Those Who Should Have Died

Carmen never missed.
It was a well-known fact that since she joined the police force Carmen had never fired a stray bullet. This, along with her keen eye for lying suspects and clues, had helped her rise to fame quickly. It gave her cases a rarely seen success rate that also boosted her climb up the ladder of police ranks, helping her become sheriff far faster than usual.
In the Oubliette, surrounded by three Victura and a man who claimed he was a wizard, was no exception. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, her shot had founds its mark, screaming towards Linius and piercing his heart. It was a literal retaliation for how he'd figuratively done so to Carmen and Esi so long ago.
It appeared to have no effect.
“You think a bullet will do any good?” Linius asked. “Tsk tsk. Now you've gone and got a hole in my shirt.”
Carmen dropped her weapon in surprise. Linius laughed. “I have powers you have no idea about.” He drew near and grabbed her hand. “Are you on my side yet?”
Carmen drew it away. “Impossible. It can't be you. You... you were there. You killed them. Give them back!” Tears started streaming down her face. “Give me back my mom and dad! You stupid, STUPID FIRE! If you're... then I can't be... impossible.” She broke off and gave a strangled cry, as if trying not to break into sobs.
“I take it you remember a little more now. However you got rid of your memories all those years past, it's starting to fade. All magic has a time limit, sweetheart.”
“I...” Carmen's eyes were wide. “Linius...”
“Yes?”
            “I... killed them. It wasn't you.” She spoke slowly, her fists curling. “I was the one. It wasn't you. I killed them. I killed my parents. I killed Esi's. How did she...? Why did she still...?”
“Concentrate,” Mariale said. “Linius is the threat now. You can confess later, I’ll listen, but right now, we’re a bit busy.”
“I'd like that,” Carmen replied softly. A dull glow formed around her hand, and a sword with a blade of violet appeared. Meagan remembered how Carmen had stopped pillar of glass from skewering her. She'd forgotten that not only was Carmen a powerful sharpshooter, she was a strong magician. “It's been awhile since I used my sword,” Carmen said, hefting it and feeling its weight. “A shame, really.” Her eyes narrowed. “This should be apt enough at cutting your flesh, Linius.”
Meagan held up her Sword of Fallen Heroes, surprised to see the blade shining red, like blood. Meagan Blood-Stone, Ebbony had called her. Was that her element now?
Linius' calm demeanor disappeared when he saw the two weapons. “I don't think I'll be staying,” he chuckled nervously.
“Oh no, you don't!” Carmen dashed forward, but Linius dissolved into a pillar of smoke. “He got away.” She cursed colorfully. Meagan stared. She had no idea Carmen had such a vocabulary. “Sorry,” she apologized when she saw Meagan’s look. “He just really irritated me. The nerve of him escaping!”
“A shame,” Mariale agreed.
Frida jumped out of the Victura’s shadow, safely concealed while they had faced off against Linus. “Shall we give chase?” she asked.
“Coward!” chided Mariale.
“Sorry. Someone has to survive to tell the story. But still, are we going after him?”
“I don't know where he's-” Carmen touched her forehead, wincing. “I feel a little woozy...”
“Are you okay?” Ebbony asked. “Memory rushes can really hurt.”
“I don’t think it’s a memory rush. I’ve had them before- I’ve gotten rid of them several times over the years. I'm fine. It’s just a headache, that’s all. It's nothing.” Carmen's knees buckled. “Crap, this is embarrassing,” she said as she tried to stand up, but failed.
“Do you need help?” Mariale asked, concerned. Carmen's eyes had glazed over, cloudy.
“I'm fine,” Carmen responded weakly. She closed her eyes as a wave of nausea hit her stomach that sent the world spinning in large circles. She was most definitely not fine, and everyone knew it. She had a terrible, throbbing pain in her skull, and a fiery ache where her prosthetic met her shoulder. She tried again to stand up, but she saw bursts of red, then darkness.

