Mira stared at the place where Laxus and Eli had been for two beats of her heart, trying to understand what had happened.
"Oh!" Natalie yipped. Mira focused. Dark shadows had wrapped around Natalie's legs and were swallowing her like they did Laxus and Eli.
Sliding into Sitri, Mira summoned flames that ate away at the shadows. They withered and died and Natalie tottered, abruptly off balance. Mira grabbed her around the waist and keep her upright.
To Mira's right, a ball of white, white light burst, destroying the darkness. Mira turned her face from the glow. Electricity played over her skin and charged the room. The air popped loudly and then her ears were met with a stream of violent and colourful curses. From the shadows toppled first Eli and then Laxus.
"Sure, you can read all the people around you," Laxus brushed himself off as if he'd gone through a dusty attic rather than a trans-dimensional rift. "You know what you didn't read? That fucking attack."
Eli frowned and stood. He looked like he'd been fried as well. His hair stuck up at odd angles and his forehead was soot-coloured. "There are limits, you know?"
"Laxus! Are you okay?" Mira interrupted, reaching for him.
Laxus caught her arms and turned her back the way she came. "Take Natalie and get out of here."
"But—"
The shadows reformed and consolidated. Two mages stepped from their inky folds. A tall man with dark skin, snow-white hair and eerie green eyes and a woman whose skin was so transparent it looked odd. Her golden hair was pulled to the side in a low braid and her eyes were an amber that was as bright as the gem itself.
Laxus practically threw Mira towards the door. "Go."
"Don't send her away, it's a waste of time, having to hunt her down," said the man. Mira reasoned he must have been Kai Winn, the shadow dragon slayer. Which meant that beside him was Yuna Teal, the water dragon slayer.
Threads of darkness whipped out from Kai's body and snatched at Natalie again. Mira hit them with more fire as Eli aimed his gun and squeezed off a round. Kai stepped into a shadow. When he reappeared, he was unharmed.
Laxus said, "They want us all, Mira, let's not make it easy on them."
"I can—" Natalie started, but Eli shot her a scathing look and the words died on her lips.
I can what, Mira wondered, but she didn't get a chance to ask, because a tide of water rose from the floor and lapped hungrily at her feet. Soon, it was a forceful pillar that came crashing down upon them. Mira hit it back with a blast of fire, but some of the attack still slid through. When it hit her in the chest the pain was disorienting. Natalie sucked in a sharp breath and grabbed Mira to steady her.
Laxus threw a small bolt of lightning at Yuna; it went wild, though, travelling through the water and coming for whomever it pleased. Mira could feel Laxus' frustration as he pulled back on the spell. How was he supposed to fight when he had to keep tempering his attacks like that? She made a decision. "I'll come back for you."
It was hard to tell if he heard her or not, he was wildly dodging an arrow of shadow. When that attack hit a dogwood bush, it withered its luscious leaves. Mira prayed he'd be careful and raced for the door. She expected resistance, but Laxus and Eli distracted Yuna and Kai well enough that they could burst out into the empty casino without incident. The door closed again and blocked out the sounds of the fight and it was like they were in a totally different world, where there was no danger.
Mira knew the truth. "Where is safe?"
Natalie wavered. "Julian's room." She started running down the halls, her heels clacking loudly over the marble floor. Mira followed after her, allowing Sitri to fall away as she did, so as to not alarm anyone, though there was absolutely no one in the halls to frighten.
"Is Julian going to be there?"
"I don't know," Natalie called back over her shoulder. "Maybe."
He had to know by now that he was under attack, Mira reasoned. Would he stay in his room and wait for all of his lackeys to fend off his attackers for him, or would he fight for what was his?
Natalie turned the corner to Julian's room and almost fell, she was running so fast. She recovered last-second and skidded to a halt in front of Julian's door. She placed her hand against the wood to unlock it. It took so long for the magic to decide that she was allowed in, Mira was getting ready to use force. Then the door clicked and it opened. Natalie spilled into the room just as someone turned the corner at the end of the hallway. Mira did not know their face but she knew exactly who it was by the thick frost that heralded their arrival. Eteri Hope, the ice dragon slayer. The temperature dropped rapidly.
Mira was preparing to face her when Natalie grabbed her elbow and forcibly pulled her into the room. She slammed the door hard. The air grew thick with magic as it resealed itself.
They both stared at the barrier, waiting. It suddenly bowed inwards and both Mira and Natalie jumped.
Natalie snatched up Mira's hand, her fingers ice-cold. "Come on." She pulled her deeper into the room and down one of the shadowed hallways, to a linen closet. They barely fit side-by-side and were so close. Natalie closed them in.
