"What happened to your head?" Tom, my flat mate who I hadn't seen in a while, asked, as I buttered the bread for my sandwich. Andy walked in then, with Jake in tow, and they both stopped.
"Your head?!" Andy exclaimed. "What happened?"
I looked at Jake. "I fell over and hit it on a wall." I said.
Jake narrowed his eyes, and I nodded to his look as if to say, I'll explain later.
"Well, that is unfortunate." Tom said. "It looks nasty."
"Stings like a bitch." I said honestly.
"Jesus, you probably should have got that checked out." Andy said. "I reckon you could have had a few stitches in that."
I shrugged. "It'll be alright. It's already started healing."
Andy and Tom both started heading for the door. "Andy and I are going exploring, but Jake is being boring and won't come. You wanna join?" Tom asked.
I frowned. "I think I'll give it a miss this time."
"Suit yourself." Tom shrugged, as him and Andy left the flat, leaving just Jake and I.
"So." Jake said, taking a seat at the table. "Are you gonna tell me how you really got that cut on your head?"
I sighed, and sat opposite him with my finished cheese sandwich. "Did I ever tell you about a guy named Haydn?"
"Aidan?" He asked.
"Haydn." I repeated, emphasising the 'H'.
Jake thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "Don't think so."
"Okay, well, he's bad news. You remember when I told you about me having the darkness because some other deal with another guy went wrong?"
Jake nodded. "Let me guess- this Haydn dude, he's the other guy?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Ronan and I had a plan that if I manifested all seven elements, the darkness would be driven out of me so that Haydn couldn't get hold of it. However, what we didn't realise is that the only way Haydn can get hold of the darkness is when I've manifested all seven elements. So, all this time we thought we were ahead of him, he was playing his own game. He was the one who's been trying to get me to manifest, waiting all this time until I did. So, last night I had two elements left- water and metal. Now, I only have metal."
Jake looked at me. "How did you manage the others? Last time I spoke to you, you had loads to get." He paused. "Wait, is this the guy who strangled you?"
"Yeah." I said. "That's the one."
I remembered when I told Jake about all this before the air situation, I'd only manifested ice, fire and lightning. "Well, I went home and my vicar, who is an earth Heir, managed to awaken the earth inside me. Then, last night, Haydn practically drowned me to get the water."
Jake sat there for a moment, staring at me, as if waiting for me to burst out laughing. When I didn't do anything, he frowned. "Wait- you're serious?" He asked. "You're actually serious? Like, you nearly died fifty times?"
I chuckled. "Not quite fifty. But yeah, I'm serious."
Jake dragged his hand down over his mouth. "You nearly drowned. That's fucking mental."
I sighed again, something I seemed to be doing an awful lot of recently. "Tell me about it. But I think it was the water that saved me. It must have somehow forced me up out of the river once I manifested, but in the process it kinda threw me onto the ground. That's when I hit my head."
"Can't you heal it? Last time you were injured, it healed super quick."
"Yeah, I mean, that was from using the light." I said. "But, now that I've got six of the other elements inside me, the darkness and the light are becoming weaker. They are at their strongest when there are no other elements around to push it out. I managed to heal a few of the bruises, but this cut on my head seemed to prove too difficult for it." I chuckled a little.
"So what are you gonna do now?" Jake asked, after a moment of silence.
I shrugged. "I have no idea. Ronan suggested trying to elongate the time to manifest metal, but I don't think Haydn will allow it. He's more powerful than ever, and I don't think I can stop him from getting what he wants."
"Well, if you keep thinking like that then you stand no chance." Jake said firmly.
"I really can't see any way around it, Jake."
Jake pursed his lips together. "I hate that I can't help you." He said.
I smiled. "You're helping me offload."
"Well, I'm glad I could be of assistance." He grinned.
My eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, shit." I said, standing up from my chair.
"What?" Jake asked, concerned.
"I'm supposed to be in a lecture!"
Jake laughed. "Are you seriously fretting about missing a lecture? I've missed like half of mine."
"But it's with Peter! I swear if I miss one of his lectures it's like I missed the whole semester." I quickly grabbed my bag, before making my way to the lecture theatre.
I spotted Kate and the other sitting around the middle, and so tried to sneak down without drawing too much attention. Peter, who was talking at the front, saw me come in and frowned, but didn't stop speaking. I silently sat next to Kate.
"I was just gonna text you." She whispered as I took out my notepad and pen. "Where have you been?"
I realised the cut on my head was on the side of my face away from her, so I turned to let her see and pointed.
She gasped silently. "Holy shit, girl. How did that happen?" She whispered.
I pursed my lips. "Fell over, hit my head."
"When?" She asked.
"Yesterday. But I didn't feel too good this morning." I hated lying, but what else could I say? I wondered when the last time I'd actually told Kate the truth was. It certainly wasn't recently.
"Fair enough." Kate said. "You have a habit of hurting yourself."
I laughed, but it was all too true. I'd been in more dangerous situations this year than anyone else would have been in several life times. I'd been close to death on so many occasions, people would probably be starting to wonder whether I actually wanted to die. It hit me then just how much I didn't want to die, and yet any day now I was about to be thrown into a situation that I might not get out of alive. The truth and reality hit then, and I could feel my heart thrumming in my ears, loud and clear. I hadn't even got a choice to do this. My whole life was being put on the line, and for what? Some power hungry psycho-maniac?
