"You can begin whenever you're ready." Nissa's voice was cool and calm as she sat herself on one of the couches and took out a small recorder from her pocket, setting it on the coffee table crowded with all sorts of books on display- most of them about gardening and plant life. Emmara, on the other hand, remained standing, her eyes cast to the floor. She could feel sweat begin to dampen her palms and her heart pound against her chest.
"...Would you like some tea?" She asked. "I... I just made a pot, and-"
"You know I don't like tea, Emmara. Nothing about my tastes has changed since we last saw one another." Nissa sighed, looking to the single cup of tea and the pill bottle also resting on the short table in front of her.
"So you're on medication now?"
"For my anxiety, yes." Emmara nodded, eyes drifting upwards ever so slightly, gaze now focused on Nissa's legs as she crossed them. "I started taking it after... well... you know."
"Well, would taking it now help you relax?" Nissa asked, picking up the little orange bottle and reading the label. "You're going to have to recount what you saw to the best of your ability. No doubt it's going to shake you."
"...I... I suppose..." Emmara nodded, although she couldn't will her legs to move. It had been years- years of trying to forget and trying to move on and trying to ignore her feelings. Years of holding her phone late at night, recounting the same, old number in her head but never actually calling. Years of throwing away old photos and digging through the garbage to save them. It had been years since Emmara had actually seen Nissa, and now she was sitting in her living room.
"Well come over here and take it then. The recorder probably won't pick up your voice if you stand all the way over there." Nissa rolled her eyes as she held out the pill bottle. "I don't want to seem like I'm rushing you, but we're dealing with a case involving a student who was here representing the dragons of Ravnica. It was an act of diplomacy for him to enroll here, so I doubt you're unaware that him dying here isn't going to sit well with the rest of his species."
"I know..." Emmara muttered, taking slow, careful steps over to her. "I just... you..."
"I'm going to have to ask you to set aside your feelings for a second here. I'm not here to bite your head off for what happened between us. I'm here to investigate the death of an important student at your school." Nissa groaned, holding out the pill bottle even further and leaning forward so that the bottle was nearly touching Emmara, who jumped in surprise. "Now take these and cooperate."
"I'm sorry." A lump began to grow in Emmara's throat as she reached out to take the bottle- only to pull away and gasp as her fingers brushed up against Nissa's. But an impatient look from the other elf was enough to move Emmara to reach out again, this time gingerly taking the bottle by the cap and pulling away quickly. The pills inside rattle against the plastic wildly, causing a light commotion as she tried once, twice, three times to unscrew the lid before it finally popped off. Under the scrutinizing gaze of Nissa, Emmara popped a single pill into her mouth and swallowed the tiny tablet dry after a bit of trouble. Normally she would have taken it with her tea, but it was currently sitting in front of Nissa.
"Please, sit down." Nissa motioned to the other couch sitting across from where she sat. Taking a deep breath, Emmara obeyed, shuffling over to and sitting herself down on the soft cushion of the couch. A brief silence fell between them as Emmara looked down at her hands she had clasped neatly on her lap. That entire time she had yet to look Nissa in the face- and even if she could, there was no way she'd ever be able to look her in the eyes.
"...Nissa, I- I've been meaning to apologize!" She blurted out. "I didn't mean for-"
"I didn't come here to hear you tell me you're sorry. I heard enough of that at our sham of a wedding, if I recall." Nissa groaned as she pushed Emmara's tea over to her. "But, if you really have something to tell me you decided to wait years to say, I'll spare you a moment after we're done here. Right now, focus on the task at hand, please."
"Sor- I mean, r-right." Emmara nodded.
"Good. Now, begin when you first arrived at the school." Nissa told her as she reached out to press a button on the recorder.
"I... I arrived at the campus shortly before five. I work as the school nurse, but over time I also was given the duty of shutting down the school's security system, since I always seemed to arrive on campus before everyone else."
"So you normally arrive there early in the morning?"
