Free Torment by Lindsey Anne Kendal

stand he was bombarded by energy balls, then a lightning bolt struck him, before a blaze of fire soared a few feet above me, scolding him, burning through his flesh. He screamed out in pain. I couldn’t see who was attacking him; I couldn’t move to look around.
    The man managed to escape the blaze and started walking forward, swinging his mace out to the side of him. He looked down at me and went to strike me again, but a blade engulfed in flames blocked it; the chain that the ball was attached to wrapped itself around the blade a couple of times. The man looked horrified. At first I thought it was because something had stopped him. When I saw another blade appear, I realized it was because he knew he was about to die. The blade sliced through his torso like he was made of jelly. Before his body hit the ground he had dissolved into the air. The mace fell to the ground beside me and the fiery blade seemed to evaporate. I started to feel a tingling sensation in my spine and then pins and needles. I could move again. I turned around to see Eligos standing in front of me. His red eyes changed back to the sapphire blue as he held his hand out towards me to help me up.
    I stood in front of him staring at him for a minute, before I jumped up and wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and hugged him. He took hold of my arms and pulled them from around his neck, then pushed me away from him.
    “I’m only here because your new protector hasn’t been chosen yet, and Lilith was worried about you,” he told me. “When one has been chosen he or she will come and introduce themselves.”
    “What?” I said gasped.
    “You heard me. Goodbye, Keira,” he said, backing away from me and half disappearing.
    “No, wait” I pleaded.
    He didn’t pay any attention to me and disappeared completely.
    “I don't want anyone else,” I shouted. “I only want you.”
    The ground started shaking as I got more and more upset and annoyed.
    “Send who you want!” I almost screamed. “I’ll send them back to you in pieces.”
    I felt my eyes turn and the vines appeared on my skin. The sky turned black and deafening thunder roared through the air. I turned to face my car and bombarded it with energy balls. I made lightning strike it over and over again. I threw my hands out in front of me and sent flames at it. Then someone grabbed me from behind and turned me away from the car; their strong arms were over mine, restraining me.
    “Calm down!” Eligos ordered. “Calm down…now!”
    “Get off me!”
    “Calm down and I’ll let go of you”
    “If you don't get off me I’ll blast you off.”
    “If you do that I will make sure I never see you again,” he told me. “And since this is all about me leaving, I’m guessing you don't want that, so what’s it going to be, Keira? It’s your call.”
    He was right; I didn’t want him to leave. I stopped the thunder and lightning and made the clouds disappear. My eyes and skin returned to normal.
    “That’s better,” he said as he let go of me.
    I turned around to face him.
    “You have quite a temper and it doesn’t take much to trigger it at the moment,” he told me.
    “Why are you quitting on me?” I asked.
    “I’m not,” he said, turning to look at my car. He walked over to it, holding his hand out towards it. The car was fixed within a split second. He leaned against the door and looked over at me. “Believe me I wanted to, but I can’t.”
    “Why, is there nobody to take your place?” I asked coldly.
    “There are plenty of others who would take on a job like this.”
    “Then why aren’t you leaving me?”
    “A moment ago you said you didn’t want me to leave you; now it sounds like you do.”
    “I don't want you to, but one minute you say someone is replacing you and the next you’re saying you can’t quit on me,” I said plainly. “So I want to know why.”
    “Because I don't trust anyone else with you that’s why,” he almost shouted at me. “If any of