NaNoWriMo ’11 (Part 6)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

The headaches were getting worse. Kim was downing two advils every other hour. Worse, the dreams were getting more vivid, and they occasionally involved that girl. Repression seemed to work for a lot of people. She’d keep trying that.

There wasn’t much else to do. She’d attempted to keep her parents in the loop about what was happening to her, but there wasn’t a lot changing anymore. Sometimes she felt the fire prickling her skin during class or while she was working, but if that’s all it was going to do, she wasn’t that bothered. She tried to visit the gallery when she could, since what it mostly appeared to be asking for was attention. Aremana didn’t like having her around, but she wasn’t a fan of his either, and mostly they kept their distance. Geoffy was always nice to see anyway, and she always felt a little like she was giving him the attention he needed as well.

This Friday they were hanging in the gallery waiting for Mithra to get out of her practice. She had a game soon, so practices had been longer and more intensive. They had planned to see a movie, and she had just decided to be dropped there so they could walk. Indeed, when it was starting to get dark, she knocked on the door and waved at them. Behind her was Morgan. Hortense gave them a very pointed look, but Kim had gotten used to ignoring her. They entered, and it was the first time Mithra had ever entered. She glanced around the small waiting area. Morgan was taking it in as well, her expression passive.

“Please tell me this isn’t it,” Mithra said.

“They’re not allowed in the back,” Hortense said loudly. She didn’t even look up from her magazine, but her annoyance was clear. Ever since Bedelia had broken in, she’d been increasingly irritated. Kim figured it had to be some sort of principal thing.

“We’re leaving anyway,” Kim said, grabbing her jacket off the chair. “I assume you’re coming with.”

Morgan nodded. “Mithra said you wouldn’t mind.”

“‘Course not,” Geoffy said, poking Kim in the ribs. “Ready?”

Together they headed out.

—

The evening was without remark. Mithra was attempting to figure out why Kim was annoyed with her, or maybe she was annoyed at Morgan, which made sense she supposed. Perhaps she should be more sensitive to her friend, but she really liked Morgan and wasn’t above being a little selfish. And then Geoffy and Kim had gone home, and it was just her and Morgan, which she couldn’t pretend she wasn’t a little pleased about.

It was, of course, hopeless. Even if Morgan was interested, which seemed hardly likely, what would they do about it? The white bred conservative community was bad enough, but if her parents found out she’d be sent to a boarding school in India. That would be the end of life forever. She was lucky enough to have Kim, whose problems would be eternally weirder than her own, and she doubted anyone like that would exist anywhere else.

Still, it was nice to pretend.

And Morgan was pretty cool. She dyed her hair and wore her uniform when they weren’t at school, which was weird but whatever. She didn’t talk a lot about herself, but she asked lots of questions about everyone else. She was interested in Kim and Geoffy but most importantly she was interested in Mithra, who easily obliged her with answers. Currently they were standing outside the theory, watching Kim and Geoffy drive away, and Morgan turned to her and stretched her arms. Mithra attempted to not stare. It was incredibly hard. Morgan watched her from the corner of her eye and grinned.

“We should do something fun,” she said. Her voice was soft and lilting, almost musical. Sometimes she hit syllables with an accent, in almost the same way Kim was starting to hit them with an American accent.

“Sure,” Mithra said. “What’d you have in mind?”

Oh god she hoped she wasn’t being obvious about hitting on her. Morgan just smiled, grabbed her hand, and they started walking. That was how they ended up outside the gallery, staring at its dark windows so late in the evening.

“I want to see what’s inside,” Morgan said.

Mithra sort of knew what was inside, not that she could tell her that. Mentioning mystical artifacts might make her more eager.

“We can’t get in,” she said. “And Kim thinks Hortense lives there.”

“We aren’t allowed in,” she replied. “Don’t you want to know what’s inside?”

Well… yeah. Ever since Kim had told her everything, ever since the fear dissipated into curiosity, Mithra had wondered. Kim had grown up with it, so magic was the norm to her. It was an everyday aspect of life that she could understand. Mithra didn’t have that luxury. It was a far off thing, a story book she wanted to believe. After the initial demonstration of power, there’d been little to fill the curiosity. Kim was forthcoming with her own tale, but the little intricacies and basic mindset were lost in retelling. She wanted to see actual magic. She wanted to hold it in her hands and feel it.

But that was dangerous, and she couldn’t drag Morgan into it, not without proper prep and permission most importantly. It was Kim’s world. Mithra had been invited into it, but she doubt it had a Plus One tacked onto the bottom.

