For a moment I wondered if they were the same guy, but I dismissed it. Different voice, different height and size… there was no way. I continued after him with new resolve, a thousand questions buzzing like tiny bees in my skull. I didn't know who he was, but I was damned if I was going to let him walk away with only that weak introduction.
I only had to dodge a few patrons in my way, nearly jogging to catch up with the other User. He was already halfway up the steps to the second floor; I needed to reach-
The resounding crack split the air and deafened me. I froze in place as if I was the one who had been shot. For a moment, I didn't understand what had just happened.
Comprehension was accompanied by fear. The terror cruelly seized my heart and I grasped at my chest, as if gripping at it would make the rapid beating slow. I whirled around, away from the stairs. It was time enough to catch a glimpse of the victim collapsing to the ground not far from the doors I had just walked through.
Blood began to pool slowly as my ringing ears began to process terrified screams and shouts of the other students as they made wild gestures towards the body. Many cowered behind whatever they could find, no doubt in fear of being shot next.
However, no further shots came. There was no villain standing around with a smoking gun. Whoever had done this was gone, and gone very quickly.
I numbly began to walk closer towards the body, as others peeked out from their improvised hiding spots. I was among the first of those creeping forward to reach the body, but observed it from a cautious distance. A beautiful face marred by the single unnatural impression dead center in her forehead.
She had been about my age, with wispy blonde hair and pale skin from a lack of time in the sun even with summer just passing. Her hazel eyes, only a few shades darker than my own, stared unseeing into space. I would have found her attractive in life, but in death all I could find for her was remorse.
And anger.
My jaw tightened as I watched her blood pool around her head. The bullet had hit just above the eyes, a deliberate killing blow from someone who had skill with a gun and obvious motive. This was a decisive job that had been planned. This girl who didn't look more than nineteen or twenty had been murdered less than ten feet away from me, and I had been able to do nothing to stop it.
Where was magic then? When this girl needed it more than anything else?
I couldn't know. There had been nothing I could have done. But it didn't matter; I still felt the weight of guilt. A life was gone before it ever really had a chance to begin.
I wanted to know why.
A shoulder bumped me, and it reminded me that I wasn't the only one crowding around the unfortunate corpse. My fellow students had begun to gather. Many looked shocked or fearful, and more than one were talking in rapid breathless tones into their phones. No doubt they were spreading the news, it would be all over campus in less than a minute and everyone would know what had happened here.
I saw one man in his mid-twenties recording the still body with his smartphone, a look of horrified awe plastered on his face.
My temper returned in full force at the sight of it.
"Hey," I snapped at him, "Show a little respect!"
He had the decency to look guilty and lower the phone. He wasn't the only one guilty of it though. I saw at least one other recording and a couple were even snapping pictures. What was the world coming to, if this is how a poor girl's death was treated? Just another thing to be shared on social media. A terrible event measured only in the popularity it would garner for the spectators.
More and more people were crowding around. I locked eyes with Eliza, who was standing on the opposite side of the body with the crowd that had begun to gather by the glass doors of the library. She was staring in numbed shock; I could only imagine what she was thinking at the moment. This was probably her first brush with violent death. I wished I could say that it had been mine, as well.
The crime in front of me wasn't so far from what I had done myself last night. Admittedly, I hadn't meant to nearly kill Two-Bit… but I could still hear his screams. A life was a life, and I had almost taken one last night.
Power could be a beautiful gift, but reflect it in the mirror. See it from another perspective, and I guarantee you will see an equally terrible curse.
I held it in my grasp, and it was real… I had power over others. So many times over the years I wondered if it would be better if I didn't have it. I had fled across the country, seeking more power at the same time.
It was a hunger, a thirst that couldn't be sated. I needed more, so I struck out at people whom I thought deserved it, if only to further my skills. That was exactly what had happened with the thugs the night before whether I wanted to admit it to myself or not.
It felt very much like a slippery slope, and one that I couldn't climb out of. Whether I wanted it or not, magic was mine to use.
With all the people shuffling around me, the buzzing conversations clamoring for the attention of my ears, I suddenly felt very claustrophobic. I began to turn away and felt like I was going to be sick just from that brief motion. It was only the sudden shouts of disbelief that made me stop to look at the girl- at her corpse- again.
Her blood was moving, not just pooling around her, but moving.
From the spreading well of blood, thin lines dashed away, scurrying across the ground as if they were bloody serpents. They wriggled together in ways that were inconceivable in the purely physical realm. In seconds where there had only been blood, words had formed. I stared at them along with the other spectators of the phenomenon, almost as confused as they must have been.
ET IN FRATERNITATIS EGO
Magic. Deep and deliberately controlled magic.
Written in blood, it was a sinister taunt. My eyes scanned quickly for the source, but I couldn't pick out the person making a spectacle of a girl's death. It was a measured taunt… the killer, or someone they were working with, was here with me.
The party responsible was in my presence. My eyes swiped across the students, looking for any sign of them. I couldn't stop her from dying, but maybe I could avenge this girl's death.
