Screams, dam it I must be late. My first year after no longer being an apprentice under my mother and I am late.

I mutter a bit and shoot forwards closing the gap. The necromancer is soul binding the children he has kidnapped to try something, likely something that will fracture the very mortal plain. I finally arrive and see the horrific outcome. Four of the seven children are dead, two heavily weakened and one seems to be resisting a little, how strange ...

No focus Alex, there is no time for this. I go for the basics just try and redirect the water from the river to blast him but he manages to move aside. Water jets can only move so fast. He looks at me.

"A witch? You will do nicely as an offering to my heavenly ascension," He almost licks his lips, gross.

"Too bad for you, I am hellbound," I let my rage at the sight of the dead children fill me and punch him, my fist covered in fire, that got his attention. I am no longer a material but a threat. He grunts and the dead bodies start to move, the flesh struggling to stay on as it sags on the bone. Shit another child died. I just punch again and again but he has raised a barrier. I wish my mother was here I am out of my league.

Shit, he is trying to realm bind me. I focus my voice into a shout.

"SHATTER!"My magic responds and his realm breaks like glass. The recoil is minor but his focus breaks and I release a blast of air at him. He is down, good I can still fight. No something is wrong,

The dead! They reach me and try and grab me, these children are maybe five years younger than me and the thought of their suffering is blinding me with tears. This sick monster...

Focus Alex, they need to be escaped from. My magic response slightly without words and I have teleported backwards out of their grip at least but drained. What am I missing here?

"Bind," I close my eyes to focus and my realm expands, I can feel the area around me and start to shape it, he seems to panic and starts attacking my realm but I keep focused on it and try and cut us off from the outside world but I can't something is in the way. I push to expand it more till finally, I lock us in, the advantage is mine. I can feel it, he has a skeletal angel supporting him. Necromancer, angel of death it all makes sense now. He is borrowing power from the angel so I might be able to turn this around if I can just banish the angel.

I get ready to attack then fall to my knee. The realm is too big and I feel the drain. No, I can use this, I find the wall and lift myself placing my feet against it before rapidly shrinking the realm launching myself like a bullet straight into the angel. Some bones fly off and it hisses at me. The necromancer seems dazed and eyes flicker.

Mind control? I try and rip the bones away from each other pouring as much magic as I can into the action but it resists after the surprise attack but it works. The necromancer casts magic and the dead children drop again, no spark left. He raises his hand and struggles, speaking rapidly. I jump out the way as the air ripples with energy hitting the angel it screams in pain and another bolt of energy is launched but it has managed to defend itself.

"Grant me access to your realm," the man calls. I hesitate, I can feel the energy he has being different but I still can't separate him from the monster he was before. The second last child dies and I focus the energy of the realm to him a bit. He launches a stronger bolt and the angel is struggling. I quickly focus.

"Open," is all I manage as I focus the energy to rip a hole in the realm, and together with the man, we force the skeletal angel back into one of the heavens. I watch it close and collapse onto my back. My realm breaks and I see I wasn't alone.

My mother appears closer instead of flying above like she was moments ago and lifts the man by his shirt.

"You are coming with me, Alex get that last girl home," I don't argue as she has already vanished with him. I simply wipe away the tears and get up walking over to her.

She is barely breathing but very much aware of what is happening. I mutter some words to focus my magic and her health returns. She is crying.

"Thank you," she grabs and hugs me getting snot everywhere.

"I am sorry about the others," I feel my legs give way again. We are holding each other crying as I try and regain control. I finally manage to think back and focus on her being alive. She shouldn't be. The rest died pretty rapidly leaving only one outcome.

"What does hellbound mean?" She asks.

"It means I am destined for hell,"

"Because you are a witch?" She releases me finally.

"No, I don't really know fully just whenever I cast an attunement spell I am covered in the red of hell,"

"So magic and hell is real..." Shit, I can already see the cogs turning in her brain. She must be what thirteen or so. I am already trying to figure out what to say when she speaks again.

"Does that mean I could learn magic,"

"What? No no, you have to be-" I stop, she is likely magical enough to have survived so long today, "Give me your hand" She does so.

"Improve magic sense," I say casting the spell and feeling her.

"Shit,"

"I don't have magic?"

"You have enough to become a witch without sacrificing someone else's magic to start,"

"So you can train me?"

"What no no, you are like thirteen!"

"Fourteen, and what about you you are hardly much older than me!"

"I am nineteen I just have a young face!"

"Yeah right," That does it, I pull out my driver's license showing my age.

"Wow you were not lying?" she says as she takes it looking over it.

"Of course not"

"Alexandra Reid, huh..."

"Give that back,"

"Why does knowing your name give me power over you?"

"What? Of course not it just means you might hound me," I snatch my license back.

"Well I am Rachael Taylor, please to meet you,"

I am trying to think my way out of this but honestly, maybe she should learn if her magic levels are enough to get her in such danger.

"So why won't you teach me?"

"You are too young, I am not getting involved with children,"

"So when I am older you will?"

"Fine whatever, let's just get going where do you live?"

"Riverpark in Tonwick," I just hold onto her hand and mutter a little, and then we are on a rooftop near Riverpark. She coughs violently, shit I forgot about the air difference and didn't warn her.

"Where from here?"

Her eyes are closed as she coughs when she opens them all she can manage is "wow..." I guess the view is impressive from on this block of flats, you can see the ocean in the far distance and the ships going up and down the river. Tonwick has a pretty busy dock. She examines it more finding the station connected to it as a train starts to leave.

"So where do you live from here?" I press.

"Don't you ever just enjoy the view?"

"I am hellbound, I am trying to change that why would I care about the view?"

"Because you are still alive, tell you what you promise to train me and I will be your follower or student or whatever it is called and help you,"

"Apprentice, you know what fine. If at the age of eighteen you still insist on becoming a witch I promise I will personally train you as my apprentice,"

"Pinky swear," She holds up her pinky.

"What? No, a witch's promise is more than enough," She doesn't seem to buy it, "Let's get you home and I will personally give you my contact information so you can hold me to it," I can read it on her face, she doesn't trust me to write my actual information and I just give in doing her stupid pinky promise which makes her face light up. I manage to push her to tell me where to go from here and after a few more teleport spells we are outside her house, she rushes inside and gets a pad and pen.

"Your details, you promised" She presses them into my hand but I refuse them and give her a little treat. I say the details and the pad is opened with the pen floating to write. I grab the pen as I finish and hand it back to her.

"Remember eighteen only, this isn't a game," She says her farewells and heads inside. I just fall back.

"Home," I say, landing on the couch in my living room. What a day ...