A/N: Chapter 28 will be underway by Friday! I know what I want to do and stuff I am just looking for the time to actually sit down and write it. As for chapter 27, it is done and onto the editing stage! Woo Woo! If you guys actually want to know my writing process and how I plan out how a story will go and each of my chapters. PM me or write a comment and I'll write it out for you guys(dunno if anyone is curious, but I thought I'd just put that out there)
Also, just a shout out to my roommate who is a blessing on this Earth. As you may already know I had a really shitty one last semester and now I'm rooming with my best friend, and it is honestly great. I'm actually cooking and doing what I love, and it's just amazing. Just needed to get that off my chest.
Here's the chapter!
Enjoy!
Chapter: 26
Something was off; something was wrong. Livia knew it the moment she stepped off the elevator and made her way towards her family's apartment. There was a feeling in the air, a shift in what she was used to feeling. She didn't know what to expect, and her senses were flaring in anticipation, urging her to use her powers…to protect…to fight.
For a time it seemed the nightmares had stopped. Livia slept soundly for the first time in nearly two months. It was a gratifying feeling and sleep being something she hadn't usually taken for granted now was more important than anything. She felt at peace, well-rested…ready for anything. It was a respite she very well needed but now—as she approached the door—it appeared, all that time resuming her usual schedule, going to the beach with her friends and going to dance practices had only been the calm before the storm.
Livia slowed in her approach to the front door, reaching out with her senses and trying to decipher the feeling she was experiencing. But as she reached out, it was like her perceptive abilities hit a stone wall, and swirled around hesitantly. Unable to reach out she did the next best thing, she reached for the doorknob, pushed in her key and turned the handle.
She expected carnage on the inside, some sort of devastation and destruction. Livia expected fire and debris…chaos…something to make her feel fearful and utterly defeated by whatever was and had been hounding her for weeks on end. She had to assume that whatever was causing this anticipation and feeling was what had been infiltrating and controlling her dreams. What she didn't expect was to see her father sitting on the couch looking sullen and subdued. Alaric looked upset, and Livia didn't understand what could have done this…this was somehow worse than what she expected. In fact, she actually preferred the former to this greeting of the unexpected.
The door closed behind her with a click and Alaric jerked a little in surprise. He looked up, taking off his glasses and polishing them off with the edge of his shirt. Livia frowned, he was stalling,
"Livia…you're home," he said lamely,
"Yes. I am…what's wrong?" Livia asked, taking a step into the room. The door to the office was shut, that was odd. Livia didn't know what to make of this situation. Yet again she tried to reach out to find the problem, the source of her discomfort, but her abilities hit a wall and curled uselessly around the impregnable, metaphysical structure. Alaric still hadn't answered her and Livia's hand curled into a loose fist out of anticipation, her nails biting lightly into the palm of her hand,
"Alaric…dad," he winced at that, "What is it?"
"Someone came here today, they claimed to be your uncle," Livia narrowed her eyes,
"I don't have any other uncles," she stated,
"On your father's side, you do,"
"So? I don't know him; he's a stranger. Nothing he says will change the fact that I live with you. You're my family. Not anyone on my father's side," Livia said it decisively. It was the truth, while perhaps she embraced the power from her father's side of the family she'd by no means accept any of his relatives with open arms. Not after what he's done, to other people…to her family, to her mother. Alaric gave her a pitying look,
"Things can change if he does decide to try and claim custody,"
"No!" Livia growled, "I won't let that happen,"
"It's not up to you…not if he goes through with it," Livia gritted her teeth, wishing she had stayed later at dance that evening, "Go and meet with him…perhaps we could find common ground with him if you get to know him and voice your…opinions…on the matter,"
"You can't be serious!" Livia exclaimed,
"Livia," Alaric stated sternly, his expression hard…but then eased into a softer one, "just try. He's in the office," With that Alaric retreated into the little kitchen area leaving Livia in the living room, her mind reeling. Something wasn't right…not just this situation but how her father had just seemed to accept it. He must have been spelled…nothing could have made him agree to this. Livia scowled at the office door. The man on the other side must be responsible for this…he was a witch too. Like Livia, like her father. With that in mind, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door to her father's office.
