Lysander's lips brushed against Daniela's as they danced, leaving them trembling. The girl felt someone else taking over, that she was taking the back seat to her own life. Someone new was maneuvering her hands, her legs, and her lips. Her arms wrapped around the Djinni's body. The euphoric sensation began to take her; she was losing herself.
'Who are we?' She thought, gazing into his passionate eyes, 'what are we doing?'
The two dancers seemed to became one. Hadn't she been here with somebody else? No, she had come with him. Lysander gently touched her temple. The fake memory sewed itself into her consciousness.
Something seemed wrong though; the thread of this memory did not quite match up. Lysander felt her pulling away. He would have to work harder. His hand brushed up against the top her back, sewing in the memory further.
'We are lovers.' Lysander entered her mind as he had when they were in Dublin. They grew closer, her mouth swept up against his bottom lip, teasing his 'sensibilities.' He cradled her in a caring position as her hands brushed the sides of his face warmly. Daniela tried to keep the memory, yet even under the Djinni's spell, something cried foul.
'Breathe into me.' He pushed the thought deeper, willing her to come closer and closer. Daniela broke her gaze, and looked around at the other dancers. There was a quiet desperation amongst them. They all seemed different than she and her beloved. It frightened her. She looked back to Lysander.
This was all wrong.
She did not know how, but what he pushed into her mind was not the truth.
"Get away." She pushed against him. It was all foul. Foul. Fowl. "Please, get away."
A look of shock spread across his face. This was not supposed to happen. Lysander looked around, a number of party goers had stopped their dancing to look at the spectacle, yet nobody came to her aid. They just stared. Quickly, he grabbed her bare shoulders, crushing his lips onto hers. She tried to scream through the kiss. Did these dancers not see that she did not want to kiss him? Daniela brought her elbow to his neck, and hit it as hard as she could. A choking sound came from his throat as he reeled to the side.
"Lysander, what is the meaning of this?" A little masked girl ran to him, clearly upset. He ignored the little girl, for his eyes cast on the woman who had hit him. He held his hand out to her, and attempted to weave another false tale into her head.
'I have done nothing to hurt you. You need me. Love, you need me.' Daniela brought her hands to her head in an attempt to block out his voice.
This was wrong. This was all wrong. Lysander was lying to her, but as the voice pushed itself farther and farther into her head the line between fact and fiction was nearly nonexistent.
'No!' she thought. He could not control her. She didn't need him.
"I don't need you. I don't need you!" She seethed. The mob around her was silent. Daniela looked around, seeing no familiar faces. There were only masks. She licked her lips, which had become dry, and brought her fingers to her temples, trying to remember what was supposed to happen.
'Butler,' she thought, looking over at the court yard. Her true memories were starting to fight away the false. Butler was a man she was supposed to find. Lysander was getting up, a white range blanketing his perfect features. She ran.
"Daniela!" He called, trying to keep his charade.
'I don't need you. I don't need you. I don't need you.' She replayed the statement over and over in her head. She needed to remind herself of what happened before the addiction. The snow covered grass sent an un welcomed chill through her body. There was someone running after her, but she did not take the time to look back over her shoulder.
"I'm here!" She cried, not seeing Butler. "I'm here don't leave me, please don't leave me!" There was no vehicle in sight. She was alone. "I'm alive!"
"Daniela," She heard the name called from a distance.
"Who am I?" She could not remember. Someone was trying to push something new into her head. She looked around violently.
"You are dead." The voice chuckled. "They all know you are dead. I told them so. Of course, they'll listen to me. Why would they listen to you?" Lysander's baritone voice rang. He was close, but she could see nothing.
"You're lying!" She screamed into the darkness, unsure of where he was. "I am alive!" She searched frantically for the circle.
"They left without you Daniela, they think you are dead. They couldn't be seen where your body was found. Do you honestly think they care about you? You are just a toy to them. Don't worry; they will see your corpse. I will personally make sure of that. You've caused me a lot of trouble, child." The voice was right behind her.
"But I am alive!" She protested, closing her eyes tightly and sinking into the snow.
"Not according to what I showed your little friends. If I can control you, I can control all of them. They weren't expecting that now were they?"
How had he gotten to her so fast? She could still faintly see the party goers in the ball room through the open courtyard. None of them seemed to notice.
"They won't notice us. They cannot anymore." A chilling hand touched her shoulder. "I have come to finish what I started."
She was all alone with Lysander, his mouth on her neck. She breathed, trying to think. Her eyes were fluttering closed. She would be gone in moments, but Butler had to have made the circle. It was somewhere. Somewhere on the road. She looked around; there was a lot of road.
It was then that she spotted it.
"Get off of me!" She forced her body towards into the chalk circle, falling onto her back. She had only seconds before Lysander was on top of her. Her wrists were pinned by his hands. His nose was just inches from hers.
"Don't be difficult. It's not cute anymore." Lysander whispered.
Her wrists were sinking deeper and deeper into the ground, and his knees pinned her legs. She was unable to move. His lips were on hers.
"I..." She tried to remember the words. "I banish thee to the realm of the damned."
"What?" He paused in mid kiss. "What did you say?"
"I banish thee to the realm of the damned." His grip loosened on her hands. The circle began to heat, melting any snow around it. This was her chance.
