"Betrayed us all...?"
Those words, combined with the strange wave of guilt, stunned me for a moment. But I quickly regained my composure, despite the urge to vomit that strange powerful foreign emotion was causing me. After all...
"I may be in great danger."
If Nicole really was admitting to being the traitor, it also meant that she was most likely the user of the mysterious innate power that had caused Sam's death.
"This sad state she's in could just be an act to make me drop my guard, I have to be careful."
But if she really had a psychic power, as Sophia and I had theorised, I had no idea of knowing how she would attack me.
"It's better if I go on the offensive... If I'm wrong, I can always apologise later..."
«What do you mean, 'you betrayed us'? Is it because you didn't come to fight with us? If that's the case, I understand... but you can still make it up to Penny by helping us now,» I said in what I hoped was a reassuring tone as I took a step back. Hoping Nicole wouldn't notice, I moved my hand closer to the holster that held my wand.
Fortunately, my friend was staring down at her feet as she fidgeted nervously with her hands. After a moment of silence, she muttered:
«N-no... t-that's not... Liz... I-I worked with Skylark to...»
Hearing that hideous name erased any possible hesitation from my mind and made me spring into action.
Without even bothering to let her finish, I grabbed my wand and cast a wind spell. Nicole let out a surprised gasp as she was pushed back against the wall behind her. Since I hadn't used an incantation so as not to alert her to my sudden attack, my spell wasn't strong enough to knock her out, but that wasn't my intention anyway. Without wasting any time, I lunged forward and before Nicole could even register what was happening, I grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pressed my wand against her neck, just below her jaw.
«L-Liz...» Nicole whimpered in a pained voice.
I wasn't going to feel sorry for someone who had just admitted to working with the man I hated the most. Instead, I pressed my arm against her chest and pinned her to the wall, my wand digging deeper into her neck.
«If this is a misunderstanding, I'll do everything I can to make it right. Now explain yourself. And don't try anything funny or I'll slit your throat,» I hissed, looking her straight in the eyes. Nicole lowered hers, seemingly unable to hold my gaze.
"Just like how Sam died..."
I could feel an unbridled rage rising inside me. Gritting my teeth, I gripped my wand tighter to keep my hand from shaking. It was important not to let my nerves get the better of me and cloud my judgement at a moment like this.
«Why did she confess now? Is this some kind of trick or is she feeling remorseful because of what happened to Penny?»
My mind went back to the strange feeling of guilt I had felt earlier, which had now completely dissipated, giving way to anger.
"Did I feel her emotions? Does it have something to do with the innate power she used to make Sam kill himself?" I thought, my eyes fixed on Nicole's face, hidden by her long red hair that hung in front of her almost like a curtain. But my now former ally didn't seem to want to answer.
I roughly shook her by the collar in irritation:
«Do you really think you can get out of this by keeping quiet?» I asked her in a harsh tone.
My words didn't seem to evoke any reaction. Nicole remained still and silent, almost as if my attack had turned her into a broken doll.
"Maybe I should just knock her out and take her to the others," I thought, biting my lip.
But just then Nicole finally spoke again:
«There's no misunderstanding. I'm the traitor you thought had infiltrated your alliance from the beginning. I joined you on Skylark's orders and acted as a spy for him, just as you feared.»
Her behaviour had changed completely from before I had restrained her. Instead of sounding desperate, she had now spoken in an emotionless tone, almost as if she didn't even care about the situation.
«You...»
My grip on her collar tightened and Nicole gasped as I pressed the tip of my wand deeper into her neck. A dark part of my mind wanted nothing more than to cast a powerful spell and get this over with.
But I couldn't.
Even though I had killed someone before. Even though I could never forgive her. Even though she'd deserved it. Even though the girl before me, the one I once called a friend and companion, had committed a far graver sin than those of cold-blooded killers like Valentine and Finch. She hadn't just played by the terrible rules of the Skylark games. She had betrayed our trust, posing as an ally only to backstab us. And why had she done it? Had Skylark promised to let her live? I didn't care. There was no reason that could justify something so vile.
