Cohle
"Lily, please, I'm fine." He protested, pulling open the door as she pouted at him. "Huh."
He closed the door and sighed before opening it again and looking at the three bodies piled just in front of it. To her credit, Lily didn't scream, but she looked like she wanted to as she grabbed his shirt and tried pulling him away.
"Miss Lily, go get Wastkin. He should be in the kitchen." Celestia said, making both of them jump.
"I really need to learn that trick." Cohle muttered as Lily hesitantly hurried to do as she was bid.
Celestia gave him a mirthless chuckle as she knelt down and looked at the bodies. "Paladins."
"Who could kill one Paladin, let alone three of them?" He asked.
"That's a very good question, Master Cohle." Wastkin said. "One that should be asked of the young woman on the camera placing them here."
He held out the pad which showed Melody dragging each body over one by one before staggering away. Celestia made a noise in her throat while Cohle felt a sense of dread.
"It's a message to me, isn't it? These men were after me, but if Melody got to them, then she wants me for herself." He said, watching the playback loop, then glanced at the two adults staring at him and sighed. "I was an adventurer for seven years. You see and hear things. And she was shouting at someone yesterday after the match. Doesn't take a genius to figure out."
"Perhaps we should remain here for the day." Celestia said as Wastkin set the pad down and waved down two maids. "It's a rest day for the remaining combatants, anyway."
"I've only been to school two and a half days, Cel." He shot back. "I have an agreement to uphold."
"As holder of the agreement and your tutor, I can alter the terms as I see- You're going to sneak out if we don't go, aren't you?" She sighed. "Explains why you were trying to leave before anyone else was up."
"Perhaps some breakfast before your excursion?" Wastkin offered, turning back to them. "While you eat, I'll clear this mess away."
Shrugging, he followed the butler to the dining room where Lily was lingering by the door to the kitchen, squeezing the doll tightly. Shooting a glare at the smirking Wastkin, he sat down with a sigh as Celestia took her seat.
"You're not in any danger, Lily." He said.
"That's..." A maid said, nervously setting down a plate. Sharp looks from both of them made her pale as Lily shook her head frantically. "I'm sorry, Lil."
"Talk, Bella." Celestia said sharply.
"While you were gone, we sent Lily into the city to sign for our shipments. On her way back, someone snatched her and beat her up demanding to know where Master Venge was."
Lily made a desperate noise in her throat, but both Cohle and Celestia were glaring at the terrified maid. "And you didn't think to mention this because?"
"I asked them not to." Zeke, the massive chef said, bowing his head. "Lily wasn't seriously injured, nor did she get a good look at who attacked her. Only that it was a woman. I thought maybe it was just one of his classmates taking things too far and he'd sort it out eventually. Highborns love to brag about picking on everyone else."
"She hurt you?" Cohle asked, looking at Lily.
The young woman squeaked and tried to hide behind the chef, but he blocked her with a hand. "Don't be angry with her, Master. Be angry with me. It was stupid not to tell you."
"Yes, it was stupid." Celestia snapped. "If something happens at my home or to any of the people residing here, I don't care if it's a papercut, I expect to be told immediately. Do I make myself clear?"
Bella and Zeke bowed. "Yes, Madam!"
"Shall I handle their punishment?" A cold voice said from the doorway, making the warrior chef and the maid go white. The dangerous aura that Wastkin gave off was in total contrast with his smiling face.
"Please do. But go easy, they did tell us, after all." Celestia said with a wave of her hand.
Cohle rose from his chair slowly and walked from the room. "Let me know when you're ready to go."
He didn't know what to do with the anger inside him, but had to maintain his focus to keep his mana in check. All the same, the half crazed face of the girl he fought yesterday kept flashing in his mind and notes of pain speared through his body. "Melody." He snarled.
"Cohle!" An airy, panicked voice called out to him.
Turning, he saw Lily looking at him, a scared expression on her face as she clutched the doll in front of her. "You should've told me." He said, trying desperately to keep the edge from his voice.
