Threads

Chapter Nineteen: Part 4

Alice only had a split second to reach up for the magic, and then Allira was on her, knocking her down, screeching with rage as she tried to get her hands around Alice’s throat. She banged her elbows painfully on the floor as the other woman’s weight fell on top of her. Panic flashed through her as she struggled to breath, and she cast the threads at her opponent’s arms. The woman shrieked and jerked backwards, the threads burning her as they wrapped around her wrists.  Allira shrieked louder still, clawing at her skin. Alice struggled to get out from underneath her. She felt the Siren’s weight shift and she was suddenly free.  Allira screamed angrily, a piercing, tea kettle shriek as Altair yanked her backwards by a fistful of her hair. Alice scrambled to her feet.

 “What are you doing in my house? How did you get in here?”

            “Ask your little Elf friend,” Allira spat. “All I had to do was sing a verse or two outside his window, and he ran down and let me in like a good little boy. He won’t be out of the daze I put him in for hours!”

            “Maybe I’ll turn you into a cockroach,” Alice snapped. “A Toad would be too good for you.”  Allira struggled to get loose, scratching and flailing at Altair, cursing and threatening them.

            “You can have him!” she shrieked at Alice. “You deserve one another, Witch!”

            “What are you talking about?” Alice growled at her, rubbing her sore throat.

            “Enjoy him,” Allira cackled. “Epimetheus - god of Afterthought, bringer of Pandora’s plague. You deserve one another.”

            Epimetheus, I knew it! So he’s the screw up. No wonder he didn’t want to tell me.

            “I have never wanted Ambrose.” Alice glared at the raving lunatic in front of her. “But it’s clear you can’t wrap your mind around that.”

            “What do we do?” Altair gritted out between his teeth as he struggled to keep his grip on Allira.

            “Make sure she can’t come back.” Alice reached up to the roof. She had no idea what she was doing, but she was angry enough to try something.  When Allira heard this she began to shriek more loudly, kicking at Alice, scratching Altair’s hand and arms. The door flew open just as Alice was pulling down the threads of magic, weaving together a haphazard spell.

            “What’s going on?” Azura said in astonishment.

Alice cast the spell, watching it move fluidly through the air and wind itself, snake-like, up one of the Siren’s legs. It spread out in glowing ropes until there was not a part of her free from it. Allira shrieked, and then suddenly went still.

“You’ll be sorry,” she cackled, her eyes rolling madly. “You’ll be sorry when you see her!”

            “I think she’s finally snapped.  Let her go, Altair.” Altair let the Siren go and stepped back. The threads grew brighter, glowing brilliantly orange, and then Allira vanished with a high, thin shriek. Alice blinked.

            “I don’t recall teaching you that spell” Azura said. “Where did she go?”

            “No idea…I just hope she can’t come back.”

            Azura frowned. “What did she mean, ‘you’ll be sorry when you see her’?”

            “I don’t know...” Alice trailed off, remembering how she’d found the Siren with her hand on Maya’s doorknob. She’d assumed they’d caught her before she’d got in but….

            “Maya!” Alice spun on her heel and ran for the guest room, dread sinking her stomach. She froze in the doorway, hearing herself let out a strangled scream. This couldn’t be real. It had to be a bad dream.

            Maya was sleeping on her back with one hand resting on the pillow beside her, her face peaceful and pale. Her neck was bloody. The marks ranged from small puncture wounds to large jagged holes, and she had bled profusely, staining the sheets around her upper torso in a halo of crimson. On the blankets at the end of the bed, Allira had discarded the knife, sticky with blood. There was so much blood. It had pooled beneath Maya’s neck, and slipped in between her breasts, staining the pink night gown she wore. It was everywhere. Alice had the sudden, foolish urge to pull the sheets up further, to cover the horrible sight and give the girl some decency, but she couldn’t bring herself to touch anything.

Azura’s voice was ragged, “She did this?”

            Alice shook. Her voice came out hoarse and wobbly, “I know she hated me, but why Maya?” She put her hands over her eyes, trembling violently.

            “She thought you got her kicked out of Ambrose’s house. She must have wanted to start something,” Azura faltered.

            “It’s working,” Altair growled. His voice was like an injured bear, traumatized and deeply angry. Alice reached out hesitantly, placing two fingers to the side of the girl’s neck. She found no pulse, and drew her bloody hand away, looking at it in shock. She felt herself begin to slowly melt, like a woman made of snow in the summer sun, collapsing in on herself until she sat on the floor, hunched over, her head nearly touched the hardwood. Blood thundered in her ears. There seemed to be a constant ringing sound.

“It’s my fault. I should never have taken her away from there. I made him angry.”

            “I was on the couch sleeping.” Altair’s face was blank with shock. “I was right there and she went by me, and I didn’t hear her until it was too late.”

            “You can’t blame yourselves,” Azura whispered, but her voice was hollow, carried away by the storm that was going on in both of them. Moments ago Maya had been vibrant and alive. To see her lying motionless, lifeless - it felt like someone was slowly carving out her insides. Alice wanted to crawl into the earth and become part of the dirt so she could no longer feel. She might shatter into a thousand fragile pieces in one instantaneous explosion.  

She barely registered Azura’s voice when she said, “I’ll be right back.”

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