The room looked the same as it ever did. An awful pale green rug, a mahogany desk with various trinkets, files, a computer and lamp upon it. His doctorate degrees and other certificates hung in frames along the walls with bookshelves surrounding the remaining white space of the room. Behind the desk two tall windows sandwiched where the desk stood and leaning on the edge of the desk in a very immaculate suit was the man Alaric willingly let into their home. Livia's supposed 'uncle.'
Livia stared at him and found nothing special. He was a tall man with dark hair like her own and gold-green eyes that mirrored hers, though perhaps differently shaped as she got that from her mother, not from her father. The gold-green eyes seemed to be a dominant trait for Baudelaire witches…though Livia wouldn't know if that was the truth. She refused to ask or look that up in her Book of Shadows.
The longer she stared at his face, the more…the more it felt off. Like she was staring off into a mirage, or like there was an invisible veil covering his face. Livia blinked, squinting at the man once more trying to wrap her head around what she was seeing…it was like seeing double, no triple, and the effect was dizzying. No, it was nauseating. Livia was forced to look away, down at the carpet and caught a glimpse of his shadow imprinted on the floor from the last bits of sunset peeking through the windows. What Livia saw caused her to gasp and stumble back a step,
"Who…who are you…what are you?" she couldn't help but stumble through her question. Unsure of which thing she was seeing was the trick and which was the truth. The man before her was tall, with dark hair and eyes that mirrored hers perfectly. But the man's shadow was roughly her height, and where the hairline stopped it arced into two horns…exactly like the thing she saw in her nightmares.
The sound of the door slamming caused her to jump and for her heart to jump to her throat as a light and menacing laugh echoed through the room,
"I'm surprised…most don't usually catch on until it's too late. Though you my dear were just a second too slow," the man before her morphed and changed into the image of the shadow. What she had initially seen was just a glamor, a lie hidden in plain sight. Before her stood the same thing she saw in her dreams…she didn't know who this person was or even if they were a person. He was her height with smoldering red eyes and hair that twisted into horns on the top of his head with skin so pale it looked blue,
"Who are you?" Livia asked again, her voice reaching a pitch of desperation. The…thing? Person?…tilted their head to the side, eyeing her curiously,
"Most usually lose their minds a lot quicker too…I wonder what it is about you that prevented that?"
"Who are you!" Livia finally shouted, fed up with this mystery person as she turned slightly to try and open the door,
"I wouldn't try and do that. We haven't gotten a chance to chat properly yet," the guy said, a pause then, "Do you really not know who I am?"
"No…why would I? I've only ever…I only ever seen you in my nightmares," Livia was terrified, but she'd be damned if she showed it. Perhaps she could attack him or knock him out or…the guy let out another startling laugh,
"Of course you don't know who I am. There's no one left who knows…well no one in your miserable excuse for a family that is,"
"My family? You know my family?" Livia question,
"Since the very beginning," the guy said, his eyes flamed with dark fire…something Livia could only describe as anger,
"Who are you?" Livia asked again,
"I'm Klarion the Witch Boy…the embodiment of Chaos,"
"The what?" Livia muttered, then after making a disbelieving expression, "Really?" Klarion frowned, his glare bearing down on her making Livia feel small even though they were the same height,
"Are you…are you really related to me?"
"Hmm, might as well be. There is a little bit of me in you," Livia suddenly felt sick to her stomach,
"What do you mean by that?"
"I've known your family for a while…for a long while. For centuries in fact. Your family stole something from me. I want it back,"
"Is that why you've been messing with me…the dreams…the nightmares, visions? My friends think I'm missing class…I'm losing time. That's what you've been doing to me, just for some trinket?" Livia demanded. A slow smile stretched across Klarion's face; it was dry of humor and kindness,
"It's no trinket. It's my very being, and you won't have to look far, you have it—and don't even know if—it's my power that is within you." Livia blanched, her mind flashing to how she could do so many things with no real effort, of the dark, destructive power she possessed, of the man she told to pass out and how quickly certain abilities came to her. If that was all from Klarion…what did that mean? Why wait so long to come and take it back finally? Why ignore her for so long before finally coming to get her and his power?
"What were you trying to accomplish by giving me those nightmares and manipulating my friends?" Livia questioned carefully. She didn't want to anger him, and it seemed he wasn't there to fight for some reason, even if he seemed so intent on getting back what was supposedly his,
"Mortal minds are easier to tamper with…much more so than with a fellow witch. Besides my abilities couldn't reach you here as I can't interfere much while in another dimension…thankfully the trouble I caused is pretty much finished in that reality," he flicked his hand as if to say 'mischief managed.'