“We really shouldn’t–” Mithra started to say, but Morgan was looking at her so earnestly. Her eyes were dark and cool and it was almost a cliche all the things she wanted to say about them. She wrapped her hand around hers and leaned forward, so close the perfume of her was everywhere, and her skin radiated warmth.

“Please?” she asked.

That was how Mithra and Morgan had found a window into one of the offices. There seemed to be very little security, but then she remembered that it was magic and that’s probably how that worked. They hopped onto the cool linoleum and listened for voices. All the lights were out, and they heard no sounds anywhere. Morgan found a light switch that turned on half the lights, creating a dim atmosphere. There were piles and piles of objects on the tables, little place cards beside each object giving a name and information on it. Mithra picked one up that had been beside a mirror. Possible portal was written beneath the description and beneath that a number for a physical place. Beyond the tables were huge stacks of storage boxes that potentially held more objects. The place was definitely bigger on the inside, and she turned to Morgan to express wonder at that, but Morgan was already moving. She passed a glance over each object, face filled with glee, but she was looking for something. Her dark eyes were hungry.

“Really,” Mithra said as she ran to catch up with her. “We shouldn’t stay.”

“Just for a bit,” Morgan replied, and to her surprise she folded her hand in hers and led her along. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“It is pretty cool.” Mithra was currently focused on the heat between their hands. Was she doing this on purpose? No. Maybe?

“Anyway.” Morgan turned suddenly and she almost ran into her. “We’re alone now.”

Definitely had to be doing this on purpose. Mithra swallowed thickly. She was so focused on Morgan, she didn’t notice they’d stopped right in front of the same ancient staff that had scared her off so many weeks ago. She didn’t notice, that is, until Morgan reached for it, and after that things went a little fuzzy.

—

Kim had pulled on her pajamas and was chatting with Ashley online when her phone went off. It was past eleven at that point, so she assumed Mithra was calling with good news or very poor news. She’d really tried to set aside her dislike of Morgan, but it was hard. Some people just rub you the wrong way.

“Hey,” she said as she picked up the phone. She settled it between her shoulder and her chin as she messaged Ashley to brb. “How’s your date going?”

“Um.” Mithra’s voice wobbled a little. “You know.”

Kim hissed under her breath. “That bad, huh?”

A new voice responded: “You have no idea.”

Kim’s eyes went wide. Bedelia. Bedelia was talking to her through the phone. Bedelia was calling her through Mithra’s phone.

“I do hope you remember me,” she cooed. “I gave you a bit of trouble.”

“You–where–what are you doing with my friend?” Kim stumbled up and slapped her laptop shut before moving to the door. Her stomach churned. Shouldn’t she have gotten a warning? Was the staff so in contempt of her? Had it returned to its previous owner?

“I wouldn’t worry,” Bedelia continued. “The staff and I are having a conversation, but he’s being so stubborn. I need a bit of help from your end.”

They had to be in the gallery if she was talking with the staff. Kim called out for her parents but there was no reply.

“See, he’s convinced you’re going to take care of him. We both know that’s not true. There’s one little thing I need you to do.”

No one in the living room or the kitchen. She moved to her dad’s study.

“I need you to renounce him. He’s attached to you. I need you to remove that attachment.”

“I don’t know how!” Kim shouted into the phone. “I’d do it in a second if I knew how!”

“Good,” Bedelia replied. “Then you’ll come down here and I’ll help you out. See you soon.”

The phone went dead.

Kim let out a strangled scream and hit the wall. There was no time. She dialed another number.

“What’s going on?” Geoffy’s groggy voice entered through the tiny speakers.

“Bedelia’s at the gallery,” she said quickly. “I think she’s got Mithra and she’s going to mess with the staff.”

“What?”

“I’m going down right now.”

“Kim!” She heard him moving quickly. “Wait! What about–”

“I don’t know where my parents are. I thought you could warn your uncle. I’m going.”

“Wait–”

She hung up the phone. The staff had been acting dead for the past few weeks, but she hoped this would work. She needed to get there now. She held out her hand and–

It heard her. He heard her. The wielder was calling out to him. Finally.

–she felt her hand brush against the ancient wood and there was the feeling of something shifting, and she was standing there directly in front of Morgan, who also had a hand wrapped around the staff. She jolted back, nearly knocking over a table. She glanced around wildly, looking for Mithra.