“What are you doing?”
“Snooping through Linius' stuff,” Ayana replied.
“Why?”
“Because I can. Besides, I found my candy that went missing.” She held up a bag of Magical Mints. “I knew he took these!”
“How long ago?” Oleander asked as she popped one into her mouth.
“Evidently, not too long, because they're not stale.” She held out a piece invitingly. “Want one?”
“No thank you,” Oleander turned down politely. Ayana shrugged and ate it. “Is it always this quiet in the Meeting Hall? You'd think that what with the whole invasion you'd have legions of wizards screaming their heads off running around looking for Linius.”
“You’d think. Seriously, most of them are idiots and they definitely would be running around screaming their heads off. I don't know where they are,” Ayana put down the bag. “I suppose that's bad.”
“Most probably,” Oleander agreed. “But is it a problem for us or for someone else?”
“How should I know? Us, probably. Or me, at any rate.” Ayana snorted. “That's just what I need- more people to look for.”
“If I was Linius, I would have left some clue as to my whereabouts.”
“Why? So someone can find you? That's beyond ridiculous.” Nevertheless, Ayana started to systematically search the papers on his desk. “What an idiot!” she exclaimed. “Look at this- 'I went to the Oubliette. Come find me if you dare.' So stereotypically dumb. Does he really think I'd go all the way down there like some sort of idiot? It's clearly a trap.”
“Clearly,” Oleander agreed. “Let me see.”
Ayana handed it over, and Oleander read it three times before crumpling it up. “It is incredibly fishy,” he agreed.
“No duh.”
“It's also our only lead.”
“You're really stupid enough to want to go down there?”
“Do we really have to? There might be some more stuff around here that could be useful. That could be a last resort.”
“Mm.” Ayana picked up a worn, leather-jacketed book. “This looks old. It's probably valuable.”
“Yup.”
“The writing's ancient. I can't recognize it.”
Oleander took it from her. “Neither can I.”
“Is it old Victuran?”
“No, it's far too blocky. Victuran has always been fluid, like elvish. It looks far older than Victuran, but I don't know how that's possible. Our civilization was the first and witnessed the births and deaths of many... I have no idea.” Oleander tucked it into his coat. “We'll have a look at it later. Anything else?”
“Not of interest.”
“Please return my book,” demanded a voice.
“Joy, he's here,” muttered Ayana.
“Yes, I am.” Linius strode into the room. He was looking a bit worse for wear. His carrot, curly hair was disheveled and there was a random hole in his shirt, which was wrinkled. His pants were streaked with dirt, and his hands were as well, almost as if he’d been sitting on a pile of brown then hastily scrambled to his feet. “I'll ask you one last time, Ayana. Be a good girl and do as I say.”
“Yeah, no. I don’t think so.”
“Then we'll get down to business.” Linius flashed a pearly smile. “I won't kill you. Rather, it suits my purposes to have you alive at the moment. I do apologize for my behavior earlier. Attempting to take your life was most irrational on both of our parts.”
“Who are you working for?” Oleander asked. “Who's giving you all this information?”
“I don't work for anybody. I work with many. There are seven of us, sharing two things: knowledge and hatred. I hate you, Oleander. I hate your people. I hate my people. I hate everything. I live off of it, the hate. It compels me. It's my driving force. Without it, I have no purpose.” He shrugged.
“Why?” Ayana asked. “Why do you hate everything?”
“Why shouldn't I? What reason has the world ever given me so that I shouldn't? Everything is just bad event after bad event, an endless chain of darkness and misery. You know I dated Annalise, and now I'll tell you why. It's because, for once, I didn't hate her. She made me laugh in a way that I had thought wasn't possible, had made me forget my purpose, but it couldn't last. It never did, oh no! The hate came, and it came, until I started doing everything to make her the most wretched creature on this planet. I saw her friend behind her back, I brought up memories meant to be forgotten, I stood her up on dates, and eventually, I killed her. Did you think there was some deep, ulterior motive for that murder? No, there wasn't. I did it because I couldn't stand her alive. That was it. I did it for hate. I didn’t need the Dark Tomes. I robbed that vault that I knew would be mine soon anyway just to throw people into guessing the motive.
“And you, Ayana. I could never hate you. You are the fruition of my despising and scorning. All it takes is one touch and the plans I set into motion will spring forward. You are the Completer.”
Ayana stepped back. “What is he talking about?”
“We are the Hating Fire,” Linius snarled. “Hate is our only sovereign. You shall complete our labors.”
“What labors?”
“One touch and the rift between worlds opens! Chaos, madness, terror, and freedom will suddenly be unleashed.” Linius drew near, reaching out. “The others are in position. Give me your hand, Ayana.”
“What 'others?' Why me?” Ayana cried, trying desperately to buy time.
“You are power. You don't use a trigger of power to use magic because you are the trigger. There is power to complete it, and wisdom, blood, light, and music to prepare it. Oh, yes! People may despise wisdom, shun light, fear blood, and silence music, but everyone loves power!”