"And you're much more vulnerable when asleep. The protective walls unconsciously created are thinner in the dreamscape." Livia was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that this…demon?…went out of his way to mess with her and that there was such a thing as a 'dreamscape' as well as other realities,
"But why mess with me at all? I didn't even know my family stole your power,"
"That doesn't matter," Klarion half-snarled, "The power you possess is mine—,"
"—then why don't you just take it!" Livia snapped, her anger spiking as the glass holding a bunch of pencils exploded on the desk. Klarion glanced at the shards scattering across the desktop with amusement,
"Such a temper," he chided, "I forget how young mortals truly are…and how little you truly know about demons and witches, especially with the lack of familial expertise,"
"Mortals," Livia echoed, how long had Klarion existed? He said he was the embodiment of chaos and that he knew her family for centuries…did that mean he was literally the cause of all things chaotic—in nature and within human nature? Within reality altogether?
"Chaos existed long before anything good ever did," Klarion stated with a devilish smile, which darkened as he leaned forward. Looming over her menacingly in the small and cluttered room. Livia suddenly felt very unsure of herself, "I am not someone to be meddled with or against. Your family took off more than they could chew when they decided to capture me. Though I was weak in the aftermath, and though they scattered into the recesses of what counted as human society long before I could even begin to hunt them down, I gathered the last of my strength and cursed them. Every last Baudelaire,"
"You what," Livia gasped. Klarion threw back his head and laughed…the echoing shrillness of the chortle sounding more deranged than before. Livia felt trapped, she felt terrified, her mind whirling at all the endless outcomes of a curse…she felt dizzy and faint as if she had suddenly developed a fever. A curse…her family was cursed and the one who placed that spell upon her family—upon her—was standing two feet in front of her,
"You didn't even know…have you never wondered why you were the last of the Baudelaries?" Klarion asked cruelly, "Did you really think I would forget about your family? No, they cost me power beyond your wildest dreams, and nothing will stop me from bringing onto them the downfall they deserve," Livia cringed away from him, wary of his presence once more,
"What…what does the curse do?" She whispered, her heart thundering in her chest,
"The more you use my power, the sooner you will die, it's simple. Not my best work but it was all I could do in a pinch and with so little strength. Nonetheless, it was effective. Death will come, not in any way you'd expect. Not at any time, you'd expect…perhaps you'll even take a few other people with you in the process, but you will die the more you use the power you stole from me. Perhaps you've already seen the effects of using what you inherited from me?"
Livia felt frozen in place as her mind flashed to the plane crash all those years ago 'perhaps you'll even take a few other people with you in the process.' Her hands shook, her father…he had been cursed. The plane crash had not been an accident, yet all the same, that's what it had been exactly. She thought to the black blood dripping from her nose and the feeling of the world spinning wildly on its axis, the weakness after using certain abilities…'Perhaps you've already seen the effects of using what you inherited from me?' Everything Klarion had revealed was all too much…what as the purpose of confronting her here and now, what was the point of telling her this?
"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Livia asked, her voice hoarse and weary. She knew he wanted her power, but why come if she was going to die eventually anyway? Klarion stared her down before leaning back against the desk once more, crossing his arms over his chest,
"I am not without mercy Livia," she flinched at hearing him say her name. She hadn't expected him to know it even if she was part of the family that took a piece of his power, "You do not deserve to bear the punishment of your ancestors, you are too young to be blamed for their sins. Give me my power back, and I will lift the curse. You will live your life as a normally powered witch; you will live a full and vibrant life free from the constraint of a deadly curse."
Livia eyed him; she couldn't deny the appeal of such an offer. But something made her stall…something didn't seem right. The feeling of soft fur, weaving around her ankles, caused her to look down to see Plagg winding around and through her legs protectively. Livia instantly felt calmer, and as he gazed up at her, his human-like eyes bore into hers. Klarion has hunted your family for centuries. He is a trickster demon at heart, he does not give gifts nor is his intent pure. It was as if Plagg had purred those words right into her ear, and her daze at that declaration was only broken by Klarion,
"Ah…a familiar," he muttered, "Of course," he glared at the cat, and Plagg hissed back. Livia blinked,
"A familiar," she murmured, glancing down at the cat once more, realizing the door was still sealed shut behind her and that he had materialized out of nowhere. It made sense and perhaps she'd always known what Plagg truly was, she just hadn't been ready to admit it to herself or out loud.
