The Deceiver | The Magicians

Chapter 19

Nineteen | Dominion 

Lilly's jaw dropped so far it might as well have unhinged and hit the floor. They had found Alex. But who they didn't expect to find was Ava and they definitely didn't expect to find them together, with their tongues down each other's throats. They jumped apart the moment they heard Lilly's cry of surprise, as if they had suddenly been burned by their partner. Alex's face had turned an unnatural shade of red that Lilly would have compared to a fire truck. But this was no time for jokes.

"You're kidding right." Dani's face was void of any emotion, but the energy of the room was not unlike that of the calm before a storm. Lilly was too shocked to say anything. There had been no signs that these two had something going on, at least none that she'd picked up on. Had she really been that oblivious? They'd pulled the wool over her eyes and she hadn't even noticed. 

"I-I wanted to tell you but- but I knew you guys didn't like her and you made that very clear." Alex stepped forward, a pleading look in his eyes. But he was met with two betrayed looks. 

"You've been f*****g her? You could at least pick someone who's actually tolerable!" Dani yelled at him. Ava half rolled her eyes, finding Dani's outburst completely below her. 

"I think I should go. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Ava said softly to the red head. She took this as the opportunity to leave, slipping past Alex's two best friends and leaving them to sort out the dirt bits alone.

"Yeah I think that's for the best." Dani spat as she left. "You're seriously with that she-demon?"

"Yes, I'm with that Woman." The irritation was peaking through on his side. 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Lilly inquired softly, her voice calm. She was much more hurt than angry.

"Because, I knew you would react like this! She's not just some girl I'm f*****g Dani, I really, really like her. She's not at all the person you think she is! She makes me happy!"