"Please don't be mad at me." She whimpered.
His anger evaporated slightly and he felt the tension in his body ease. "I'm not... I'm upset you didn't tell me, but I'm not mad at you."
"But you are mad?"
"That you got hurt because of me." He sighed, walking over to her and taking her hands between his own. "That you keep getting hurt because of me."
"That's what big sisters do." She said quietly. "Protect their little brothers."
"Not my big sister. From now on, the little brother is going to protect his big sister." He murmured. "I'm going to get strong enough that you never have to worry about protecting anyone again, because I'll protect them all for you."
"But-"
He grinned up at her. "Just you wait and see. I'll make you proud of me, okay?"
She stammered, but wound up nodding. "Okay."
"And you'll have Little Cohle keeping you safe from now on, too." He said, pulling the doll from her hands. The spellform built quickly in his mind and he ignored the pain shooting through his body as he placed a spell on it before patting its head. "And now he's stronger too."
He held the doll out and she accepted it, looking at him curiously. "But I thought you couldn't do magic?"
"It was just a small spell to help Little Cohle." He said, grinning. "I can do that much."
She nodded and hugged him as Celestia walked into the room with an amused look on her face. "Ready?"
"Yep." He nodded. "See you this evening, okay?"
Lily nodded as Celestia placed a hand on his shoulder and in a blink, they were at the gates of the school. "What did you really do to that doll?"
"Hopefully, none of you will have to find out." He said lightly, walking ahead of her.
~
"Cohle! I, Theine of House-"
"Shut up." He muttered to his cousin. "Hello, Grace."
"How're you today, Cohle?"
He shrugged. "Better than yesterday in some ways, worse in others."
"I imagine that's normal for you."
"Seems to be. Campus is quieter than normal, isn't it? I know today's a rest day, but..."
She nodded. "Most students tend to take advantage and skip. Mostly it's first and seventh years."
"The first years are here for pickups and the rest of us are here because we need every free day we can get to catch up." Theine grumbled.
"Most of you, anyway." Grace said with a smile.
"We can't all be geniuses." He grumbled darkly.
Cohle shrugged. "I guess I'm the outlier. I'm just here to avoid being stuck at home."
"You should visit Reva, then." Grace offered. "She stayed overnight, but is still unconscious from yesterday."
"Her family didn't take her home?"
Theine scoffed. "The Alabasters pride themselves on being proud of themselves. No way they'd do anything to help a loser like Reva."
Grace glared at him and he backpedaled. "You know I didn't mean it like that. I was speaking from their perspective!"
She sighed. "As crude as he was, he's not wrong. Speaking of..."
Cohle turned behind him and waited as the raven haired teen made her way over to him. "Halfbreed."
"Athena." He said curtly. "How can I help you?"
"By going ahead and giving up tomorrow's match. You might've beaten that washout Paladin, Melody, but I'm in a different league." She said haughtily. "Without magic, you won't be able to touch me."
"And here I was thinking I'd try winning without a sword next." He shot back. "But don't worry, I'll try to make you look good. I may even wait for you to be ready before I attack."
She smiled coldly. "Are you angry about how I beat my sister yesterday?"
"That was needlessly violent, even for you, Athena." Grace said hotly.
"Oh?" She said, stepping past Cohle and getting inches away from Grace's face. "Do you want to try me, bookworm?"
"I'm your opponent, not her." Cohle sighed. "Besides, I'm not entirely sure we could take her if we teamed up."
Athena spun, her lip curled in disgust. "You think I need some filthy halfbreed's help?"
"Might come a time where you'll be begging for it, Athena." He replied. "And I'll be more than willing to oblige with just as much help as you gave your sister."
He could tell he struck a nerve as she drew herself up and walked past him. "You've got some arrogance for a baby. Let's just hope you can back it up."
The trio watched her until she was out of earshot, then Theine let out a breath. "She's not wrong. And she's not just blowing smoke. Melody might've been a challenge for her, but after the first day of school, she kind of lost her mind."
