The Deceiver | The Magicians

Chapter 14

Fourteen | Training

Her eyes peeled open slowly, wincing when the bright sunlight crept past her lashes. Upon picking her head up from the pillow she felt the full effect of her hangover. A pounding headache blurred her vision, followed by a sudden wave of nausea that sent her flying towards the bathroom. This was one of those moments where Lilly found herself vowing to never drink again, only to go out to the club with friends the next weekend. After cleaning herself up and popping a few painkillers, she flopped back onto her mattress beside an equally hungover Alex. They both still sported the outfits they fell asleep in, which wasn't the most comfortable option. 

"I'm never drinking again." He mumbled into her pillow, trying to keep the sun streaming through her widows from reaching him. 

"Tell me about it." Lilly agreed, throwing her arm across her eyes. "Can you hand me my phone. It should be on your side." She listened to a series of moans and the shuffling of sheets before Alex handed her the phone. She fumbled with the object, pressing the home button and peaking out from behind her arm to get the time. "s**t! I'm late!" Lilly yelled, jumping up from the bed and immediately regretting it when her headache increased tenfold. 

She ignored Alex's questions, not even bothering to go in the other room to change. It wasn't like either of them cared. Eliza was definitely going to kill her. She was supposed to be there now and she hadn't even left yet. Lilly drew a few heads with her marathon sprint across campus, but she didn't have the time to care. It was ten minutes past when she finally barged through the doors to the classroom Eliza said to meet in. She was about to start a string of apologies when she realized that the room sat empty. Maybe she had the wrong room? No. She specifically remembered Eliza saying it was this one. 

The doors behind her creaked open and Eliza strolled in, her high heels clicking against the wood floors. 

"Oh good you're finally here. Let's get started." Lilly stood still in shock. After Eliza made such a big deal of how she hated tardiness, she acted like it was nothing.

"You- You're not mad?" Eliza looked at her, uninterested.

"Darling, if I got mad about you being late it would take even more time out of our lesson. I have places to be and things to do. I simply ask that you respect my time." Lilly quickly went to sit in one of the chairs closest to her tutor, waiting for her to speak. "Shifters are, as you know, extremely rare. At least in this world they are. I have been to many worlds and fortunately have been able to learn of their culture and powers." 

"If they exist in different worlds, then why don't I just go to another world and study from one of them?" 

"Interdimensional travel can be extremely dangerous, especially to the worlds where they exist. Shifter's themselves can be very lethal. They may look like they're human but they would be classified as a magical creature. Almost every culture has their own version of Shifter's in their mythology. None of them are very pleasant. As we know, humans tend to fear what they do not understand and the Shifter's use of blood didn't really help their case. Many believed they were the work of the devil. Over time Shifters on earth were hunted down and killed by humans." 

"So do they-We do anything other than shape shift?"

"I am not by any means an expert, but from what I understand, more experienced shifters can shift through eye contact. I'm not sure of any other abilities, but there probably are some." 

"So how exactly do I do this? I mean, I did it without even thinking the first time. Does it just happen by itself?" Lilly asked, completely clueless.

"That is what I'm here to teach you." Eliza reached across the counter she leaned on, pulling a row of vials towards her. Each one was filled with dark red liquid and Lilly knew immediately it was blood. "Shifters have an ability to match their DNA with that of their victims. There are some powerful illusionists that can make themselves appear as a different person, but Shifter's are different. They actually become the person. Your body was following it's instincts by turning the day we met, but it can be dangerous to do it without control. You could end up getting stuck as someone else or completely deformed. There is even a risk of losing your shade." Lilly gulped, listening to the risks. Eliza plucked one of the vial's from it's holder and approached her pupil. The blonde eyed the blood warily as Eliza broke open the top.

"Are you sure this is sanitary?" 