“Ah,” Morgan said, and she realized that Bedelia’s thick Welsh accent was coming out of her mouth. “He wakes.”

Kim slipped from her grip on the table and tumbled to the ground. Morgan appeared to still be Morgan, but there was something about the gleam in her eye and the way her lips curled that was all Bedelia.

“I wouldn’t worry about your friend,” she said, kneeling down to be at Kim’s level. “I’m just keeping her for collateral. See, you have two choices. Either you keep your friend or I do.”

“I don’t–I don’t know how to stop it,” Kim said. “Please, I–”

“No excuses. I don’t understand why he wants you so badly. You won’t even keep him.”

“I don’t want him!” she shouted, hoping–begging–him to hear her, to help her. Take back your previous master, please. Just let Mithra be safe.

Indeed, the staff started to glow with the multicolored fire licking its way through each of the symbols engraved on it. It pounded in her head like a second heartbeat. Bedelia grinned and stood, holding the staff out.

And then, something–

—

The fire engulfed Bedelia, and she spread her arms to welcome it. Take me back, she begged. Let me have your power again.

He answered, No.

What? But I’ve been nothing but loyal. I have wielded you and I have used you as you instructed!

The fire started to singe her fingertips. You have used me for your own means. You listened, but as a means to manipulate.

She was desperate now, fighting the fire growing around her. But she will not even wield you, she shouted. You are lonely here, and you are left to rot!

I have who I need, he responded. I am just waiting for her to awaken

The fire consumed her.

—

–happened. Bedelia was quickly engulfed in flames and then just as quickly shot back. She was throw into a table, and the impact folded it against her body. Artifacts scattered everywhere. The staff remained perfectly happy in the air, fire still flickering around it. Bedelia stood, tossing aside the objects that had fallen on top of her, and lifted up her arms. The staff had forced her into her true form, all forty feet of curly hair and low cut dress.

“Fine!” she shouted. “Fine!” And she brought her arms downward. A rift of blue light followed the movement, and Mithra collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. Before she had the time to take in what was happening, Bedelia grabbed her by her ponytail and held her up. Her nails began to glow with blue light, and she held it up to her throat.

“Wait!” Kim shouted, scrambling up. She grabbed hold of the staff. Please, she pleaded. Let go of me please.

“I’m not in a forgiving mood,” Bedelia hissed and dug her nails into Mithra’s chest. Her friend screamed, desperately digging her hands into her arm but to no avail. The nails went in, and Kim grabbed onto the staff harder.

“It won’t let me!” she shouted. “Please! I can’t get rid of it!”

“No excuses!”

Tears pricked at Kim’s eyes and she begged the staff do something please just help me please just help her please please please.

The fire began to press against her skin and she didn’t even notice. If he wasn’t going to give her up, she had one other option. She could always fight. Fine, she whispered, fine, just save her.

Bedelia hadn’t been expecting the blast, which hit her squarely in the chest. She dropped Mithra, who curled on the floor, sobbing and clutching her chest. The witch growled and flicked her wrists. Two shiny clear daggers appeared in her hands and she dove them into the ground. Ice began to cover the area and moved quickly, rising up in sharp spikes at Kim’s feet. She fell back and whacked at them with the staff, which made quick work with them. She waved it in an arc, and the ice was shot back at her. Bedelia was barely able to deflect it, and she was pushed even further back. In a moment of quick thinking, she grabbed the nearest artifact–a small arrow with a red ribbon tied to it–and threw it at her. Kim blocked it as best she could, but the force of the hit still threw her back a solid five feet. The arrow clattered lifelessly to the floor.

By the time she stood again, Bedelia had scattered off to the shadows. Kim took the opportunity to run to Mithra’s side, turning her over to get a good look at her chest. There was no blood and no visible damage.

“I’m fine,” Mithra gasped, struggling to sit up. “We should go.”

“Yeah,” Kim agreed. “Come on.”

The staff said no. She was still here, somewhere. She needed to be dealt with.

She would be, Kim promised. Just not right now.

That was when she felt a stab of ice in her right shoulder. She cried out, nearly falling on top of Mithra. The staff managed to hold her up, and she climbed up to see where the attack had come from. Bedelia was standing on one of the tables, holding a small dagger.

“This is interesting,” she said. “Old magic.”

Kim lifted up the staff to attack, but the pain stabbed through the nerves in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and looked up again. Bedelia had moved elsewhere.

“Are you okay?” Kim asked her friend.