"You had to pick the one person we loathe at this school to date? Well congratulations, you just lost your best friend because of that b***h!"  Dani turned, storming out into the hallway and disappearing. They could practically see the dark storm cloud over her head. It was just Lilly and Alex now. The latter silently pleaded with her to understand, to accept his relationship. Lilly didn't know what to do. She needed to think. So silently, with a look of solemn apology, she left him behind and went after Dani. 

~~~~

They sat away from Alex during their lesson the next morning. He had moved to beside his girlfriend. There was no need to hide anymore; the truth was out. Luckily they weren't a pda kind of couple, so Dani was spared from vomiting at the breakfast table. Dani kept her eyes trained forward, not sparing a glance at their friend. Lilly would occasionally let her eyes flick over to the couple, but immediately regretted it when a flash of anger and hurt rose in her chest. Once she had caught him looking back with longing, but she wasn't ready to face the issue yet. 

Today they were continuing their lesson on mind control. Only Lilly and Ava had been able to do it and Mayakovsky wanted to torture them a bit more before moving on. 

"Just as I suspected, you are complete failures. Your minds are weak, like little baby kittens. You must be a lion. You're useless! You will never be great Magicians. Get to work!" He grunted and no one needed to be told twice. "You two." Everyone looked up, "The scary one and the barbie doll. Come with me." He pointed at Lilly and Ava who both had terrified expressions at being called out by such a scary professor. He didn't wait for them to respond and immediately walked away. The girls hurried out of their seats, afraid of what he would do if they took to long. He led them into a cluttered, dimly lit, office. Empty bottles of vodka sat on every surface, along with stacks of books and miscellaneous magical items. An octagon had been drawn out in what looked like white chalk on the hardwood floor, a strange contraption with many wires forming a circle around it. "Do not step on that." He ordered and Lilly steered clear. He gestured for them both to sit as he pored himself another glass of alcohol. Lilly looked anywhere but at Ava or Mayakovsky, pretending to study her surroundings. 

"Um... What is this about?" Ava asked him, breaking the silence. Lilly automatically bristled at the sound of her voice. 

"This is about you two showing a very impressive aptitude for mind control." He explained in between sips from his glass. "The last person I saw perform that spell so quickly was your mother, Blondie. Now I have two in one class. While you are under my roof, you will learn to further use your gift to the fullest extent." 

"Wait, you knew my Mom?" Lilly piped in.

"Yes. She was quite the woman back when I knew her. It's a shame she gave up magic. She could have been one of he great Magicians of our time, like me."

"Isn't it dangerous for us to do this?" Ava asked, bringing them back to the subject at hand.

"Yes." He said nonchalantly. Both girl's eyebrows raised at this. He gave no mind to them. "You both seem to have grasped the basics of the lesson, so I have a bit of a challenge for you today. I'd like to see if you are competent enough to complete it." He pulled another jar out from behind his desk, slamming it down between them roughly. "Take control of it's mind." A single firefly flew around the jar, just as the one from the day before had.

"At the same time." 

"Yes. If you wish to have any skill at this you have to keep hold of your subject. However rare this talent is, you are not the only ones that possess it and untrained it can be extremely dangerous." neither girl made a move to star. "Do it!" he yelled and so it began.

It began much as it had the first time, only this time when she reached her mind out she was met with a solid wall. Though it wasn't a physical entity, Lilly could feel Ava's energy behind it. Each girl focused on trying to gain the advantage over the other, pulling tightly on the contiousness of the firefly. Lilly's anger and hurt over Alex's secret relationship with her rival fueled her fire as she pushed against Ava's magic. Ava pushed back just as hard. Her will was a perfect match for Lilly. But the blonde was gaining the advantage, digging the claws of her mind into that of the firefly in a viselike grip.

But then something happened, something strange. The mind they had been struggling to gain dominion of, slipped from their grasp like water through their fingers, completely disappearing. Their eyes shot open in surprise, locking on each other in surprise. Mayakovsky watched disapprovingly from his chair across the desk. They put the pieces together at the same moment.

"It's dead?" Sure enough, the firefly, which moments ago had been glowing brightly, now lay lifeless at the bottom of the jar. It's light was extinguished forever.

"Minds are a delicate thing. They are weak, easily swayed, and they can be turned to dust just as easily. You were so focused on fighting a war, that you forgot about the life you were using as a battlefield. Life can be taken away like that." he snapped his fingers abruptly, "You pretty much just put it's contiousness through a paper shredder." A resounding bang! sounded from behind them and Lilly jumped a foot in the air, whipping her head to see what the disturbance was. A dust covered and partially smoking Penny hopped around panicking inside the octagon behind them.

"Ah! f*****g volcano!" He yelled, too busy patting out the scorched parts of his shirt to notice he had an audience. Lilly and Ava both watched the scene unfold with startled expressions.

"Which you survived. Gold star." Mayakovsky drawled, not bothered in the least by his sudden appearance. 

"Barbie? What the hell are you doing here?" Penny finally noticed the newcomers.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" 

"We've been working on his traveling. Now I must get back to that." The professor slammed down a second jar, this one full of fireflies. "Don't come back until you have something to show me." He proceeded to shove them out of his office and slam the door in their faces. What were they supposed to do now? Lilly turned to face Ava. Of all the people she could be stuck with, it had to be her. An extremely awkward silence followed, both girls unsure of what to do. Things were even tenser than usual between them ever since the discovery of last night. Lilly hadn't quite figured out her feelings yet. All she knew was that she wasn't happy about it. She wasn't as mad about it as Dani was, but she was just as hurt about the secret kept from them. 