"C-correct. I'm sure the dean can vouch for me, since he gave me the code to shut down the system, but I always arrive around the same time... I-I like the silence that comes with being in the school building alone. It's... really calming." Emmara explained.
"Did it look like there had been any sign of forced entry, or if there had been some sort of fight?" Nissa asked, resting her chin on the top of her hand.
"None that I could see. The doors I went through- er, the front doors were closed and locked. I don't usually scout the entire building, but the route to the maintenance room didn't seem like anything was out of place. Not that I was looking, anyway..."
"Mmm..." Nissa nodded. "And when did you arrive at your office?"
"Right after I shut off the security system..." Emmara paused as her brow furrowed. A moan of discomfort escaped her as she bit her lip. "I... I noticed the door to my office had been left ajar. And then..." Emmara's eyes glistened as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"That's when you found Niv-Mizzet." Nissa completed. Emmara nodded, beginning once again to sob as her lips started to quiver. Nissa withheld a sigh as she leaned back in her seat. "And once you found him dead in your office, you-"
"He wasn't dead!" Emmara cried, squinting through her tears. "No... I found Niv-Mizzet alive in a pool of his own blood, with what looked like a dragon's claw rammed through his stomach! He... He looked up at me- he tried to tell me something but I couldn't understand him! I couldn't remove the claw, but I tried everything to keep him alive and cried for someone to come help. I tried to keep him alive... there was so much blood..." Emmara wrung her hands, like she was trying to wipe the blood that had once stained them off again.
"...Do you recall the time of death?" Nissa asked after some hesitation. Emmara could only vigorously shake her head, no.
"...I sat with him until someone found us. Even after he'd gone, I held his hand... I couldn't do anything but watch as he died..." Emmara murmured. "He looked at me like he was confused and scared- like he didn't know what was going on. I couldn't understand a word he said, but I know he didn't want to die... and I... let him."
"Sarkhan Vol of the disciplinary committee confirms he found the two of you right around six in the morning. I'd ask if this was accurate but... suffice to say, I think we can take his word for it. And we'll be able to get the time of death once his body has been examined." Nissa continued on, trying her damnedest to follow protocol. It would be unprofessional and waste space on the recorder is she got up to comfort her former lover. She balled her hands into fists before continuing.
"I know it's hard, but aside from the door being open, was there anything else? Like a trail of blood that suggested the body had been dragged into the room from somewhere?"
"There... wasn't a trail. It was like he'd been stabbed in that very room with-" Emmara suddenly sat up, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. Tears clinging to her eye lashes were launched into the air.
"What!? Do you remember something else?" Nissa gasped.
"That claw... I mean, maybe we'll find out for sure once lab results come back but..." Emmara hesitated a moment, looking pale. "I remember when Niv-Mizzet first arrived at this school as a freshman. The school had made a very big deal about it and turned the whole thing into a spectacle. Niv-Mizzet first arrived here in his true form- I'd never seen a dragon before, so I remember how terrified I was. And I remember... his claws were so big and terrifying."
"So... you mean to say the claw used to kill Niv-Mizzet...?" Nissa cocked an eyebrow, and Emmara nodded, looking like she was going to be sick.
"...Was his own."
"Well then, it might have possible been a suicide, though dragons are pretty proud creatures. I can't imagine what would drive any one of them to do such a thing..." Nissa paused and looked over at Emmara, who had gone back to sobbing heavily. For a split second, she felt her own body move on it's own as she began to lift herself from up off the couch. But she held herself back and sat back down, averting her eyes from the crying elven woman across from her. "But it's starting to look that way."
"He looked so scared, though!" Emmara shouted. "I couldn't understand him, but it seemed like he was pleading with me to save him! The look he gave me was a look of someone who didn't want to die, I just know it!"
"Maybe he just had second thoughts by the time it was too late. And either way, it might help your school to possibly look at this as a suicide case instead of a murder. God knows what the dragon community will do if one of their own was killed by someone in your academy's halls." Nissa muttered.
