The library's lights flickered, and Ashlinn looked up at them. Should she tell Magnus? With a sigh, she got up and returned her book to the shelf. She hadn't talked to him since the day she had blown up at him. After Anna… Ashlinn had lost it at his unaffected, sociopathic demeanor and called him out. She had accused him of dragging her along with false promises among other things. After a moment of further contemplation, she decided against telling him. If the lights went out, then he would figure it out. She could now go back to her property whenever she wanted. The bracelet was broken. The only thing keeping her here was his promise of finding something to kill or trap Lilith. If he didn't have it by the end of the day, she'd never come back here again.
"Feeling less magistricidal today?" Magnus asked, earning a glare from his student. "Well, I have news. I know that you're itching to get out of here, so I've decided to have your final test today. Afterwards, I will give you what you've asked for."
Ashlinn dropped the hateful look and asked with suspicion, "And what's the test?"
Magnus smiled, and Ashlinn felt a shiver make its way down her spine. She wasn't going to like this.
"I've decided to test my pupils… against each other. You and Kai will fight to see who will be my true student."
"I don't want to be your student… but I guess it's the only way I'll get what I came for. So are we physically fighting or using magic?"
"A little of both, I presume. You see, Kai's coven is of particular interest to me. Using twins to fight to the death and absorb the weaker one… It almost seems that our dear Kai has an unfair advantage, and that was when I realized… The Gemini Coven most likely didn't always sacrifice one twin to empower another. It must have been a siphoner to have come up with that particular way of doing things. Their current ritual is likely a bastardization of what they originally did: a linking spell of sorts."
"And what does any of this have to do with me?"
Magnus gave her a patronizing smile and continued, "Because I don't exactly have Kai's twin to test my theory… but I do have his soulmate. Should Kai perform the spell, he will have access to your magic and… to my old property. There are a few things that I left behind, but I'm sure Kai wouldn't mind giving them to me to keep his one true love by his side."
Ashlinn felt her blood run cold and quickly whispered the spell to open the door out of the manor. No door appeared.
"Ah, ah, ah, darling. This is a test where attendance is mandatory," Magnus said as his form shifted into the ball of light. "No one in. No one out. At least not until I have a winner. Don't worry. Kai is rather fond of you. I'm sure he'll be gentle. Best of luck."
With a glimmer, the ball disappeared. Petty bastard, Ashlinn thought as she kept low and headed for the basement. If she'd known that he was going to pull this stunt, she'd have done a lot more than throw a wine bottle at his head. A sudden sound from above made Ashlinn pause. Now that she knew where he was, she bolted down the stairs as quickly as she could. Entering the basement, she looked around for the breakers. Destroying the breakers would definitely give away her location. Ashlinn quickly took off her combat boots. Kai was physically stronger, and his ability to drain her magic would take away any chance of winning if he got ahold of her. She'd need to rely on stealth, so socks would give her the best shot.
Taking a deep breath, she focused her magic on the breaker box. It was resistant to magic manipulation from the outside but not magic amplification from the inside. As she caused a power surge, the box let out sparks, and the house went completely dark. Ashlinn picked up the boots and left them slightly peeking out from behind a desk. As she circled around the other side of the room, she heard footsteps growing closer. Kai came into the room carrying an ax. That psychopathic bastard. Closing her eyes, she once again focused on the invisibility spell as he looked at the breaker by candle light.
"Ash," Kai called out desperately. "Please, come out. Don't you remember your promise? You said that you'd choose me over Magnus… He's trying to keep us apart. I need you. I can't beat him on my own. Please, Ash."
Confident that the spell was working, Ashlinn opened her eyes and slowly moved to the door. Kai's voice was pleading, but Ashlinn shivered at the predatory look in his eyes as he caught sight of the shoe.
Pretending that he hadn't noticed, Kai continued, "Come on, Ash. He released the monsters. We have to work together. I won't let you get hurt."
Ashlinn snuck out of the room and up the stairs. A scream of frustration told her that Kai had found her boots. Carefully walking up the stairs, she stopped as she saw a man walking toward her room. Ashlinn took a sword off of the wall and crept up behind him to see the vamp sniffing her pillow. Before he could make a sound, Ashlinn cut off his head and caught his body. Lowering it onto the floor quietly, she looked up to see if Kai had caught up yet. He was nowhere in sight.
Blood had gotten all over her shirt, but that was a worry for another time. Escape was her top priority. She took off her outer shirt and tried to figure out what to do next. All of the mirrors around the house had disappeared, likely a measure by Magnus. Ashlinn took her lockpicking kit out of the drawer. There was one place that Magnus likely hadn't bothered to get rid of the mirrors: his room. Now that the breakers were off, so were the magical locks. It was also possible that was how the monsters got free, but Ashlinn figured that Kai or Magnus had probably let them out beforehand.
Keeping low, Ashlinn worked her way slowly to Magnus' room. A rush of feet coming her way caused her to jump into a side room. Monsters ran past the room toward her room. No doubt they smelled the blood. Picking up the pace, she took out her pick as she neared Magnus' room. As the lock clicked open, Ashlinn heard footsteps coming her way. She wasted no time in opening the door and closing it behind her. Kai called her name as she locked the door and took a step back.
"Ash, please," Kai pleaded as she looked around for the mirror. "I don't want to do things this way. Just give me a chance to explain. Ash… Please."
A full length mirror sat near the corner of the room, covered by a plush, red velvet. Ash pulled the cloth off of the mirror as she heard the splintering of wood. Pricking her finger, she activated the mirror and climbed through. After tearing off the back of the mirror, she put the paper in her back pocket with her lockpick and the kit and took a look around. A familiar feeling settled over her. Without a doubt, she was in Kai's prison world.