Oleander drew his sword. “He's mad.”
“I'm saner than all of you!” He screamed, taking another step forward. “You know why? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. That's what this whole world has been doing since the Fall, just repeating history over and over again without realizing it, each generation believing fortune will smile on them. How arrogant! What makes you better than the billions before you? At least I realize how insignificant I am, how pointless this endless cycle of repetition is! I know how fallen this world is, and I hate it, but this state of total hate is better than that false cloak of bliss and ignorance that you've wrapped yourself in!”
He lunged at Ayana, but Oleander stepped in front and took the blow at his shoulder. He grimaced and pushed Linius, who fell over.
Ayana's eyes were the size of the moon. Her talent was not helping. The sheer madness in Linius had shaken her up. Her hand touched a wall behind her, and she used magic to extract a sword from it. It was blunt, heavy, and lopsided, more of a club then a blade, but it was better than nothing.
Linius stood. “Out of my way,” he snapped at Oleander. “Don't you dare get in my way. She is my completer! We've waited centuries for all of them to be born!”
A river of ice flowed from the floor and encased his feet. “Collecting moisture in the air to the desired area and freezing it,” Linius noted. “Clever.” He whispered, and fire turned the ice to steam. “You should have cooled the rest of the air. Otherwise, one could use the heat to free himself.”
Ayana held the sword-club in front of her defensively. Linius gave a word and it snapped in half, utterly useless. She threw it at his head, hoping her aim would actually hit something for once, but his arm flew forward, and he snatched it out of the air. “This won't be a contest of strength. Magic and quick wits are the only assets in this fight,” he said, sneering.
Oleander's green sword became a blur as he sliced. Linius stepped to the side and gave a roundhouse kick that sent Oleander flying, crashing into the wall. Under Linius's influence, it warped around him, contorting to trap his legs but leaving his upper body free.
Ayana breathed heavily as Linius approached. She had nowhere to run. She cast a spell to melt the floor in front of Linius, turning it to a hot mess of melted carpet, but he jumped over it and gently touched her wrist. “See?” he said. “The world didn't end.” He smiled. “Did I scare you?”
Ayana was shaking. She knew something had happened. She had felt it. She had felt an enormous amount of energy flow out of her to... somewhere, and she was exhausted. She could barely stand. Did Linius scare her? Of course. She nodded. “Yeah, you did.” Ayana would be honest, even if he had just tried to… kill her? No, whatever it was, he had said he wanted her alive. But then what was he doing?
“I'm sorry. I lost control back there. Ayana, I'm not the threat here. He is.” Linius gestured to Oleander.
“You killed Annalise!”
“No, it killed Annalise,” Linius sighed. “The Hating Fire is in seven parts, and each part chooses a vessel. Once I touched you... it left.”
Ayana knew that whatever the Hating Fire was, it was still there. The madness still had Linius in its grip, but it was hiding. It was trying to gain her trust. Now that it had subdued, her talent was kicking in again, and she could tell how it was trying to manipulate her. She didn't trust it. She didn't trust Linius. Fat chance trying to change that.
Linius eased his grip. “Yes... it's found a new vessel. It's touched it and chosen it.”
Ayana's heart froze. He meant her. She twisted, but couldn't get free. A fiery pain was shooting up her arm, emanating from where Linius touched her wrist. Ayana screamed as it spread.
Linius let go, eyes wide and clutching his chest. Ayana saw a bullet-wound appear as if out of nowhere, bleeding profusely. He staggered to his knees, crying out. “No! Please, no! Don't leave me! Don't kill me!” His wild eyes stared at the door, and he screamed. “Phantoms! Are you an angel or a demon? Do not send me there! Annalise, I beg you, do not send me there!” Ayana followed his gaze and lost all breath. In the doorway stood her mentor.
Who supposedly died months ago.

Wow. Nice chapter here. Nice cliffhanger at the end. Also, those letters aren't Victurian or Elvish. It's Unicornicopian! The ancient language of the unicorns dating back to the year Y (Time was different back then).

A user of this : Nah, it's not. But good guess.

The cliff-hanger was hard to pull off... I'm glad it worked out!

Dragonlord Stephi : SEE ! I told you that Lunius wouldn't die from a gunshot ... tooo normal for him ... Mirst time I've seen Carmean look .. afradi . And I am supposing that Meagan is Blood .. Requim ( I forgot how to spell her name ) is Music .. Ayana is Power ... and then there are other parts right ? Darn that Fire is consuming . And look at the end .. Lunius WAS hate but now its transfered to Ayana right ? And HURRAY .. Analise * Please forgive my dreadful spelling .. I am not as linguistically inclined as you ) . Lunius gonna get his .. Or is he ? Oh I love Tension