"But-"
"Is that all?" Nissa cut Emmara off, looming over her recorder with her finger hovered over the stop button. "Are there any other details you could remember?"
"...None." Emmara shook her head, blinking tears from her eyes. "That's all."
"Good..." Nissa sighed, stopping the recording before eyeing Emmara with an angry look in her eyes. "Then you can shove that whole 'I let him die' bullshit up your ass."
"E-Excuse me!?" Emmara gasped.
"Do you remember, Emmara, a few days before our wedding?" Nissa asked.
"I..." Emmara's eyes grew wide. "Of course I do... that was the night I almost lost you."
"The night I got stabbed by a friend of one of the guys I helped put away, you were there before anyone else. Had it not been for you, I'd have probably died." Nissa spoke in a commanding, serious voice. "You saved my life, Emmara- probably a lot of other people's lives, too. So don't give me that bullshit that you just let Niv-Mizzet die!"
"N-Nissa..."
"Niv-Mizzet was dead with or without you- with the extent of his injuries there's nothing even the best doctor could have done to save him! You tried to save him and stayed with him even after he passed! You did everything you could for someone who was guarantied to die and you know it!" Nissa continued to shout as she rose from her seat and slammed both her hands down on the coffee table as she leaned over it. "So don't you dare sit there and cry and act like this was your fault!
Emmara sat in stunned silence as she looked, wide-eyed at Nissa, finally meeting her eyes for the first time. Her mouth hung open, but not a sound escaped her. She might as well have stopped breathing she was so quiet.
"Er..." It was Nissa who ended up looking away as she picked up her recorder and straightened up. "I'm sorry, that was really unprofessional of me. I shouldn't have yelled."
"Ni...ssa..."
"I'll show myself out, you deserve a little peace."
"Nissa, wait!" Emmara suddenly exclaimed just as she had begin to turn and leave for the door. Nissa turned back around, looking nothing short of shocked. "Please... don't leave. Let me make you some coffee before you go... I mean... you still like coffee, right?"
"...Yeah."
Jace lay face down on his bed, nursing a headache that threatened to possibly drive him mad. It really had been none of his business, but now that he knew that someone had died, curiosity had gotten the better of him. It was a long shot to say he could possibly help out with the investigation, but that was the excuse he told himself over and over again as he cast his mind out, searching for anything relating to the case. A lot of what he got was a whole lot of nothing- a lot of students who had less of a clue than him and a lot of unnecessary information and just a pinch of information he could have gone his entire life without knowing.
But every once in a while he latched on to a cop or someone who happened to be apart of the investigation near the campus, but they all seemed to be thinking the same thing. It might have possibly been murder. He learned, little by little, details about the crime and what had happened, but not enough to piece together anything big. And not a soul thought it at all odd that Niv-Mizzet had died a human. That, it seemed, was on the back burner where as what was going to happen once the dragon community caught wind of Niv-Mizzet's death took precedence.
And now, after a days worth of snooping in the minds of other's, Jace was starting to pay for it. He'd long since depleted his own supply, and had recently really just been depending on using the school nurse's office to get his pain killers instead of trying to refill his own personal stash. His head throbbed so much, it was hard to think, much less continue to try and read the minds of people nearby.
A nice little cherry on top of his curiosity getting the better of him had been that the guilds- save the Izzet, but that was hardly surprising- were still pushing to convince him to run the maze for them. It was getting to the point where it was starting to become stressful more than annoying. There was pressure on him that no one else was aware. At the center of the maze was something only he could undo, and it would have been simple if he could have just gone and looked for it himself. But now there was the added bonus of being pestered about it almost every hour, and the growing concern of what guild should be the only one left in place.
