Twilit Mage

Chapter 52: The Monster

It's over.

The thought shot through Mercury's head, quicker than lightning and almost...calm. Like it didn't matter at all. Like it wasn't real or scary. Like this wasn't her, and whatever happened to this person didn't need to concern her one bit.

She was going to die. Simple as that. It wasn't scary. It didn't feel like anything at all. More like someone had told her some mildly interesting bit of information she was going to forget soon anyway. A bit of gossip, maybe. Her life was over, and she felt absolutely nothing.

Why should she, part of her wondered? Her job was done. Riley was safe. Where Georgiana was she didn't know. Maybe already dead. And no one else was here. She was left to her own devices. The most she could do right now was keep the monster busy until Raoul returned with the teachers. What would it do with her? Would it be content with turning her to stone? Would it eat her? How much time could she still buy by staying here and doing nothing?

Raoul. A flash of emotion struck her. Her skin felt warm where he had pulled her into his arms, her ear tingling where he had whispered those words that she still needed to understand. Just know I love you, okay?

What had he been talking about? What did that mean? What did she want it to mean? How did she feel about those words? She wanted to understand. She wanted to make sense of it, sort it out in her head and ask him again. If she went out now...

If she went out now, she'd never see any of them all again.

Raoul. Georgiana. Her parents. She had never said goodbye to her family, and it had been so long since they last talked. What would her mother do when she found out her daughter had died at the hands of a gorgon? What would her father do? They would have no one left except each other. And she...she still needed to ask them so much too. About Twilit Mages, and their reasons for getting married, and about who she was and who she should be, what her place in the world was. There was so much she still wanted to do. So much she still needed to do.

What had she been doing?

No, what had she been thinking? About to die? She wasn't that weak. She had spent enough time stalling and doing nothing. Now was the time to act and take everything in her own hands.

Closing her eyes, she backed further away until she hit the wall, forcing herself to picture the clones again, picture the mask on the gorgon's face. There was barely any untransformed magical energy left in this place. One clone, maybe two. That was all she could afford now. But it should be enough.

Opening her eyes, she sent her clones at the gorgon while she herself darted past and climbed onto a chair, a desk, then a bookshelf. It swayed under her feet, but she held on, struggling to keep her balance as her eyes darted from side to side in search of Georgiana or Riley or anyone else who could be left in here.

At first she couldn't spot anyone. Then she saw her. Hidden behind a desk, Georgiana sat crouched on the ground, focusing hard on something shiny and metallic resting in her hands.

"Georgiana!" she called, a wave of relief washing over her soul. "What are you doing?"

Georgiana glanced up, peering out from behind the desk to meet eyes with Mercury. Then she stood up, pulling out the metallic thing she had been working on for so long.

It was an axe. A heavy one, dragging down her stance and pulling at her arms so much she needed to support it with her body, glinting and shining like a brand-new weapon. Because a weapon it was. Something like this could never be used for chopping up anything other than living beings.