Red String {EDITING}

An Unexpected Visitor

"No. No." Lyra waved her hands. "Blaine is actually OK when he's not with Blaze."

"I just paralysed him, temporarily, of course." Liberty shrugged. "It's quite a handy little trick."

"You can do that with lightning?"

"Duh." Liberty said. "There are a lot of things you don't know about your Gift."

"It's a curse." Lyra said, staring down at her hands. "A curse of blood and slaughter..."

"Is that what Omega Taurus drilled into that pretty little head of yours?" Liberty flicked her forehead with one finger. "If you think the Gift you've got now is a curse, then you'd be shocked at what repercussions come with the three strongest Demon Class Abilities..."

"They're rare, but very powerful... or so I've heard..."

"Power comes at a cost, Ly." Liberty said. "But you've already paid your price..."

"My price?"

"The years you spent with Omega Taurus." She said, glancing sideways at her. "Those with Powerful Gifts are destined to be hunted down and forced to use their Abilities for evil purposes... Well... That's our curse..."

"Our curse?"

"We've got the same Ability, dummy." Liberty shook her head. "Honestly, Lyra, you're slower than I thought you'd be..."

Lyra scowled. "Hey!"

"What?" She raised both hands in surrender. "It's the truth..."

"It's just early in the morning, OK?"

"Sure..." Liberty drawled, both eyebrows raised. "Anyhow... Back to your Gift."

"It's a curse."

"Hardly." She grumbled. "It can be used to kill, yes, but it can also be used to protect." Liberty folded her arms. "I knocked that bratty Alpha out with lightning when I could've killed him. Why? Because I have full control over my Ability. I've embraced my Gift."

Lyra's shoulders sunk. "You're telling me I have to 'accept' my Gift...?"

"Exactly." She sighed. "It's your Gift. You control it. You decide what you do with it."

"It's only good for hurting people..."

"Tch." Liberty ran a hand through her red locks. "I paralysed Blaine without hurting him... too much..."

"I don't know how to paralyse people like that." Lyra stared at the ground. "The only thing I'm good at doing is killing people with my Ability."

"And how did you get good at that in the first place?" Liberty cocked an eyebrow.

Lyra paused, her mouth parting slightly as she realised how simple the answer was. "Practice."

"About damn time you finally got the message." She muttered. "Practice paralysing people with a little spark. Get the feel for how much power to use..."

"Wait... Who the hell am I supposed to use as a test dummy?" She asked. "It's dangerous... isn't it?"

"I practiced on my mate..." Liberty said with a grin. "Ah. Fun times..." She mumbled dreamily. "But as for you... I believe you have a problem with an annoying blonde by the name of Alpha Blaze..." She smiled devilishly.

The corners of Lyra's mouth twitched. "Yes. Yes, I do..."

"I believe you have your first test subject." She said. "So practice until you don't get it wrong, then you can move onto some of the more complicated stuff..."

"There's more?"

"Use your imagination, Ly." Liberty stood, throwing her hands out to the side. "I'm sure there's a spark of creativity in that slow-moving head of yours."

Lyra stood alongside her, glancing sideways at the older woman. "How do you know so much about my Ability?"

Liberty turned, her murky blue eyes piercing Lyra's brown ones. "Surely you've guessed... Bloody hell, you're slow." She laughed humourlessly. "Yours is a Gift passed down in the family..." She said, smiling sadly, generating a red spark. "You're a smart girl, Ly... You'd have to be, to have survived in that place for so long." Liberty laughed. "You must've figured out who I am by now."

Lyra blinked.

"Look, Lyra." Liberty ordered, gazing imploringly at her. "Really look."

Lyra stared at the woman, finally noticing the delicate full lips that turned down slightly in the corners – an exact replica of her own lips. The fiery red hair that shone in the rising sun, like dying embers of flame, was a dead giveaway too.

Some small part of her had been pointing all this out since the moment they'd met, but the word that tumbled out of her mouth still came as a shock to her.

"Mum..."

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ILLENIS HERE

Well, you all probably saw that one coming.

Hope everyone enjoyed this lovely little update and will hang around for the next part, because things should be getting a bit more interesting soon.

Illenis, out.

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