Viena and the Black Mirror

[ 15 ] - 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞

       A burst of power surged up her arms, curling around her as the cries of pain and sinister laughter became a distant echo. The only sound she could hear was a heartbeat that did not belong to her.

Alexander yelped as viridian vines erupted from between the stones, splitting them with a loud crack. The plants wrapped around his stomach, holding him back enough so Viena could escape.

She brushed off Alex's pleas for her to stay and rushed out to the scrimmage. Faul stopped his path towards Sen, startling at the sight of her.

The smirk fell off the woman's face once she caught sight of Viena. Flames flared up her arms, twisting and convulsing with burning energy. With a flick of her wrist, the fire swelled forward, catching alight to the center of the tendril holding Sen and burning it to a puddle.

Sen collapsed with a gasp, weakened as the part of the tendril holding him uncoiled and fell lifeless to the floor.

The woman stumbled back, crying out as the fire spread up her back and burned away the inky creations of her magic. The blackness dripped to the floor, vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Another stream of fire erupted from both of Viena's hands, exploding on impact in front of the shadowmancer and Faul. They both tumbled back, scrambling away from the wall of flames that blocked them off from the rest of the street.

Viena fell to Sen's side, forcing him to lie back down when he tried to sit up, the ebony liquid that soaked his clothes disappearing the moment she touched him.

"I told you to stay put," Sen whispered. He was not able to do much as Viena laid him down. "How did you even do that?" He coughed.

Viena shuddered, shaking her head as tears threatened to form. "I couldn't watch." She looked over his body, noting how different areas of his limbs were bent abnormally. "How badly do you think you're injured?" She grazed her finger against his arm to see where he was hurt without having to roll up his sleeves. She regretted the way he winced in pain.

"I think something's dislocated..." Sen groaned, clutching his stomach with a loose grip.

"Your whole body looks dislocated," Viena mumbled. "Do you know any healing spells...?"

Sen shook his head. "Only fairies can heal."

Viena inspected the wall of fire she created. Where on the other side, Fleaya and Paulné remained unconscious a couple yards away in that blackened cage. They were all sitting ducks in this situation, and Viena refused the idea of leaving anyone behind.

Viena yelped as an inhuman roar erupted through the street. The flames blocking the road faded from its once blazing color, becoming monochromatic and extinguishing into nothing. The woman's arm was outstretched as smoke curled around her. Rage bloomed across her face as new tendrils burst from her back and catapulted her into the air.

"What do we have here?"

Viena trembled as the woman's voice became a menacing echo, slithering through her ears like cold water.

"A human? No, much more than that, it seems." The shadowmancer used the tendrils to grip two opposite houses, suspending herself just out of reach but close enough to appear unnerving. "Tell me your name."

"She doesn't have to tell you anything," Sen spat.

The woman hummed, pausing for a moment.

Within a blink, the left house crumbled to nothing more than rubble, clouding the street with dust and stray wood. A splintered wooden beam poised over Faul's heart, held by a tendril while another held him in place. He didn't even bother to struggle.