To Jace, none of them really had his vote. They all had their own important forms of function, but they all also had their own faults. The Azorius guild was too obsessed with control, the Boros guild seemed like they'd become more like bullies if given the chance, and Dimir seemed much too shady and it sent shivers up Jace's spine just thinking of what would happen if they alone were the only guild to lord over the school. The school would be swept up in a chaotic specter if the Rakdos guild had the chance and the power to, and he could say goodbye to a regular, quiet school life with a guild as disorganized as Gruul being left in command. Golgari would probably treat it's place as ruling guild as a joke and Orzhov was more of a shadow enough as it was- the former guilds would probably rise back up in rebellion in their absence. Selesnya seemed to passive a force to do the job correctly on their own (and he hated to admit it, but with Emmara behind the wheel they'd probably get taken advantage of). Simic didn't seem the type of guild to want to even bother and Izzet... Jace couldn't really think of what it would be like, now that they were short their guild leader.
Jace groaned into his pillow, hating himself for letting his mind wander back to such confusing affairs. He knew he had a job to do, and he knew he had an important place in the grand scheme of things in which all of Ravnica hung in the balance. But, just once, he wished he knew what it felt like to just be an outsider- a bystander. Someone who wasn't caught up in the twisted world brewing below the surface of the school. In that moment, Jace envied himself from the beginning of the year- the boy caught up in nothing special aside for the odd guild assignment. Back then his concerns were about tests and medication and trying to catch Liliana's eye- simpler things expected of someone his age.
Someone knocked lightly at his door, drawing him out of his daydreaming.
"U-Um, come in! It's open!" He called, only having the strength to lift his head from the pillow long enough to speak before pressing his face back into it. He figured it was just Gideon coming back from having pie with Chandra. Maybe he'd be lucky, and his roommate would have brought him a spare slice (with a bite or two taken out of it, of course).
"Oh, good, you're here."
Much to Jace's surprise, it wasn't Gideon who spoke as the door swung open. New-found energy filling his limbs he managed, at least, to sit up and make himself look at least a little presentable as Liliana walked into the room.
"H-hey! What's up?" He stammered lightly.
"Nothing, really. I just wanted to check up on you." Liliana shrugged as she drifted about the room. "You seemed really... I don't know, like you were sick or something all day. You had me worried."
"R-really!? You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine! I've just got a killer headache, that's all!" He assured her with maybe a little too much gusto.
"... Really?" She asked, sounding a little more forceful, like she was trying to ease the answer she really wanted out of him. "Just a headache?"
"Well, I mean, of course the thing with Niv-Mizzet is bothering me, and there's no one we can talk to about it and it wouldn't be smart to bring it up in public- so I guess knowing what really happened at school is a bit stressful." Jace rubbed the back of his head.
"Just that, huh?" Liliana questioned, looking out the window. Now that she was more in the light, Jace couldn't help but notice she seemed troubled somehow. Of course, if she was, she was much better at hiding it than Jace was, that was for sure. But, even so, something managed to bubble up to the surface in her eyes. Something else was on her mind other than her oddly-timed concern for him.
"...Is something the matter?" Jace dared to ask. Liliana jumped a bit, looking clearly surprised by his question. But the reaction, as obvious as it was, vanished as quickly as it had come.
"Not really..." Liliana bit her lip. "It's just... the end of the year is coming up. Then, after that, it will only be a few short months before the whole maze thing. It just seems our destiny is coming at us full speed ahead. I don't even know what we're supposed to do once the time comes, and what's going to happen after."
"Yeah, that kind of sounds like something's the matter." Jace chuckled. "I'm sure everything will play out fine. We just hand over whatever's in the maze to Dean Markov and then, well, I don't know. The skies the limit at that point."
"Are you saying that to me or to yourself?" Liliana asked, her voice strangely and deathly serious. "You're the main player in this game, not me. I'm sure whatever happens isn't going to be as simple as popping in, grabbing what's in there, and getting back to Sorin."
"...It does seem a little odd. He made it sound like it was a huge responsibility and yet... the fact it seems so easy is really troublesome." Jace agreed. "That and this Nicol Bolas person hasn't even shown up yet. I figured he would have shown up by now..."
"Nng-!" Liliana made a noise like she were literally choking on her words.
"What?"