"It should only take a drop for you to change form, but before I give it to you we have to run through what to do. When it touches your skin, I want you to picture every molecule of the blood getting absorbed into your skin. Once you feel it start to take effect, you need to focus on the DNA of the person you're shifting into, replacing your own." Lilly nodded, though she wasn't too excited about replacing her DNA with someone else's. "It's important that you keep a hold on your own essence while changing into someone else. It is all too easy to lose yourself during a shift." It was a bit hard to figure out what Eliza meant, but Lilly figured the only way to learn was by doing. The blonde nodded towards her teacher, motioning for her to start. Eliza moved to pour a drop of the blood into the palm of Lilly's hand, then stepping back to observe. 

Lilly felt the effect as soon as it hit her skin. A strong tingling filled her body, starting in the spot where the blood was absorbed. It happened the same way it had the first time, the burning sensation moving through her in waves. Lilly automatically tensed up from the unnatural feeling, her breath quickening in fear.

"Focus on what I told you." Eliza's words reminded Lilly of her instruction and she managed to slow her breathing down enough to focus. She could picture the DNA of the blood and then her own, fighting each other for control. The moment she started to replace hers with the new DNA, the burning subsided, leaving just the tingling. She was no longer fighting the change and it was almost like slipping into a new dress. Lilly could still feel her own essence, her shade, at the core of her body, just with a different outer layer. The tingling stopped abruptly and Lilly fluttered her lashes, revealing a smiling Eliza. 

"Did I do it?" Eliza didn't respond, instead, she pulled out a mirror. Lilly accepted, hesitantly peering into the glass. A young girl, maybe about thirteen stared back at her. Her blonde hair was now a strawberry and an abundance of freckles covered her face. The clothes she wore hung off her at weird angles, not fitting this new body. 

"It's really very good for your first attempt. Through the eyes aren't quite right. They're supposed to be green." Eliza was correct. Her eyes were still the same chocolate brown they usually were. "Now you need to get back to your own body." Lilly looked up, placing the mirror down on the table. "Focus on your essence." Lilly followed her instructions, eager to return to herself. "Picture your own body, each of your features. Let your essence grow, reclaiming your body." Lilly focused on Eliza's words, letting them guide her through the motions. After a moment, the tingling returned, filling her entire body until she was Lilly again. 

Eliza had used up each vial completely by the time Lilly was free to go. The blonde made many mistakes, often getting the eye color or hair wrong and having to start over again. She even messed up one person's nose. Eliza turned out to be an amazing teacher and Lilly wondered why she wasn't a Professor. No matter how many times Lilly screwed up, she stayed patient and guided her through the process again.

While Lilly appreciated the practice, it took a lot out of her. It was two hours of shifting and turning back. By the time she left the classroom her eyes were drooping and her muscles screamed in pain. She found herself groaning at the ding that signaled a text message. Lilly stopped, pulling the device from her pocket and pausing beside one of the many fountains she passed on the way back to the castle.

I need your help nerds. Meet me at the cottage in ten - Penny

The message was addressed to Alice and Quentin as well. Lilly was tempted to ignore it and continue along the path to the castle. However, if Penny was asking for help, it must be important. Lilly turned to walk in the direction of the cottage, praying that this was actually worth the time it took her to get there. 

"This better be good." She said, flopping down on the couch beside Alice and Quentin. Penny and Kady stood in front of the three, looking just as irritated that they had to call this meeting as Lilly was. 

"You look like you got hit by a bus." Alice pointed out, watching as Lilly pulled her legs into her chest.

"I'm hungover and had Shifter training, so let's get this over with." Lilly motioned for Penny to speak before taking a sip of the water she swiped from the bar on the way in. 

"Okay, recently I've been hearing this girl's voice in my head. She was screaming and asking for my help. So, I astral projected to where she was. That's when things got weird. She was chained up in some medieval torture chamber and when I looked at her arm she had the same tattoo as I do." Penny pulled his sleeve down to reveal an odd looking tattoo. "It restricts travelers to astral projection. But before I could do anything else the beast showed up." Lilly perked up at his words. Suddenly this story got a lot more interesting. "He looked right at me. He even said hello." 

"But I thought you were astral projecting?" Quentin asked, confused. 

