"Do not dispute with her, —she is a lunatic" - William Shakespeare, Richard III
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"Do you two realize what a mess you have made for me? He can report me for assault! He can claim that I attacked him by using you!" I yelled at them. My tangent had been going on for what felt like hours now, my throat parched from the extortion of my vocal cords. I would loose my already-frail voice from all his yelling.
"We were the ones who kidnapped him, he can't possibly blame it on you!" Cera justified. I narrowed my eyes at her. So far, she was the only one who bothered to defend their actions. Throughout the entire conversation, it was her pleading their innocence.
"As if anyone would believe you two were smart enough to pull this off on your own" I snapped. She flinched at me, while Clair had no reaction. He was staring up at the ceiling, as he had been for the last hour, unbothered while spinning in his leather desk-chair. The nerve to act as if this didn't concern him!
"And you" I hissed at him, winding my shadows around the wheels of the chair, before forcefully yanking it out from under him. He crashed to the floor in a tangle of lanky limbs and twisted joints.
"You may have everyone fooled with your little nonchalance act, but I see right through it. Don't think you'll get away with pinning the entire blame on Cera" I hissed at him. He rolled his eyes at me, before I sent an urn flying towards his head. He ducked, the vase just missing his head, but looked quite frazzled by the action. His golden eyes were wild as he looked back at me.
"You will not pull this with me. Just because SHE"- I pointed a finger towards Cera-" has more influence over you, does not mean you do not have a mind of your own. I know how your magic works, and her being more powerful has nothing to do with your free will"
His eyes widened, but he didn't reply. It was a low blow, pointing out that Cesarie was the stronger twin, that she had more influence over his character than he did hers. But it was a fact that he used it as a scapegoat every time something went south. He didn't like when it was pointed out, but had no problem exploiting the circumstance when he needed an easy way out.
The truth was, he was a master in the art of victimizing himself. It was the male audacity in him. Cesarie had more power within their shared mental-space, so her presence imposed into Clair's own personality. It domineered over him, making him share a female perspective on the world. That's was partly why he identified as mentally non-binary. It was only natural, seeing that he had the female gaze imposing on his every thought.
He was male, but also adapted some of Cesarie's female awareness, due to their interloping, constant proximity. Because of her, he was more than male and wasn't confined to one gender. He had access to both perspectives. But that did not mean that he did not have free will, being forced to go along with whatever Cesarie decided on, just because she had more influence. He had free will, just a bit less of it than his twin. He could not and would not use that card on me. Clairmont had access to the cunning of a woman, and the audacity of a man, and I refused to let him use it against me.
"You two can pull this on anyone else in the academy, but not me. I don't care who you do it to, but not me. You will not screw me over like this. I made it clear that Paris was off limits. He is my claim. Mine. And you two still went ahead with it"
The twins were silent. Claire was finally taking the situation seriously, after his sister had spent the last hour justifying their actions and breaking her neck for the both of them. Gods I could not stand men and their shamelessness. He was only lucky that he was not solely male, or I would not have tolerated him at all. And yet, his ability to identify with the female mind was only thanks to his sister too. It was his sister's female excellence that was dragging this moron up.
"Paris Arobynn is off limits. He is mine. I have a claim to him, and you will not go after him again. Do you understand? Because if you do target him again, you will be opposing me directly" I talked down to them, over annunciating my words to talk slower. Cera frantically nodded at me, agreeing with the statement. It was Clair who resisted, instead rolling his eyes.
I crushed my palm into a fist, and my shadows flew at him. He was pushed onto his knees with a garbled shout, my shadows wrenching the back of head downwards. He stared up at me, his golden eyes glowing with rage, as the shadows held him still. His chin was lifted up, his pale neck exposed, as he glared. If I were his enemy, this would have been the perfect opportunity to slit his neck, with so much of it revealed to me.
I watched his Adams apple bob, bulging against the thin, pale skin. His blue lightning strikes of veins trailed under the nearly translucent layer. One clean cut against the surface, and it would all be stained red. His livelihood was conceded the second his neck was exposed so defiantly. My eyes darkened at the thought of it. The vulnerability of it all.
I let down my mental shields, allowing Clair to see the vibrant image, though I knew both of the twins were witnessing it. His eyes widened, the furrow between his eyebrows slackening. His mouth opened slightly in shock, as the fantasy of ruby blood spilling down his neck played in his mind. His head jerked forward almost instinctually, as if to hide his exposed neck. As if his survival instincts had just gained awareness of the situation he was in.
"You push and you push, Clair. Yet you seem to forget that some day, someone will push back, and they will not be as merciful I have been" I whispered to him, leaning down to be within eye level. I was still slightly elevated as I talked down to him.
