Lily stormed from the Institute, her hands clasped in such tight fists that she drew blood. She could feel it running down the pale skin of her palm but didn't care. If anything it cleared her mind somewhat of the swirling red tornado of anger.
She could feel Magnus following her, feel the burning of his stare and quickened her pace. There were some things meant to be kept on the inside, not wheedled out with charm and charisma and good looks.
She heard him call out to her again, but it was as if through water. Images were flashing through her head, things that made her just want to curl into the fetal position in the middle of the street and wait to be struck by some half crazed cabbie bellowing insults in a foreign tongue.
She was eight years old and it was the first time she'd ever looked in a mirror. She'd found it so strange, so fascinating, standing there in front of the little piece of reflective glass. She marveled at the sight of her eyes, such a vivid and resounding color, one which she could not even put a name to yet. It was astounding to be free of the browns-and-tans-and-beiges of the cellar, varied only by the strange light that crept from under the door.
The door that had been locked. Until today.
She'd crept from her dank prison of a room and what seemed to be a different world, like that in the old books she'd found and deciphered. It was light and airy with little glass bits set into the walls so one could look out onto the landscapes beyond.
She'd stopped at the mirror, puzzled when it didn't reveal the strange world outside like the rest. It had taken her a moment to realize that it was showing her herself.
She'd never seen herself before.
Her hair was black, like ink and shadows, her skin pale as the page of a book. And then there were her eyes, so bright and wonderful that she stood, trying to put a name to the marvelous color that had only hinted itself in the dark shadows of night.
A door opened- not her door- but one that led outside, revealing rolling hills and more of the fascinating color, though much lighter a shade than that trapped in her eyes.
Her mother, all black hair and dark eyes, and another man, slightly older, with brown hair, entered laughing. They stopped when they saw her.
"What the?" the man exclaimed in shock, though her mother's eyes merely narrowed. She reached for something in her belt, something shiny and clear, like crystal. She flew at Lily in a rage, her screams filling the entrance way.
"You stupid half-breed bitch! Didn't I give you a chance? Didn't I tell you all you had to do was stay in the cellar so no one would see? So no one would know? You stupid demon bitch!"
Lily stumbled as she leapt on her, raising the crystal like object over her head. She could hear the man saying something, her mother replying, though the words made no sense. The crystal came streaking down in a great glowing arc, shimmering in the half-light.
Then there was nothing but blinding pain and an explosion and she was flying through the air. She'd landed hard- so hard she saw stars. She laid there, gasping as the blood cascaded down her face.
She looked up, staring at the massive amount of this new color in awe, the sense momentarily knocked out of her. She tilted her head to the side, toward the house a great hole had been blown where the door had stood. She could see her mother, rising from the dust with the help of the man, both staring at her in horror.
Her mother took a purposeful step forward, but the man put an arm out, stopping her.
"Let go of me Walden, you don't know what she is. She's not even human."
He dropped his arm and she started forward again.
Lily knew three things at once. Her mother was going to kill her. She needed to run. Now.
And that the sky was blue.
And she ran, faster than she would have ever thought possible and she didn't stop running until that sepia house of lies was far in the distance.
Magnus lagged behind a bit, watching Lily as she stormed down the street with complete disregard for either herself or her fellow New Yorkers. He only darted forward when she leapt on top of a cab that had cut her off as she was crossing between two large skyscrapers.
"The light was red! Do you understand what that means? No, of course not!" she screamed through the windshield.
"We're going," Magnus said, pulling her from the cab's hood. She shook off his arm angrily as the cabbie shouted obscenities at the retreating pair.
"Just leave me alone Magnus," she said harshly. "It's not that I'm not grateful. I am. But I can't do this anymore. I can't be the freak or the charity case or whatever you think that I am. I can't live like this anymore."
She started off down the street, her hands balled into fists but Magnus caught up with her and grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him.
"I know you're not some charity case, but you came to me for help, remember? So just let me help you."