Shattered Mirror [Rewriting]

Chapter 15 - Trips of Guilt

Alena pushed her way through the crowds, brandishing her staff as a weapon against the more stubborn people pushing passed her. Her outright annoyance was almost tangible though and most of the smarter patrons in this half of the city left the flaming redhead alone. It had been a week already, a week, since she'd left the others and still no one had come looking for her. Not a glimpse of that stupid shifter, that useless seeress and definitely no sight of that arrogant, self-absorbed assassin. The mere thought of her companions was enough to send her into a frenzied rage, any nearby inanimate object either being flamed, frozen or even electrocuted until there was nothing left but a slightly charred spot on the ground or wall. Her anger had nearly been her downfall several times in the last few days with a number of close calls when normal humans almost walked in on her magical ministrations. Luckily, very luckily for her, her old tutor had taught her a harmless mind wipe spell that erased only the memories in question. If she hadn't, there would have been two or three very terrified young ladies running around spreading rumors about a magical redhead who carried a sparkling stick. Whether the other humans decided to believe them was another story but the chances of exposure were too steep to even consider.

'It's all their fault!' Alena admonished as she finally broke free into the park she'd been heading for, 'If they weren't so...so horrible I would never have left and none of this would have happened!' She had some consolation though; if they had managed to defeat the villains by now they were trapped in this forsaken world with a girl they did not even like. A grin broke through on her features as she flopped down on a bench. Yes, they were completely helpless to escape this time without her and come hell or high water, she would not help them get home. Her mind grew silent for a moment as she inspected a brightly colored bird perched in the tree next to her, singing to his heart's content when a friend, duller in color, landed next to him and joined his song. A pang of loneliness shot through her and she looked away abruptly, her entire mood sinking into a low, dark pit that made even the daylight and the brightness around her seem almost grey. Not for the first time Alena considered going back to them, forgetting the wrongs of the past just so she could have someone to talk to but then thoughts of what had happened would return to her and her anger would ignite again, sending her on a frenzy not as heated as the one before it. Now she could barely even summon a smidgen of annoyance as she traced the vines on her staff, the sadness over her heavier than a lead weight. If only she knew a spell to blast the emotion into oblivion or even a conjuration to create her some friends of her own she would not feel so desolate in her current situation.

"Summoned friends and spelled emotions are not a healthy way to live. It is not what magic was created for and you must never, never look to magic for friendship or comfort. That, Alena, is why I will not teach you such spells although they exist," her old tutor's words rung in Alena's head and suddenly she missed the old crone more than she ever had in her life. With her bent back, twig-like arms and legs, a beak-like nose and a face more shriveled than a prune, her old Mistress had been harder than diamond in her teachings to the young sorceress. Alena had, on quite a few occasions, tried to leave and teach herself what she needed to know to be the best sorceress she could be but she had always ended up returning to the old woman's home with her tail between her legs. Yes, the crone wasn't the best of company and she was blunt about her thoughts but she had been wise and without her guidance, Alena would never have gained half the skills she had this day. Besides, any company at the moment would have been more than sufficient for the sorceress. Even if it meant suffering through the old crone's insults and coldness, at least she would not be alone. If only she could have impressed her teacher before her story had gone down the metaphorical toilet...

"I should train and...and defeat the villains myself!" Alena suddenly blurted, a determination to quash the sullen mood that had overwhelmed her coming alive in her chest, "Mistress would never have accepted this...this moping! And I won't give those idiots the satisfaction of having me down! It was probably their intention in the first place! So if I show them who's best and destroy all three bad guys by myself...Mistress would be so proud!" She shot up from the bench as her determination trebled, made sure there was no one in the vicinity to witness her magic and cast her teleportation spell with an over-dramatic swish of her wrist. The amethyst in the tip of her staff sparked purple and the all too familiar feeling of being sucked into a vacuum started at her abdomen, increasing in intensity until it covered every inch of her and her surroundings became smudged and almost liquid, shifting and mixing and changing for several long moments before everything started to settle again. The feeling lessened until it was practically non-existent and the colors around her separated and sharpened so that the area around her was focused enough that it was almost as though she was looking through a lens. Alena rubbed her eyes furiously with the heels of her hands, willing the temporary dizziness to be done with so she could start honing her skills into the sharpened spikes she would drive into the eyes of her foes. Whoever they actually were. When she felt sufficiently steady on her feet and her mind as concentrated as it would get, she glared at the motel room she had made her home since arriving in her creator's world as though some monster that was only a figment in her imagination would spring forth and rip her to pieces.