"I get it. You're part male, after all. The only reliable constant between males is your nerve. But I am warning you now. Back down. I am not one of your play thing's, for you to run circles around" I stared at Clair, the threat evident in my eyes. He noticeably swallowed.
"Do not cross me again. Got it?" I asked him, my voice barely above a whisper. Finally, after a several moments of staring each other down, he conceded. His chin dipped forward slightly in a nod. I gave him a warm smile, patting his cheek. He cringed upon the contact. I straightened out, releasing Clair with a swipe of my hand. He collapsed, the tethers of my shadows snapping loose.
"Good. Glad we're on the same page" I smiled again, turning around towards Cera. She looked ashen, frozen in place and tense.
"Good night, Cera. Sleep well" I gave her a genuine smile, letting her know I wasn't as angry at her as I was with Clair. Instead of relief, her face blanched even further. Oh well. Giving her one last smile, I walked towards the exterior wall that faced the hallway. Without stopping, I walked right through it, bleeding into a shadow and stepping out promptly.
By my assumptions, it was already nearly five am. My nap had rejuvenated me enough, so I wasn't tired to an extent, but still felt the dull bite of mental exhaustion dragging at my senses. I jumped out of the dorm room, the golden dragon still drowsing like the dead. It never spoke, only bared it's teeth and attempted to bite while you reached for the handle. In the back of my mind, I wondered what kind of mental conversations that thing had with the twins, when they dwelled into it's thoughts.
My foot hooked upon something on the floor as I reemerged from my shadow port, and I went crashed down to the floor. I cried out in pain from the sudden movement in my neck, but was greeted by a moderately soft body instead of hard concrete. Paris lay dazed beneath me, obviously having been sat on the floor when I stepped out. I scrambled up, scowling at him and brushing off my rumpled outfit. Goddess knows when the sprites last cleaned these floors. Boys' boarding houses were always a bit dustier than the girls' houses, the same way fraternity houses were filthy and sororities weren't. Girls were simply held to a higher standard.
"I'm sorry" Paris sprung up, attempting to aid me by pulling my arm up. I jerked it back, wincing slightly, before shooting him a glare.
"What did I say about touching me?!" I snarled at him, yanking my arm away from his reach. His face blanched with guilt. For the love of the everseeing, could I never catch a break?
"I'm sorry, I forgot" He began, reaching forward but quickly withdrawing upon my request. I gave him no time to speak his mind, as I was already storming down the hall by the time he uttered those words.
"I'm also sorry about accusing you of setting them up. I understand that you would not willingly seek me out at the moment, considering that you probably don't want to see me. You know...after what happened" His voice was thick with guilt, as he struggled to swallow.
"Perfect! You get it!" I exclaimed, making him jump a little, "Now leave me alone!"
"I would- but- I mean I will, but you have to hear me out first"
"No I don't. I don't have to do anything" I ground out to him, flexing my jaw. My footsteps echoed on the stone floors as I stormed through the narrow hallway. They usually were muted by my shadows, but at the current moment, I wanted my stomps of outrage to be heard. For dramatic effect, of course.
"I have to appologize. I'm sorry. You don't know how sorry I am. It wasn't me-"
"Oh, I'm guessing it was me then?" I snarked, and I nearly caught him narrowing his eyes before stopping himself.
"It was my magic. You know that. Magic does as it pleases. It's sentient" He justified instead.
"I don't need a lesson on the anatomy of magic, Arobynn. I know that it's wild and that it can lash out if we don't control it. If we let our emotions fog up our judgement and become lazy in our restraint"
I could see the instantaneous relief flood his face, watching his eyebrows un-furrow and his eyes widen. It just annoyed me even more.
"So you understand?" He asked me, a twinge of hope in his voice.
"Oh, I understand" I laughed bitterly, " I definitely understand. That does not mean I forgive you"
"But-" He tried interrupting me, but I turned on him, jabbing an accusatory finger into his chest. A twinge of pain shot up my nape from the sudden movement, but I refrained from cringing.
"I understand that you're a weakling of a mage who expects everything to be handed to him, and everything to be forgiven because you simply deemed it inconsequential. I do not blame your magic for attacking me, but I do blame you for not controlling it. You were probably reeling in delight that I, the evil Shadow Syphon, got what was coming to her" I snarled.
"I would never-" He began, but I swatted my hand in his direction, brushing off his statement.
"Yeah, yeah, you would never hurt someone willingly" I turned around, continuing down the corridor. Arguing with someone who was hellbent on believing he was right, would do me no good. It was like arguing with a wall, and I didn't have the mental capacity to deal with him right now. Chewing out the twins took enough of a toll on me, and I did not have the energy for Paris too. It was as though I was a baby sitter, required to keep them all in check.