"I was, he shouldn't've been able to see me. All I can say is that it was some kind of dungeon." Kady moved forward, holding out a sheet of paper to the three.

"This was on the walls." Quentin took it from her, Alice and Lilly both hovered at his shoulders to see what was on it. It looked to be a coat of arms. Two rams faced each other, filling the middle of the drawing. A crown hovered above them, offset by five stars on the bottom. A spark of recognition ignited in Lilly's eyes. It couldn't be...

"That's Ember's seal, from the books." Lilly spoke, the disbelief clear in her voice. She and Quentin looked at eachother with mirrored astonished expressions. Quentin scrambled to reach his bag, rifling through it to produce a copy of Fillory and Further. He flipped furiously through the pages, trying to find an image for reference. Sure enough, the two images were an exact match. Lilly's mind reeled with this new information. If Penny saw this then it must mean-

"Penny, I think you were in Fillory." Penny looked at them both like they were insane. Quentin started to pace back and forth while Alice and Lilly showed Penny the book. "You were in Fillory." Quentin muttered over and over like a madman, running his fingers nervously through his hair. "You were in Fillory--"

"Stop!" Penny interupted, "Okay? Fillory is just a--"

"Did you see any animals? Did they talk to you?"

"I was in a dungeon, you Hobbit-loving freak. What's wrong with you?" Lilly stepped between the two, trying to keep the peace.

"Guys lets just hold on a sec. I don't know if this means you were in Fillory, but it's starting to look that way. Stop fighting and put your energy into figuring this out." Lilly's voice was calm and reasonable in hopes it would calm down both of the guys. Sadly, they both just ignored her attempt.

"There were no Hobbits in Fillory. It--It doesn't matter. Ah, the drawing, the crest, it means that you were in a certain Fillorian castle."

"Kill me."

"It was built by dwarves. Alright, let's not get caught up in the details. The--The point is that the-- It's full of a--A ton of magical shit." Quentin stumbled over his words like he always did when he got excited or nervous. 

"Oh, yeah, The Beast is really f*****g magical. Let me pop back over there and see if he does birthday parties." Penny spat at them, "Let's go. It's a waste of time." Penny and Kady both turned to leave and Lilly was about to say something, but surprisingly, Alice was the one to speak. 

"I think you should listen to Quentin. Because I'm assuming you didn't travel to Fillory on some planned vacation." Penny turned to face her. "So you don't know how to control it yet. Then educate yourself. Nobody knows more about Fillory than Quentin. What if you end up back there again?" Penny looked unconvinced, but Kady was another story.

"She makes a point." Penny rolled his eyes, knowing she was right.

"Okay, fanboy. Tell me what it says in the books about not getting my face eaten by The Beast." 

"Uh- The Beast isn't in the books." Quentin stuttered, shifting his weight nervously between feet.

"How's that if I was right there staring him in the face?"

"The Chatwins, they mostly got chased around by this time witch, The Watcher Woman." Kady and Penny both shook their heads. "She plants clocks in trees. Ah, it's sort of surrealist." 

"Okay, I take it back this is a waste of your time." Kady groaned, turning and pulling Penny away with her.

"The books were written for kids, maybe they skipped the monster that rips out people's eyes! I don't know!" Quentin bellowed across the room. They both stalled at his words.

"Okay! We're done here." Penny sniped, "You love Fillory so much, I hope you get to go. I really do." They both turned, leaving the three in silence. 

"I guess I've been trying to convince myself that Penny's somehow wrong about Fillory, despite having actually been there." He sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Lilly took his hand silently, allowing him to speak. "That's a pretty acrobatic form of denial." 

"I really am sorry." Alice cooed from her spot on the coffee table. "I'm sure Fillory got you through a lot as a kid."

"Yeah," He sighed, "as a kid..." 

Lilly left a little while later, sensing that Quentin needed some space to work through this new revelation. His entire perception of what Fillory is or was, had been warped into something grotesque and twisted. They didn't know for sure that it was real, but if it was... then his childhood storybook was a whole lot darker than he thought. 