And yet... even putting aside my naive sense of morality, to which I still clung desperately, killing her now wouldn't have been a good idea.
As sweet as justice would have tasted, I couldn't allow myself to savour it.
"Right now... the only thing that matters is saving Penny and getting everyone out of here."
Someone who had worked under Skylark's orders was bound to have some useful information that would help us reach her and then escape.
"First of all, I need her to tell me everything she knows. I'll decide what to do with her later, with the others," I thought, taking a deep breath to calm myself.
Just then, Nicole spoke again, probably sensing what was going through my mind:
«It's useless... it's all useless... you should just kill me now. That's what awaits us all in the end anyway,» she said in the same emotionless tone as before, her face still hidden by her long red hair.
If she was trying to get some sympathy from me with those words, it backfired: they only rekindled my anger. I couldn't bear to hear her commiserate with herself after what she had done.
"Calm down Elizabeth, hitting her is not going to help."
With all my self-control, I ignored her and began my interrogation:
«Let's start with your power. You must have one, since Skylark chose you to be a spy. How does it work? And... are you responsible for Sam's death?»
Since that was the thing she was most likely to lie about, it was the perfect way to test how easy it would be to get information out of her. I pressed my hand, still gripping the collar of her shirt, against her jaw, forcing her to lift her head. Finally I could see her bloodshot eyes, still watery with tears. There had been a time when I'd thought they looked like Sophia's. Now I knew that their green colour was the only thing Nicole and my girlfriend had in common. The girl in front of me was vile and cowardly, the furthest thing from Sophia's nature.
Nicole looked back at me in obvious discomfort, but when she started to speak again, it wasn't to complain:
«That's right. I'm the one who caused Sam's death,» she replied.
Her voice, which had sounded so anguished at the start of our conversation, now sounded cold.
"Was it all just an act, after all?" I thought, giving her an inquisitive gaze.
At least she didn't seem to be trying to lie her way out of it. But it still wasn't the clear confession I wanted.
«What do you mean, you caused his death? Did you kill him or not? Don't try to play with words Nicole,» I pressed her, my wand digging deeper into her skin.
This time Nicole didn't even gasp, she looked me straight in the eye and answered immediately:
«I killed him. Just like Skylark told me to. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical when he told me his plan. But it all worked out in the end... thanks to you.»
«Thanks to me?» I repeated.
«That's right, if you hadn't tried to be a hero and stood up to Philemon, everything would have been fine... I wouldn't have had to kill Rover and Penny wouldn't be dead right no-!»
Nicole screamed in pain, trying to break free of my grip. But I didn't let go, instead I continued to press the tip of my wand, which I had ignited with the mana that was raging inside me, against her flesh.
«You bitch! How dare a traitor like you accuse me!» I shouted into her face, our noses almost touching.
As I stared straight into her light green eyes, the rage inside me threatened to push me over the edge. I had never felt so furious in my life. Maybe it was because part of me actually believed what she was saying, but still... it was too much. I could almost feel the blood rushing to my head.
Nicole looked at me with tears of pain in her eyes.
«But that's par for the course for you... after all... you've already killed your best friend.»
I faintly registered the sound of my wand falling to the ground as my now free hand locked onto Nicole's neck. The other soon joined it. As my grip tightened, Nicole smiled faintly.
"This is what she wants. She just wants to provoke me. I should stop. I shouldn't let her get to me. I know I didn't kill Amy or... Penny. She's the traitor... I... have... to... question... her..."
But that faint voice of reason was fading. Soon a ringing sound was all I could hear, and my vision became blurred.
"I... am going to kill her."
My fingers dug into her throat as I began to strangle Nicole. Soon, probably driven by an instinctive impulse of self-preservation, my victim's hand closed on mine, trying to make me let go. But I didn't budge.
«-lizab-»
"Her voice is still coming through. I should use more force."
The strangled sound that followed was like music to my ears. Her nails scratched the back of my hands, but the pain was almost pleasant.