Livia eyed Klarion, her stance guarded and her mind on alert to any tricks he may have up his sleeve. He wanted her power, that gave her an advantage…he wanted something she, and only she had. The silence between them allowed her time to think,
"How could I give you the power you want?" she questioned,
"Simply give me your Book of Shadows, I'll take it from there," Livia could see the glimmer of grim satisfaction in his gaze,
"You never said why you did what you did to me. The dreams, my friends…,"
"Isn't it easier to give something up that brings you nothing but sorrow?" Klarion questioned simply, Livia frowned. Half of her wanted to summon her Book of Shadows and give it over to him. She never asked for any of this...she never wanted to be anything but normal. But at the same time her magic, her powers, led her to Darren. It led her to Tim and Stephanie and their world of good and bad, of fighting crime night after night. It brought her into their family and friendship. Without her magic, they wouldn't have something to stop the Talons…they wouldn't have a weapon to use against them,
"You were trying to drive me mad," she stated evenly, "You wanted someone terrified of losing their mind from a power they didn't really understand. You wanted to manipulate me," Klarion gave her a disinterested glance,
"Interpret it how you like. My methods are whatever I need them to be," Livia sighed,
"I just…give you my Book of Shadows?" Klarion nodded. Livia summoned the ancient book into her hands, looking down at its cover and uneven pages. The air around her felt unnaturally hot…as if trying to warn her of the danger she was in. As if to say this was the wrong thing to do. Livia eyed Klarion—who stared at her book hungrily—wondering what she should do. She didn't want to do this; it felt wrong. It felt like a sin, unnatural, or like taboo. But if he could come after her the way he did—a thought suddenly speared through everything else in her mind halting any other troubling worries,
"Come on Livia, any day now," the demon before her muttered, holding out a hand,
"How come you never came earlier?" she asked,
"Pardon?" Klarion asked, taking his hungry gaze off the book in her hand,
"You could mess with my head, but you never came after me directly…only ever indirectly and not until just a few weeks ago. Why was that?" His eyes flared bright crimson for a second in barely contained rage before settling into a disinterested glare,
"You were protected, hidden from view. It's probably why no other magic-users came after you or hunters for that matter. Did you have a trinket or a piece of jewelry on you all the time when you were younger? Some witches use them for their children to keep their power in check and to aid in assimilation with the other mortals. It probably hid you from sight and kept your abilities on lockdown," Livia nodded slowly, she did have a thin golden bracelet, a band that she never took off—until she left Boston. She had given it to a friend as a forget-me-not gift. A few weeks later objects were flying off their shelves, and her magic was in action at full force.
Livia shifted, the book in her hand straining against her grip as if to escape and hide from the beast before her. The one who not only cursed her and her family but was granting her the chance to end all this once and for all…just for a piece of power that was by all means rightfully his,
"Yes…I was kept hidden. But afterward why not come after me then? Once I didn't have that bracelet, I was out in the open. I was using my abilities, why not come after me then? Why not take my power by force? You could easily do that, just as my ancestors did it to you. Why do you need my book to complete a spell you already know?" Klarion glared at her,
"Don't try to speak of things you do not understand little one," Klarion hissed, his eyes darkening greatly. Livia could feel herself trembling and hoped it was not visible to the demon in front of her. Livia glared back before standing as tall as she could and vanishing the book away, wishing for the strength she knew she did not possess at the moment,
"No," she said simply, ignoring the snarl Klarion threw at her, "I'm not giving you this book. Curse or no curse my ancestors took your powers for a reason. I'm not going to undo all their work on the notion that someone wronged by them…a trickster demon no less…would follow through on nothing but a promise."
The dark gleam in Klarion's eyes promised death and Livia couldn't do anything but stare into the depths of that gaze as he lunged for her. As his hands closed around her throat, the necklace against her chest flared dangerously hot, and a force flashed between them—like an invisible shield—and as if someone had tugged them apart they were thrown to opposite ends of the room. Livia smashed into a bookshelf while Klarion was shoved into the desk, scattering more objects and knocking the desk lamp over. He looked frazzled and in pain while Livia herself felt nothing.