"I-it's nothing. You're right, it does seem rather strange." She responded quickly. "Even so, you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?"
"Right." Jace sighed, deciding to put Liliana's odd behavior on the back-burner. Maybe she, too, was starting to realize it was just her and him along in his dorm room. It was an awkward situation to be sure- Jace had taken note of it right away and decided not to bring it up. Just her and him. Alone. Not that he had any intentions of doing something seedy, but still. "The sooner this is over, the sooner I can go back to living a normal life."
"...Speaking of this whole maze thing," Liliana suddenly brought up. "Any decisions about who you're going to run the maze for. It looked like they were back at tit again in trying to recruit you."
"Ugh, don't remind me." Jace groaned, shaking his head in frustration. "I haven't the slightest clue who I should possibly run the maze for. I mean, Azorious, Boros, Gruul, Golgari, Selesnya, Simic, Izzet, Dimir, Orzhov, Rakdos- they all have their good points, but have them be in charge of the whole damn school and suddenly none of them seems appealing at all! I mean, maybe I'm thinking too much into this but-"
"What about the Infinite Consortium." Liliana suddenly cut in. She'd caught him so completely off guard, Jace had to take a short breather before responding.
"Oh yeah, that guild Baltrice is apart of? Yeah, I guess they did just recently become official, but for some reason they haven't really bothered me." Jace said thoughtfully. "I mean, I guess they're an option, too. Maybe they're my only option-"
"Nevermind!" Liliana suddenly snapped, turning to him with a determined-yet nervous look on her face, like she had something she wanted to do but was unsure if she was making the right decision. "Have you considered you don't even have to run the maze at all?"
"What?"
"Don't you remember what Sorin said!? It's your destiny! Just because the maze is open, doesn't mean you have to run it! You just have to be playing for the right team when the time comes, that's all!"
"Liliana..."
"Do what you feel is right for Ravnica, remember? So long as Bolas doesn't get what he wants, it doesn't matter!" Without so much as a warning, she strode up to him and firmly took his hands. Jace gulped, unable to stop himself from blushing, as embarrassing as it was.
"Whoa, h-hey now-!"
"You want my opinion?" She asked. "If it comes down to what I think, I say fuck it! Fuck it and fuck them and let's just live as we please!" She paused, catching herself a little too late and looking baffled. "I-I mean, you live as you please. Yeah. Right."
"Wow, what's with the sudden passion?" Jace laughed. Liliana grumbled, slowly letting go of his hands.
"Forget it, if you're just going to laugh at me..."
"I guess you do have a point though. I got so caught up in all these heroics, I forgot I'm in control of my own destiny." Jace said with a smile. "Thanks."
"Hey! Jace, you here?!" Gideon's voice suddenly echoed from somewhere as the door opened again. "We're back and we brought you a slice- oh! Liliana? What are you doing here?"
"I-I was just-!" Liliana began to try and explain.
"It's not what you think! Honest!" Jace added frantically.
"I think they doth protest too much, huh?" Chandra, who emerged from behind Gideon, sniggered. "It looks like we got here before they got down to doing anything naughty, though."
"We're not in that kind of relationship!" Liliana protested, her face as red as a beet. "We're just friends, Chandra!"
"Yeah, more like friends with benefits." The redhead chortled back.
"More like friends with none of your business!"
Jace chuckled, trying not to feel too defeated as Liliana and Chandra continued to go back and fourth.
Yeah, I guess we are "just friends" huh?
"I'm sorry."
Nissa turned around, a step away from leaving Emmara's apartment. She hadn't planned for it, but the two of them had talked until it was dark. It had been almost like old times, save for those odd moments when their laughter and smiles and comfort reached a certain peak, and Emmara would look down at the ground like she were holding back tears. Emmara couldn't fully enjoy herself, and because of that, neither could Nissa.
"What did I tell you about saying 'sorry'?" Nissa sighed, forcing herself to remain facing forward.
