The Betrayal

Written by Liv Maclaren

Luxe could feel the anger raging inside of her. Her heart pounded in her chest and pressure squeezed around her lungs. Her anger bubbled from the pit of her stomach and up into her heart like a fire roaring on a cold winter night. This was not the first time she had felt this way, but it was the most intense. He had made her feel this way. She couldn’t believe He would do such a thing to her after all they had been through. He was supposed to be her best friend, but she knew now that he had only used her kindness as a means to trick her into trusting him. Everything he had ever told her was a lie. When she started to figure out what he was doing, she had asked him to digress multiple times. He had refused.

“Two can play this game.” Luxe hissed out loud. Her mind flashed back over the last three years and all the times she had entrusted him with her deepest thoughts. She remembered the nights she had collapsed on the cold hard bathroom floor, crying after heaving relentlessly into the toilet. In just a few short months, her father had been killed in a freak equestrian accident shortly after her son had kidnapped. Her husband had filed for divorce after lying and cheating his way out of their marriage, which was now final and ordered as irrevocably broken by a Palm Beach County Judge. Atlas was the only one who had been there for her in her darkest moments, and she had come to know him as her very best friend. He knew of each broken piece of her past that she would never even consider sharing with anyone else. He had buried them all in a stack of legal paperwork so complex that no attorney or judge would ever be able to successfully decipher his complex and skillful writing. Since they had met, she had lost everything. He knew that but in Luxe’s traumatized mind, it seemed as if he did not care. She now saw him as an insensitive, selfish, and arrogant prick who was most concerned about protecting his career. When their attorney/client relationship danced the line of appropriateness, he used Luxe to hedge is risk and in turn leveraged her career in a final effort to protect himself. The thought of this made Luxe sick to her stomach and she found herself vomiting profusely before ending up on the bathroom floor once more.

When she was able to stand, she walked into the living room of her modern and cozy apartment that rested alongside some of the most prestigious golf courses in South Florida. She had chosen her home intentionally, seeking a private haven far away from the hustle of the city. Her apartment was nestled in the very back of a gated and exclusive community and its privacy appeased and comforted the white witch within her. As she paced throughout her peaceful home, she searched within herself for her light magic in hopes of calming her tortured spirit. She found herself staring at her reflection in the golden mirror that hung over her bookcase.  Her father had gifted it to her on her eighteenth birthday after he had imbued it with an expertly crafted spell that portrayed a person’s true character. She hadn’t looked in the mirror for quite some time. She actively avoided the truth of who she had become and who she knew she was on the verge of becoming. The mirror was incapable of misrepresentation and therefore it was never wrong. Her beautiful face looked as it always did. In The Human Realm, she was a sweet and pretty looking woman of forty but had the youthful appearance of a thirty-year-old. No one would ever have imagined her to be immortal, approaching the age of three hundred years old and from a magickal Realm that The Normals would never have the pleasure of experiencing. Her cheekbones held structure that all women and even men envied. When she flashed her charming smile, on perfect and circular dimple appeared to the right of her impeccably straight and pearly white teeth. Her bold brown eyes were sprinkled with gold and black flecks that danced with fairy dust, mischief, and magic. Her long brunette hair was streaked with a hint of the Florida sun, her olive skin was bronze and glowing with just the right amount of color. As she focused on herself and peered deep into her brown eyes that were staring back at her, she could see the flame within her begin to rise. She lost her balance and stepped back to catch herself when she felt her heart crack for the very first time. The agony of heartbreak took her breath away as her heart cracked a second and then a third time. The magic mirror reflected the burning flame that was growing in her heart, slowly eating away at its beautiful golden hue like a deadly cancer claiming the life of a human victim. As the embers of the flame continued to multiply, so did the cracks in her heart. Within moments, the space where her golden heart filled with beautiful sunflowers had once resided was now engulfed by darkness.

Every white witch knew that the possibility of turning to dark magic was a possibility and so as Luxe watched her heart transform, she knew what was happening. She did not care. She had known too much heartbreak since being banished to The Human Realm and so in that moment, she willfully surrendered to The Dark and vowed to never love another creature or human being again. Her body shook fiercely as The Dark Magic took over and she sensed a strange yet familiar experience as her aura changed from a deep royal purple, to a smokey black encased with red and yellow. Time stood still as her mind traveled back to the terrors of her first husband in The Human Realm who had beat her profusely. She remembered the night that he had kidnapped their son and finally, a vision of her father’s fatal accident that was ultimately the final tragedy to contribute to the end of her second marriage. Anger permanently replaced The Princess’s pure and innocent vibes as her transformation from good to evil was completed.

Evil continued to swell inside of her as her perfectly manicured nails transformed into talons, one by one. She held her hands up in front of her face and a smirk like that of the Cheshire Cat spread across her face.