Lilly slept through the better part of the afternoon the next day, shooting a text to Dani and Alex, inviting them to get coffee with her. After her chat with Alex at the party, she had realized how much she had been neglecting her other friends. Everything that happened with The Beast had her so consumed in her little inner circle with Quentin, Alice, Penny, and Katie. 

As soon as she sat down with them, it was as if no time had passed. They sipped their coffee, trying not to spew the hot liquid across the room every time Dani spoke. She had them laughing the entire time and Lilly wished she could stay there forever. Stay in the moments where she could feel normal and happy. The in between moments where she wasn't being hunted by a moth covered monster who ripped out people's eyes. It was midnight by the time Lilly and Alex made it to their rooms. Their eyes were weary, but it was worth the time they got to spend together. Something that was a rarity nowadays.

Lilly let the silk fabric of her blouse slip to the floor as she moved to dig through her drawers for a comfortable set of pajamas. She pulled on a fresh pair of undergarments, deciding on a pair of pants with little strawberries printed on them. It was something Cara had given her for Christmas last year. She had a matching pair that they would wear on movie nights at the old apartment. A low cut grey tank top covered her upper body, ending right above her belly button, leaving a thin strip of pale skin exposed. 

Lilly brushed her blonde locks through, before switching the lamp beside her bed out and climbing under the sheets. Her eyes fluttered closed, quickly letting the tendrils of sleep wrap themselves around her.

Creeeaaakkk 

Lilly's brown eyes shot open, searching through the darkness for the source of the sound. She immediately looked to the doorway. The tiniest sliver of a crack had appeared between the door and it's frame. It could have been the wind, the castle was known to be pretty drafty, but something in her gut knew that this was something more.

Bang! 

Something slammed out in the hallway, possibly another door. But she wasn't about to sit around and take the chance that this was something harmless.

A shiver ran up her spine, urging her to move from where she lay, completely vulnerable. Her fingers moved swiftly, casting a muffling spell on herself. She shoved the blankets off her legs in one clean motion, now completely silent. She would not be picked off so easily. She knew better than to call out into the darkness. She'd seen enough horror movies to know that the girl who asks who's there is the first to die when the monster shows up. She padded across the floor, leaving the lights off in favor of not getting murdered the minute she showed whoever it was that she knew they were there. She hunched down in the corner by the door, swiping an empty bottle of liquor off the coffee table as a weapon.

Lilly's fingers weaved together once more, forming a circle between her thumb and index finger which she held before her eye. The room was laid out in front of her, clear as day. The night vision charm working it's magic. She stayed silent, monitoring for any movement. Her eyes flashed towards the cracked door, watching as it swung open fully, revealing a dark hooded figure standing menacingly in the doorframe. 

Only then did Lilly realize how ridiculous her plan was. If this was an attack by The Beast and the only weapon she had was a glass bottle and the element of surprise, she was utterly f****d. Her heart beat quickly and loud enough that she was sure the figure could hear it through the muffling spell. The ink black cloak, brushed against the floors as it prowled towards where Lilly was supposed to be sleeping soundly. If only it knew that it wasn't the one doing the sneaking. 

Lilly rose from where she had crouched down in the corner. The hooded figure had passed her by without realizing and now stood over the empty mattress. The blonde crept slowly up behind it, like a cat stalking its prey. Whoever it was hadn't realized that the outline of a body under the covers was nothing but a lump of pillows. She was right behind them now, raising the bottle above her head, ready to strike. The figure pulled the blankets back just as Lilly brought the bottle down over it's head with an echoing crash. She quickly used her magic to return the lights to the room, watching as the figure moaned on the floor. 

"Who are you?" Her voice was strong and threatening as she stood above the cloaked figure. Her heart jolted when they lifted their face to meet her intense gaze. Covering their face was a terrifying golden mask, a pair of angry dark eyes peering out from behind it. "What do you w--" She began, but was cut off by a burlap sack being thrown over her head from behind, muffling her last words and throwing her into complete darkness once more.