So distracted by everything that had happened, I had long missed the significant entrance of the two blue uniformed officers, who had finally pushed past the crowd to get to the body, and had been staring at the unnatural words along with the rest.
Just as I remembered exactly why it was important to get as far away as possible from the cops and the obvious crime scene, Officer Rodriguez waved her hands at the crowd and shouted for the students back away from the body.
Her dark eyes tracked through the crowd with a practiced ease.
Then they locked onto mine, and my fiery anger gave way to icy fear.
Chapter 3: A Tangled Web
Everyone makes mistakes.
That is an absolute certainty that you can count on in life. Your friends make mistakes, your teachers make mistakes, and you make mistakes. Even your parents, maybe even especially your parents, make mistakes all the time. Maybe you were one of them.
No one is perfect.
There are things in my life that I wished I could change. Things I would have given almost anything to go back and fix. The frustrating thing about living in the present is that none of us could go back to change the past. I seriously doubted that it was just me that thought about this stuff. What could I have done differently to change my life? Make it better?
Hell, there was a whole sub-genre of movies and shows that dealt with this exact trope. Traversing time and space is a fascinating mystery to us and even as the times change, that unfulfilled need to answer what if I had done this? That never varied. Doctor Who has been around for half a century, and was still popular around the world for that exact reason.
I've made mistakes. I was far from perfect. I deeply regretted the events of the night before, regretted it with every ache brought on by the constant throbbing that plucked at my nerves, thrumming like a badly tuned vio
lin. I would never forget my mistakes- they were a part of me. They made me who I am, even if I was ashamed of them. Maybe especially because of my shame.
I knew I could do better; I knew I could learn from my errors and do so much more.
I desperately felt every mistake, every decision that had brought me to where I was. Standing several feet from the body of a girl who couldn't have been much older than me, my own hazel eyes locked in a seemingly eternal moment with an officer of Normal law. An officer who had chased me from an unfortunately similar scene just the night before.
This girl had been murdered with a gun, but she died because of magic. The bloody epithet that had been left behind would live in my memories forever, marking her death unnatural. One-Bit and Two-Bit, the thugs I had tossed around for 'practice,' also had received their wounds because of magic. Two-Bit nearly died.
So what made me different from the person- or people- that killed the fair-haired girl sprawled out in front of me now?
Maybe nothing.
In that moment, the desperate need to run was balanced out by the sudden realization… and the sense of responsibility that came with it.
Maybe it was better this way, I decided wearily, and my aching body agreed with yet another painful throb. Maybe I couldn't run from what I had done last night… it was one mistake too many. Officer Rodriguez and her cadre of uniformed justice had been on my tail since they cornered me in the alley. It was a sign… it was time to stop running.
I wasn't meant to get away.
In the light of that split-second epiphany, I was surprised how relieved I was… I had done wrong, now I would have to face it. But I could face it directly, no more running away from my prob-
She looked away.
She looked away.
It was as if the world suddenly started to spin again. In that long moment I had known nothing but those sharp brown eyes locked on my own, judging me… innocent?
Rodriguez hadn't recognized me. She couldn't pick me out from any other student, even when looking for a criminal… I had escaped once more, right under her nose at another crime scene.
I didn't feel elated to get away once more, instead… the anguish of everything returned. Physical pain welcomed the mental guilt that accompanied my actions once more. The weight of it crashed down on my shoulders once more and I felt my knees buckle, as if they threatened to give out.
I should have been happy- relieved to escape a crime that I had committed yes, but only out of youthful naiveté and necessity… didn't I already suffer enough for my actions? My body rebelled with every step, and my mind plagued with the replay of the flames engulfing Two-Bit, the hideous cracking sound of One-Bit's emaciated body hitting the unforgiving brick wall of the alley.
There was no relief in escaping justice this time. I had been forced in that split-second to reconcile that I was at fault, my actions were criminal, and I deserved to be punished. What had I been thinking? Attacking thugs in the dead of night… The age old adage of 'two wrongs didn't made a right,' had never sounded so true.
I could do nothing, though. As guilty as I felt I knew that if I did something like turning myself in, it wouldn't be enough. It would be recompense for my mistakes last night, true, but I had other debts to pay… other mistakes to right.
Not only for me, but for my parents, old friends, and old enemies… life is hard enough for a Normal. I was a mage, magic didn't simplify complex things- it simply added complexity.
I steadied myself under the weight of it all with new resolve. I looked down remorsefully at the motionless body of a girl who would never feel anything again. Someone had taken a human life not fifteen feet from me. Then they put on a taunting display of magical prowess to mock the very same death.
There was no changing the past, no changing fate. But I could shape the future, if I was smart enough. Compensating for my mistakes? Yes, I most certainly needed to do so.
I could start here.
"Everyone move back away from the body now!" Rodriguez shouted, voice ringing out with authority that demanded obedience, "This is a crime scene and it will be treated as such!"