"Athena is strong. But she's not invincible. All the same, Cohle, you need to be careful." Grace agreed.
"I'm aware. Hopefully I'll figure something out before tomorrow." He said. "Alright, I'm gonna go visit Reva."
"And we are going to go study!" Grace said, grabbing Theine's arm and pulling him toward the library.
The staff all acknowledged him as he walked through the admin office to the nurse's office. Giving them a wave, he sat down and stared at the unconscious girl. With time to actually look at her, the anger he'd been pushing down threatened to raise back to the surface again.
Her raven hair was longer, but looked brittle unlike Athena's lively locks. Her cheeks were sunken and had a greyish pallor to them that were more than just from a brutal beating. He remembered that she hadn't looked particularly healthy to begin with, but now she was practically a wraith in appearance.
"Seems like your paths keep crossing. Is there something to that or just coincidence?" Celestia said, making him jerk slightly.
"Need to learn that trick." He muttered again, then sighed. "I really don't know. It's different than with Lily, but I think maybe we could've been friends if things were different."
"Your lives aren't terribly dissimilar. You weren't blessed with your own family while she was punished by hers. But you're both equally alone. Maybe there's some kind of spiritual camaraderie?"
"Maybe." He muttered.
"Then why do you think you could've been friends?"
He looked up at her, then back to Reva. "She's different. I really don't know her at all, but it's just the feeling I get. The way she... Those little glances and hesitations. I'm not sure she's even aware of it, but it's like she's looking for someone to save her." He shrugged. "I could be way off. Like I said, I don't even know her."
"You have good instincts. I just hate how you had to develop them. But at the end of the day, I suppose it'll have to be up to her when she wakes up." She said.
~
It was his fiftieth circuit around the arena, but he was no closer to coming up with a game plan for the fight with Athena. The sun was beginning to set and he sighed, deciding to head for the admin building to wait for Celestia.
Crossing the commons, his eyes caught a flicker of movement and he caught sight of raven hair. Smirking to himself, he darted forward hoping to catch Athena training in secret. But as he rounded the side of the dorm building to where he could climb up on the storage building, he realized that the figure wasn't Athena but Reva.
She stepped over the safety railing and moved to the edge of the island and looked down. A sensation of dread hit his stomach and he leapt over the fence just as she started to lean over. Charging mana into his body for a Blink, he crashed into her as she went over the precipice and threw both of them over the rail.
"What the hell were you thinking!?" He yelled when they hit the ground.
Ignoring his question, she punched, pounded, and scratched at him, shrieking as she struggled to get free of his grip. But it was a feeble series of attacks and the pain in his body was minor, so he kept his hold on her until she went limp against him.
"I failed. I can't be her." She panted, barely above a whisper. "I don't want to be her. But I can't be a failure anymore. I can't take it."
"Reva."
She looked up at him, not recognizing him at first, then flinched. "You. No, I can't- I can't be-"
"It's alright. We're the only ones here." He said, tightening his hold as she tried to pull away. "You don't have to run anymore."
"I don't have to..." She shuddered. "I'm not- I'm not me. I'm me, but I'm not me, but I'm not-"
"Reva, breathe."
"BUT I'M NOT ME! I CAN FEEL HER IN THERE! BUT IT'S NOT ME!" She screamed, pushing against him, desperately trying to break away.
This time he let her, but kept a hand around her wrist. "Take a breath and tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help. Or Celestia can."
"It's..." She hesitated, then shook her head and looked at him desperately. "I can't think anymore! I don't know who- Cohle?"
"I'm right here. Just take your time. I'm not going anywhere, okay?"
She shuddered violently. "I'm not me. But I'm me. But I'm not-" She began to hyperventilate. "You were kind to me, right? You didn't blame me for being a failure. You helped me when I was in pain."
"Yeah, yeah, that was me."
"But you left. And I was.... not me anymore."
