Hey, I'm back.
Dis: i don't own, i'm waiting for the next game.
It was Hellfire.
The group stared at the card for a few seconds, each and every one of them radiating a feeling of shock and disbelief. Arietta was about to say something when an inhuman shriek sounded from outside. Arietta jumped; she could identify that sound in her sleep.
"What is that?" Joan cried from behind the counter, staring outside in horror. Arietta followed her tail of sight, knowing that the others were as well, and gasped.
Outside, people were running. And they were screaming. But that wasn't what made Arietta so tense.
There was a Diabolos.
Arietta looked from the Cor Hydrae monster to the Magnus in her hand and back again, making a split-second decision.
"Kalas," she said in a tone that left no room for argument, "tell me how to activate a Magnus."
'Hold it out in front of you, feel for the spot where its energy is tied together, and release it,' he instructed quickly. Arietta nodded, not really thinking by this point, and held the Sunspot Choker in front of her. Closing her eyes, she 'felt' around for the seam where its magics held it dormant and once she found it, she 'pulled' it apart. There was a flash of light that she could see even through her closed eyelids and she felt a slight weight settle on her throat. She felt hot energy race through her body as she ran outside.
"Hey," she yelled, getting the monster's attention, "Cor Hydrae reject!" The winged monster turned its one eye on her and raised its bladed staff. The warmth from her heart exploded outward as her Wings of the Heart took shape. Luckily, everyone had left the area, so nobody saw a teenaged girl with large wings.
"I am the fire, dispeller of-" Arietta stopped. She couldn't feel her magic building like normal. Startled, she just said the name of the spell. "Hellfire!"
Nothing happened. Her eyes went wide.
"The hell-?" she started, but was cut off by one of her Spirits.
'Use the Magnus!' Lyude yelled at her.
"Right, Magnus." Not bothering to close her eyes, she ripped at the 'seam' in the card. The Diabolos lifted its staff/axe. It froze mid-swing, about to take off her head but never getting the chance. "Have a little taste of my Hellfire!" Arietta smirked in satisfaction as she heard the shrieks and squeals from the monster as it was roasted. Soon it was nothing more than a scorch mark on the blacktop and a lump of molten metal. Arietta slumped to the ground in shock, feeling her Wings vanish. She'd actually killed a monster. A monster that existed against all laws of reality, but still a monster all the same.
"Child, what did you just do?"
Arietta jumped. Joan had come up behind her.
"What was that thing?" the old librarian asked. Arietta struggled between lies and truth for a second, then sighed, getting up from where she had fallen to her knees on the pavement.
"That was a Diabolos. It's a monster from a different dimension, and I have no clue how it got here. I swear we got rid of Maplercio!"
"Malpercio? Child, what are you talking about?" Joan asked.
"Never mind me, just forget what you saw."
"Forget that you just killed some sort of monster with a card and that you had wings? Not a chance." Joan's statement fell on deaf ears as Arietta started her car and was already pulling out of the parking lot. Her mind narrowed to one thought: find Andriana. Her best-friend-near-sister needed to hear about this.
Arietta made it to her friend's apartment in record time. Before she knew it, she was flipping through her keys to find the right one.
"Andriana Morgan Evans, your ass had better be here!" she called as she opened the door.
"And if I'm not?" came the reply from the bedroom.
"I'll Hellfire your ass, and you know I can." THAT brought Andriana running.
"What'd you set on fire this time!" she asked, looking around.
"Nothing. I really have to talk to you."
"About what? Here, sit down." The two sat on the couch.
"Remember I told you about what happened when I was in that coma last year? The one that they couldn't wake me up from?"
"Yeah…" Arietta could hear the doubt in her friend's voice.
"Oh come on, I swear it's true. I was a Guardian Spirit in a world where almost everyone had Wings of the Heart."
"Yeah, yeah."
"I went back."
"You did!" THAT got Andriana's attention.
"Yeah, a few days ago."
"That's not possible."
"Why not?"
"Because yesterday was Friday, and you and I had gym together and we both laughed at Hart because she couldn't do the rope-climb, remember?" Arietta's blood ran cold. She did remember that.
"I can prove I went back." She dug around in her pocket before bringing out her Hellfire Magnus. "See?"
"It's a card."
"It's a Magnus."
"It's still a card, that proves nothing."
'I think perhaps you may have to show her your Wings of Heart before she believes you,' Lyude said softly.
"I think you're right," Arietta muttered back. "Alright, Andri, solid proof that the place does exist."
Arietta was about to call on her Wings, but something stopped her. It sounded like someone was whispering something in her ear.
"You hear that?" Andriana asked. Arietta nodded and kept listening.
"Nusg nisir eht erof ebni aga ecnosn giers oahc, enode gamad retfa tubk cabrehg nirb dna emohr ehd nes."
A sudden wind whipped around the apartment, wrapping around the two girls. Arietta closed her eyes to shield them from flying dust particles. She felt the bottom of her stomach fall out as the couch vanished from under her. She heard Andriana scream before she blacked out.
Special mention to anyone who can translate the incantation!
R&R!