"I know- I know it isn't going to solve anything but... I ruined something wonderful- something that could have been wonderful... and all this time I've never gotten the chance to tell you why." Emmara muttered, her voice quiet and wavering.
"You know, over the years I think I've gotten over not knowing." Nissa sighed. "We're two different people, I get it. We occupy two very different worlds. You knew it wouldn't work out, and you acted on instinct. I'm not going to blame you for that."
"No! I mean, yes, we are totally different but that wasn't the issue! Please, I've held this in for too long!" Emmara cried as she reached out and grabbed one of Emmara's hands desperately. "Please... I don't want to go another long period regretting what I never got the chance to tell you."
"Well, you have a captive audience, more or less." Nissa rolled her eyes, trying to hide the warm lump beginning to grow in her throat.
"You brought it up before: the night you were attacked. You made it through alright, but it... terrified me. It never occurred to me that I could lose you until that night and, like you said, had I not been there you probably would have died." Emmara's voice began to tremble along with her body. Nissa could feel the tremors as she gripped her hand tighter. "The thought of losing the one I loved after having finally found them... the thought terrified me. And maybe what I did wasn't very smart in the long run but I didn't want to suffer losing you to death. So I decided, instead, to lose you to my own, stupid decisions. At least that way, my last memory of you would be you angry... but alive."
"...Gods..." Nissa muttered through clenched teeth. "You... you're such an idiot, Emmara!"
"What?"
Nissa wrenched her hand away from Emmara and turned around, looking back at her furiously.
"You decided to throw away everything we had just because of a stupid fear! You could have brought this up with me! I could have helped!" Nissa yelled. "Is this what you wanted!? Because I'm furious now! Are you happy with yourself!?"
"I'm sorry!" Emmara gasped, flinching as Nissa raised her hand, as if to strike her. A slap across the face was less than what she really, truly deserved, though. But even so, instead of trying to guard herself, Emmara simply braced for the impact instead.
"Stop saying... you're sorry... you gigantic asshole!"
Much to Emmara's surprise, instead of a slap, she felt Nissa heavily rest her hands on her shoulders, putting a considerable amount of weight on her. Slowly opening her eyes, she came to find Nissa bowing her head and knees bent enough to where the elven woman who normally stood a good head and a half above her was now practically eye to eye with her. Tears had begun to pool around her eyes and glide down her cheeks.
"You know how long I figured you hated me? Do you know how long I spent trying to find someone else!? Do you know how many times I failed!?" Nissa cried, although she still sounded substantially angry. "I've lived my life since then figuring you just didn't love me back! Do you know how much that hurts!? I should hate you for what you did to me, leaving me at the alter!"
"I'm..." Emmara began before swallowing her words. "...I understand... if that's how you feel. But at least know that everything I ever told you back then was true. I did love you, Nissa! I loved you so much it hurt!"
"Then... then what about now?" Nissa asked, looking up at Emmara, eyes full of determination as well as tears. "Can you say with wholehearted honesty that you still feel the same way? Even after all this time?"
Emmara paused briefly for a moment, looking back at the elven woman who would have been her wife. The look she gave her now harshly contrasted with the look of rage and hurt she'd given her back then when the two of them parted ways. She'd always believed that Nissa hated her after that. But, even still...
"I never stopped loving you, Nissa." Emmara said with a smile. "And I never will."
Liliana ran across the dark campus lawn, cursing herself for not deciding to return home sooner- both because it had grown extremely cold, making her decision not to wear anything heavier than a light jacket regrettable and because she had intended on checking up on Emmara sooner. Only the gods knew what sort of mental anguish she was suffering from, or what Nissa had said to her. The very thought of having to pick up the pieces for her emotionally exhausted friend was extremely tiring, even though it made her feel equally as awful. So, arms wrapped around her body desperately, she hurried home, going over how in the world she'd cheer up her friend who had witnessed someone die and had a close encounter with her ex-fiance.
"My, aren't we in a hurry?" A voice called out to Liliana that stopped her in her tracks. There was another reason Liliana was feeling nervous and overwhelmed, and it- or rather she was standing only feet away.