"What do you mean? C'mon, Reva, focus."
She shook her head. "I can feel her, but it's not me. But it's me." She looked back at the cliff. "You have to let me jump! It's the only way I can-"
She screamed and clutched her head, falling over and writhing. He knew he should've gone for Celestia, but he wasn't sure he'd have time, even if he pushed his amplification to its max. Or even if she could help, if he had enough time. But he could. He knew he could help her. The spell was already building itself in his mind as he scrambled over to her and placed his hands over hers, holding her in place while she continued to scream.
"I'm not sure who this is gonna hurt more, but-" He screamed in pain as he cast the spell.
There was resistance and Reva kicked her legs frantically. The spell reformed in his mind, but with alterations to it and he gathered as much mana as he could to power it, feeling the edges of his vision grow dark and hearing the sound of raining, but he forced the spell onto her and the resistance shattered like it was nothing.
She went limp with an exhale while Cohle flung himself back, forcefully pushing mana from him while his body screamed. Forcing himself to stay conscious, he stared at the night sky and tried to let his mind detach itself from his body. Finally, it eased to a tolerable amount and he was able to move again.
"Never doing that again." He grumbled weakly, crawling on his knees over to Reva's body.
Celestia
"Cohle!" She shrieked as he stumbled into the building with someone over his shoulder.
He looked like he'd taken a bath in red paint, but the lacerations covering his body told her immediately what it was. She relieved him of his burden and managed to catch him just as he fell forward.
"They did..." He coughed and groaned. "They did something to her. I think I got it, but you should..."
He blacked out in her arms and she cast a powerful healing spell on him while looking over at Reva. She was barely conscious and slid down the bench she'd been set on, her eyes closing slowly. Not physically strong enough to move Cohle on her own, she scrambled to the phone and dialed her house.
"Wastkin, I need you. Tell Miss Lily that Cohle will be staying at the school tonight to focus on his fight. No need to worry her."
"Of course, Madam. I shall be there promptly." He replied.
With a breath of relief, and certain that he was stable, she sat down at Reva's head and rested a hand on her scalp. "Just stay asleep for a little while longer, dear. This won't be pleasant."
Mana flooded her channels as she used an exploratory spellform, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, that bastard."
Wastkin arrived while she was piecing together the fragments of the spell that had been used on her student. He moved Cohle to the nurses office and retrieved a clean uniform from his dorm. By the time he was ready to assist with Reva, Celestia was thoroughly disgusted.
"He tried to delete his daughter." She spat as Wastkin carried the teen back. "His spell had roots in beast subjugation and had similar elements from Derek's mind wipe spell, but was poorly built. The amount of pain that poor girl must've been in is unimaginable. Cohle's spell broke Hector's, but we won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up. If there's enough of Reva left to wake up."
"I'll have a room prepared for once I return." Wastkin said, gently cleaning the girl's face.
Celestia's scowl deepened. "You know I can't just take a girl from her family."
"As far as I'm concerned, Madam, this girl has no family to be taken from." He said, his dark eyes glowing menacingly. "I will personally see to her room myself. Or would you rather explain to that young man why you sent the girl he sacrificed his body for back to the very people who broke her in the first place? I imagine he'll have a far less mature reaction to that information than I am."
"Wastkin-"
"It's not up for discussion, Celestia." He snapped. "We may play at master and servant, but do not make the mistake of forgetting who I am and what I am capable of. I don't think they'll put up too much of a fight, and if they do, you can use that mouth of yours to make threats instead of excuses."
~
"How is she?"
Celestia jumped, fully waking up from dozing and looked over at Cohle as he painfully pulled himself to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.
"Resting. No idea when she'll wake up." She yawned.
He nodded. "Any idea what was done to her?"
"Some. Enough to draw a conclusion."
"Which is?"
"Cohle, I'm not sure I should-"
He looked over at her, his gaze just as fierce as Wastkin's had been. "You're keeping enough from me already, Cel. Don't add to that list."