"I banish thee!" She yelled. The chalk burned her skin, burning the tips of her hair. The Djinni leapt up in horror, allowing Daniela to roll off of the fiery chalk. Lysander tried to do the same, but the fire bound him to his place. He was trapped. The fire melted through his hands. He screamed out in agony as he tried to cover his wounds. His true features started to break through his human façade.
"No one can save you!" He screamed.
"What?" She nearly threw herself to hear what he screamed.
"No one will save her! No one will save him!" He continued.
Daniela crawled backwards, her brown eyes opened wide in terror. She watched as Lysander started to disappear into the ground; smoke covered where he once had been. She blinked. He had just disappeared; the only reminder that he had been there was the stench of burning flesh.
All too suddenly the young woman began to feel sick. Nausea had found its way into her stomach; her hands clutched against the place where she hurt. Headlights blinded her, but it was enough to distract her from the horrible feeling. Someone was coming.
"I'm here!" Tears streamed down her face and hit her lips. The vehicle came to an immediate stop upon seeing the freezing girl in the snow. Someone ran out and grabbed her into their arms.
"She's alive!" The voice said placing her inside and wrapping her in a blanket. "Daniela, what happened?" Butler held the sides of her face to keep her still.
"He's gone!" She sobbed. "I banished him!"
"You...you were dead. I saw you. You were dead. How did this happen?" Artemis placed his hand on his forehead in shock.
"He, he lied to you...through your mind...I don't know how, but he did. That's what he told me." she spoke in between tears, "He's gone."
"Are you sure?" Butler brought his face close to hers. "Are you sure he is gone?"
"Yes!" She wiped her face, as new tears flowed from her eyes. "Why did you leave me?"
"I..." Artemis began, "We had to leave. I...I'm sorry. I tried to save you both, I really did, but I saw you die. I tried to save you, but I couldn't. I had to save at least save one of you." Artemis still remained with his hand on his forehead, trying to make sense of the choice that he made.
"Why did you come back?" She tried to calm herself.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, believe me. I'm so sorry." Artemis pondered what the girl had said. Could it be that the Djinni noticed that they were trying to leave with Minerva? Had Lysander made his way into Artemis's mind and wanted him back? Did he want Artemis found with the girl's body?
"Foaly, are you...?" Artemis spoke into the ear piece.
"None," Foaly interrupted the Irish youth. Artemis moved away from the girl. There was no other explanation for Daniela being alive. Lysander had invaded his mind.
"Minerva," Artemis turned to the blonde girl who was also in a state of shock. "You are safe to go back."
"That is it? You just send me back like that?" Minerva placed her hands on her hips, and pouted. "After everything that just happened, you send me back?"
"I would rather not be charged with kidnapping you. Do you want that to happen? I think not." He spoke, "It doesn't matter if you return to the party, but you cannot stay with me."
Minerva looked down at her mask in her hands. This evening was most unusual. The sudden turn of events was not what she thought her birthday would have been like. Strangely, she did not mind. Minerva leaned in close to the boy, and kissed his cheek before returning to the ongoing party. In the morning, she would have two options to consider.
The first option was that this was a dream. This was the most underwhelming option, to say the least. The second, however, was that this was reality. If she chose to believe this option, she would definitely need answers.
The boy placed his hand to the spot where Minerva's lips had brushed. Truly girls were a complicated species all of their own.
"I think I'm gonna-" The blanketed girl broke Artemis's fixation as she began to sway back and forth. Artemis could not tell if she was about to faint or vomit, though he hoped it would not be the latter.
"Butler, we need to get her someplace warm." Artemis rushed to catch her before she could hit the ground. The giant man nodded his head, and proceeded to climb into the driver's seat.
Artemis watched as the French girl walked back to the party. They had defeated the Djinni, and yet he fought with the knot in his stomach. The Djinni had controlled him; it was a type of violation he could not move past.
"Don't feel bad." Artemis heard the centaur say. "It's what they do."
"What?" Artemis pretended that he did not know Foaly was talking about.
"The penetration of the mind; it is what the Djinni does. You handled yourself very well, kid."
"Very well indeed." Artemis spoke bitterly as he carried the unconscious girl back into the car.
He had known the powers of the Djinni, but for some reason thought that his superior mind could not be compromised. It hadn't been yet, after all. He closed his eyes. Holly had already done too much for him, her use of magic had taken its toll. It was hard enough on his family, these murder charges, but even harder on the fairy whose magic had protected The Manor.
True, his father's legal team was the best, keeping most allegations from reaching the press, but there was always a stray reporter or vigilante. Their protection was greatly needed, and she would not be able to do this for much longer.
'I should have stayed with them.' He thought. His father, mother, and brothers were safely tucked away, far away from any hit men that the angry families could send. If they were found, Juliet Butler would make sure that no harm would befall them.
Perhaps he made his choice to stay for the thrill of it. The thought made him wince. Artemis had become bored, and while this was a tragic circumstance, he certainly was no longer bored. Broken, confused, and paranoid, but not bored.
He had told himself that solving this mystery was for the benefit of Holly and his family, but perhaps his real reason was not quite as charitable. What if he had been lying to himself all along? What if the real reason for his decision was not because of them, but because he needed that rush. Artemis hadn't tried to face it until now.
Find me Holly. The message still haunted him. This wasn't over.