I felt a pull inside of me and it pushed me out of Lydia's mind.
When I found myself back to the gallery, finger touching her head, as if not even a second had passed, and it all hit me with a punch. All she told me, all the anger, the sadness, the grieve. Everything felt numb and I couldn't see anything but Lydia's frozen body, and this time when I went closer and cupped her stone cheek, it didn't send me back, it only made me cry, so I cried. "Wait for me, Lydia. I'll save you. I'll save all of you. I'll find that damned crown even if I have to forsake my soul in the process, and I free all of you so we can fight together!"
Then I closed my eyes and touched my forehead on hers.
"It's all true, Jack. But so much worse than I thought!" I clenched my teeth. "So much cruelty and envy and jealousy it makes me sick. I can feel the pain, the grief, and it's heart wrenching, and," I frozen when I felt all hairs on my body go up, something that only happens so far when Oliver is near. "Fuck," I cursed.
Slowly I turned around to find him, and almost our entire class, here in front of me, staring at me. "Finally, Hel," he gasped and pulled me into a tight hug that took the breath out of me.
I blinked, annoyed with the wave of emotions that his hug bought me just because it's him who's doing it. "What are you doing here? You should be in class," and despite every instinct, I hugged him back. "Why are you acting so weird?" I gasped.
"You were frozen, Hel," there was pain in his voice. "For almost two hours. We tried to text you, to find you everywhere. But nothing. I got freaked out thinking you were in trouble," he whispered, making me feel all weird.
Just like Felix held me until I felt like putting space between us, I mimicked him, not so used to hugging anymore. But the more we stayed like this, the weirder I felt. "So, uh," I gulped as he finally released me, though my body was ridiculously begging to keep him so close to me. "I get that you and Felix came after me, but what about those idiots?"
"Hah, is that your way of thanking us?" Rio growled.
I glared at him, "No, my way of thanking someone is throwing black water on them. Why? Want to feel my power again, cotton candy baby blue hair? Seems like you haven't had enough."
"No, thank you, very much," he looked away.
"Races competition aside, we usually help each other when we need to, so, we just helped Oliver out, since he was restless," Savannah crossed her arms. "Besides, as the heirs of the main races, and the seniors in BABS, we wanted to avoid any of our juniors of getting in a fight with you!"
Sounds like true, "It's not like any of you would be able to stop me, if I were to fight someone in here. I mean," I turned to Felix, "he definitely can, though it would knock me out." Then to Oliver, "And you too."
"I definitely can," he grinned and I looked away.
But then my eyes spot two people that shouldn't be here.
"What are you doing here?" I hissed at my half siblings who have no idea I'm their older half sister, and everyone tensed up. "No matter what, you should never be near me. Having to be in the same class as you is bad enough. And I have no intention of harming the dragons yet."
They looked at each other then at me, "We were worried!"
I gasped at Agost's words, "I'm not naïve enough to believe that, kid. Even my roommates would be more believable saying that then you are. And I'm not going to put up with any of your shite. Who knows? Maybe your dearest grandma might have ordered you to watch me, so I wouldn't go around doing stuff that she doesn't want me to. Or, your mother did."
Nicolette frowned, "Grandma didn't tell us anything. And even if she had, we wouldn't do it, Hel."
"Then," I flashed my fangs, "was your mother?"
"No," Agost snapped. "In fact, she told us to stay away from you!"
Oh? I couldn't even hold my amusement grin, "Did she? Seems like her and Meredith are afraid of me harming their precious kids. As the Queen also ordered me to stay far away and not touch a string of your hair. But you know what? I don't feel like obeying that."
Surprise took over their features, "Grandma said what?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Exactly what you've just heard. She's pretty good at threats, at using what we love against us, and at torture, of course," I pointed a finger at Felix. "Felix knows that well, you can ask him if you don't believe me. But you know what's different from me and him?"
"What?" Dorothy asked.
"Felix has a family. I do not," I played with my ring, "she can't use anyone against me, since she already took everything I had from me."
["Hel, are you alright?"]
I turned to him, "I'm great. Lydia told me some very interesting and infuriating stuff. But I'll tell you later when there aren't so many bystanders around us like vultures."