"Balls!" she whispered and ran out of the room.
This house was unfamiliar to her. Blood stains went from the floors to the walls, and she felt chills go up her spine. Just what had happened here? Going from room to room, she discovered that there were no other mirrors here. Kai wanted her here. Wherever this was, he knew this place. As she went down the stairs, a picture on the wall told her why. A picture of a younger Kai and his family hung on the wall with a bloody handprint next to it. This was his home. This was where he had slaughtered his younger siblings.
Ashlinn stole a pair of sneakers and bolted out of the front door and down the steps. As her foot made contact with the ground, she heard a snap. A loop of rope snagged her ankle and lifted her upwards.
Her lockpick kit fell out of her back pocket to the ground, but Ashlinn managed to grab her switchblade. Cutting the rope, she used magic to slow her descent down to the ground. As she tried to stand, she felt sharp pain in her ankle. Probably sprained. Hands grabbed her shoulders and pushed her forward and to the ground. She felt handcuffs snap shut around her wrists despite her struggling. The feeling of her magic fading told her that the handcuffs were magic binding. Kai laughed with joy as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest.
"Got you… finally," Kai murmured into the back of her neck as he struggled to catch his breath. "Ash… shh. You're okay… well, except for that ankle. But I've got some ice for that."
Kai picked her up gently with one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back. She wanted to struggle, but having her hands behind her back meant that she couldn't catch herself should he drop her. And if her ankle got any worse, she might not be able to run at all.
"Welcome to my home sweet home," Kai said cheerfully as he carried her over the threshold. "Mi casa es su casa."
Ashlinn searched the house as he brought her back inside, looking for anything she could use to break free. Nothing stood out. Kai watched her with a look of amusement as she desperately tried to find something… anything. He set her down gently on the couch, so she could prop her foot up. Using a rope, he tied her uninjured foot to a table.
"Just want to make sure you don't run off," he said jokingly and received a hardened stare in return. With a sigh, he continued, "You know… I didn't want it to happen this way either, but… you keep jumping right into trouble. Like a moth to a flame. I can't let anything happen to you. If I lost you… That day. What happened to Anna. That could have been you. If I hadn't gotten there in time… Your goddamn savior complex nearly got you obliterated. All because of what? Your love for someone that you knew for a few months?"
"I wasn't in love with Anna," Ashlinn replied angrily. "But I did like her. She was kind. She made me feel safe. I wasn't in love with her, but I did care about her. And she cared about me."
"Are you saying that I don't?!" Kai asked as his jaw went tight with anger.
Ashlinn pointedly looked at where she was sitting and lifted her arms, which were securely behind her back.
Kai grabbed her shoulders and leaned in close as he said, "I'm doing this to keep you safe."
"Or to 'keep' me. Why don't you just take my magic and let me go? That's what you really want!"
"Ash," Kai whispered and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I love you… I know it sounds weird, but I do. I can hardly believe it myself to be honest. From the very first time I saw you, I couldn't take my eyes off of you. I thought it was just the magic at first, but now… I know. You're the only person for me. So if I have to forcibly tie us together, then so be it. I don't just want your magic. I want all of you."
"And you think this will make me love you?"
"No… but it's better than the alternative. You'll be safe in my world. No Lucifer, no angels… that I know of anyway. I'll even leave the Gemini Coven alone. As long as I have you, I don't need anything else… I know that you care about me. You don't want to, but you do. Would it be so bad to stay with me?"
Kai looked at her with pleading eyes, and she insisted firmly but gently, "We don't have to do this. We don't have to play Magnus' sick twisted game. The two of us can win against him. I know we can… Just let me go, and we'll go back to the house. We don't need Magnus."
Kai let out a hollow laugh and asked, "You don't really expect me to believe that, do you? The only thing you've wanted was a way to seal Lilith away. I know how badly you want to save your precious 'family,' and I know that they hate me as much as I hate them. I was on borrowed time with them the moment that bracelet broke. Besides… they can fight Lucifer on their own. They have other people, Ash. They don't need you. I do."
Ashlinn turned away as he let go of her. With a sigh, Kai excused himself to gather his tools for the spell. Ashlinn quickly felt around for something she could use and sighed in relief as she found a stuck lockpick and the back paper of the mirror still in her pocket. With newfound hope, she maneuvered the lockpick out of her pocket and got to work, muffling the cuffs against the couch cushion as they clicked open. She untied the rope around her ankle but left it over her foot as though it was tied.
As Kai entered the room, she kept her hands behind her back and pleaded, "You don't have to do this. Kai, please let me go. Please."
Kai sighed before he walked closer and knelt down beside her. Ashlinn tried not to show her nervousness as she moved back to push her untethered hands into the couch.
"It's going to be okay," he said soothingly, cupping her face in his hands. "It won't take long… I can't let you leave me again. I'll keep you safe. I promise."
Gently caressing her cheek, Kai was too busy looking at her face to notice her freedom. His eyes became soft as he looked into hers. He leaned forward as though to kiss her, and she took the opportunity to headbutt him as hard as she could. Ashlinn saw stars as she threw her weight on his back, pinning him to the ground. She took her knife out of his back pocket and put it back in her pocket. After handcuffing him to the coffee table, she used him to push herself up and limped her way to the stairs. Hearing the sound of keys, she ran up the stairs, wincing in pain.
Just barely locking the door before she heard Kai trying to turn the knob, she looked around the room. Under the bathroom sink, she found bandaids. Quickly using them to secure the paper back on the mirror, she said the spell as an ax cut through the door. The mirror rippled, and Ashlinn jumped through it. After ripping off the back of the mirror inside of the manor, Ashlinn fell to the floor.