"And I didn't!" He exclaimed, desperate to make me see his point. I knew he didn't consciously try to hurt me, but he did nothing to stop it either. He was fine with watching me burn at the hand of his magic. It was easy to dump the blame on a force I couldn't hold accountable.
"Right..." I trailed off, choosing to drone out his yammering. He was going on and on, but his grievances fell to deaf ears as I tried to navigate my way out the building. Did I take a left or right at the portrait? I peered around the corner and down into the dark hall, trying to decipher where the exit was in this labyrinth.
"I could help you!" Paris finally blurted after a string of sentences that I choose to ignore. I turned to him, my narrowed eyes scrutinizing his proclamation.
"No. You can't" I finally concluded. He really couldn't help me, unless I tied him to the stake and used him as bait. Paris ran infront of me, hoping that it would stop me for a moment. He held his hands out infront of him, his eyes wide and frantic. I subconsciously inched back from his outstretched hands, though he wasn't touching me. Paris dropped his arms and ran his hand through his blonde hair frustration. He took a breath and tried to calm down.
"I could help you. I really could. The thing... It's targeting Light Mages. I'm a Light Mage"
"Well spotted" I snarked at him.
"I could help you. I could be bait" He repeated. I stopped in my track, looking him over suspiciously.
"There's no guarantee- " I began, but he had the nerve to cut me off.
"There is a guarantee. I am the most powerful Light Mage in my tract-"
"Points for humility" I said dryly.
"Just let me speak! Please" He hissed at me, shocking me into silence. I looked around, as if waiting for someone to verify he actually just did that. Goddess. Stunned into silence, I waited for him to speak, my jaw clamped shut.
"The reason Aline was targeted, was because she was always around me. It was my magic that was shrouded around her when she was attacked" There was a twinge of guilt buried under his bitter tone, "If it's targeting Light Mages, then it would go straight to biggest game besides scavenging out roadkill"
He had a point, and I had to refrain from pointing out that he just compared his darling Light Mage friends to road kill. Whether it was the idea of using Paris as bait, or whether it was simply mental exhaustion clouding my judgement, the conversation had suddenly turned entirely humorous to me. Or I was just loosing my mind.
"And how do you propose I do that?" I demanded, putting a hand on my hip and tilting my head in disbelief. Paris blinked at me, as if completely bewildered by my momentary compliance. I don't think he expected to get this far.
"I don't- I don't know" He admitted rather sheepishly, "But I could help you. I take Magical Combat, I've been trained for years to deal with these creatures. My help would get the beast out of the school, and it would clear your name from the suspects list". My blood chilled at the statement.
"My name is on the suspects list?" I demanded. Paris' eyes widened, as if realizing what he said.
"No. No, of course not. It isn't. But...you have a Hellbeast hidden in your room right now. It would only take one, desperate scrying session to find a demon in the school, even if it isn't the one that killed Aline"
I pursed my lips, having had all these concerns myself. I had no place to take Beastly. My magic residue, having built up over my eleven years in that dorm room, was the only thing keeping him contained and in check. Anywhere else would be too unstable to keep him permanently locked up. And besides, he liked my room. He had been there since I was eight, and would surely have tried to escape over the years if he wasn't comfortably content. I rubbed my hands over my face, trailing them up and swiping them over my hair. Turning away from Paris, I peered down the hall as if I would find my answer lying in the darkness ahead.
"Come on, Eulalia. You need my help" Exhaustion was nipping at my mind. I wanted sleep. Not for physical relief but mental. Paris continued.
"I need to avenge her, Eulalia. Her death is on my hands. And until it is dead, her blood will remain staining my hands" He said to me, his voice thick with emotion. He tried to reach forward, to grab my hand in his act of begging, but I quickly snatched it away. Why was he so bloody physical? Could he not keep his hands to himself? Gods I could not stand these Light Mages, always so affectionate and mushy. They would blow a lung if you told them you don't want to French kiss upon every greeting.
I recognized that It would be a bad time to mention that the beast could not be killed, because it had Nyx's blessing. The blessing of the highest supreme of Dark Magic. I internally shuddered at the thought of what kind of monster it could be. There were no depictions in the book. I had thought about how I would entrap the beast. How I would manage to pull off such a feat, but the variable of Paris never came into mind.
Never in a millennia would I have thought of or been comfortable with the idea of asking Paris for help. I did not need his help, but I doubt it could make anything worse than it is. He was so taken up with his revenge or whatnot, that he couldn't possibly be trying to undermine me. I doubted that the two braincells rattling in his brain, could handle multi-tasking to that extent.