"I can't talk right now, Baltrice. Maybe another time." Liliana began before Baltrice cut her off, strutting over quickly and blocking her path.
"I don't think you have much of a say in the matter, traitor." Baltrice hissed as she reached out and snatched up Liliana's arm as she tried to walk around her. Her grip was tight enough where it felt as if she were going to move to break it.
"I-I don't know what you mean-"
"Don't you fucking lie to me!" Baltrice shouted. "Don't think for even a second we don't keep tabs on you! Don't you think for even a single, split second that we aren't always listening in! So tell me again, bitch, that you don't know what I mean!"
"I..."
"You what!?"
"I couldn't do it!?" Liliana snapped. "I refuse to be your little pawn anymore. You can tell Bolas he can find another puppet. I can deal with my demon problem mys-"
Before Liliana could finish, she felt a strong, unrelenting force slam into her gut, knocking the wind out of her, before the ground vanished beneath her feet and the scenery whizzed past her vision. Still struggling to draw even a single breath, her body was slammed into the ground, and all she could do was let out a choked moan in lieu of a cry of agony.
"Hate to break it to you, bitch, but you don't just walk away from Bolas. You made a deal, and you aren't going to just up and forget about it!" Baltrice, who had positioned herself on top of Liliana, snarled. A large, blazing flame sparked to life in one of her hands while the other reached out and gripped a handful of Liliana's hair. "At least, not without losing a few of those pretty little features of yours. I'll bet you'll regret trying to walk away from us when your eyelids are fused shut and your face is melted off!"
"Now, now, Baltrice, let's not be too hasty." A third voice caused both girls to freeze in place and made the cold night air seem impossibly colder. "Burning Liliana's face will satisfy you, but it isn't going to solve anything. If you really want to punish her, you'll follow my directions."
"Bolas..." The two girls spoke in unison as Baltrice scrambled to her feet while Liliana struggled out from under her, pain still radiating from where she had been struck. And there he stood, the demon-like dragon who even now held her very life in his hands. He had chosen to show up as a human man, dressed to the nines like he was getting back from a high-class party.
"You only had one job, Liliana. It was such a simple job- although I shouldn't be surprised you failed me. Let's just say that Liliana Vess and I have been involved in deals before. It always ended in failure. But blatant, utter betrayal is something new." Bolas chuckled, not seeming angry at all- at least, not on the surface. Below his even tone and relaxed posture, the disguised dragon exuded and aura that paralyzed Liliana who remained at his feet as he approached her. "Surely you must be prepared for what will come as a result. You're a stupid human, but not that stupid."
"I'll endure any kind of torture. I refuse to betray Jace's trust..." Liliana muttered.
"My, how we've changed, Liliana. Allowing people to love you has made you soft." With a surprising amount of gentleness, Bolas reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "So many people love you. So many people have put their trust in you. So many people have chosen to accept your friendship, and have given you theirs in kind. And now..." Liliana gasped in pain as he suddenly tugged hard on a handful of her hair, but in her fear all she could do was sit there and take it. "All of them will suffer because of you."
"You... you can't!" Liliana cried out.
"Really? Do you really think I wouldn't? Do you even know who I am!?" Bolas sneered. "I will make you watch as each of your friends suffer one by one until your alone and empty. You will watch as I rip the world you have built up around you to shreds! And then you'll be left with nothing- nothing but your demons!"
"I... won't let you!" Liliana managed to snarl back, looking up to meet Bolas' gaze. "I'll stand against you- we all will! You've already lost- Jace isn't even going to run your stupid maze! And I'm not going to let you lay a hand on my friends!"
"Your determination is adorable- it really is." Bolas laughed, letting go of Liliana's hair. "But, in the end it's going to be all for naught. Your betrayal is no surprise, Liliana. I've already put plans in motion to take every important person away from you. I've already put plans in motion to obtain what is rightfully mine inside of that maze. And there isn't a damn thing you can do to stop me."