"Look." Ava was the first to speak. "We don't have to like each other, but we do have to work together. So, lets put our differences behind us for a few hours until we can finish this. then we can go back to hating each others guts. Agreed?" 

"Agreed." They nodded in unison before heading off to find an empty classroom to use. eight murdered fireflies later and they still hadn't been able to get anywhere.

"Alright, this isn't working." Lilly sat back with a huff, looking at her partner who was just as frustrated. "We've gotta try something different."

"How are we supposed to fight each other off without killing it? He didn't even tell us how to do it! This is such bull s**t!" Ava ran her fingers through her curly hair, a frustrated tick Lilly had picked up on in the time they've known each other. Both women stared angrily at the jar of remaining fireflies in silence. Neither one had any idea of how to get this to work. "Worst of all we're stuck together until it's done." 

"Tell me about it. Do you think he put us together on purpose to torture us?" 

"Wouldn't be surprised." Lilly absentmindedly manipulated the flame of the candle between them into intricate forms. The light swirled up towards the ceiling, branching off in different directions and converging back again to braid itself together. "I really do care about him you know." Lilly's fire sculpture disappeared when she heard the other girl's soft words. She sounded sincere, something she hadn't expected. Ava's eyes showed a vulnerability that Lilly didn't know the ice queen was capable of. "I didn't want to, but he's just so sweet and considerate and funny." a smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she spoke about her boyfriend.

"Sounds like Alex." Lilly's own lips curled up slightly at the thought of his sweet demeanor. 

"I know you hate me and hate me with him. You're definitely not my favorite person, but you mean so much to Alex. You're his best friend and like it or not we are stuck with each other. I don't want him to loose his best friend because of me. I don't want to hurt him that way." Lilly was stunned. She was speechless after this display of maturity and true affection for Alex. She had underestimated the intensity of their relationship.

"I just want him to be happy." Lilly leveled, "I'm sure you can understand why I'm not to thrilled that you're the one he picks. I mean of all the people."

"I know." 

"I just feel like s**t because I know we made him feel like he couldn't confide in us. He should've been able to tell us anything and we failed him as friends."

"He wanted to tell you so bad. Part of it was my fault. I didn't want him to, I was being selfish. I thought once he told you I would loose him." 

"No, he's not the type. If he really cares about you, he's loyal to the end." Both girls stared at the candle between them in silence. "We both clearly love him. I'm willing to be civil if you are. For Alex." Ava looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected to get any level of acceptance from Alex's friends, even if it was a small gesture of tolerance. Ava nodded, extending her hand to the blonde across from her. Lilly hesitated a fraction of a second before reaching her own hand out and shaking in agreement.

"Alright then. Lets get this s**t done." After their truce was finalized, the two realized that they made a much better team than they initially thought. Not that either one would ever admit it aloud. Shortly after their conversation, a breakthrough was made, though only after another firefly dropped dead.

"Maybe we need to stop fighting each other?" Lilly mused aloud.

"I know we just agreed to get along, but that's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."

"No, what I mean is- What if its not about pushing against each other, but out maneuvering your opponent? Maybe it's not so much a wrestling match and more of a game of chess?" Ava took a moment to process her words.

"That might actually work." For the next half hour, they tried the new approach. It wasn't a miracle solution, they still struggled, but they could both tell that it was working.

Lilly was the one to finally take full control of the tiny creature and Ava couldn't even bring herself to be mad that she'd been bested. They were both too relieved at having succeeded. They quickly grabbed their things and rushed to Mayakovsky's office to demonstrate. His reaction was of cool indifference, though Lilly could have sworn he looked just a little bit impressed. He shooed them out of his office yet again, his only words being,

"Congratulations, You're not completely incompetent." Lilly supposed that was about the closest thing to a pat on the back he was capable of.

"I'm gonna go grab some food if you wanna come?" Ava offered as they walked down the hallway towards the common areas and the rest of the tortured students. 

"Thanks, but I think there's someone I owe an apology." Ava nodded in understanding and they parted ways a few minutes later. Lilly moved towards the dorms, stopping before a familiar room. Her stomach flipped with nerves as she rapped gently on the door.

"Come in!" His voice reached her and she forced herself to take a steadying breath before she entered. He lay on his mattress, tossing a ball at the wall over and over again. 

"Hey." Alex didn't look up at her, nor did he stop what he was doing.

"Here to talk some sense into me? Save your breath. Dani already tried."

"No... I'm here to apologize." This caught his attention. "I was a total b***h to you and I understand why you didn't tell us. I'm so sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me this and that when you did we turned our backs on you. I've been such shitty friend."

"Yeah you have been." He sat up, facing her with a forlorn expression. "I just wanted you to be happy for me."

"I am. I am happy for you. It just took me a little while to get there." Lilly took a few steps towards him. "Ava and I talked and we agreed to put our differences aside and try to get along. She really does care about you and that's abundantly clear now.

"I care about her too. I really do."

"Do you think you can forgive me for being a complete ass?" He was silent for a moment and Lilly felt as though it was the longest silence she'd ever endured.

"How could I not? You're my best friend after all." Lilly broke out into a dazzling smile and wasted no time in flinging herself upon the red head, tackling him to the bed in a vice like hug. They both laughed joyfully at being reunited and Alex hugged back just as tightly.

"Now tell me everything!"