«-lizabeth!»
"She can still talk?"
I raised my eyes. Nicole's were bloodshot and slightly protruding from their orbits. She definitely wasn't able to talk.
«ELIZABETH!»
"Uh?"
Before I could understand what was happening, something struck me in my right arm, just above the elbow. The blow caused me to let go of Nicole's neck immediately. It was soon followed by a hit to my right side, hard enough to make me fall down.
"...w-what's going on?"
In the split second before my head hit the ground, thoughts raced through my mind, almost like a torrent released from a dam. It was almost as if this sudden attack had put off the wildfire that had been raging in my mind, ravaging my ability to think.
"Who attacked me? Does Nicole have an accomplice?"
But I wasn't going to be able to answer any of these questions if I hit my head on the hard stone floor. Luckily, as that split second ended, a hand was placed on my back, preventing me from falling. So I found myself face to face with my attacker and saviour.
«S-Sophia?»
My girlfriend looked down at me with a worried look in her eyes:
«Are you all right, Elizabeth? Did I hit you too hard?» she asked.
«H-hit me?» I repeated in a confused tone, looking back at her. I could hear someone coughing loudly in the background. That sound quickly brought me back to reality.
I jumped to my feet. My arm was numb, but I barely noticed as my heart was racing at the sudden realisation of what had just happened. I let out a huge sigh of relief when I saw that Nicole, who had slid to the ground, was still very much alive and gasping for breath. I could see finger-shaped red marks on her neck.
«What the hell was I doing?» I murmured in disbelief.
It almost felt like I had just woken up from a nightmare. But it was reality: I really had almost strangled Nicole to death. If Sophia hadn't intervened, she would have been dead by now.
"What was I thinking?"
Sure, I had thought about how much she would've deserved to get killed, and she had provoked me, but... I couldn't believe I had attacked her like that. I looked down at my hands in disbelief.
"Losing control like this... is it really so easy to push me over the edge?"
Sophia had often scolded me for being rash and reckless, but lately I thought I had gotten better at controlling my emotions and acting rationally.
«Don't worry, since she didn't pass out, she should be fine,» Sophia reassured me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
«Sophia... why...?» I muttered. Even though the wave of anger had subsided, my head still felt like a tangled mess, making it hard to think straight.
«Sorry, I know you told me to stay with the others, but I was worried, after what happened to Penny, I couldn't just let you go alone...»
Her going against my wishes was the least of my concerns at the moment, but her words still surprised me. I turned to see Sophia giving me a reassuring smile. How could she be so calm after seeing her girlfriend try to strangle a member of our alliance? And why did she seem more concerned about me than my victim, who was currently gasping for breath on the floor?
The answer to these questions managed to pull me out of my stupor.
"She already understood what happened."
But how? As smart as Sophia was, she didn't have the gift of foresight. Then...
"...because it's the only possible explanation for what she saw!"
And just like that, my sudden attack started to make a lot of sense.
"Right... Sophia would immediately understand that I would never attack Nicole unless I found out that she was the traitor. But even then I would never try to kill her in such a violent way."
This was if I was in complete control of my actions. But now that I could think clearly, I remembered that there was one variable that could make that not be the case.
"Her innate power. The one that Sophia and I theorised is responsible for Sam's death. She must have used it without me realising."
«Sophia... I don't know exactly how... but she made me do it,» I said, picking up my wand from the floor.
Sophia nodded:
«I thought so. You can be a huge idiot sometimes, but you'd never do something as stupid as killing the only lead we might have to Skylark's secrets.»
She then drew her sword and pointed it at Nicole, who was still trying to catch her breath as she massaged her neck. Normally, I would have retaliated against her playful insult, but I wasn't in the mood at the moment:
«But if that's the case, Sophia, we have to be careful. If she can mind control us...»
«I don't think it's something as powerful as total mind control, Elizabeth. If it was, she'd have won this game a long time ago. However her power works, it probably has some limitations,» Sophia interrupted me, shaking her head.
She was right. That was a common trait of every innate power we had encountered so far. Even hers.
