Not needing any further prompting, Xellie walked out of Ashmeviti’s house and closed the door firmly behind her. Although the town square was a short walk away, it could have been miles for how it felt.
She looked up at the sky, a beautiful azure blue, tiny puffs of cloud on the horizon. For a moment, Xellie stood with her face to the sky, closed her eyes and stretched out her arms, soaking in the feeling of sunlight beating down on her skin.
If only this moment didn’t have to pass. And yet....
She snapped her eyes open and fixed her gaze to the cage where Raye was contained, who was now on the floor, with her back resting against the bars.
Xellie walked over and took up a similar pose outside, leaning back to back with Raye.
“I wish I could have gotten to know you better.” She said gently, while looking up at the sky. “I wish I knew more about you.”
“You are my child.” Raye replied quietly, her voice quivering slightly. “Even if you don’t understand your destiny - I truly believe you’ll try to do the right thing. Tell me, what are you planning now?”
“Well.” Xellie sighed, watching the clouds in the distance as it was a great way to avoid making eye contact with Raye. “He will make it so that armies... multiple armies, not one army, wouldn’t be able to stop me. That’s a big thing to say no to, isn’t it?”
“That is an incredible amount of power. And he means it.” Raye turned so she was leaning against her side so that she could look at her daughter. “You and I will come to terms eventually, no matter what happens here today. I want you to protect yourself now.”
“I will.” Xellie turned so she was leaning on her side now to look Raye in the face. “Listen... I... I know you can’t tell me anything substantial about your life, but I care about your well being. I missed having you around when we were growing up. Niko can’t bake.”
Raye’s pale and worried face broke a slight smile for a second.
“Do your best, I will make you something later.”
“Please don’t worry.” Xellie glanced over at the house as she saw the door was opening, and stood up in response. “I’m ready.”
“Have you said what you needed to say?” Ashmeviti asked as he mounted the steps into the town square. “Are you going to join me?”
“Whole armies to fight me....” Xellie narrowed her eyes. “Too bad those armies are enslaved, by your own words. Not a chance.”
“That’s too bad.” He replied, raising his eyebrows. “You could have been the most powerful being walking among humankind.”
“I’m not motivated by your power!” She retorted, slipping her hand down to grip her sword. “You’re quite ignorant for all the knowledge you claim to harbour.”
“Oh, be quiet.”
Ashmeviti casually flicked his hand in her direction, causing a shockwave to erupt from the ground, throwing her into the air, landing a good distance away from where she had been standing previously.
As she hit the cobbles, there was a sickening crack through her body, causing her to gasp in pain. Xellie had landed on her right side, and as she tried to push her weight onto her right arm in order to lift herself off the ground, a pain shot through her wrist and through her body.
“Not going as you expected?” Ashmeviti asked, his visage towering above her blotting out all the light.
She propped herself up with her left arm and glared up defiantly. A quiet, yet ominous whistle filled the air and she braced herself for another magic spell to slam into her.
As she expected.
The ground beneath her exploded into dust and threw her across the square, to hit one of the walls that bordered the corners. Another resounding crack of breaking bones as she fell into a pile at the bottom of the wall. This time, she couldn’t move at all, her vision red from the blood spilling from her head into her eyes, the result of the impact.
Those smart, polished shoes and the bottom of the pressed suit were the last things she saw as her red vision slowly faded to black.
It was black. Just black. Xellie felt as if she was floating underwater. Ripples of blue? Was that blue? Was it white? Was it even actually a colour? These strange ripples that she couldn’t identify the colour of pulsed through the blackness.
The more she stared into the blackness, the more she thought she could see. Outlines of people, ghostly faces. Was this real or was it a hallucination? Where was she?
“Xellie!” That voice! It was familiar. A female voice, although soft-spoken, had a childlike quality and seemed to come from no direction in particular, yet all directions at the same time. “Why are you here? Are you.... No you can’t be.”
Xellie spun around cautiously, trying to find the source. She floated upwards, then swam downwards in the blackness until a figure emerged from the darkness.
Stood before her was a tall young lady, wearing flowing, finely embroidered robes, her long hair neatly tied back in a dolphin-tail style. Her green eyes wide with concern.
“Wait a minute.” Xellie floated over to reach out and touch the girl. “I know you.”
“How much do you remember?” the girl asked, reaching out and touching Xellie’s hand with her fingertips. “Please, what is the last thing you can remember happening?”
Xellie sat down, floating in the air cross legged.
“I don’t.. know... I was ....”
What had she been doing before she arrived here? How long had she been in this place? Everything had a dream-like quality in her memory, then she stood bolt upright.
“I was... talking to Raye and... then... he...” She trailed off, it was still fuzzy in her mind.
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“Thank goodness.” The girl said with a sigh. “So you’re not dead.”
“Dead? Dea.. Ashmeviti!” She exclaimed looking around in a panic. “I have to go back!”
“Wait.” The girl said calmly, holding out her hand in an invitation to follow her. “You can’t just wake up and fight him. You’re close to death, your body must be in a bad, bad way.”
Xellie looked down at herself to check for injuries, yet she couldn’t see anything. Then she looked back up at the girl and realised who she was speaking with.
“Ary? What are you doing here? I thought you were staying on the island.”
“I can hide from demons.” Ary said with a knowing smile. “Come, let me show you something.”
Ary grabbed Xellie’s hand and gently pulled her through the blackness until they approached a shimmering wall made of crystal, so well polished that it reflected their likeness back to them.
“Um.. Talk to yourself please.” Ary said, letting go and stepping back respectfully to watch.