"The spell used beast subjugation and mind wiping to try and erase Reva and make her a blank slate under her family's control."
"That explains it." He muttered, grunting in pain as he slid off the bed.
"Explains what?"
"'I'm me, but it's not me'." He limped over to Reva's bed and rested a hand on her forehead. "She's burning up."
"There's always a fever when someone breaks any kind of mind control spell. To a certain extent, the psyche has to rebuild itself, which consumes a lot of the body's resources. Depending on the damage done, she'll probably get worse before she gets better." She explained to the nodding teen. "Believe it or not, you're in worse condition than she is. I'll send for Wastkin, he'll have her room ready-"
"Not yet." He snapped, then sighed. "I've got something to handle first."
"You're not actually thinking about fighting today? Your opponent is-"
He limped over to her, glaring into her eyes. "I'm well aware."
"You're in no shape to fight, Cohle."
"I don't care." He said, drawing himself up and forcing the limp from his step as he exited the office. "They hurt my friend."
Cohle
It was mid-morning by the time his name was called. Third out of five matches seemed too long, but instead of waning, his anger only grew. Not just at the situation with Reva, but with everything in his life up to that point. The fact of the matter was that he was too weak to take control of it with his own hands. He couldn't protect anyone, he couldn't protect himself, and it felt like the entire world was actively fighting against him.
So as he stalked onto the sand, he couldn't hear the crowd cheering for Athena as she sauntered out from the other entrance. The only thing on his mind was working out his anger, even if that meant he'd lose.
"Did you know?" He asked through gritted teeth as Athena drew her sword. "About the spell? What it was doing to her?"
"I know it would've been better if she died. Once a failure, always a failure." She scoffed, readying herself. "Gonna try without a sword? You're looking pretty beat up already, so-"
The signal went off and his blade slammed into hers with enough force to drive her back. He glared into her shocked eyes and leapt back, cursing how his body ached from the impact. Shock gave way to anger as she lunged toward him, but as he raised his guard, several spirals of flame pushed him further back as she thrust her sword through the fire.
"I'm not the pushover that Paladin was, halfbreed." She said, intercepting his counter and blasting him away with a bolt of mana.
As he rolled to a stop and leapt to his feet, the fog of anger lifted and a plan formed in his head. He wouldn't beat Athena on willpower alone. She was every bit as good as she and everyone else boasted. But he remembered how the Ravens had been crushed by their own strength because they thought they were smarter than the beast they were hunting.
Smirking, he dusted his pants off and slipped her thrust, leaning against her back. "You're pretty good. But you leave too many openings."
She swung wildly, but he'd backed just out of her range. The spellform for FiendFyre exploded from her sword, but at the same moment he appeared next to her and drove the tip of her sword into the ground. FiendFyre exploded, turning the sand to glass and Athena's face contorted in fury.
"You fucking-"
"Temper, Athena." He chided, sliding just out of her sword's reach. "I know you're embarrassed, but that's no reason to resort to name calling."
She grit her teeth and growled, her muscles expanding slightly. Cohle gave her an approving look and clapped his hands, barely needing to move as she burst right past him. He was thankful for it as the show he'd just put on to set things up had drained most of his strength and he already wasn't sure if he'd be able to walk to the admin building without aid.
Veins popped out on her face from the exertion as she cast the spell again. "...Kill you..."
"You know, body amplification's already not meant for prolonged use. Not sure doubling it will-" He barely had time to duck the lethal blow and looked back quickly as she slid to a stop.
"SHOW THAT HALFBREED, ATHENA!" A man bellowed from the stands.
Cohle's eyes found him and he had to suppress his rage when he saw the woman next to him. She was beautiful and no doubt the sisters' mother, but it was the spittle coming from the large man's mouth that cemented his decision. Looking back at Athena as she panted heavily, her sword shaking from the tremor in her hands.