Her words were emphasized by the steady trickle of uniforms squeezing through the crowd at the doors. I could just only see a small swarm of cop cars outside of the UGL, flashing lights refracted by the transparent entrance doors. Accompanying them was a steadily growing crowd outside, which was kept at bay by more officers.
Students now were being ushered away by the growing horde of blue justice. Rodriguez and Wilson stood over the body, talking quietly. I saw Wilson point a single finger towards the now indecipherable smear that had magically formed words only a minute before. Rodriguez shook her head and gestured for him to lower it. I couldn't hear what was being said over the murmurs of the crowd.
Et in Fraternitatis Ego, I repeated them carefully in my head several times to lock it in my memory until I could write it down. I had no idea what they meant, or even the language, though it sounded suspiciously Latin. No doubt they were an important clue to what had happened here.
Many of the library patrons were heading back into the library, and I joined them, rather than follow the crowd that was being forced outside. There were still questions I needed answered, and it took only a moment's stroll to spot the person who might answer them. The very same mage I had chased into the library in the first place- which possibly prevented me from seeing exactly who had committed murder just a few steps away.
He was standing by the stairs I had begun to ascend less than five minutes ago. The crooked smile I had seen before in his first introduction was gone and was replaced with a much more solemn look. I approached with caution, my own features locked in grimly carved stone.
The unknown User nodded to me when I stopped a few feet from him, "Hey," he acknowledged quietly, nearly indiscernible from the buzzing chatter of the patrons moving around us.
"Hey," I mirrored.
He gave a small gesture towards the stairs, "Let's go talk?"
I nodded again and let him lead the way. I eyed his back suspiciously on the way up. This was another mage, different from the one from last night. He had been ahead of me in the library, so he couldn't be the shooter. Still, magic had been done afterwards and I had been unable to discern the source of it in the large crowd. That could have been him.
My instincts told me no. But I couldn't shake the feeling that I might be walking with one of the murderers I had promised to find.
111
The second floor of the library was strangely empty, considering it was the early afternoon of a weekday. Not surprising though when you consider that a murder had just happened right in the middle of campus. I noted that many of the people who had come up the stairs with us were quickly walking to the books they had left behind, packing them away and moving to leave once more.
Pushed against the walls of the second floor were glass-paned study rooms, very much sound proof unless someone started to shout. We moved towards the back of the floor, and I followed my companion into one the smaller rooms meant for two people.
We sat down across from each other, and there was a short silent staring contest. He broke it first and stuck out his hand across the table.
"James Swann," was the short introduction he gave, a small smile returning, "But you can call me Jimmy."
I grasped it cautiously, the familiar presence of another mage buzzed against my conscience, a reminder of our introduction outside the library. Instead of the excited anticipation I had felt before, now I could only feel doubtful mistrust.
Still, I replied, "Nicholas Stratus." After a second's pause, I added reluctantly, "You can call me Nick, if you want."
His smile widened, seemingly oblivious to my suspicious thoughts, "Jimmy and Nick." Swann laughed, "I think that has a nice ring to it."
"Stratus and Swann." I smiled, despite my reservations.
"Swann and Stratus sounds better to me." Jimmy corrected with a playful glint in his eye.
> I didn't like that look. It seemed wrong to make jokes with this 'Jimmy Swann' just after we had witnessed the aftermath of a coldly calculated murder. Maybe Swann could brush that off, maybe he was even involved… but I couldn't just forget what we had just seen.
Maybe he read my mood by the dark look on my face because his smile vanished again, and his hands fell back to his side. Swann turned to his satchel quietly and pulled out a thin silver laptop, powering it up and beginning to type.
"That was terrible." He said, sorrow evident in his voice, "No one should have to die like that." Even as he spoke he never looked up from his laptop screen, and I could hear the steady sound of typing from the other side of the table. I had pulled out nothing from my bag in response, instead sitting with my arms folded, acutely aware that my back was towards the door of the room.
"It was." I only agreed, though my tone suggested anger, suspicion- possibly directed at Swann himself. Was he involved? Remorse and guilt went hand in hand; I knew that better than most. Life had taught me not to trust easily, everyone had some angle. It had pounded that lesson into me until I nearly broke. Trust was earned, and Swann was very far from earning mine.
"It wasn't me." James said quietly, eyes downcast. Again he seemed to read my thoughts. But it was no magic, he just had a good read on me. I wasn't exactly being subtle in making my displeasure known. There was no point in pretending that I wasn't suspicious of the only other mage I knew at the scene of the crime- it would be stupid not to be.
"Prove it." I challenged.
Green eyes behind wire rimmed frames looked up to meet mine, and he grimaced, "You know I can't."
I sat up straighter, leaning forward and placed folded arms on the table. I matched his stare with my own and waited for him to say something else.
He didn't, instead looking back down to his laptop screen to continue his sedate typing. It was quiet for over a minute as neither of us said anything further.
"You don't seem as suspicious of me as I do of you." I said suddenly, annoyed by his silence.
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