Attempt 22

I could hear the heels of my black boots clicking against the tile as I walked towards that classroom, and I began to think that it seemed to sound a lot like my heartbeat, because at this very moment when I was a mere fifteen feet from a destiny I thought I had run away from years ago I found myself right back in this futile battle, and this time I had a feeling it was going to get me killed again. I stopped outside of the door and took a deep breath as I tucked my shoulder length, wavy storm colored hair over my slightly pointed ear. I was an oddity in this place, but once in a place that was built on magic with more magic I was, ordinary. I sucked in another encouraging breath as I opened the door and walked towards my doom.

When I walked in, the class was already in session so I squared my shoulders and walked to the front where the professor looked at me with curious eyes, it was the same look that I always got, usually I would hide what I am, but both of them I needed them to realize that there was more than just this, and that that very realization would very likely get us all killed. Once I was standing right in front of the professor I handed him a note that the dean had given me about twelve time loops ago although I think in this one I showed up too late, I said,

"I'm Lira, a transfer." The professor looked down at the paper and then just nodded at me to take a seat. I turned towards the class and easily spotted the two boys that I needed to help. Quentin looked panicked as he kept tucking his hair behind his ears, and Penny looked as if he didn't have a care in the world, be we both knew that that wasn't the case. I had seen their futures more times than I could count and it always ended the same way in blood and pain and then eventually death. I let that image enter my mind and looked right at Penny and when his brown eyes widened and met my vivid blue ones I told him to meet me after class and to bring Quentin. He nodded once and I took the seat to the far left of the class as I tried to pretend like we all weren't going to die horribly, soon.

The two boys met me at the fountain in the courtyard when class ended just as I had instructed, Quentin looked terrified and Penny looked pissed, so it seemed as if their personalities hadn't changed this time either. When they reached me Penny looked as if he was going to lay into me for getting into his mind and blah, blah, blah. I held my hand up before he could start and said,

"One, I did not enter your mind you entered mine, Two, if you were shielding better you wouldn't have saw what you did and three, I'm here to hopefully stop it from happening all together. Happy now?" Penny didn't seem like he knew what to say as Quentin asked,

"What is she talking about?" I sighed,

"Look, I see things, things I probably shouldn't echoes of futures and for some reason they seem to be stuck on you, so..." Quentin began to stutter,

"Buuttt...umm...yyouu're a sst... student here too." I shook my head as I sat down at the edge of the fountain,

"I'm not; this school would have never accepted me." Quentin sat beside me,

"Why's that?" I looked him in the eye and asked,

"You know what I am. You've read the books over and over again. I am magic so there is no need to teach me magic." His mouth fell open and it seemed that although he wanted to say something he was unable too. I turned my gaze back to Penny and asked, "Do, you have any questions?" He nodded,

"Why are you here?" I scoffed,

"I told you, I'm here to save you two, to help you do what needs to be done." He shook his head,

"Not what I meant, why are you HERE, as in earth." I laughed and leaned back on my hands,

"Well you see Jane Chatwin saved me when she ran from Fillory. She brought me with her, thinking that someday I might be useful and I guess that day is today and tada here I am." He crossed his arms over his chest,

"So, you're just a pawn in all of this too." I looked up at the clear blue sky as I said,

"Yep, but it's better to be a sacrificial pawn than to be stuck in Fillory with him." I felt myself shiver at the mere thought of my once good friend and what he had become, what magic had made him become. I quickly stood as I said, "Well then there is a lot to teach you both and not a lot of time to do any of it." I then began to walk in the direction of the library as I called back, "Come along." I really hoped that Jane got it right this time, because I really didn't want us all to die again.

Once we were where they housed the oldest of the books I took a deep breath filled with musty books and dust and directed the boys to sit as I said,

"You two are important. I know you both are thinking that I'm crazy and I've got the wrong guys but, you two have something you need to do and that is to kill the beast." Quentin let out a short manic laugh as he asked,

"And how are we supposed to do that? I mean have you seen him?" I nodded slowly,

"I have, he used to be a very good friend of mine once upon a time, but now you need to learn how to destroy him." I then pointed to Penny and said, "And you need to learn how to take your merry band to that cursed place." I then snapped my fingers and all of the books I thought could help these boys began to pull themselves off of the shelves and place themselves before them. Once they were in place I snapped my fingers again and each book began to glow with everything I thought might help. I muttered a spell under my breath as I waved my hand towards them, which caused Penny to become defensive,

"What did you just do?" I sighed,

"Now, everything you read that is glowing you will remember, as if you've practiced it for years. There is only so much I can do for you guys the rest is pretty much up to you." I turned on my heels and walked away, after seeing these two and preforming so much magic I needed to lay down and sleep, but I knew what I would see when I closed my eyes and that held no appeal at all.

They died again and again, there was no way of stopping it, and I couldn't. I had tried twenty two times and every time it was a failure, most times they couldn't even get to Fillory, but then the ending to this loop seems to be the most brutal, we were all going to die he was going to kill us slowly, and I suddenly wondered if he was coming up with new ways to kill me just for fun or if it was all part of his evil villain plan. I felt a manic sort of laugh bubble out of my chest as I remove myself from my borrowed bed in the physical kids dorm, because it seems as if the beast wants Quentin dead more than anyone. I padded down the steps barefoot to see Quentin sitting on the couch looking dazed with a bottle of rum in his lap. I grabbed the bottle and chugged a bit as I sat beside him and asked,

"You okay?" He nodded slowly as he wiped his hands on his brown pants repeatedly,

"It feels like my head is too small for everything." I nodded and took another gulp,

"It happens, although I think it was a waste. I don't think we'll win this time either." He looked at me confused,

"Either?" I nodded,

"We've done this before, twenty one  times to be exact, and he's coming. I think he can smell me. I actually think that he hates me more than he hates you. I don't know why Jane thought that I would be the best for this job." Suddenly all of the mirrors in the room and the house exploded, and there he was, in all of his terrifying glory. I yelled for Quentin to run, but I knew, I just knew we were dead again.