Damn, I thought.
Why did it have to be me?
"Millie?" I heard my voice, and was snapped out of my head. I looked up to see Kate standing there, all packed away and ready to go. "You coming?" She asked.
"Oh." I said, laughing a little. "I was miles away there. Is the lecture finished?" I checked my watch.
"Yeah. Peter finished early, so it was probably a little pointless you making the effort to come." She laughed.
I smiled. "Oh well. I got my attendance in, at least."
I shoved my blank notebook and pen into my bag.
"Millie?" I heard my voice again, but this time it came from the front of the room. Peter was standing there, and motioned with a finger for me to go over like an angry school teacher. I could tell it wasn't an option by the way he didn't wait for a response, but just turned away to go back on his computer.
"Oh, shit." Kate said, saying exactly what I was thinking. "Are you in trouble?" She asked, slightly amused.
"I mean, I was only a little late." I said, frowning. "I can't see it being about that."
"It's probably nothing." Kate assured me, tapping my arm. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
I nodded. "See ya." I said, before throwing my backpack on my shoulder and walking down to the front.
"That's a nasty looking cut you've got there." Peter said, looking up from his computer.
"Fell over." I chuckled, trying to make light of whatever conversation we were about to have.
"Look, Millie," He said, concerned. "I remembered something the other day, and it troubled me. A lot. But I can't really remember all of it. All I do remember is that you were there."
My heart sank to my feet, as I knew exactly what he was going on about. When he'd walked into David's office, and it was totally trashed. He'd thought I'd done it on purpose at the time. Ronan had warned me that the hypnosis would ware off one day, and I guess that day was now, even if Peter didn't remember the entirety of the events that took place.
"Um, when was this?" I asked, trying to avoid what could potentially happen if Peter remembered the whole thing.
"A little while ago, I think. I went to see David, and then..." he frowned. "It was a mess. His whole office looked as if a bomb had gone off in there. But you were definitely there, with someone else..." he frowned again, trying to think. Then, his eyes widened, and he frowned once again before shaking his head. I wasn't sure if perhaps he'd just remembered the part where Ronan mysteriously appeared before his eyes, and then shaken it off as completely absurd.
"Was David there?" I asked, pressing for how much he remembered.
"I think so." He said.
"You think so?"
"Yes." He said.
And then, Peter stopped and was looking past my shoulder, behind me, his face having turned a ghostly white. I frowned, before turning around to see Haydn standing there, casually.
"As interesting as the conversation was, I'm afraid I'm going to have to interrupt." Haydn announced. Dread had filled me at the sight of his face, as he casually walked towards where we were stood, his combat boots squeaking a little as he came. I instinctively took a step back, but Peter wasn't moving.
"You." Peter said, and then shook his head. "Wait, no. It wasn't you. How...?"
Haydn held up a hand at Peter. "I haven't got time for questions." He said, and I realised then that Haydn had teleported here and Peter had seen. The way Haydn teleported was exactly the same as Ronan, so of course he was bound to be confused.
"Peter, you need to leave." I said, keeping my voice steady and eyes on Haydn.
"Yes, Peter, you probably should." Haydn mocked me. "I'd hate to see you get hurt."
But, once again, Peter seemed to have his feet glued to the carpet.
Haydn shrugged. "Fair enough. I always liked to have an audience." He said, before running at me. In that moment I knew that Haydn, despite what he said the other night, was playing games with me. He could have quite easily grabbed me and taken me somewhere else, but instead he used his human speed to run at me and try to knock me over. But, I'd run at him too, and for once I'd gotten the better of him. I knocked him down, and managed to throw a punch that made contact with his nose.
Haydn actually laughed. "Well, Millie, we have come far since last night." And with that, he threw me off non too gently. I noticed that a little blood had trickled down his face and onto his lips, and he licked it as he came over to me. I'd already managed to get back onto my feet, and was backing up to the wall, trying to put distance between us. I guess I was trying not to use my abilities in front of Peter, although I realised how stupid that was- Peter had already seen enough.
The ice tingled at my fingertips, before I shot it at Haydn. He dodged three times, getting closer and closer to me before I was able to land a shot on his shoulder. He was knocked back a little, the strike having ripped through his leather jacket material. I guess that was compensation for the jumper he'd ruined last night.
Then, in a burst of rage, Haydn conjured the fire in his hands and threw several fire balls in my direction. In a moment of spontaneity, I waved my arm in front of my body and the ice seemed to form a temporary shield against the flames. It protected me long enough for me to move out of his line of fire, and try something I'd never done before. Connecting to the ground beneath his feet, I was able to crack the earth in a way that caused him to stumble over. He landed hard on his hands and knees, before I summoned the fire and the ice at the same time. I threw my hands forward, as the icy flames snaked their way towards him, leaving a sheet of ice in the ground before I quickly lifted my hand in an upwards arc. The ice spiked upwards, and to anyone standing there, it would have impaled them in several places. Except, Haydn was no longer standing there.
I didn't know where he'd gone until I felt his strong arms hold me round my neck, squeezing hard. I knew what was about to happen next, so I looked at Peter, who was still stood there with his mouth agape.
"Get..." I managed to breathe. "David..." I said, and then the ground disappeared from under me.
I just hoped to God that Peter had heard me.
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