Mira whispered, "We can't hide in the closet, she'll find us."
"She won't get through the front door. This is just in case." Natalie closed her eyes and let out a gentle breath. Mira felt the air in the small closet dampen. The space in front of the door shimmered and then evened out.
"What was that?"
"A hidden spell. If she does get through the front door, she won't be able to hear or see us."
"I thought you were a sand mage," Mira said accusingly.
Natalie looked away out into the hallway again. "I learned sand magic, yes."
Her evasive answer had all kinds of red flags going up in Mira's mind but she was distracted by the sudden decline in temperature. She shivered in her dress and burrowed into the linens at her back.
A deep, musical voice called through the door, "Little pigs, little pigs... Won't you let me in?" The door bowed again.
"Hell," Mira muttered.
"Don't worry," Natalie assured her. "Julian has the best wards on his door. She can't get in."
"You'd stake your life on that?"
Natalie's eyes got wide as if she just now considered they could die. "I have a confession, Mira."
"Can't it wait?"
"If we do die, I don't want to go without speaking it."
"We're not going to die."
"But we could."
Mira sighed. "What is it?"
"Julian's opening a new casino, Cardinal Sins. Eli's determined he won't set foot in it. He wants to keep it for himself. For us. Julian would never let it go without a fight, though."
"Okay," Mira said, not understanding.
"I think I'm going to let Eli do something terrible. I think I'm going to let him kill Julian," Natalie blurted. She met Mira's eyes only fleetingly, shame making it difficult for her to maintain eye contact. Despite that, she kept speaking. "It makes me feel gross to consider it but it feels inevitable, you know? Julian's been crazy lately. Every time I try to fix things, though, he does something else terrible. I can't keep making excuses for him. That's what Eli says. I didn't even know I was. How can you love someone that much? Love like that is poison."
Love like that was obsession. Irrational and so deep, it was suffocating. It seemed immoral to tell her it was the right thing to do, she did, however, suggest, "Maybe some time apart would be a good thing."
Natalie laughed at her; it came out watery and weak. She swiped at her eyes. Mira did the only thing she could think of and kissed her, closed-mouth and firm. Natalie held onto her tight like she was a rock in a raging storm.
She might have stayed that way forever, but the outside door chose that moment to burst open. Eteri entered, ice paving her way. Her eyes locked on the closet and Mira knew Natalie's spell didn't fool her one bit.
"Uh oh," Natalie mumbled and squeezed Mira's hand.
"Stay behind me," Mira told her as she donned Halphas.
"I want to help," Natalie insisted. Mira pushed her back just as the door to the closet froze solid then cracked apart. It fell to the ground and sprinkled across the floor like snow, providing Mira with her first real look at Eteri Hope.
Pale dragon scale tattoos stretched up her arms, over her neck, and across her face. Her eyes were the colour of cornflower, delicate blue. Her mouth was a light plum, the colour of hypothermia, and Mira didn't think she was wearing lipstick. When she smiled, it never reached her eyes.
You're going to need me, not Halphas, Seilah prodded from the inside.
Shush, Mira thought back at her. This isn't a game.
And that's why I want you to use me. I'm trying to help you, Seilah insisted.
"There you are, little pigs," Eteri said, bringing Mira back to the real world. The room's temperature had dropped so much that the air burned in her lungs. A thick frost covered every inch of every surface. Even Mira's feet were melded to the floor. She had to work to get them out of their frozen prison.
"We have no fight with you," Mira tried. If she could avoid a confrontation, she thought she should, especially when Seilah was feeling so restless. "Leave us alone."
"Not a chance. I've been waiting for this moment ever since Morgan told me about you. Mirajane Strauss, the She-Devil. Tamed into sitting on Julian's lap like a prim little whore while he flaunted you around." When she laughed, the sound was light and beautiful, but also sharp, like thorns hidden in a rose bush. "I asked Morgan for this assignment."
Bring me out to play. Seilah tried again to shiver over Mira's skin.
Mira pushed her back into place. Stop it.
Natalie felt her struggle and took Mira by the elbow. The touch was grounding until she said, "Don't fight it, just let your demons out."
She didn't understand. How could she? Mira pushed her back. "Go, Natalie. Try to find Julian or something." She'll be safe with him. Or safer, anyway.
"I'm not leaving you here," Natalie said stubbornly. "I'm going to help."
"Both of Julian's whores wants to fight?" Eteri laughed meanly. "I'll oblige." The ice roiled under Natalie's feet and knocked her on her behind, legs stretching out like a sprawled deer's. A sound like indignant protest slipped from her lips.