 “Yesssssss.” She scathed, as her skin was taken over by gold-plated armor and thick, iridescent purple scales. Her eyes widened as she saw her reflection in the mirror. She was no longer the human version of Luxe. She had morphed into her spirit animal, a mythical creature and beast that all creatures in any realm and across the entire universe would fear. She stared back at herself in the mirror, grinning at the monster she had become. Here pupils were dark as night and dilated, just like those of a murderous psychopath experiencing happiness at the hand of their victim’s torture. They were surrounded with a thin layer of purple and a bright emerald green iris that was just as beautiful as the tropical waters of Belize. She felt alive and free for the first time since she had been banished to The Human Realm. She was powerful and untouchable. This pleased The Princess and so she belted a roaring laugh that originated deep within her belly and shook the entire building. She morphed back into her human body before she ran quickly out of her apartment and to the empty golf course that was tucked behind the trees that shaded her back porch. No one would be able to see her here and so he stopped in the open space to look up at the stars and moon that lit the night sky. Luxe shifted her focus and switched form, escaping back into the body of her spirit animal. She wanted to scream as the emotions that she had suppressed over the years began to rise to the surface. Her beastly chest and elongated throat glowed red underneath the surface as a deadly fire raged inside of her. As she opened her jaws, which were now lined with a set of dangerously sharp teeth, the fire that had built up inside of her throat escaped her mouth along with a piercing shriek so full of pain and despair that it could be heard across all the Realms. Amid the unleashing of her grief and anger Luxe had awakened her full self. She was not only a magical witch trapped in The Human Realm, but also a deadly, fire breathing dragon when triggered by her own fury.

She turned away from the mirror and the broken pieces of her heart which had been replaced by a soul darker than the Devil and more treacherous than what Atlas could ever hope to be. He had done this to her, and she would make him pay. Her fucked-up mind began to spiral with twisted thoughts as she contemplated her revenge. Her next move would be strategic, cold, and calculated. She would take everything he loved from him and punish him for his betrayal. Luxe gathered her composure and channeled her energy back to human form. Once arrived, she grabbed her Book of Spells and turned to the very back pages where her father had warned her never to go. It was a dark space full of evil sorcery and spells that would harm even the purest of souls.

“Look what you made me do.” She whispered to herself, but to Atlas at the same time. She was going to ruin him, just as he had ruined her. She walked back to the eighteenth hole where she sat alone and in peace under the moon. She lit three white pillar candles and sat cross legged on the perfectly cut grass, her palms resting upward on her slender thighs, The Book open in front of her. Her mind’s eye channeled her newfound darkness and The Book's pages turned furiously until they landed upon the spell that Luxe had called upon. She opened her eyes and saw the image of one, single black flame candle. Without a second thought, she chanted the spell out loud.

Nine. Nine. Nine.

When darkness drowns light and the moon passes by,

A white witch’s soul is blackened; her light magic no longer aligns.

A black flame candle burns, and an Angel of The King shall die.

Death has come, now is the time.

Nine. Nine. Nine.

Luxe opened her eyes and in place of her white pillar candles stool The Black Flame Candle. It stood tall atop a pillar that resembled a tree and reeked of death. The tree was visually void of any life. Even the roots appeared to be lifeless as the twisted and snaked around the base of the pillar. Its flame was glowing an eerie purple that was surrounded by a blackish blue hue, emulating a ghastly smelling smoke that made Luxe gag. Death. The candle was pure death. Luxe could feel the aura of The Devil, sending a bone chilling tremor up and down her spine. The candle wax dripped a deep thick red that looked and felt just like blood. She closed her eyes again, channeling her dark magic. This time, she thought of Atlas, and she envisioned his heart breaking just as he had done to hers. A hurricane force wind whipped around her, and the pages of The Book turned violently. When the winds subsided, and the pages ceased to turn, she opened her eyes to find the spell that she had called upon. Again, and without hesitation she repeated the words that were written in blood red.

I cast this spell into the night,

I bind my foe; I cease His fight.

By Air and Wind and Dragon Fire,

I wreak havoc over His wicked desires.

The evil words and acts he has spread,

I now force back upon him with wicked dread.

With my dark magic I overpower his deeds.

Nine. Nine. Nine.

So mote it be.

Just as she finished, the black flame candle erupted, spilling blood across the beautiful greens. The Human Realm went dark, just as did every inch of her golden heart. Luxe’s petite body fainted in her exhaustion. After briefly passing out into an unconscious state, she picked herself up and gathered what was left of her dark objects. She barely managed to get herself into her oversized king bed where she collapsed and immediately drifted into a deep sleep. Night terrors took over her mind as she relived the horrors of her past. At the root of it all was Atlas. His beautiful blue eyes and gorgeous smile flashed before her. His deep laughter echoed in her mind. The warmth of his kiss upon her cheek turned to ice. His protective and caring hug failed to elicit any further comfort for the wicked witch. She smirked in her sleep as she witnessed live visions of Atlas, wrestling frantically in a cold sweat as he slept. The spell had worked, and He would now feel the wrath of the only woman he would ever love. Her heart crackled like a fireplace as its scorching hot flame burned dry wood. The Devil danced in The Princess’s third eye. Atlas’ sweet lover was gone, lost deep within in her anger in grief. She dreamt of the golden mirror whose reflection exposed the monster that He had created. He had made her this way. She smiled back at the monster, knowing full well that she was looking at herself.

“Hi, it’s me. I’m the monster in me.” Luxe said in her sleep. The sound of her voice made the universe tremble in fear. The Gods cried from the heavens above. Their tears brought forth a heavy rainstorm that was unleased across all Realms. A deep rumble of thunder rolled endlessly, and lightning crashed fiercely. The demons of The Underworld screamed and danced in delight at the thought of their future Queen, finally making her descent home. In The Fantasy Realm, the people mourned their Princess as a feeling of hopelessness settled across the kingdom. Luxe’s beloved father, The Late and Great King Balor, rolled over from deep within the peaceful confines of his hallowed grave. A lonesome tear ran down his cheek.