I looked at my former ally. How could we not have realised that she was betraying our trust right from the start? Of course, Sophia, Celeste and I all had suspicions about her, but we had never confronted her or tried to find out if they were true or not.
"Now that I think about it... do I really know anything about her apart from her name?"
Wasn't that strange? Even though we had started our relationship with a fight, I still knew quite a bit about Wilhelm. But about Nicole? Nothing. It was almost as if she was one of those puppets I had met in Penny's dream world. A background actor I wasn't supposed to get close to. And she had managed to stay that way for all this time without me noticing.
"Before my date with Sophia, I spent a lot of time with her and Penny, but I can hardly remember anything about them..."
Nicole was nice and a generally cool and bubbly person. That was all I could say if someone asked me what kind of girl she was.
"It's almost like she had an invisible bubble around her that subconsciously kept me away."
Had I somehow been manipulated by her power all this time?
My mind went back to the strange, alien feeling of guilt I had felt when she had opened the door for me. I had almost forgotten about it in the heat of the moment, but now I was sure that emotion was certainly an important piece of the puzzle.
"...Emotion...!"
«Sophia, I think she can manipulate people's emotions! That's how she got me! She angered me and then amplified my rage against her or something!»
Sophia gave me a sideways glance:
«I see... it could be,» she mumbled, turning back to look at Nicole, who was now sitting on the floor, taking some deep breaths while holding her chest, «I always felt a bit weird around her, now that I think about it... but I just thought it was because I'm not used to hanging out with cheerful people like her.»
I couldn't help but smile slightly. It was just like her to think of hanging out with friends as a strange experience. But maybe in this case it wasn't just about social awkwardness.
I remembered how attracted I had been to Nicole when we first met, even though I had never fawned over other girls before Sophia. At the time I'd put it down to the recent discovery of my sexual identity and the fact that her eyes were somehow similar to my first love. But... perhaps there was something more sinister behind it.
Then, remembering how our encounter had gone today, it all clicked.
«Sophia, it's her eyes! It all happened after I looked into her eyes!» I exclaimed, sharing my sudden revelation.
Sophia was silent for a second, probably trying to remember her past interactions with Nicole. Then she sprang into action:
«Make sure she doesn't try anything funny,» she said, sheathing her sword and starting to loosen her tie.
It only took a second for me to realise what she was up to.
"Of course, if I'm right, if we cover her eyes, she won't be able to use her power against us!"
Keeping my wand pointed at Nicole's chest, I watched as my girlfriend approached her, holding the black and gold tie in her hands.
«Don't move a muscle. I won't stop Elizabeth this time if you do,» she threatened, kneeling down and placing a hand over Nicole's eyes.
Our prisoner's lips curved into a smile.
«Since you are assuming that I forced Liz to strangle me... do you think threats will work on someone who wants to die...?» Nicole muttered in a raspy voice.
But despite that she complied and let Sophia turn her around, face to the wall.
«If you really wanted to die, you had all the time in the world to do so in your room. From what I saw, you probably regretted it the moment you felt what it means not to be able to breathe,» Sophia replied coldly as she passed her necktie around Nicole's head before tying it tightly.
Nicole remained silent for a second, then said in the same emotionless tone as before:
«You can relax. I have no intention of fighting you...»
«Do you really think we will trust you?» I interjected.
«Do what you want, it doesn't matter anyway... nothing matters anymore,» Nicole replied.
I wanted to reply that she didn't have the right to act depressed after everything she'd done. But I bit those words back. Getting angry with her again wouldn't have done us any good. Instead, I turned to Sophia and said:
«Let's take her to the others, it will save us the time to explain everything to them.»
«Sounds good,» Sophia agreed.
She then grabbed Nicole's wand from its holster and tossed it to me before cuffing our prisoner's hands behind her back. It looked painful, but Nicole didn't complain or resist.
«Elizabeth, could you do something to restrain her? I'd rather not undress any more than this.»
