Whispers of Power

2

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The library's silence deepened as closing time neared. The only sound was the rhythmic scritch-scratch of Eydis's pencil against her notebook. "There it is," she muttered, translating another arcane symbol.

Flipping through the hefty ‘Arcanum Unbound’, she smirked. The symbols here were different - simpler, more efficient - but they still obeyed logic. And logic was her playground.

The only weapon she had left. Perhaps, she mused, not entirely so.

A prickling sensation crawled up Eydis’s neck. Unwelcome eyes. She slammed the tome shut with a sharp snap and tucked her notebook safely in her bag. In a single, fluid motion, she pushed herself up from the counter and strode towards the towering bookshelf. Rounding the corner, she came face-to-face with her stalker.

Amanda. Peeking out from behind a bookshelf, her wide brown eyes betrayed a mix of shyness and nervousness. Eydis's hand landed with a playful thud on the shelf beside the girl's head, barely an inch from her ear.

"Taking a picture might be more efficient than watching me decipher these texts for hours, wouldn't you say?"

Amanda stammered, fighting back a rising blush. “I, uh, yeah. Right. It's just that... well..."

Eydis arched an eyebrow. "For the record, the answer is still no on the homework. Besides," she added with a sly smile, "even a genius like yours truly needs a mental break from quadratic equations. Shocking, I know."

Amanda's blush deepened. She surprised Eydis by tiptoeing forward and whispered, "Uh, hey... are you, like, free tonight? Maybe we could... hang out? As friends, or, you know..." Amanda trailed off, her voice dropping to a breathless squeak, "like... a date?"

Eydis blinked, genuinely tempted to inquire about this ‘date’ business. Wasn’t it a fruit? Or some elaborate torture invented by teenagers (which, in retrospect, wasn't entirely off the mark).

A curt shake of her head was all Eydis offered before turning to leave. But a cold, clammy grip clamped onto her wrist, halting her departure. Amanda's voice scraped against her ear. "Please..."

The Queen locked eyes with Amanda, the intensity of her gaze a physical weight. A hint of amusement danced in her amber eyes before a teasing smile curved her lips.

"Actually," Eydis whispered, leaning in close, "sure. Lead the way." She didn't wait for a reply. Slinging her crossbody bag over her shoulder in one swift move, she strode purposefully towards the library exit.

Amanda scurried after her. They walked down a quiet path, with only Amanda’s racing heartbeat breaking the silence.

As they moved further into the secluded area of the campus, the air grew thicker. Eydis stopped abruptly, her smile vanished.

"Is this your idea of a ‘date’?" she drawled. "Leading me to what appears to be a particularly gruesome murder scene?"

Amanda spun around, her face paling as the playful tone in Eydis's voice evaporated. "W-what are you talking about? It's just... a shortcut!"

Eydis scanned the area. An unnatural stillness hung in the air. "I think we call it a night," she finally spoke. "Walking with you was about as exciting as watching paint dry, even if it was covered in glitter."

With that, Eydis turned on her heel and began to walk away, leaving Amanda stranded in the twilight.

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The violet bruise on the horizon deepened as the sun bled crimson through the clouds. Tiffany perched on the deserted bleachers, a cruel smile twisting her features. Tonight, Eydis would pay. But first, there was a loose end to tie.

“Please, Tiff... I-it’s a mistake.”

Below, Jillian huddled at her feet, a whimper escaping her trembling lips. Crimson stained the pristine white of her shirt, a morbid bloom spreading with each dark pulse of energy from Tiffany. Jillian's face contorted in silent agony. Tears welled up and slid down her dark cheeks.

"Mistake?" Tiffany spat. "Don't insult my intelligence, Jillian. We were friends. Bestie, even! Or at least, that's what you pretended to be. A sorry excuse for a friend, more like."

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Jillian flinched. "I... I didn't," she stammered, clutching at a fading shred of hope. "I never meant to betray you, Tiffany. It wasn't..."

"Oh, please. How touching!" she sneered. "You and Amanda, both! Couldn't keep your mouths shut, could you? Exposed me, humiliated me in front of that freak show of a girl!"

"I can... I can do anything! I can give you everything!" Jillian begged.

"I already have everything I ever wanted." Tiffany's lips stretched wide as smoke coiling around her, caressing her face. "And oh my, this power... it’s intoxicating. MINE to have. MINE to wield."

On cue, her gaze flared violet, a tendril of coiling purple smoke detached itself from her form, writhing with an unnatural hunger.

Jillian shrieked in terror. She scrambled backwards, but there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. "Please," she choked out. "Please. Please. Please."

"Didn't I say shut up?" Tiffany snarled.

The smoke reacted instantly, surging forward and coiling around Jillian's mouth with a sickening hiss, silencing her. It slithered into Tiffany's mind, its voice an ancient echo from the abyss.

> ‘She shall be one with us.’

"But she..." Tiffany's face twisted in revulsion, but the promise of power, of never being powerless again, hardened her resolve.

“Take her!”