Livia scrambled to her feet and felt for the necklace always in place around her throat. The metal was still warm to the touch, and she curled her hand around it, realizing then the reason Klarion couldn't take her power from her by force. The necklace was a protection amulet; it would protect its wearer from anything it was charmed to defend itself from. The pendant was also the key to her family's Book of Shadows. If the book passed to a new owner, the key would pass to the new owner as well. If she had willingly given the book to Klarion—essentially voluntarily giving up her power—the necklace would no longer protect her. Klarion couldn't touch her while she wore the pendant, not only that but the magic he used which worked on her was limited. Hence the reason why he could only attack her through her dreams or within her mind. She couldn't help but feel grim satisfaction as she stood over the trembling form of Klarion,
"You will not get your magic back from me. My family has kept it from you for centuries. I will do the same. If I die from your curse, as the last of the Baudelaires your magic dies with me…that is why you came here now. That is why you risked your own demise; you know what my death would mean," Klarion chuckled darkly,
"Very clever," he gasped, "Very stubborn…and very foolish," Livia smiled showing teeth,
"Do what you dare. Try and drive me insane, I dare you. I will know it is you now. Nothing you throw at me will change my mind. I will not give you my power. Not for anything in this world. I am just as much a trickster as you—after all, there's a little bit of you in me. You can't manipulate me anymore," Klarion stood then, his strength back as he looked her in the eye. They were the same height, only his horns rising above her head, but his aura of darkness made it seem like he towered over her,
"You think you can beat me at my own game? I am thousands of years old, I've waited lifetimes for the opportunity, the chance to narrow all of my power down into one, naive and new witch…the last Baudelaire," Livia took a step back at that, wary of the confidence he projected. That foresight which allowed him to play the long game down to this moment, the moment with her as the last Baudelaire, was incredible and something she couldn't underestimate. He knew more tricks than her, and he knew more about the magical world than she ever could manage to learn in her predetermined short lifetime.
He continued on, oblivious—or significantly aware—of her fear, "There are many different ways to drive someone to desperate measures. Many people to use to hurt you, many others to use against that human heart of yours and push you into giving up what is rightfully mine." Livia swallowed thickly…her thoughts flying to her father, Peter, Tim, and Stephanie…even Bruce, Damian, Dick and Barbara. She clamped down on those thoughts the moment she remembered Klarion could read minds as well, the slow, wicked smile crossing his face confirming her fearful realization,
"So many pieces on this board…so many pawns to choose from," he murmured, as if whispering to a lover. Klarion vanished then, and Livia blinked at the sudden empty air. His last remark echoing in her mind…a warning and a promise,
"And as there are many different ways to drive someone insane." Klarion's voice sounded just by her ear, and she flinched, twisting away to find him hovering over her left shoulder as if he had never left the room. Before she could snap a response or reprimand him for being so close, the door to the office swung open and Alaric ambled inside. He stopped with a start at seeing Livia standing in the messed up and ruffled office,
"Livia? What are you doing in here?" Livia glanced at him and then to Klarion before looking back over at her father,
"I'm…uh…talking with that man you said was my uncle," she muttered lamely. Alaric squinted at her in confusion, an expression that caused her chest to tighten with worry and concern,
"What man? What uncle? Livia, are you feeling okay?" Livia could only shake her head and say she was fine as she glanced over to Klarion, grinning pleasantly with one hand raised waving in greeting. 'Mortal minds are easier to tamper with.' The phrase echoed in her head as she saw Klarion standing nearby, her father's gaze slipping over him entirely and easily. There were many ways to drive someone insane indeed, by convincing everyone else they were completely and utterly bonkers.
As Livia left the room, her thoughts were swirling with new and frightening information, and revelations…she realized she had just entered into a game she didn't quite understand. A game she could very well lose.
A/N: Hope you like this chapter! I had some fun writing it. I thought this would be a shorter chapter than the others have been as of late but actually turns out I added a bunch more to it once I went through to edit the writing, which is good! I honestly don't really know much about Klarion's character other than from Batman the Animated Series. He was in like one episode, super bland character in that show in my opinion. And then he appeared again in Young Justice(I think he had great characterization in that show, he was also a recurring character) so I kind of did my own take on his characterization. I kind of have him in an almost Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls kind of role. It fit with the plot of this story and where/how I wanted it to go.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, PLEASE PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! I miss hearing from you beautiful people! I need to know how I'm doing, don't be shy; I love to read what you have to say.
Next chapter on Thursday!