Fowler School of Magic's

Ultimatum

Sometime during the night Francine and Nathan had arrived. They'd missed dinner apparently. The two had questions.

"Not-Emily's back. Lane's back." Francine was next to her in a millisecond. Calla pulled away from her touch. Lane wouldn't see anything more than he already had. "He knows you're here now."

Emily's voice whispered in her ear, "You can't fight forever." He was right. The bat was helping her keep her energy but Hugo and Emily were using it. Falling asleep wasn't an option right now. It would leave her open to possession.

"You're getting drowsy. A few more hours and," she lunged at her. Calla hit the headboard hard as Not-Emily fought her way into her body.

She watched at the blindfold was taken off. The others looked at her, terrified.

"My eyes. My hands." She groaned, trying to force her out of her body. Not again. She couldn't do this again. "I don't want to hurt you Calla."

Not-Emily fought hard. Calla fought harder, just enough to get her message out. "Going to hurt you. Do it." Francine was the one to do it. She pressed her knee into her stomach as her body thrashed, tying her hands together with the blindfold and tying that around the headboard.

She hated it. Hands tied above her head, trapped in her own body. Not-Emily continued fighting, throwing herself every which way on the bed until Francine tied her feet together to avoid another kick to the chest.

They stayed with her until Not-Emily calmed down, she was almost out of energy. She was getting drowsy and this time she didn't fight it.

She heard a scream. Not-Emily ripped herself from her body and disappeared. Calla stared for a moment and she reappeared, holding up her arm. "Bracelet, bracelet." She shouted, falling against the bed, "He wants to know where this place is." She gasped, "He's got a piece of my bone. He's in a basement somewhere and-"

Emily disappeared as Calla fell against the bed frame, unconscious.

She woke up looking at Rhiannon. Eyes staring up at her as she struggled to breathe, hands around her throat. They'd untied her during the night.

Lane don't kill her please. Lane please if she dies then I think I will too. I'll do anything Lane please.

"Come to my office. If you aren't there in thirty minutes she dies. Good day."

She rolled of Rhiannon quickly, falling off the bed as she did. She hit the floor hard and laid there, listening to Rhiannon struggle to breath as she wrung her wrists.

Rhiannon caught her breath and rolled over to check on her. Calla sat up, kissed her quickly and changed. "I'll be back. I'm going to for breakfast." A lie. Why did she have to lie. Rhiannon would kill her if Lane didn't first.

She walked across the courtyard slowly, soaking in the sun. She picked a few flowers and tucked them in her pockets as Hugo caught up to her. "You can't," he pleaded quietly, "Calla you can't." She ignored him and kept going, up the stairs and into his office. She sat down silently, blood thundering in her ears.

She thought about death a lot. About how she'd like to go. Almost tried to go once. She wanted it to be quick and preferably painless. She doubted Lane held the same sentiment.

"You made quite the escape last time, didn't you?" She nodded obediently, hands in her lap to keep them from shaking. Hugo squeezed her shoulders in silent support. "I assume you won't do that again seeing as your friends would be killed?"
"Yes."

It hurt.

He led her to the old conservatory, down the cellar doors and into the white room beneath it. At least a dozen students hung from pipes, all with purple ribbons around their wrists.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked, looking down the rows as she tried to mask her disgust. "Well, we need to harvest one. We'll have new ones in May so it's just a matter of which one," he splayed his hand across her lower back, it made her skin crawl as he pushed her forward. "Pick one."

She looked at the ground, walking down the rows until she reached the end. She pointed at the student, trying not to look at their face. Lane had other ideas, forcing her head up so she could look him in the face. He dropped her and pulled the tube from the boy. He fell against her bringing them both to the ground.

She wanted to throw up. She looked at Hugo standing over her, a silent plea. He said something in Old English and she felt herself take a backseat in her own body.

Thank you.

Hugo didn't answer.