Oliver touched my waist and I my attention went instantly to him, "Who is Lydia?" Of course, he's curious. I would be too.
Pointing a finger to the gargoyle behind me, I said, "Her."
"The… statue?" Noah widened his eyes softly.
"Not a statue. A gargoyle. I told you before, but per usual, you took me for insane and didn't believe I word I said. Her name is Lydia Van Den Akker, she's a gargoyle who's physically static in her stone, but who's mind is wide awake and frozen in a lost time, waiting for the… for the person… I don't even know how to put this. But she, and all the gargoyles around the world are waiting for their… uh, leader? I mean, the person who can link them all together and stuff."
"So, gargoyles are a thing?" River asked.
A nod, "You would be surprised with the amount of races that are a thing. In fact, I am surprised too, Lydia mentioned so much stuff to me, that I'm still dumbstruck."
"Such as?" Oliver said near my ear, and a shiver ran down my body.
I looked at my hands, feeling sorrow again, "Races long forgotten, races that can't die and were cruelly locked on the worse place possible, to be condemned to eternal suffering, simply for have fought for survival in a doomed war that brought so many to extinction." Taking a deep breath, I passed my hands through my face, but when I looked at it, I flinched. "What the… why is there black water on my face?"
"You kind of cried that," a white skinned girl with Korean features and short black hair said. "By the way, how did you break the locks?"
"I'm sorry, what's your name, light witch?"
She blushed, "Dora. Dora Kim!"
"How did I even cried that stuff?" I asked myself, using my normal water magic to clean my hands. "Cool to use on others. Disgusting to use it on myself," then I raised the tattooed palm of my hands to her. "Abellona, the vampire who was friends with my mom, and the one who tattooed me, suggested me to tattoo these because it would be useful."
Both Dora and Savannah came a little closer, which is expected as they are both witches, though of Light and Dark. "What does it do?"
"It's called the Serpent's Lock & Key. The Serpent's Lock is the seal of protection, privacy, and invisibility ─can also stamped or marked on documents to protect them from prying eyes, lest the witches' venom befall them. Can also be used to hide oneself from that which walks in the astral plane. And as the name suggests, can lock stuff with ancient magic," I said while holding up my right palm.
Then I raised the left one, "Whereas the key is used to see that which is hidden, ─aiding in the perception of the Unseen: be it spirits, deities, omens, etc. It might also be employed to find lost or hidden objects, and expose secret truths people are hiding. Also as the name suggests, can be used to open anything, including those locks. In addition, it can also be used to reverse the magic of the Serpent's Lock."
"Can I touch it?" Savannah asked with interest.
Rolling my shoulders I held out my hands for her, and the other kid. "Why the place of the tattoos?" Dora asked.
"It has to be in the palms. Lock on the right, key on the left."
["And if you're left handed?"]
Oh, yes, there's that too. "Nevertheless, if you are left handed, the lock goes on the left and the key on the right. I can use both hand perfectly, so Abellona told me to go with the standard, since right handers are more common."
"Do you have any other tattoo like this? Aside from the weapons ones?" Savannah's eyes gleamed in curiosity.
I chuckled, "Your eyes are beautiful, witch. To think you would be interested in tattoos," then I got to the ground and they all followed suit. "I have some runes tattooed on both my ankles. So, just ignore the scars, there are some in my legs," though some is an understatement.
Then, I used my telekinesis to sit in an inexistent chair, and bend down a bit to take off my boots, rise up the borders of my leggings and also put down the high socks I'm using.
"Just some common but very effective runes," I showed them.
"They are runes used in the old world," Savannah whispered, down to her knees to see it better.
Are they? "She said it would do the job," I rolled my shoulders. "I just went with it. There's courage, energy, health, good luck, and protection on the right; love, grace, endurance, strength, and protection again on the left. She did it in a way that would look like an anklet."
"Hel," Oliver gasped, concerned and I looked up to meet his eyes.
"What?" I asked confused. "Are you in pain?"
He frowned, getting on his knees again. "Me? No. But what about you?" Then he held my ankles softly. "Those are shackles scars," why does he looks like that? It's making me feel bothered.