"Yes, well, I hardly read anything for fun," Farah remarked, a bitter edge to her tone that was barely recognizable. Her eyes lit up slightly, eager to see that the First World books told of runes and magic that she'd studied all her life to learn. "Could you show me?"
Farah laughed softly. "I'm glad I changed your mind. Now please don't burn me at a stake." The joke was intended to be lighthearted.
“Really?” Elizabeth asked in surprise. “I mean I can see you as a scholar type but… Never?”
“Of course, I can show you where they would be.” she agreed before actually doing a double-take at the joke. “Wow. That's dark. I wasn't going to do that anyway.”
Farah hesitated slightly at Elizabeth's shock. It took her a moment to respond "Not never," she finally said slowly. "Just hardly. A thoughtless book for fun every once in a while. Other than that, I never had much time for anything other than educational content. But I didn't mind," she added her last sentence quickly.
She couldn't resist a smirk, however, as she noted the quick double-take. "You'd be surprised by some of the things that have happened in the past to fairies who have revealed themselves and their abilities," she commented simply. "As far as I'm aware, it's a large part of why Rosalind despises humans and the First World."
“Ok.” Elizabeth nodded, unsure of what else to say. “I’m sorry if I… offended you. I just thought you might have read some books for entertainment too.”
“I probably would.” she chuckled. “But I guess that's not an unfounded reason to not like humans. We're not the greatest species.” she admitted.
Farah shook her head. "Not at all," she said, dismissing the notion with a small wave of her hand. "I did read some books for entertainment, but not nearly as often as I read studiously for Alfea's courses. Or at… her recommendation.
"And I certainly didn't mean to offend you," she continued, lowering her voice so their conversation wouldn't be as easily overheard. "And while that is true, I don't think most humans are like that. You're especially not half-bad." Farah grinned and nudged Elizabeth with her shoulder as they walked through the rows of books.
Elizabeth nodded at the explanation but couldn't help the slight wince at the end of Farah’s statement. “I can understand that. I was never an honor roll student but I did take… most of my classes seriously.” she related.
“I’m taking that as a high compliment. Thank you.” she teased, laughing softly before returning the friendly gesture. “And you didn't offend me either.” she added with a smile as she lead her friend down an aisle of books. “So, this is the Folklore section. If there are any books on runes or fairies, most of them would be here.”
"I'm glad." Farah grinned as she took Elizabeth's nudge in stride. "Folklore," she repeated, studying the titles that were in front of her. Her fingers brushed over the spines, and her expression softened. "It's been so long since I've been in a library," she murmured, sighing quietly. She'd been hiding in the woods much longer than she'd truly realized.
Elizabeth took a step back, letting Farah have some space as she looked through the books. “How long is “so long”?” she asked softly as she placed some books back in the correct places.
Farah blinked quickly at the question. She'd been so enthralled by the books in front of her that she'd nearly missed it. "Well, since I was in the Otherworld," she murmured. "And before we went on the crusade." Her lips pursed in thought at her brain did the math. "It's been at least… four months? That was the last time Rosalind brought us back to Alfea for a break. I spent time in the library then."
“Wow. That is a long time.” Elizabeth murmured. “I bet you were the kind of person who could come to a library every day if it was possible.” she smiled softly, attempting to lighten the mood.
Farah's eyes clouded. "I know," she admitted sorrowfully. "And you're right. I am." She closed her eyes as a chill ran through her body. It was an odd feeling, and she didn't know what caused it. Her magic was almost immediately on edge, and her nerves were alert. There was something else here. Something… magical?
"Elizabeth," she said slowly. "Are there any less-frequented back rooms that we might be able to visit?" She glanced at the woman briefly before stepping closer to her and looking around. There was something not right. A person walked by the end of the aisle, and Farah jumped.
Elizabeth winced slightly when her attempt fell flat and was about to apologize before Farah’s question caught her off guard. “Uhh… Yeah. There's a couple. Mostly for new shipments or storage.” she confirmed, not paying much attention to any possible customers. “Why? What’s wrong?” she asked in concern when she noticed how on edge the fairy seemed to be all of a sudden.