I looked up at him, locking my silver eyes with his green ones in an intense stare-down, trying to determine how serious he was about helping. I considered what he could bring to the table, whether or not he was worth the trouble. Finally, after mulling over all unaccounted for aspects of his involvement, I gave him a curt not.
"Fine" I said to him, "You're in". The sight of him physically sagging in relief, his shoulders dropping as he exhaled a shaky breath, enraged me.
"But do not think for one moment, that I'm doing this because I like or trust you, Paris Arobynn. Do not think I have forgiven you, or ever will forgive you for what you did to my throat. I am using you only for my own convenience, to get this job done quicker. Do not think that I won't dispose of you just as easily as I did with the Umbra demon, and the hundreds of demons I summoned before that". His faced paled at the mention of the score of demons that Beastly has ate. I never needed to burry anything, because he ate them whole, bone and all, in his shadow pocket.
"If push comes to shove, you will find yourself right next to your darling Aline" I threatened him, my voice low with a murderous glint in my eyes, "Do not cross me, Arobynn. If you make me regret this, there will be two monsters hunting you, and I'm not talking about Beastly. You have more reason to fear me, who's still debating on killing you, over some demon who's already Hellbent to do so. You need my favor, Arobynn, and right now you do not have it. So do not cross me"
Paris swallowed audibly, his eyes wide as he stared down at me. I was dangerously close, invading his personal space so that he might understand how serious I was right now.
"Understand?" I asked him, before finally stepping back. He nodded quickly at me, before I cocked my brow at him. I inhaled a deep breath, feeling the razor blades of pain slither up my sore throat alongside the air. I gave him a final one over, looking at his split lit and quiet determination.
I grabbed his hand, remembering the night in the woods where a similar scene had unfolded. A girl and a boy in the darkness, making a blood oath with only the night as a witness. Except then we were swearing to stay away from each other, and now we were swearing to do the exact opposite. I flicked out my regular knife from under my sleeve, where a hidden compartment held one of many.
Paris' eyes strained to see where it came from, his sight only catching the glint of the silver before it miraculously appeared within my palm. It was a plain dagger. Nothing extraordinary about this one like my kindjal. Small, about the length of my hand, and plain. No intricate decals or dignifying features upon the steel body.
Taking a different route this time, I made a quick incision into the Sun Line of his palm. This way, It would be more detrimental to his well-being if he failed. Blood rose between his slit skin, and I repeated the motion with my hand. The incision interloped with both of our success lines, and I only prayed it would bring us luck.
"I, Paris Arobynn, swear to help you, Eulalia Fontaine, rid our school of it's Hell demon. I swear to not undermine nor attempt to sabotage our efforts of capturing the demon" Paris stated. I pursed my lips but gave him a curt nod.
"I, Eulalia Opaline Fontaine, swear to accept your...help, in capturing the Hell demon in our academy" I repeated.
"Incarcerer" we simultaneously whispered, pressing our hands together. The warmth of his palm repulsed me, and I had to repress the urge to pull my hand back. The Magic fizzled once more, as I mutely whispered "sanitarium". Paris caught the movement of my lips, but did not question me, for once in his life.
I separated our hands, the golden bond between our palms glimmering out. When the thread fully disappeared, I gave Paris a stiff nod. I did not want him apart of this. I did not need his help. Or not much of it, at least. Glancing at Paris one last time, I tucked my knife away.
As I wordlessly turned to leave, Paris suddenly blurted, "We should meet up!"
I stilled, turning back around in a confounded state. His cheeks were pink as he stared at me wide eyed.
"To plan" He quickly rebutted, "We should meet up and plan how we'll go about this. We can't just improvise a demon hunt"
"Did I say that we would?" I growled at him.
"Of course you didn't. That's why we should meet up and plan. Map out the school, research the demon, collect evidence. That sort of thing" Paris offered. My eyebrows were furrowed in nonplus, as I finally relented with a sigh. This night just kept dragging on and on.
"Fine" I threw my hands up in the air, "Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do than play detective with you. Time and place?" I demanded impatiently
"Uh..." he began but I quickly cut him off with a dramatic glance to the ceiling and an impatient sigh.
"You're taking too long, Arobynn. The old Spell Composition classroom down in the Western Wing. You remember it?" I didn't wait for a reply, "After tomorrow, after our evening study hour Got it? Good"
"Yeah, right" He quickly added on, a millisecond too late. I shook my head at him, and before he could start up yet another conversation, further delaying me from the company of my bed, I quickly turned around and ran into a wall. Denying him a departing pleasantry was hardly at the top of my concern list, at the moment. Shadows eloped me as I disappeared within the hidden folds of the world. I gathered up all my magic in one great tug, and allowed the darkness to utterly absorb me.