"That's right, Athena. Show the halfbreed." Cohle said coldly. "I need to learn my place, don't I? Can't have some trash like me showing you up, can we? C'mon, you can do it. You're not like that failure sister of yours. You're better. The best. Right?"
"Shut up." She wheezed.
"Make me." He taunted, taking a deep breath. "C'mon! MAKE ME!"
Her body doubled in size and her eyes turned red as she screamed, leaving a crater behind her when she exploded forward. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Cohle exhaled and sheathed his sword as she slid on the sand, stopping at his feet. "I give up. You win."
The signal went up, but nobody cheered. They were all shocked at the girl who looked like she'd exploded from the inside. Shreds of skin and muscle painted the yellow sand red while Cohle looked down with a quiet fury.
"...Kill..." Burst lips and broken teeth parted at the word, but her opponent was unmoved.
"How embarrassing." He finally muttered, turning and walking from the arena.
His vision was swimming and his body felt ready to collapse as he leaned against the cool wall, ignoring the people rushing past him to tend to the fallen golden child. With the promise of sleeping for a week in his near future, he summoned the last of his strength and rounded the corner just in time to see the admin building explode.
"CEL! REVA!" He shouted, panic and adrenaline giving him more strength as he started to run, but he saw a group carrying something away and his gut told him that he needed to pursue that.
However, as he altered course, blonde hair and blue eyes appeared in front of him. "Hello, Cohle."
Melody
It had been easy to recruit her classmates to cause a distraction, especially once she told them that she'd be personally handling their halfbreed problem. That left them free to do as they pleased to satisfy their resentment of the girl. She knew he'd be too distracted with her to focus on their fight and too tired to end it as quickly as he had before.
"Hello, Cohle." She said, a pressure building in her abdomen as she stared at the panicked boy.
The catharsis of being so close to her ultimate redemption made her shake slightly as the pressure turned into a pain she could only describe as divine in origin. Cohle looked past her and made to run, but she pressed her sword to his throat and felt her knees weaken. "Not this time."
Cohle
He knew from seeing it before exactly what was happening to her as she bit her lip, not enjoying the feeling from the tip of her sword trembling against his throat. The constricted pupils, the quick, shallow pants, and the short jolts through her body. Despite this, her faculties were intact and her attention was squarely on him, so he couldn't move.
He estimated three minutes was all he could manage before giving out. But it wasn't just the Paladin in front of him that he had to face down, it was a group of students as well. Winning wasn't the priority this time, though, getting to Reva was.
Gritting his teeth, he kicked backward from the sword and drew his own as Melody lunged, sticking close to him. Her blows were heavier than Athena's had been and her speed was on a completely different level, pushing him away from where he wanted to be. There were no openings for him to slip past, either. Each time he managed to get around her, she'd push him back.
In the back of his mind, fear began to take root. He desperately needed mana to assist him in this fight, but in his current condition, he might end up like Athena or worse. In addition to that, they were slowly getting circled by the audience and students, cutting off his available paths of escape one by one.
Celestia
She could only watch as Cohle desperately fought a losing battle. The explosion had mostly affected the building, but it left everyone disoriented, herself included. Only the sound of steel clashing managed to snap her out of the daze. But with the nursing staff out in the throng of people watching the impromptu fight, there was no one to treat the remaining staff who had been injured.
But something didn't seem right about the clash between Paladin and teen. Cohle kept trying to dodge around her, his attention focused on something else. She followed his path and saw a group gathered around a small, barely conscious teen. "Reva!" She cried, and started down the steps.
"Madam Lightbringer!" Hector's voice boomed as he and his wife stormed up to her.
"Not now, I-"
His large hand closed around her arm and pulled her back. "Yes, now. How do you intend to handle what the halfbreed trash did to my daughter?"
"This isn't the time, Hector!"
"Then when will be the time!? That Paladin has already lost to him once and he's barely fighting her as it is! You need to handle that boy or-" His voice was drowned out as more parents and students began demanding justice and punishment.
"Headmaster, please, we need help!" A woman called from the ruins of the building.
