The Battle of Our Minds: Flesh and Blood

The Confrontation

It was a Monday in September. A few weeks had passed. Everly's training sessions with Brianna - and Wyatt - had improved radically. Everly was finally catching on to what it meant to remain defensive while you were on offense. She had to pursue her target without letting her guard drop, or else she may become the target herself. She found this relevant in the microcosm of a fight, as well as in the macrocosm of spiritual warfare. This was a battle for the mind, and in a battle for the mind, you have to remain on guard at all times. One falter, and you lose everything.

Everly's feet pounded the pavement as she raced to the mathematics building, attempting to make it in time to class. She'd stayed up late practicing an elbow strike with Bri, and it wasn't pretty. Thanks to the brand's healing capabilities, she wasn't covered in bruises like she normally would've been, although she couldn't say the same for Wyatt.

The old wooden door was already cracked shut. Everly checked her watch. 8:04am.

Class had already begun. She couldn't do anything now. Everly gave up her pride, and with a quiet sigh, pushed the door open gently, sending an obnoxious creaking noise through the room. Ruth shot her a panicked look of pity and Everly squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment, then silently began shuffling over to her seat.

As expected, everyone stared at her, but one stare was the most piercing of them all: Jezebel's.

Her icy-blue eyes looked like they could freeze her over, and would. Today, Jezebel's hair was pin straight today, flowing down to her waist in a silky stream. She looked at Everly with pure, seething hatred - and maybe something else. Everly wondered if she would be so bold as to kill her right here, right now, in this classroom. She certainly looked like she wanted to. Lucky for Everly, she knew that Jezebel had a more complicated agenda, and murdering someone in cold blood in the middle of statistics class wasn't written in there.

But why does she have that look on her face? We haven't exposed them. What does she know? Everly wondered.

Everly slid into that awful, cramped desk. She glanced onto the surface of the desk, and etched into the wood with a sharp object were two words.

I KNOW.

Everly spun around and glared at Jezebel accusingly.

"Know what?" Everly mouthed.

Jezebel held her same hateful stare, not blinking.

Everly rolled her eyes and turned back to face the front.

"Thank you for joining us, Miss Cross. While most colleges tolerate absence and tardiness, you're forgetting that New City stands apart from other universities. Let this be a warning and a lesson to the rest of you - come and come on time. Failing to do so will result in a participation deduction," said the professor.

Everly's whole body was hot and she felt the heat rise to her face. She had no doubt that her entire body was bright red.

Everly heard a sadistic giggle behind her, but she refused to acknowledge her presence this time. She questioned why Jezebel ever pretended to be her friend that first night at New City.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Ruth, leaning over the arm of her desk to whisper to Everly.

"Um. Kind of. Not really."

Everly clenched her teeth into a fake smile.

"Talk about this later?" Ruth requested tenderly.

"Uh. Sure," she replied, not really sure how she'd talk about, "I'm freaking out because I saw your dead body when I was knocked unconscious and my demon father told me it was up to me to save you. Oh yeah, and the only way to do that is by turning into a demi-demon myself."

Ruth gave her a look of pity and redirected her attention to the wiry professor, droning on and on about his love for data and graphs and all that garbage.

She heard a desk scoot up towards her own and felt hot breath down the back of her neck.

"Oh, Everly. There's a time for everything. Be careful or you just might miss it," Jezebel whispered in a sing-songy voice.

That did it. She had to turn around.

"A time for what?" she barked.

"Mrs. Cross. First you come in late, then you interrupt class. One more interruption and I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the professor threatened.

Everly jerked around, facing the front of the room with her lips sealed in a tight line. For the next hour and a half, she received no taunting from Jezebel, but she could feel her stare burning like dry ice into the back of her head. Everly checked her watch. 10:29am.

One more minute.

"Alright, pack it up. See you all on Wednesday."

Ruth grabbed her bag and packed up.

"Hey, Ev. I've got to run to my next class, but do you want to get lunch in the cafe at twelve?"

"Sure thing," Everly replied uneasily, looking back at Jezebel, who was still sitting comfortably in her desk. She hadn't moved yet.

Ruth packed up and headed out, along with the rest of the class and the professor. Everly and Jezebel were the only two remainders in the room.

Everly finally faced her, but Jezebel clearly wasn't planning on being the first to speak. So she did.

"I think it's high time for you to explain the haunting stares you've been giving me all class. What did I do to you to tick you off? Accidentally use your shampoo in the community bathroom?"

Everly crossed her arms, waiting for a response. Slowly, Jezebel rose from her desk as if Everly's heart wasn't beating like crazy in waiting. She casually put her belongings away in her backpack and tossed the bag over her shoulder. With a carefree flick of her hair, she sauntered up to Everly, standing right in her face. Everly couldn't help but notice how perfect her skin was, even at this proximity. She was breathtakingly beautiful, even for an 8am class where most people hadn't even combed their hair yet.

Almost nose to nose, she whispered, "I know."

"Know what? There's nothing to know, Jezebel." Everly clenched her jaw and tried to look stronger than she actually felt on the inside.

"There definitely is. And you're about to pay the price. Your time is up."

"What price? My time is up for what?"

"I know that you've been training with Brianna and Wyatt in secret. And I know that there's more you're hiding."

"Like what?" she cocked her head to the side, trying to pretend like Jezebel was off her rocker for thinking she was up to something.

Instead, she just looked like a bomb about to go off. Everly felt like she was going to explode any second, literally. Her anger began to fuel an intense amount of energy beneath her skin. She could feel power demanding to be released within her. Maybe the reason training had gone so bad was because she didn't have the motivation to fight a threat that wasn't real.

"Everly, the time has come for you to recognize your destiny. We need you - you can even consider me a friend. You'll finally be the kind of person who gets what you demand out of life. Don't you want that kind of control? That kind of power?"

"Obviously I have no idea what you're talking about, but I have friends. And I'm content with my life as it is. Thanks."

"You're a fool to reject your destiny. Your blood for goodness sake." She scrunched her nose in disgust. "But as our professor said earlier, there are consequences for mistakes." She raised her eyebrows and pursed her rosy lips. "You've already received your first warning, so I guess it's time for you to learn what a consequence is like."

Jezebel began walking away and brushed Everly's shoulder in passing.

Everly releases two lungful's of air she didn't realize she'd been holding when Jezebel left with a final comment.

"Her name's Ruth, right?"

Everly was silent as Jezebel and her twisted laughter left the room.