For once I refrained from making a joke. The situation was too serious even for our usual routine. I quickly called upon my mana and summoned a pile of stones into the air. I quickly moulded them into a pair of makeshift handcuffs and guided them to bind Nicole's wrists together.
«Does it hurt?» Sophia asked, still holding onto Nicole's shoulders, probably to make sure she didn't run away, but also to make sure she didn't fall, as she still looked a bit wobbly on her feet due to my murder attempt.
NIcole just shook her head. But then, as Sophia started to push her to make her walk, she asked slowly:
«Why are you being like this?»
I understood immediately what she meant. The way Sophia was handling the situation was completely different from the emotional outburst I had subjected her to.
"Her and Sophia hardly ever talked... I guess it's normal to be surprised at how calm she can be in situations like this."
«Don't get me wrong... I despise you. But right now you can be useful to us, so I'm going to make sure you're in a condition to tell us everything you know,» Sophia answered sharply.
«What about later, when you have finished questioning me? What will you do» Nicole asked as we began to march slowly down the corridor, like two guards escorting a prisoner to the gallows.
«If death is what you want... I'll give it to you in a single slash,» Sophia replied sternly.
I looked at her, biting my lip. Part of me hoped she was just tricking Nicole into talking. I knew how much pain her past killings still caused her, even if they had all been done in legitimate defence. But... I also knew that Sophia wasn't the type to lie about something like that. She was an honourable person who only used tricks when necessary. Unlike Nicole.
"Should I step in and do it myself if it comes to it?"
If it meant saving my girlfriend's heart from pain...
But even now my hands were shaking at the thought that I had almost killed another human being with them. Killing outside the heat of a duel... could I have managed it without Nicole's power pushing me?
There was a moment of silence as Nicole took in Sophia's words. Then she finally replied:
«All right. But I doubt anything I say will help-»
«That's for us to decide,» Sophia cut her off.
Nicole didn't press the issue. Instead, she murmured:
«I always thought you'd be the one to find me out... you never look anyone in the eye except your girlfriend.»
***
«What is the meaning of this?» Wilhelm shouted as we entered the courtyard about five minutes later.
I couldn't blame him, bringing Nicole back blindfolded and handcuffed wasn't how I'd imagined things would turn out when I'd gone looking for her.
Celeste's surprise was more muted. After looking at us for a second with her mouth hanging open, her expression changed to one of resignation.
«So that's it,» our leader stated in a dry tone, biting the nail of her thumb.
Philemon, as usual, was the most composed.
«How did you find out?» he asked calmly as Sophia pushed Nicole down to sit on the grass.
«She confessed,» I replied, «and then tried to use her power to get me to kill her. If Sophia hadn't followed me, she would have succeeded.»
«I see,» Philemon nodded as he also settled down on the grass.
«'I see'? What the hell is going on?» Wilhelm asked again with a bewildered look on his face.
«She's the traitor,» Sophia explained dryly, then added in my direction, «Take off her handcuffs, Elizabeth. Don't worry, if she tries to take off the blindfold I'll cut off her hands.»
I nodded and quickly removed the handcuffs. Nicole stood still for a second, probably to reassure Sophia that she wouldn't try anything. Then she slowly moved her hands to her lap and massaged her wrist.
Meanwhile, it was clear that Wilhelm wasn't satisfied with Sophia's one-note explanation.
«I understood that much, thank you,» he replied irritated, his face flushed, «but it could all be a misunderstanding, couldn't it? You said she confessed, but maybe this is some kind of trick by Skylark. And... why are you all so calm about it? Almost... as if you expected it. Didn't we all agree that the whole traitor thing was just nonsense made up by Skylark to make us mistrust each other?»
I couldn't help but feel bad for him. After getting over our initial disagrameents I had come to understand that Wilhelm really valued loyalty and companionship. Once Sophia had mispelled the distrust he felt for her, he had truly embraced our alliance, going as far to risk his life for Penny, sharing his points with her despite his low position in the rankings. But now he was going to have to face the fact that not only had one of his friends betrayed his trust, but that some of them had ever really trusted each other in the first place.