“Talk to myself?” Xellie asked in confusion, running her hand down the mirror like crystal. “I don’t see anyth... oh.”
Slowly but surely the image of a person appeared in the crystal. Xellie could tell immediately that it was herself, but taller, slimmer, longer well-kempt hair, wearing well polished leather armour with a hairband that matched Raye’s.
“We can, and we will, defeat him.”
Xellie jumped back at the sound of her own voice coming from the wall and eyed it suspiciously.
“If you’re me, why are we different?”
“I am everything you haven’t yet spoken. Everything you haven’t yet decided you want to do.” answered the mirage calmly. “I am strong. I am the power you aren’t ready to use.”
“You’re a walking dictionary, that's what.” Xellie sneered back, annoyed at all the cryptic behaviour.
“It’s a Valkyrie thing.” The image answered back without missing a beat. “One day you’ll be smart enough to do it too.”
Yes, this was definitely herself. Not someone she wanted to get into an argument with.
“What do I have to do?”
“You can touch my power.” Mirror-Xellie told her, sounding stern. “It won’t last, but as much as I want you to die, it won’t happen if Ashmeviti has a choice in the matter.”
“How do I..” Xellie stopped short as she heard voices in the distance, getting louder and louder. As the voices grew in intensity the images before her began to fade into the darkness. “HOW DO I DO IT?!” She screamed into the darkness. “WHAT SHOULD I DO?!”
“Oh no...” The mirage whispered as she flickered in and out of the blackness. “Please, focus on me. Be calm.”
“I told you she would never submit.” Raye’s voice cut through the blackness, laced with anger and hatred. “leave her out of this.”
Xellie and the mirage turned to the direction of the voice simultaneously, looking through the darkness, the source appearing to be the faintest point of light in the distance.
“Stay!” The mirage commanded. “Wait! Don’t do it.”
Xellie exhaled sharply and turned to the mirage.
“How do we do this?”
“Well....”
“How should I go about this Raye?” Ashmeviti’s voice sounded over the mirage, who glanced uneasily toward the point of light with a shudder.
“You don’t!” Raye retorted. “It won’t even work! She’s too far gone for your heinous plans.”
“Oh now I don’t think so. And even if she was, I think she’d come to appreciate my company, I can make that happen you know. I’m just debating if I want you to hear her screams now, or leave you not knowing. I could keep her for decades, centuries, so deprived of anything she’d crave my contact.”
“She will destroy you.” Raye snarled. “You don’t have this under control.”
“Nor do you apparently.” Ashmeviti scoffed.
“Now is the time!” the mirage called, reaching out with her hand touching the crystalline surface. Join me!”
Xellie nodded frantically, stretching her hand out to touch the mirage. Just as she was about to make contact, she felt herself thrown backwards at a dizzying speed as the mirage and Ary vanished into the distance out of sight.
She felt pinned against a cold, rough wall, though nothing but the black void was in her vision now. She was trapped, her body betraying her and not responding to her attempts to move.
Then there was the feeling of warm breath on her face.
“NO!” She screamed, snapping her eyes open and throwing all of her energy into pushing away her captor.
She wasn’t sure what had just happened, her vision blurry and slowly coming into focus. She had thrown Ashmeviti away from her.
Leaning against the wall panting, trying to come to terms with the coldness of daylight, she looked over at Raye who was clutching the bars of her prison wide eyed in anguish.
Seemingly unscathed, he stood there looking at her contemplatively before turning to Raye.
“I think she’s just right for my needs.” He said, turning his attention back to Xellie, focused on the ground at her feet.
“You’re pathetic.” Xellie growled, looking up at him from under her hair, as she felt the telling rumble of the earth beneath her feet.
“Pathetic?” Ashmeviti laughed as the ground beneath Xellie exploded, knocking her to the ground. “Let me tell you who is pathetic. You are. You thought you could fight me alone and win. You thought you could win. But you can’t and you won’t. You’re just a disappointment to everyone, your brother, your mother. So much so, that she’s going to have to kill you eventually.... and for what? Because you were too cocky.”
“Maybe she’ll kill you first.” Xellie spluttered as he kicked her across the ground. She rolled and landed with her face in the cobbles.
But he was probably right. She couldn’t do anything. Maybe she should have studied harder at the demon hunting school, or actually pursued an education in magic the way her father had wanted.
I’m not even going to die here.
I’m never going to see anyone who cares ever again...
I don’t want to be alone.
I can’t do this...
I can’t fight this...
“In trouble again?”
“What the!?” That was Tane’s voice. She figured by this point she must be hallucinating, yet she could also feel the strength coming back to her body.
“Quick stand up!” Tane grabbed her hand and helped her to her feet.
“Where did you come from?” She asked, rubbing her eyes. “But.. thank you.”
“You should pay attention to the demon in front of you.” Tane said, turning her to face Ashmeviti. “Focus please.”
“I can’t fight him!” She exclaimed, shrinking back a little. “Tane I can’t I can’t”
“I don’t think you have much choice.” Tane gasped.
“How’d you summon him?” Ashmeviti turned his gaze upward to the barrier. “So strong already? And yet so weak. Also a terrible choice.”
“Summon... I summoned him...” Xellie pondered under her breath. “We can do it, I just need Mattos and... and Grau and Nik... no not Niko. We can do it if Mattos and Grau come!” She exclaimed in excitement grabbing at Tane’s sleeve. “I need them!”
Sure enough, Mattos and Grau appeared just behind her.
“We have to destroy him.” She told them, grabbing her sword and pointing it toward Ashmeviti as it roared into life.