Mithra nodded. “You?”

“Yup.”

“Where’d she–”

Mithra was grabbed into the arms of Bedelia, who held the dagger against her throat.

“Really?” Mithra hissed.

“This has stopped being funny,” Bedelia said. “Give up the staff.”

“I can’t!” Kim shouted. “It won’t let me!”

“Make it.”

She thrust the staff out for her take. “I can’t! I don’t know how!”

Bedelia pressed the dagger into Mithra’s neck. Poison seeped into her veins, swelling and turning inky black. “Tell it what you want.”

“I have!” She staggered forward. “Just take it!”

“I can’t have it unless you let him go.”

“I’m trying!”

“Let me have him!”

Suddenly a green ball of fire erupted across Bedelia’s back, and she fell forward. The knife clattered to the floor and Mithra attempted to crawl away. Kim clutched the staff tighter, but her mother ran forward. In an instant she had her gathered in her arms, and Kim held her tight. Aremana appeared behind her, holding a small golden ankh in his fist. He held it out and muttered something, and golden rope appeared around Bedelia, wrapping her up tight. He knelt down beside Mithra, who was clutching at the veins in her neck.

“Hui,” he said.

Mrs. Zhi turned around and released her daughter. “What does she need?”

“Medea’s dagger.” He held it out to her.

“Uh, check the back cabinet.”

He left to find something to cure her with. Bedelia squirmed in her bonds, her nails glowing blue as she tried to claw her way out.

“I want it back!” she was screaming. “Give it back to me!”

Mrs. Zhi stood beside her and muttered something into her hand. Her palms began to glow blue, and she swept her hand over her forehead. Bedelia’s head rolled back and her eyes closed.

“That should shut her up,” Mrs. Zhi said. “Are you alright, dear?”

Kim nodded, though she didn’t really feel it. She sat down beside Mithra and clutched her hand. The poison wasn’t spreading as quickly now that the dagger was removed, but it wasn’t until Aremana returned with a small stone in his hand. He pressed it into Mithra’s mouth and helped her swallow it. After a moment, the poison began to seep away entirely.

“Someone is going to have to explain what happened,” he said as he helped Mithra to her feet.

“It’s my fault,” she said, coughing into her hand.

“It’s Bedelia’s goddamn fault!” Kim shouted. “She attacked us!”

She felt her mother’s hand on her shoulder. “Asking Bedelia may be the best course of action. I will sit with the girls why we have this figured out.”

Mithra and Kim sat in the front. Mithra was still weak, but she was feeling better. Kim had her eyes closed, hand still clasped around her friend’s, trying to keep the tears from coming. At some point Hortense arrived and went into the warehouse, and then Mrs. Zhi came out and to take both of them home.

She went inside with Mithra when they dropped her off. Kim waited in the car, so whatever her mother said to Mithra’s parents would forever be a mystery, and when she returned she remained completely silent. They returned home, where her dad was waiting, and they sat in the living room.

There was a lecture that Kim didn’t really hear. Her bones ached and her head hurt and she just wanted to sleep. She explained what little she knew, though she couldn’t say a lot to what happened before she arrived. There was nothing more to say after that, and Kim went to her room to sleep.

—

Hortense hung up the phone and went into the room in the very back. Bedelia was still tied up, propped up in a small chair.

“They’ll be here tomorrow,” she said. “What should we do with her?”

“This is fine,” Professor Aremana said.

“I’m staying the night, aren’t I?”

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I’m afraid so.”

“That’s fine. I don’t mind the overtime.”

Aremana ensure that the door was closed when she left. He twisted the ankh in his hand, and Bedelia lifted her head, eyes narrowed.

“Sending the White Knights after me?” she purred.

“That’s an ancient institution,” he said and sat in a chair across from her. “But you’ll be dealt with. I need to ask you some questions.”

“You’re curious about the staff.” She smiled. “You like things like that, don’t you? Powerful things.”

“That’s unimportant. Tell me about the staff. It calls itself Myrddin.”

She flounced back in the chair, fiddling with the ropes. “Why should I tell you anything?”

“No one wants that girl to be attached to the staff, least of all her. If we can find a way to remove her from it, it would benefit you.”

She pursed her lips. “You’re sure you don’t just want to make sure you have a genuine magic article?”

“That would be helpful.”