Ice crystals formed in the air and whizzed at Natalie blindingly fast. Mira stepped in front of them and used a blast of energy to deflect the blow, narrowly avoiding a bloody scene.
If you called me, she wouldn't even think about attacking like that because we'd just command her not to. In fact, we could make her do all kinds of things… destroy her friends, destroy Julian, find the necromancer and destroy them as well… turn herself inside out. Make ribbons of her skin. Waltz into Scarlet Lake and drive herself mad. Gouge out her eyes and eat them. Or feed them to Julian before he dies. We can make them all suffer.
Seilah felt colder than usual, vicious and bloodthirsty. Mira would have thought it was because she hadn't had much use lately if she didn't feel an outsider's magic pricking over her skin. She followed its source to Natalie, who was still on the ground, a look of concentration on her face. "What are you doing?"
"Pay attention to me, not the whore!" Eteri growled. It got colder, the ice on the floor thickened and turned sheer, so Mira's feet tried to slip out from under her. In her moment of weakness, thick spikes rose from the ice-covered ground and vied for a position in her chest. She dodged, mostly. Her arm turned numb and the tips of her fingers got wet. She was bleeding heavily for an instant, but then it froze, it was so cold. Now it was difficult to move her arm.
"Mira!" Natalie's voice was high and clear, full of fear.
"That's a pretty shade of red," Eteri mused. "Let's see some more." She started sucking in an excessive amount of air. Her chest expanded, her magical power grew. A dragon's roar, Mira thought wildly, and made her first offensive move, hitting Eteri with a hot beam of pure energy. Eteri dodged the attack, but her roar was cut off mid-way through charging. She snarled and moved over the ice, faster than Mira could ever hope, for the ice cradled her, loved her, obeyed her every wish.
Eteri was in front of Mira in a blink, her knuckles covered in ice when she pulled back to swing. Mira used Halphas' wings to bring her into the air, but she didn't have too much room to move around. She hit the ceiling hard and had to adjust herself. Stupid, what are you doing, Seilah scolded. Just use me. But Mira was afraid that if she pulled her out now, Seilah would hold the reins, not the other way around, and just imagining what she would do with all that freedom…
Natalie finally got her feet under her again and faced Eteri. Her face was screwed up in concentration, her brows pulled down low with fury. This is the Natalie I saw when Julian took me to his room that night, the same Natalie that had a streak of iron running through her, not the hapless and helpless girl, the beautiful but needy concubine of a millionaire crime boss. This was a Natalie Mira barely recognized.
To add to the confusion, a dark, twisting sand storm kicked up out of nowhere and centred on Eteri. The dragon slayer squawked in protest and made a large shield of ice to protect herself. Then the ground was bubbling again, throwing Natalie off balance. She landed on her butt once more, her spell gone.
While Eteri and Natalie distracted each other, Mira attacked, swooping low and punching Eteri with all of her might. Eteri stumbled and swung back at Mira. Mira blocked the attack but it still sent her flying, the punch laden with all kinds of powerful magic. One of Julian's dressers stopped her flight. She gasped for air.
That feeling was back, someone's magic sliding over her like a veil. Mira blinked the spots from her eyes and found Natalie. She was repeating something under her breath over and over again, and it could have been rise. Mira couldn't focus on it for long, for Seilah, the inexorable force of nature, was answering that call, and when she came out, and it was going to be on her terms.
"Eli Tase and Laxus Dreyar." Yuna played her fingers over the tops of the ornamental rose bushes, uncaring if the thorns cut into her skin. She didn't bleed like a regular person might, her flesh just ripped and then reformed. Like Juvia's. That was going to be a problem for landing concise strikes.
Eli spoke into Laxus' mind. I'll take care of it. Aloud he said, "I thought you and I had something special, Yuna. The last time Morgan brought you around—"
Yuna's cheeks brightened. "Shut the hell up, Eli."
He laughed and looked at Laxus. "She shy upfront, you know, but she likes it when you do this thing—"
"I said shut up!" A wall of powerful water rushed forward to slap hard against Eli's chest but he'd predicted her move and sidestepped.
How is provoking her going to help us? Laxus thought at Eli.
She gets stupid when she's hotheaded, easier to control, Eli thought back at him, now shut the fuck up and let me work. He returned to Yuna. "You know, I still owe you one, don't I? Cut this out, I'll vouch for you and maybe Julian will even forgive you. That sounds nice, doesn't it?"