Farah looked around, trying to identify who or what she could feel the magic pulsing from. "I'm not sure," she murmured, standing defensively in front of Elizabeth. "There's something magical here. I can't tell what it is."
Another person walked by the end of the aisle. A door opened. Then another person walked by. And another. A second door opened, then the two doors both shut with eerie synchronization.
Farah narrowed her eyes and crept toward the end of the aisle. "Stay back," she warned Elizabeth, calling her magic to her as she stepped out of the aisle and looked around. The library was strangely deserted as if all the people in it had moved to one side… and they had. Every single person that had been perusing the books or working was now in the bathrooms.
"Farah Dowling."
The fairy curled her fingers into fists and looked around. The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once, and she didn't recognize it. "Who are you?" she demanded. "Reveal yourself!" She glanced over her shoulder at Elizabeth, making sure that the girl stayed back.
Elizabeth slipped into combat mode easily at Farah’s warning. The doors opening and closing the way they did reminded her of something in a horror movie but she would worry about that later. Even though she had no experience fighting against magic, she wasn't going to let Farah face a threat on her own. But she did defer to the other woman’s judgment and stayed behind her, not moving past the bookshelves.
Farah heard the locks click on the bathroom doors before a young man materialized in front of her. He had mussed brown hair and wore a dark grey zip-up sweatshirt with black jeans. His eyes were dark brown, like hers, and they studied her intensely.
Shouts could be heard coming from inside the bathroom as the people seemed to suddenly realize that they were trapped there. But in all honesty, Farah barely heard them. She was too focused on the man in front of her. "Who are you?" she repeated.
He smirked. "My name is Sebastian. No need to ask yours though. I know who you are, Farah."
Farah curled her fingers into tight fists. "You're magic," she said shortly. It wasn't a question, but Sebastian shrugged casually as if that was his answer. Farah's eyes only narrowed further. "But you're not a fairy."
Sebastian clicked his tongue against his teeth and started to walk towards her. "I'm starting to think I have the wrong person… I was told Farah Dowling was powerful and at least a bit intelligent. Not some half-wit who just states the obvious."
Farah inhaled sharply. She made to take a threatening step toward him, but she suddenly felt her motion jerk to a stop. Sebastian's eyes turned red, as did Farah's as he took over the blood and muscles in her body to force her still. The veins in her neck stood out as she tensed and glared at him.
"You're a blood witch," she hissed through gritted teeth, hoping that behind her, Elizabeth would hear her words as well. Now, she was thankful for the conversation the two women had earlier.
"Yeah, again, see," Sebastian remarked, continuing to walk towards Farah even though she was immobilized. "There it is. Stating the obvious."
Farah tried to summon her magic, but it wouldn't come. Dammit. She tried again, and it was still in vain. She was completely defenseless. Gods, she hoped Elizabeth would at least run and save herself.
Elizabeth took a few quiet steps backward as she listened to the conversation. She wasn't happy with how the man was insulting Farah but the former marine knew better than to attack him head-on. Especially when the two magic users confirmed what he was… Which gave Elizabeth a pretty good idea why he was here. Though she hoped she was wrong.
Obviously, he didn't seem to know that she was there, or perhaps he didn't care since he locked everyone else in the bathroom. The blood witch had a target and his own goal. Magicless humans were not important to him. She continued to quietly move away but she wasn't quite sure what to do. On one hand, her training said to get the civilians out of here but she didn't know if he could control multiple people at the same time… If not, now would be a good time to launch a sneak attack and get him away from Farah.
Sebastian approached Farah calmly and stopped directly in front of her. Both of their eyes were still red as he continued to use his magic. "I could snap your neck right now if I wanted to," he hissed, lifting a hand and pressing his fingers against the side of her neck. "I've done it to others before. It would be so easy…" Farah inhaled sharply and closed her eyes. She mentally begged Elizabeth to run and prepared for what seemed to be inevitable now.
"But for some reason, Rosalind wants you alive."
Farah's eyes flew open just as Sebastian reached to grip her throat. She let out a strangled gasp, and suddenly, it was like he was drawing away her energy. No, not her energy. Her magic. He was stealing her magic.