She sighed. “Fine. Once upon a time there was a man. He had a lot of names and lived a lot of lives. Every time he lived, he would grow old and die, and then he would live again. He wasn’t exactly what you’d call human. Eventually he got bored of this, so he made a pact with his lady friend. When he was close to death, she instead locked him inside a tree. But she did love him, so she took part of the tree and crafted a staff from it so she could carry it with her.”

“You did that.”

She laughed. “God no! I was just getting started in his final days. She was trapped herself, and ever since then the staff’s been passed around. He chose me over his previous wielder. I wanted to use him to find the real Myrddin, and that’s how I got stuck in the trees for the past few centuries.”

He stared at her. “You were stuck in the trees.”

“Obviously that’s where I had to be to look for him.”

“So the Myrddin that’s in the staff is the same?”

“I suppose. I think it’s more of an imprint. I wouldn’t know for certain.”

“So the staff isn’t yours.”

“He chose me,” she snarled, suddenly defensive. “I wielded him and he shouldn’t just cast me aside because of a few years of separation!”

“It appears that’s what it was always going to do.”

She bit her lip and settled back into her chair. “I suppose he always went for the younger model. You should’ve seen his lover when he went in the tree. What was she? Sixteen?”

He folded his fingers together. “So you’re saying the only way to get rid of the staff is through its own accord.”

“Yup.”

“And you followed around Miss Zhi for the past few weeks in order to accomplish this.”

To this, Bedelia pouted and shifted her shoulders. “I wanted to see what made her so special. Which there isn’t anything. You aren’t even training her. She spends all her time in the non-magic world completely ignoring her power! She should be wielding him! You should be teaching her to use him, or else he’ll start using her. From what I’ve gathered, he already is.”

“And you gathered all this…”

“It’s not hard following people around. A little magic, I can take any form I please. Mice are fairly easy for sneaking into places, birds for when I’m following someone.”

“Tricky,” he said.

“It got through your rubbish security.”

“I wouldn’t tell Hortense that.”

She shrugged, scratching at the rope. “I imagine I’ll be hauled off then.”

“Tomorrow, hopefully.”

“And then you’ll never see me again.”

He glared at her. “What point are you trying to make?”

She grinned. “You really think I’m the only person who’s going to come after the staff. It’s Myrddin’s staff. You can smell it. I’m the first because I was looking for it already. I can’t wait until others start.”

“Well.” He stood and rested the ankh on the seat. “Thank you very much.”

She squirmed a little, leaning forward. “You’re just going to leave me here?”

“Don’t worry.” He opened the door, and there was Hortense, filing her nails. “She’ll keep you company.”

Hortense grinned and shut the door.

—

Kim had different dreams that night. They were fitful, and she tossed and turned in her bed. Darkness closed around her, whispering soft words to itself. The fire protected her, but for how long? It didn’t matter. The darkness could wait.

—

She opened her eyes and saw, and then the darkness parted and she stepped into the other world.

Her bare feet touched the ground without a sound. The softest of whispers followed her, and she was still shrouded in the darkness. The items that lay scattered on the floor could sense her but not where she was. They began to react poorly, bleeding their magic into the air. A young blond woman stepped into the room as the wards began to break, and she continued to pass unnoticed. This was not where her prey was.

She found the woman in a small metal room, wrapped in ropes that filled the air with their magic. She breathed it in, and it left the taste of honey on her tongue. There was an ankh, such a trifle thing. So many priests had placed their power in it. She took it up in her hands and closed her fist around it. It broke so easily. The ropes removed themselves, falling to the floor and dissolving away. The woman looked down in surprise, and then she saw her. Fear trickled into her eyes.

“You,” she murmured.

She wore the darkness like a cloak and let it fall back enough so that she might be seen. Her eyes were hidden by shadows and the thick clumps of unruly hair that hung over her face, but it was obvious.

“Bedelia,” she murmured. “It’s been how long?”

“Not long enough,” she said and stood. With a wave of her hand, she was forced back into the chair. “I haven’t got it anymore. Some brat stole it from me.”

“That does not matter.” She swept forward, taking Bedelia’s chin in her hand. “We were still rivals, were we not? You thought you could defeat me.”

“When I had the staff! It’s gone now!”

“That doesn’t matter. I shall prove you wrong.”

Bedelia started screaming, but it was short lived. Red painted the walls now. She smiled. Such a pretty color. No time for these things. Bedelia had been right, with the staff she could potentially be beaten, but worse there was someone else who could do it with his own power. She needed the staff to find him. Then it could end.

She allowed the darkness to wash over her again and escaped once more into the veil.