do. Non-compliance will result in the loss of one of your wishes until there are none left. Do you understand?”
Aidan’s breathing slowed as he tried to nod. The hooded man received the message.
“There is no use in figuring out who I am anyways,” the man said. “You will just waste your wishes and your life searching for answers that have no real significance. Enjoy your life. Enjoy your wishes, and somehow, forget about what I’ve done to your loved ones. For what it’s worth…I am truly, truly sorry.”
The invisible hands let go of Aidan and he immediately sprinted forward.
“YOU WILL BE SORRY!” he screamed, but only ash and soot engaged him, coating his tongue mercilessly. As he gagged and coughed at the thick, vile mixture, he squinted his eyes and noticed that, once again, he was back at the spot where Quinn had once stood. He clawed at his tongue, trying to remove the taste from his mouth, spitting and coughing more as he thought of what he had just witnessed.
The hooded man. He was the culprit, and he hadn’t even denied it. This strange, powerful man that could transport him to different locations at will. Who was he? A god? A supernatural being from the myths of old? If so, why would he reveal himself now? Why did Quinn have to be destroyed and what were these…wishes.
Aidan inspected his arm and rubbed a hand across it once more. Two wishes out of three he still had. Using one of them had saved him from the firestorm. Somehow, he had been shielded from its path, and when it had decimated his people and brought the mountain crumbling down, he…no, it was not the firestorm that had destroyed the mountain.
He remembered now.
It had been him. The hooded man.
He was responsible for destroying the platform on which Quinn had once stood. Aidan examined the palms of his hands in silence, searching each crease for a sign. And as he stared, he began to see it. It coursed through his veins like blood, but blood it was not. His eyes, somehow, could
“Were you the one that destroyed my village?” he asked. The man bowed his head once more.
“And what if I did?” he replied. Not cold. But no emotion either.
“Then I kill you,” Aidan promised.
“You cannot kill me. Your power is lacking,” the man said - with such confidence and assurance that Aidan believed him. Who was this man?
“But did you do it? Did you destroy my village?” Aidan asked as calmly as he could.
“I did,” the man said, to which Aidan responded with a lunge, but the invisible hands had resumed their grip. The man sighed heavily as he maintained his gaze upon the floor. “I need you to understand something, Aidan. I hope you will remember these words forever.”
“There’s nothing –” Aidan was cut short as a hand sheathed his words.
“The brandings on your arms are wishes,” the man continued, seemingly unaware of the young boy’s outburst. “You have used one to save yourself from the fire. The other two – are there to be used whenever you like. Only two more. Once you use them, they will be gone, and you will only have whatever power you’ve gained from them at your disposal. That will be the only power you will have to rectify the massacre I’ve just unleashed on your people.”
Every muscle of Aidan’s body fought against his restraints.
“This conversation will be our only real exchange. After I let you go, and you return to the world, our meetings will be different. I, and I alone have given you this power of making your dreams a reality. All I ask in return is privacy. When you make a wish, either audibly or internally, you will be transported here, between the veil of space and time, and you will make your request. I will grant it, and then you will go back from whence you came, as if nothing had happened at all. You will ask me no questions about who I am, and what I do. Non-compliance will result in the loss of one of your wishes until there are none left. Do you understand?”
Aidan’s breathing slowed as he tried to nod. The hooded man received the message.
“There is no use in figuring out who I am anyways,” the man said. “You will just waste your wishes and your life searching for answers that have no real significance. Enjoy your life. Enjoy your wishes, and somehow, forget about what I’ve done to your loved ones. For what it’s worth…I am truly, truly sorry.”
The invisible hands let go of Aidan and he immediately sprinted forward.
“YOU WILL BE SORRY!” he screamed, but only ash and soot engaged him, coating his tongue mercilessly. As he gagged and coughed at the thick, vile mixture, he squinted his eyes and noticed that, once again, he was back at the spot where Quinn had once stood. He clawed at his tongue, trying to remove the taste from his mouth, spitting and coughing more as he thought of what he had just witnessed.
The hooded man. He was the culprit, and he hadn’t even denied it. This strange, powerful man that could transport him to different locations at will. Who was he? A god? A supernatural being from the myths of old? If so, why would he reveal himself now? Why did Quinn have to be destroyed and what were these…wishes.
Aidan inspected his arm and rubbed a hand across it once more. Two wishes out of three he still had. Using one of them had saved him from the firestorm. Somehow, he had been shielded from its path, and when it had decimated his people and brought the mountain crumbling down, he…no, it was not the firestorm that had destroyed the mountain.
He remembered now.
It had been him. The hooded man.
He was responsible for destroying the platform on which Quinn had once stood. Aidan examined the palms of his hands in silence, searching each crease for a sign. And as he stared, he began to see it. It coursed through his veins like blood, but blood it was not. His eyes, somehow, could
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