Severed Ties

When Sparks Fly

Alara

Smoke and fire clogged the air, only permeated with a thousand screams, but there was no time to listen. Not time to see, or breathe.

There was only time to run.

Cameron held my hand, but I knew I needed to let it go, as much as I didn't want to.

"Darling?" he spoke a waver in his tone that was so very rare, as our fingers slip.

"Meet me outside, I need to get them out, I need to get Isobel and Kira out," I rushed the words from my mouth and he nodded.

"Get Theo, Leo and Mel should be somewhere around we need to all meet at the clearing," I had already hitched my dress up, pulling out a familiar metallic blue gun.

Cameron's mother's gun, I had kept it and I had never felt fear when its metal casing was pressing against my welcoming flesh.

"Don't die on me Alara," he was only half joking.

"I think that's my line," I laughed cocking the gun and holding it to my side.

There were people running everywhere, gunshots ringing through the smog.

He gave me one final look, so loving I almost forgot the chaos we had ignited. But my mind had to remain clear, now was not the time to get lost in the forest of his eyes.

And I knew what I needed to say, just in case, "I love you, Cameron."

"I love you darling, more than you will ever know," and he disappeared into the ruckus. I was by a door with a small alcove hidden behind thick curtains, I slipped behind it, pressing my gun close to my chest. Through the slivered gap in the curtain, I watched as the smoke began to clear, and just as I and Vincent had anticipated, the Duplicitous were, here preening for revenge.

Which meant Carlisle Grayson and Damon Mortello weren't too far behind. I knew I was their target, they wanted to get me on my own, distract the force of the Falco, corner me and slay the traipsing girl that had put them all to shame.

Well, damn them all to hell they weren't going to stop me.

A Queen was the most valuable piece in the game of chess, they would sacrifice any of theirs just to get to me, which meant I needed to be careful. I would get Is and Kira out first, as far away from me as possible.

I counted to three before, barrelling out of my hiding spot, I shot into the sky so the sound rang around me, a stupid move if you didn't want to be caught but I wanted to be caught. I was the main focus I was the target with all the attention on me it would allow as many people as possible to get out of there.

Cameron would kill me if he knew what I had planned, that is why I had to send him off to get Theo, Mel and Leo, he needed to be as far away from me as possible too. I would not let him get hurt and having seen Mr Grayson's willingness to kill his own wife I didn't think even his son was safe from his wrath.

"Come and get me, boys," I yelled and through the smoke, I walked to the middle of the hall. Sparking flames around me, a golden tint in my eyes as I spread my arms out wide, my dress' arms billowing out, the green fabric burning off as I tugged at it. A neat little trick I had learnt, it was like the fabric equivalent of flash paper. Fabric that with enough force would ignite on command.

I was a flame that was drawing all the moths to her. With their thick and dark masks twisted into the masks of a drama, with harrowing sneers and far too gleeful smiles, all creeping towards me.

In the slightest of movements I craned my neck upwards, feigning looking around as I twisted in a circle, but what I really was doing was trying to locate the girls. It was at half a turn I saw them crouched down behind bannisters, on the stairs out of the way but in a dangerously open position. It was good, we girls had learnt to communicate without eyes, I caught Is' eye and she nodded slowly I flashed my eyes in the direction of the exit with the least attackers crawling around it. And as I pulled a clip out of my hair, one that matched the one holding up her hair, I flicked it open revealing a dagger.

She understood.

And now it was time for the show to begin.

"Come on Carlisle, don't you want to embrace your, daughter-in-law," I made my voice purposefully saccharine dripping with a poisonous sweetness. I smiled widely so much so I could feel the skin at the corners of my lips tear ever so slightly, everything about me was twisted. 

"Come and give me a hug," I tugged on another part of my dress and it went up in a spark of flames, "It'll be nice and warm."

They were closing in on me, gang members clad in those awful masks, all in black, languidly moving towards me, guns raised and aimed at my heart.

"Oh dears," I crooned, "You can't kill me, you need me alive just ask..." I twirled around, my gun raised as I was analysing my surroundings. I had seen it, the white mask amongst all the black.

I closed my eyes and breathed, I knew where he was, I could feel it, it was insanity what I was about to do, but I had lost my mind so long ago that this felt normal, natural this overwhelming sense of recklessness consuming me, setting me on fire when I did the only thing I could think of, I had turned myself into a weapon.

If I was going to go up in flames everyone would burn with me.

I had seen it but where was, the white speck amongst the abyss?

"Just ask," I opened my eyes and when I finally settled on the correct angle, I shot straight ahead, "Him."

The silence in the room was deafening most of the guests had evacuated there were a few bodies dotted around but everyone at this event was combat trained. It was a Mafia event, not a posh ball where no one even knew how to turn on a burner let alone shoot a gun.

The few that died, were unprepared and it was a sad reality that in every war there were deaths, I made a promise to myself to find out all the victims, to know their names because part of me felt that they were dead because of me.

"You missed darling," I cringed at his coarse voice, his deliberate use of Cameron's name for me.

He revealed himself, in the white mask, but this time, he was with a walking stick, I had shot his leg he was limping and he couldn't run.

I crooked a finger at him, beckoning him closer, as I lowered my gun. He gave me an amused look.

"Did I?" I questioned and I saw the flash of confusion in his eyes.

A fail-safe, there always had to be a fail-safe.

And I cannot believe they fell for the same trick twice.

I started to laugh, a garbled sound of pure madness, I was unhinged, a loose cannon ready to fire.

"Three, " I began to count, slowly spinning around.

"What have you done? Why are you counting," that is what I wanted to hear, that edge of fear even in the most stubborn of men. That is what I could do to incite unimaginable pain. I was the bringer of blood and they would all drown in it.

It was after all their fault for crowing me the Queen.

"Two,"

I was preparing myself, to run but they didn't know that to them I was just spinning.

"What is the meaning of this Alara? What are you doing? You are trapped you are surrounded you are-"

"One!"

And there was a spark and fizzle and for one terrifying moment nothing happened.

He laughed a cruel twisted sound that was soon cut off by the most deafening bang.

Fire, smoke, and sparks, filled the air.

But most of all as I ran, so did my laughs.