"Soon you and Julian will be dead, and your favours will be worthless," Yuna snarled. She rushed Eli with a physical attack that he dodged. Blocking her next punch, he stuck his foot out to trip her and used her momentum to send her flying. Yuna crashed through the air and landed heavily in the daylilies. Eli stalked after her.
Laxus pushed them both to the back of his mind and refocused his efforts on Kai. The man wore a cool, calm expression. He doesn't feel threatened at all.
"Morgan says you're a dragon slayer, Laxus Dreyar." Shadows swirled around Kai's body, hugging his arms and neck and chest like a lover might. "A second generation, just like me."
"You want to hold hands and be friends?" Laxus asked sarcastically.
"Oh, could we?" Kai returned with false excitement. "That's really, really thoughtful." When he flashed his smile, his teeth were more like fangs, he'd used a file to sharpen them into fine points. He's crazy, Laxus thought just as Kai stretched out a shadow and slipped into its inky folds, disappearing from view. The shadow then completely faded into the background.
A moment passed, then instinct told Laxus to turn. He swung blindly, lightning on his fist. He hit nothing.
Kai's laugh came from everywhere, all the nooks and crannies, the forgotten corners of the garden. "When I'm through with you, I'm going to cut your lacrima from your chest and I'm going to implant it inside my body."
"That's going to be a hard thing to do when you won't come out to fight."
At your back, Eli's mental voice sounded inside his head. Laxus turned just in time to catch a sharp elbow to the cheek. He stumbled back, seeing stars. When he came up, Kai was gone. Faster next time, Laxus thought at Eli but Eli wasn't listening. He and Yuna danced around each other, using a combination of physical and magical attacks to throw each other off guard. Yuna's magic was more of a spectacle, but Eli's attacks were wearing on her, it was visible in the way she moved, sweated, and paled. What is she seeing? Laxus wondered. Was she choking to death someone she loved? Was she reliving her worst fear? Was Eli showing her how she was going to die?
Whatever it was, she made little mistakes and Eli was slowly gaining the upper hand. He kept aiming his gun. Yuna had to keep knocking it wild with beam after beam of water, though every now and again she would struggle to concentrate with Eli in her head mucking things up, confusing her, and Eli would manage to squeeze off a round. Even though he shot, the bullets never made her bleed, they passed through her skin like she truly was the water.
"Hurry up and finish him, Yuna," Kai said lazily, reappearing. "You said you could take care of it."
Laxus pressed his advantage without warning, hitting Kai with enough electricity to paralyze him for a moment. As he twitched and spit and groaned, Laxus grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him from the shadows. He followed him to the ground, sitting on his chest and pummeling him with punch after punch until his face was a red mess. Laxus reached for lightning last. The air charged, his skin pricked as it came for its target. A millisecond before it hit home and charred Kai for good, Laxus felt him sink into the floor and disappear. The lightning hit nothing but the tile, charring it black. The resounding thunder was loud enough to make Laxus' ears ache.
Something solid hit Laxus in the jaw. Blood filled his mouth. He spat it out and found Kai. He stood feet away, smiling widely, though his face was pulp. He stepped out of sight again.
On your right, Eli said into his head. Laxus turned in the direction a beat too slow. Kai appeared behind him and hit him in the back of the neck with two hands clasped together. Before Laxus could recover, Kai had drawn another shadow and stepped into it. Determined to land at least one shot, Laxus sent lightning through the hole. Kai yipped when the electricity hit him, and the shadows dissipated.
Laxus was just congratulating himself when Eli went soaring past him. He hit the garden walls and slumped to the ground. His eyes were glassy and unseeing. Dead, or passed out, Laxus wondered, but it wasn't like he could stop and go check because now that Eli was out of her way, Yuna joined Kai and attacked Laxus.
Water materialized around Laxus and whipped into a frenzy until his feet were ripped out from under him. Suddenly, he was looking at the ceiling and sucking in water. Drowning, just like in Scarlet Lake. In his mind, hands were reaching for him again, cold and dead, ready to choke him out. Cold water rushed over his nose and his mouth, soaked and tugged at his clothes, but that wasn't all… Kai joined in and a swath of blackness mixed in the water. It was suddenly a gaping mouth opening to swallow Laxus whole, expanding and stretching, reaching with false fingers.
Laxus felt cold. You're going to be taken in by those shadows again. And drawn to a place that was only black, not rooted in reality, a place that existed between, like Noir, where it lived in the Void. You'll be forgotten in the shadows. He never liked disappearing into the background, it was never his thing. Even when he was a kid, determinedly ignoring everyone, he was still in the centre of attention. People liked that he was unreachable, and so did he. Vain and self-centred.
Not too much had changed, but that was alright, it took all kinds.
