Kingdom of @WattpadUrbanFantasy

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When the night is at its darkest, we crawl out of the shadows.

Qreton is deep in the fitful sleep it has known since it started paying the price for the experiments carried out in the research centres. Silence rules the streets in these late hours. There is no moon to witness what we're about to do, only the stars and the infinite black sky.

I pull the high collar of my suit over my neck. The material stifles me on such a warm night, but I can't wear anything else.

Impenetrable to all teeth, the suit's label brags. I only hope that includes those of man-eating plants.

"Damali, everyone is here except for Thomas," says Emmy beside me.

I turn to her. She shrinks under my glare, even though it isn't meant for her. I readjust my goggles so I can see better, then flick my eyes to the group of people standing around me in the shadow of the clock tower. Like me, they wear protective suits and goggles.

Like me, they know the ways of magic.

Eight pairs of eyes stare at me, bright in the darkness. The ninth is missing.

Under my breath, I let loose the curses I would send Thomas's way if he was here. He may be my best friend, but this is one time he couldn't oversleep. Every dark hour is sacred if we want to save our kingdom.

It's the only time I can gather a group of magicians without the scientists sending the city guards to separate us.

There's no such thing as magic, the scientists say. Only trickery.

I scoff at the idea. The scientists aren't as clever as they think they are.

My family uses magic every day, but its existence is something Qreton still denies, even when a mysterious experiment went wrong two days ago, causing carnivorous vines to grow around the research centres.

I have seen the scientists hack the plants to pieces and rip the roots from the soil.

I have seen the plants reform moments later, their roots taking hold in the earth once again.

And the scientists still claim it isn't magic, that magic doesn't exist.

They must think we're all imbeciles.

The group of civilians I gathered yesterday discovered that the scientists scattered a foreign plant's seeds around the research centres as part of a failed experiment many years ago.

Our best guess is that the researchers' mysterious recent experiment involved magic. They lost control of it, and the foreign seeds fed off it, growing into something more terrible than we imagined.

The only way to fight magic is with magic, my grandmother always said.

I think she'd be proud if she saw me now, standing outside in the middle of the night with a group of people who knew how to wield magic and were willing to do it.

"We must begin without Thomas," I say. "There isn't time to waste."

In my mind's eye, I see the vines take over a apartment building and crush it with all the people still in it. That happened yesterday, and it'll happen again if we don't destroy the plants to keep them from spreading.

"I'm here!" A shadow splits from the darkness, his long ponytail flying out behind him. "I'm here."

Thomas doubles over to catch his breath. I want to punch him for being late, but I can't ignore the smile spreading over my face or the relief warming me at the core.

I only met the rest of the group yesterday. I have known Thomas much longer. With him, I have pushed my boundaries for years, chomping more chicken drumsticks and downing more mugs of mead than I thought I could hold.

With him by my side, somehow the impossible seems a little less so.

"About time," I say.

Thomas pulls his goggles down over his eyes, then shoots me an impish grin. I speak before he thinks up a comeback.

"Let's go."

My group of magicians trails after me towards the nearest research centre. The vines have grown halfway up the stone walls and cover the wooden door. They remind me of the cheeky plants that creep over the neighbour's wall and into my garden, so much like normal vines that a less discerning eye than mine might've been deceived.

I see the poison in their green. I see the countless tiny jaws among the leaves open and close, tasting the breeze.

Six people had been eaten before we realised what the vines can do.

It's up to us to stop the plants before they invade Qreton. We can't depend on the scientists to do it.

They won't even acknowledge the existence of magic. There's no way they can fight it.

I spread my arms out. My companions follow my gesture, fanning out around me while keeping their distance from the murderous vines.

I keep my eyes on the plants. Is it my imagination, or do they creep a little higher up the wall as I watch?

"The only way to undo the experiment is to extract the magic," I say. "If the plants thrive on it as rumour says, they will die once we separate them from their source of power. Understood?"

Everyone nods.

"Ready?" I raise my hands in front of my chest, cupping them slightly with my palms facing outwards so I can capture the magic. "Now!"

Everyone thrusts their hands outwards. When they, like me, feel the magic pulsing at their palms, they curl their hands inwards.

It's warm against my fingers, and smooth like silk. I grasp it, but it slides out of my grip.

Focus, Damali.

I snatch at it and catch a corner. It's not much, but enough for me to pull.

Beside me, Thomas grunts. A cold bead of sweat slides down my temple.

I've never seen magic behave like this before. What have the scientists done to it?

That's a question for later, not now.

I grit my teeth, drawing the magic towards me with all my strength. It stretches towards me, but it doesn't give.

"The plants aren't letting go!" cries Emmy.

I frown, fighting to keep my concentration. I continue tugging, but Emmy is right.

The plants aren't giving up their magic. All we're doing is wasting energy.

"Fall back!" I call.

Everyone lowers their hands with a soldier's obedience.

"What now?" asks Emmy.

I shake my head. "We go home and think of a better plan for tomorrow night."

Never has my magic knowledge abandoned me. I don't know what more to do, but we must do something. If I do more reading or send a letter to my grandmother, maybe we can figure out a solution.

"There is something," says Thomas, almost as if he read my mind.

We've been friends for so long that I wouldn't be surprised if he knew what I was thinking just from the look on my face.

"I read up on magical experiments."

"You read?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I do, Damali." He pulls a face at me before turning serious again. "Sometimes a magic overload can kill a magic-dependent creature as surely as magic starvation can. If we channel all our power into the plants, maybe we can overwhelm them and destroy them!"

Emmy looks to me, awaiting my answer.

I frown. I have studied magic since I was six years old, but I have never heard of this approach. Then again, plants with a thirst for blood instead of water are new to me too.

We have nothing to lose.

"It's worth a try." I turn to the rest of the group. "Let's go at them again. This time, give them all you've got!"

"We're passing our magic into them?" asks one of the girls I met yesterday.

"Yes," I say.

She exchanges a doubtful look with the magician beside her. It's the same doubt lingering in my mind. Still, they follow my instruction. It's not like anyone has a better idea.

"Ready?"

We assume the same positions as before.

"Now!" I cry.

In unison, we send our magic flying at the vines. They light up, then swell, almost to bursting point. In the time it takes me to blink, they race up the walls.

Our magic is feeding them.

Even if Thomas's theory is right, our combined power isn't strong enough to destroy the vines. The wicked plants crawl onto the roof, crossing over the tiles until there isn't any red to be seen, only a too-bright green.

"Stop!" I cry, but my command comes too late.

Fuelled by our magic, the vines overlap and interlace, covering the research centre until it looks like a hedge or a mossy stone.

The magic was in a precarious balance within the plants before. Our experimentation has tipped it over.

My magicians and I watch, frozen in horror, as the vines engulf the research centre and tear it apart.