«How we feel about it doesn't matter now. The reality is that we have had a mole amongst us all this time and now we have to press her for any useful information she has,» Sophia replied in a dismissive tone.
Before Wilhelm could reply, I decided to intervene. After all, I didn't like that dry answer either. I knew Sophia meant well, but cold logic wasn't the way to go in this kind of situation.
«It's true, Wilhelm, we always suspected that there was a traitor... I'm sorry. But... I really wanted to trust everyone. It's just that the rules of this game made it impossible.»
Wilhelm turned to me. It seemed that the fact that I had spoken frankly had managed to soften his anger a little, but he was still clearly displeased:
«Then what was the point of forming an alliance in the first place? If you have all been doubting each other all this time, what have we been doing? This whole thing about your trip to the second floor that Celeste just revealed to me... that stupid play Sophia made during the card game... are these the kind of things you should be doing to your friends? Maybe I'm naive... but to me, being allies means always being completely honest with each other.»
I could see that Sophia was about to reprimand him, probably either by saying that this discussion was pointless or that he was indeed naive. But I didn't let her because a part of me agreed with him.
«I understand what you mean, but... it's precisely because you're my friends that I couldn't trust you.»
Wilhelm looked at me with a raised eyebrow:
«What do you mean?»
«Playing those kind of games, like hiding our discoveries on the second floor, it was all to protect my friends from the person that was feigning to be one. Right, Celeste?»
She nodded:
«That's right. I understand it's uncomfortable, Will, but it's the only way I could think of to protect you all. Mistrusting you was the only way to keep us from playing into Skylark's hands. As much as it hurts to admit it, he has the upper hand over us. There was bound to be someone who would fall for his sweet words and work for him,» she said, glaring at Nicole.
Wilhelm remained silent for a second, massaging his forehead, before speaking in a low voice:
«I understand... I do. But... then what is the point of all this? How can we fight together if one of us could betray us at any moment? I joined this alliance to have some kind of sense of certainty in this absurd world we have been trapped in... without that... what am I even supposed to do?»
Seeing the usually impetuous and determined Wilhelm so vulnerable made me spring to my feet:
«It's not pointless Will. I know it seems that way, but... think of everything we have been through together. In spite of everything, we are still allies. We have talked and joked and cried together. We did our best to keep our spirits up when things seemed so bleak. We were ready to fight side by side for Penny and... we are still here. In spite of everything, we are still here. We still have each other's backs, so even if someone like Nicole tries to stab them, we can protect each other. That's the certainty I have, that I will try to protect all of you until the end!»
My statement was met with silence. Until...
«Ahahahahah!»
That cristalline laughter was definetely off beat. There was only one person that could do something like that in such a grim situation.
I turned to her with a furrowed brow.
«Sophia?»
My girlfriend gave me a broad smile as she wiped a tear from her beautiful eyes:
«There you have it. You managed to get Elisabeth to go on one of her usual idealistic rants. Happy now?» she asked Wilhelm. Then, with her smile softening, she added: «But... if you want certainty, she has you covered. She's too big a idiot to ever think of giving up and letting any of Skylark's words get to her. Of all of us here... she is the one you can trust.»
As was often the case, I didn't know whether to feel flattered or offended. Strangely, though, Sophia's words seemed to strike a chord with Wilhelm. The boy looked at me with a serious expression before nodding:
«Believing in Elisabeth... yes, I can do that. As you said... despite everything, I can still trust you. If you're willing to keep watching my back, I'll keep watching yours.»
Maybe the fact that he had always admired me was a good thing after all. I nodded at him with what I hoped was a confident smile:
«I will. I'll do my best.»
Sophia winked at me as I looked back at her. Was this her plan all along?
"The way she's been predicting my actions lately is kind of creepy."
But this moment of levity was cut short by a voice of reason:
«If you're finished, let's start the interrogation.»
Philemon's words brought us all back to reality. We turned to face our blindfolded prisoner. Our last hopes probably depended on what she was about to tell us.