Celestia felt like screaming as she was torn in every direction possible but the one she wanted to go. Looking over at Cohle, her eyes widening as the ebon aura of his mana swirled around him. She tried to move toward him, but Hector's grip on her arm was like iron. "My daughter requires your attention!"
"Headmaster!"
Ignoring the cries, she watched as Melody backed off and the aura around Cohle faded instantly. He darted forward, but in his condition, the Paladin was the faster and she closed the gap between them instantly.
Melody
"Damn you!" She swore, cursing herself more than him for falling for his feint and launching herself at him.
Just as her hands brushed the collar of his shirt, an explosion knocked them down and away. She was on her feet instantly, but Cohle was already running toward the source of the explosion. The girl was floating several feet above the ground, her hair had turned the color of lightning while actual lightning sparked off her. Lacerations began appearing on her exposed skin, damage from too much mana passing through weak channels.
Snapping out of her awe, she bolted after Cohle who just slid to a stop underneath the girl the moment the mana storm around her faded and she fell onto him. His eyes found her and he rolled out from under the unconscious teen and after realizing he'd dropped his sword, spread his arms as a shield.
"Just let her go!" He shouted desperately.
Melody found herself stopping and staring in bewilderment. He'd been her only target, her path to forgiveness. But in that moment, if she'd been faster, she would've killed them both. He saw that and moved to protect-
It was small, but growing louder. A voice inside her begging her to stop. To take a look at the wounded, exhausted boy in front of her willing to give his life for another. She was wrong. The Church was wrong. Derek was wrong.
Trying to stifle the voice, she screamed and lunged but something hot exploded across her back and she stumbled, missing Cohle and a moment later she was staring through the clouds and the forest far below the island.
"Oh." She sighed, letting go of her sword and closing her eyes.
"Climb up!" A voice shouted and she realized she wasn't falling.
Looking up, she saw Cohle, but he was surrounded by an aura that resembled a demon. He was holding onto her wrist, but it was obvious that the effort was draining him quickly.
"Cohle?" She murmured.
"You're not exactly light and I can't hold you for much longer so climb up!" He shouted as the demonic aura flickered.
Fueled by something she couldn't pinpoint, she frantically found places to grab onto and together the two of them managed to pull her back over the edge. Cohle collapsed instantly, the aura shattering around him and blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
She got to her feet, fractured thoughts swirling in her mind, and stumbled away from the scene and the recovering students she'd recruited. He'd saved her. She'd been trying to kill him all this time and he still saved her, despite the fact that doing so may have ensured his death.
Her legs gave out and she sunk to her knees, bawling loudly until she realized someone was standing in front of her. Celestia Lightbringer, the only person her brother held in high regard, the most powerful mage on the planet, and headmaster of Lightbringer Academy glared down at her.
"Please." She whimpered. "Help me."
Shaking with rage, the woman knelt down and picked up a battered sword by the blade and sighed. "It'd be so easy." She murmured and the last thing Melody saw was the hilt swinging for her face.
Celestia
"Hello, Derek." She said, not looking up from the cracked screen on her desk.
"Celestia." His crisp voice thrummed as he navigated around the mess that was her partially destroyed office. "Remodeling?"
"I thought it felt a little closed off." She smirked, looking up into the bright blue eyes of her former party member. "Here for Melody?"
"And the halfbreed." He said, looking at Cohle.
He and Reva were leaned against one another on one of the couches while Melody lay haphazardly on the other.
"I assumed as much. Pity you'll be leaving with your sister or nobody at all." She said curtly. "Cohle is my ward and I've grown rather attached."
"You always did have a soft spot for broken things. Perhaps I'll send you Melody if she's too damaged to be of use. But I will be leaving with the boy, Celestia."
"So long as she doesn't try to kill him again, I'll be glad to have her." She replied, trying to remain civil in spite of Derek's poorly veiled threat. "But Cohle isn't going anywhere but back to my home once Wastkin arrives."