It took maybe twenty seconds, and when Sebastian had finished, he released her neck from his grip. Then, he took a few steps backward and withdrew the magic that was keeping her in place. Farah collapsed to the ground, feeling tired and weak. She coughed and gagged on the air before glaring up at him. Her muscles had been so tense with his magic that now she was trembling.
Sebastian smirked at her and inhaled deeply. "She was right… you are powerful. Or should I say… you were," he gloated.
Elizabeth stumbled, banging into a book cart when she heard the man mention Rosalind’s name. That was something she had not been expecting at all… Why would a blood witch be working for the very person who was responsible for a massacre?
She let out a soft curse at the noise she made and quickly ran down an aisle to put as much distance as she could between her and the attacker. Regrettably, she grabbed a thick encyclopedia as one of the only things she could use as a weapon… Though she was hating the fact that she hadn't brought her gun but she perked up a little when she remembered the can of mace in her purse.
Sebastian turned his attention away from Farah quickly at the noise. He thought everyone in the library – all of the humans, at least – were trapped in the bathroom.
His eyes glowed silver-blue for a moment instead of red, and Farah realized, horrified, he was using her abilities to track Elizabeth. She gritted her teeth and rose from the floor. Before the blood witch had a chance to react, Farah leaped at him and forced him to the ground. Then, she was blown back by a startlingly powerful burst of telekinesis. Her back hit the wall, and she sunk to the floor again as the wind was knocked out of her. Was that really how strong her magic was???
Sebastian smirked. "Nice try, Farah. I'll deal with you in a minute. So please, don't try to run. As much as I'm supposed to deliver you back to the Otherworld alive, I don't tolerate disobedience. And neither does Rosalind."
With that, he set off to find Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was deceptively calm in this situation. She never thought that she would be back in a fight but it was surprising how easily everything was coming back to her. Her breathing was calm and steady, despite how her heart was pounding, as she went back to walking quietly. She did have a plan as she was actually moving closer to where she had last heard Sebastian. But she wasn't thinking about it. She didn't want Farah to read her mind and have her give anything away.
She dropped into a crouch and froze for a moment as she briefly caught sight of him through a gap in the bookshelves before throwing a second book further down the aisle to either distract him or get him to follow the noise.
Sebastian stalked through the aisles of books, looking for Elizabeth, while Farah was still trying to catch her breath. She'd only ever had the wind knocked out of her maybe twice. No one was usually able to get close enough to her to deliver that wicked of a hit. Her magic usually kept them at bay. But now it was her magic being used against her.
Farah finally managed to draw in a breath, and she winced as she tried to stand. She had to get up and help Elizabeth. Sebastian would be even more powerful with Farah's magic.
The blood witch jerked his head at the sound of the book. He narrowed his eyes and began to start towards it. "Stupid humans," he growled before stopping and listening for a moment. Farah's powers weren't what he needed, so he tapped back into his own. He heard Elizabeth's racing heart and smirked. "You can't hide from me," he hissed as he changed his course.
“Stupid yourself, witch.” Elizabeth growled back, having darted behind him when he fell for her diversion, and slammed the book against the back of his head before delivering a swift kick to his side. Hopefully he was at least somewhat winded as she dropped the book and pulled out the mace.
Sebastian's eyes rolled back into his head, and he crumpled to the ground. The heavy book had knocked him out completely.
Farah rushed over as quickly as she could hearing someone collapse. She prayed it wasn't–
"Elizabeth!" she cried out, relieved to see the woman standing over an unconscious Sebastian holding a heavy-looking book. "Oh, my gods! Are you alright?" Farah asked quickly. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Elizabeth spun around when she heard Farah call her and relaxed a little at seeing the fairy back on her feet. “Me? What about you? You're the one he was threatening.” she pointed out in concern. “Don't worry about me. He didn't even see me.” she assured as she took a slow breath to calm down.
Farah sighed with relief that Elizabeth was okay. "I'm…" She stopped herself from finishing that sentence. Whatever she was about to say would've been a lie. "He took my magic," she said instead, curling her fingers into fists. "You're sure he didn't see you?"