The smoke expanded, engulfing Jillian entirely. Tendrils constricted, squeezing the life from her lungs, her screams dissolving into choking gasps before a chilling silence fell. The darkness retracted, leaving behind a deep crimson stain spreading across Jillian's uniform. Her body — gone.

Tiffany forced down a sour taste, the image of Jillian burning into her mind. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood, attempting to drown out the echo of the scream of her… friend.

Friend? No! Jillian deserved this, the two-faced bitch. They all deserved this. This was power. Hers!

"How was it?" Tiffany’s voice cracked. Violet veins glowed beneath her skin, a surge of dark power coursing through her. A wave of exhilaration washed over her, so potent, so addictive, so…

"Delicious," the smoke rumbled aloud, its violet hue deepening to a sinister plum. A tendril lashed out, coiling back into Tiffany's ear as hurried footsteps echoed in the distance.

"Where is Eydis?" Tiffany demanded.

Amanda stumbled into view, alone. "I... I lured her out, but..." she stammered, catching her breath, "she got suspicious."

Tiffany's hand lashed out, slapping Amanda. "One job! You had ONE job!"

"She's... she's too sharp," Amanda whimpered, clutching her burning cheek. "I think she knows..."

Tiffany's nails dug into her palms, the white tips nearly disappearing beneath the pressure. The urge to silence Amanda forever battled with a cold fear. What if Eydis, with her infuriating perceptiveness, sought help from Astra?

No, that couldn't happen!

"Where did you see her last?" Tiffany growled, her eyes blazing violet.

Amanda, sobbing on the ground, pointed a trembling finger towards the tennis court. Ignoring the pathetic sounds, Tiffany launched herself forward. This power, this vengeance, wouldn't be snatched away. Not anymore.

She sprinted through the secluded footpath as a lone figure, a brunette with a single braid, walked through the empty court. A manic grin stretched across Tiffany's face. This was it. Cornered.

"EYDIS!"

Eydis spun around at the sound, her gaze falling on the blonde. Tiffany’s familiar blue eyes were now a swirling violet. Wisps of smoke materialised from her, tendrils lashing out to wrap around Eydis's limbs, constricting like a malevolent python.

Despite the tightening grip on her chest, a sardonic glint ignited in Eydis's eyes. “Are you about to ask me on a date too?" she quipped. “One that requires magical ropes and chains, I presume?"

A horrifying sound ripped from Tiffany's throat, a laughter stripped off any joy. It was the sound of a shattered mind, a broken music box playing a discordant melody.

"Gross! Don’t flatter yourself." Tiffany’s face contorted. "Unlike… her... you'll die slowly."

Eydis raised an eyebrow. "Her?"

"She was my friend!" Tiffany shrieked, the smoke constricting tighter. "Liar! LIAR!”

"Birds of a feather," Eydis offered with a sickly sweet smile, enjoying the evident unravelling of her opponent.

"Shut up! Shut UP!" Tiffany screamed, tightening the smoke's grip until Eydis's face turned red, veins bulging on her forehead.

"Loyalty," Eydis managed to gasp, each word a struggle against the suffocating pressure. "A forgotten… virtue for those who… cloak themselves in… borrowed finery and stolen power.”

The words struck a nerve. Tiffany recoiled as if slapped, the smoke's grip slackened for a heartbeat. Before she could lash out, a snap of a twig spun her around.

Amanda stood there, paralysed in fear, a witness to Tiffany's descent into madness. "Tiffany, please!"

A disbelief bark erupted from Tiffany's lips. "So you choose the freak over me? Don't tell me that little 'date' was actually real!" In a surge of rage, she lashed out, a tendril of smoke whipping towards Amanda in a mindless attack.

Ignoring Amanda's scream, Tiffany lunged at Eydis, tackling her to the ground, a sharp slap landing on her cheek. Blood trickled from Eydis's split lip, a stain against her pale skin.

"Hiding behind power? I can break you with my bare hands, weakling! It's all YOUR fault, you and them!"

Eydis wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. Despite the throbbing pain, she met Tiffany's gaze with a cold indifference.

"Blaming everyone but yourself? How utterly pedestrian. A broken record playing the same tired tune of self-pity."

Tears streamed down Tiffany's face, grotesque streaks against the manic gleam in her violet eyes. The smoke, sensing her fracturing sanity, withdrew from Amanda, its tendrils now wrapping possessively around Tiffany's arm.

> ‘Don’t listen to her lies.’

The smoke rasped in Tiffany’s mind.

"Tell me," Tiffany began, her voice a broken thing, barely clinging to control. "How can I make this... this bitch suffer the most?"

The smoke swirled around Eydis's face, its voice a chorus of dark whispers echoing directly in Tiffany's mind.

> ‘Nothing brings sweeter music than the fading gasp of a stolen breath...slowly slipping away.'

A triumphant, yet pitiful grin twisted Tiffany's face. "Then make it slow," she hissed, the smoke coiling tighter around her arm, a dark puppeteer guiding her every move. "Make her wish she were dead!"

> ‘As you wish.'

A scream erupted from Eydis's lips, a sound that clawed at the night sky.