His eye twitched. "You'd disobey a direct order from the pope?"
"I'd ignore the Lord himself if he demanded I surrender Cohle over to you."
She watched his hand drift to his sword and clicked her tongue. The ground began to tremble as she stood from her chair and glared at him. "Think carefully, Derek. Put aside the man blinded by faith and remember who I am."
"I'm well aware of who you are, but you should remember who I am. I could kill you before the spellform takes shape."
"Then we'd both be dead." She warned, looking past him.
He turned and faced the point of a thin sword and the grim expression of the man holding it. "You've grown, boy. But you're still a candle in the wind."
"Take your sister or leave alone. Those are your choices, Derek." Celestia said, the spell complete and waiting to be cast.
Scoffing gently, his hand moved away from the sword and he walked over to Melody, hoisting her as if she were a bag of laundry. "He'll come to me eventually, Celestia."
"Of that I have no doubt."
Reva
She was looking for someone, but all she had was a name. It repeated itself over and over in her mind, keeping her from losing the last bit of herself. She didn't know why it was so important, but it was. She looked in through an open door, there were two people. One was laying on the thing she woke up on. Things were coming out of him and going into something that made obnoxious noises. The other person was sitting, moving back and forth and making the same noises she made when she woke up. There was something in her hands. It reminded her of the name.
A man appeared, his finger to his lips. He took her hand in his and gently guided her through the place she was to a new place. It was warm and there was someone else sitting as well. She seemed colder than the man. She felt desperate to find the words to fit all these things that she knew she should know.
"Sugar?" She asked.
She should know this. Why didn't she know this!?
Her eyes felt wet and she tried to say words, but only noise came out. Noise she didn't understand. She pounded her fists on her knees and kept trying to speak, but the man's hands covered hers. He smiled kindly and picked up something and pressed it gently to her lips. He stuck his tongue out. She did the same. It was pleasant, but the word for it slipped through her mind.
He placed three into a thing like the woman was holding and stirred it before placing it in her hands. Copying what the woman did, she drained it and coughed. The man laughed and refilled it.
"A bit slower this time, I think." He said, placing the cup in her hands once more.
"I can see it in your eyes that you're trying, dear. I think I was hoping for too much, too fast." The woman said. "Can you say any words at all?"
Reva looked at the man, confused. He pointed at his mouth, then made a motion with his hands. "Words, sweet girl."
She didn't know what they were asking for immediately. Their words made sense to her, but she didn't understand them. There was only one thing she did understand.
"Cohle?"
At that moment, a flurry of red motion rushed in and pointed emphatically. Finally getting a look at the thing in her hands, she recognized it and pointed as well. "Cohle!"
The new woman looked at her and nodded, motioning for everyone.
Celestia
"You're doing well, Reva." She said, letting herself smile at the teen sitting across from her.
Reva nodded. "It's not all back yet."
"Well, memory tends to be funny that way. At least speech returned first. You have no idea how exhausting it was watching you, Wastkin, and Miss Lily communicate something as simple as 'pass the salt'."
"Do you think I've recovered enough to return to school?" She asked, then quickly added. "Not that I'm complaining, it's just-"
"Yes, Cohle is feeling pretty cooped up as well. If the two of you can survive another week, that'll make a month. I'd feel better with that much at the very least." She sighed, then waved her hand dismissively. "Run along and tell him."
Reva got up, but hesitated. "Er, maybe it would be better if you told him?"
"Miss Lily?"
"I don't think she likes me very much."
She laughed. "Yes, I've endured my fair share of mean looks and angry huffs from her as well. It's actually quite adorable to see her so protective."
"Maybe to you." The teen muttered, maybe not quite as quietly as she thought, but it wasn't worth commenting on.
But she left the study and Celestia sighed, leaning back in her chair. "There's a reason I didn't have children of my own."
"And here I thought it was because your prickly personality kept all potential suitors away." Wastkin said with a wink as he carried a tray in.
"Smartass."