The shadow lapped at his feet and stretched up around his legs, holding him firmly in place like no shadow ever should, while the water pushed past his lips and infiltrated his lungs, burning. At least this water won't fuck you up like Scarlet Lake will. You'll die in your right mind. The thought didn't do what he thought it would, in fact, it almost made him sad. Dying seemed better when you weren't aware of it.
What's the matter with you? You're not fucking dying. Fight. Gathering lightning, he prepared an attack, determined to take both Kai and Yuna out at once. The lightning shot away from his body and went wild. It was a powerful blast, enough to char anyone's skin, but it was eaten up in darkness. Kai had blocked it.
Fuck.
Don't panic, he coached himself, even though the water around his body swirled so fast he tumbled end over end, even though the shadows were coming back to snatch him up again, even though there was blackness creeping at the edge of his vision because he hadn't had a breath in… What? Minutes now? Try again. You have to find Mira and make sure she's okay. That gave him the strength to summon more lightning, though he never got the chance to attack. The magic suffocating him vanished. Without a pillar of water to hold him up, he fell several feet to the garden floor and lay there half on his side while he shivered and choked and gasped in deep breaths of putrid air.
Yuna's scream cut through Laxus. He made himself lift his gaze to see what had her so worked up. A girl with a familiar looking face swung gardening sheers mercilessly, backing Yuna into a corner with a flood of attacks. There was something wrong with the assailant's neck. She turned just right, into the light. Her throat was opened in a split so wide, Laxus could see the white of bone peeping out beneath. Her eyes were moon-bright and dead. She gave pause when she realized his eyes were upon her.
Laxus pushed himself to his feet. Behind the dead girl, someone moved into the garden entrance. A man, Laxus thought, though he could only see their silhouette. His shoulders were far too wide and he was too tall to be a woman. Our necromancer. It had to be.
Laxus took a step towards them. The door slammed closed once more, barring him from view. The dead woman dropped to the ground and sprawled like a squashed spider, limbs flying in every which direction.
Yuna shook violently and met Laxus' eyes. "Is this some kind of fucking joke? You're sick."
"What?" Laxus asked, and then realized that she thought he was the one controlling the dead.
"This ends now, you bastard!" Yuna's skin turned utterly transparent, but then she paused. Laxus waited for her to make her move. She just sat there, shaking and swirling, more water than girl.
"You're right." Laxus turned to see Eli get shakily to his feet. "It does end here, but not the way you want it to." Turn back into flesh and blood. Eli thought the last so loudly that Laxus heard it.
Yuna cried out and resisted him, but her skin was mottling, shifting from pale peach to aqueous and back again with Eli's command. Laxus shivered, the air was so thick with magic, and watched, caught somewhere between rapt horror and fascination as Yuna buckled under his command. She panted, human once more, and glared at Eli.
"That's good, Yuna," Eli praised. There was a gun in his hand again. The safety clicked back loudly. When did it get so quiet, Laxus wondered. Noir's gardens felt like the only place left in the world.
"Make it quick," Yuna requested.
Eli didn't hesitate when he placed the barrel against her temple and pulled the trigger. Yuna fell back, as lifeless and still as a doll.
Eli was the first to break the silence, looking down at the once-animated corpse. "Guess that's where you got to, Liana." He seemed unfazed.
"You're kind of psychopathic, you know that?" Laxus asked and laughed humorlessly. He watched both dead women warily, imagining all sorts of scenarios in which they'd come back to life and hold him down and tear him apart.
Eli rolled his eyes. "Say what you will, I saved your ass."
"Actually," Laxus corrected, "Our necromancer did."
Eli looked up from where he studied Liana. "You saw him?"
"He was by the door… when he saw that I was up, he just disappeared."
"Weird."
"Yeah." What the fuck? Why? Why was a necromancer wandering around Noir toting around an army of the dead? Why were they trying to kill Mira, and why would they bother to interrupt his fight to sway it in his direction? "What the hell is going on in this fucking place?"
"Hell if I know, but we should try to meet up with Natalie and Mira before Kai finds Eteri and decides that he's better off with her." Eli looked nervous.
Laxus swallowed his own uneasy pang. Natalie wasn't much of a fighter, as far as he knew. Mira would have a tough time with two second-generation dragon slayers coming after her. "Where do you think they went?"
"To Julian's room," Eli said with certainty.
"Can you hear Natalie?" What he wanted to ask was, Can you hear Mira, but he thought the easiest way to get what he wanted was to ask Eli about something that interested him.
Eli concentrated. "She's…"
"What?"
"Kai's found them."
"Let's go."