Chapter Thirty-Two: Controlled
Layla ran with all her might, her blonde hair bounced behind her and the breeze blew some strands with dust, into her eyes. She paused to take them off.
"Damn it all."
She slid down to get past the door before it'd close and trap her in the garage for another ten hours when her neighbors will come looking for her.
She had to use the garage door to leave the house as she lost the apartment keys. It was really a messy start that morning.
She paused to catch her breath before starting the run again, heading for Gaden High. How did she get to this situation? She had no idea.
All she knew was that she left home to buy breakfast and lost track of time and kept walking, for no reason. When she got her senses, she had to find her way back home and prepare for school.
Nephis and Nero must've gone to school without her, thinking, for the first time, she went to school early.
"Ah!" she grunted. "Something must have possessed me, there's no… there's no other explanation."
She jumped over the short gate of her estate. There was no one left as all the students and workers had gone to their institutions. They should be the workers, and other security guards but she couldn't find any. She brushed it off.
"And today… today is the reanimation of Sir Zenith's—" she forced herself to a halt.
A figure jumped down in front of her, from a tree that grew by the side walk.
"Did you say Zenith? You are the one, then, no?"
Layla fell back, and crawled towards a wall to get herself up. How did they appear like that? She painfully realized. "I-I can't stand."
This person was dangerous but they didn't have a suffocating presence like a Dark Mage. "Who are you and who do you want?" she didn't expect her tone to not be shaky.
The figure turned to her with a wide smile. A young lady with long orange hair that cascaded to her thick thighs, a buff upper body and on her muscular arms were covered in tiger claw marks.
To make her scarier, Layla noticed the tiger claws weapon she wore on her hands.
Layla recognized her, wasn't she the most recent Mage turned Dark Mage, who controlled people and manipulated spirits?
Her current aesthetics didn't match one who controlled others, but more like some kind of unhinged Beast Tamer. And they were a group of sisters, weren't they?
Layla gulped down saliva and rested on the wall. Could they be a reason she wanted to see her? "Wouldn't you answer my question?"
"It seems you already know the answer to the first one, pretty girl." She had a sweet voice that contrasted her appearance. "As for mine…"
Layla remembered and frowned. "What do you want with Sir Zenith?" she tried to conceal the fact Sir Zenith worked at her school.
If the Dark Mage searched for him, then they probably didn't know his current whereabouts. If she showed up in the school, it'd be really bad for the students.
"I don't need him yet." She flexed her hands. "Till I'm strong enough to bore a hole in his stomach and feed the insides to my pet lions, I'd rather avoid him."
Hearing such a sweet voice say that, Layla had mixed feelings. Should she ask her why she and her sisters joined the Dark path? "Then, release me, let me go—"
"However," she appeared in front of Layla suddenly, being on a breath away, "I've heard of how he saved students from the Dead Prince. A certain Alexander, my informant had said."
Layla's eyes widened on hearing the name and the Dark Mage smiled that she reacted to it. That meant her informant was right. Layla couldn't fathom who 'Dead Prince' was but he sounded like a villain.
"The boy wore red uniform with a funky symbol on its side. Like yours." The Dark Mage's brown eyes shifted to the symbol on Layla's chest. "Tell me about the boy. Asking for a friend."
Layla scoffed. Did she think she was so stupid? She looked away. She had no idea who that'd be but it might be A'lessander of Miano, One Who Conquered Death.
He had a legendary family because of his family's special element so Dark Mages may be after him. Layla's throat became sore and her head snapped to the Dark Mage, making eye contact.
Fear engulfed her body as she stared at the Dark Mage who had no trace of amusement on her face.
"Do I look like I'm joking with you, little girl? I ask you a question and you act like I'm your damn mother and ignore me."
Layla's eyes narrowed at her and she struggled to mutter. "You're not my mother."
Her eyes grew moist from the pain in her mouth and she forced down a lump of saliva.
The Dark Mage smirked and released her throat. "Heck yeah, but I can invoke her spirit for you to speak to, if you open your mouth and talk."
Layla said nothing. The method that the Dark Mage used while being a Mage was known as conjuring, a darker part of magic that people didn't appreciate.
It's probably why she chose the dark path, listening to the haters but Layla know very well that she didn't want to see her mother using those spells.
She wouldn't even be able to look her mother in the eye after her negligence killed her husband. "Just because you found out that I'm an orphan, doesn't give you the right to make such jokes."
"Jokes?" the Dark Mage picked her from the ground effortlessly, the tiger claws she wore grazed Layla's neck. "All I asked is information on Alexander and politely. Or should I invade your consciousness like before and find out? It'd kill you."
Layla's eyes widened. Truly, this Dark Mage could use extreme ways to get the information she wanted from her, after all, she had been messing with her since morning all in a bid to catch her alone.
Torture and emotional torment wouldn't be hard to do as a Dark Mage so Layla wondered if she should comply while she's being nice. "You want to kill him?"
"If he can't kill me, then yes." She dropped Layla gently and the girl found she could stand on her own. "Speak. His surname? Element or elements?"
That part confused Layla. She didn't know the element of A'lessander of Miano, One Who Conquered Death? Wasn't that why she wanted him?
"Oh, is it Alexandria Feloncia you're looking for?" Layla blurted, before closing her mouth.
The Dark Mage became interested and leaned closer. "Who now? Speak out, little girl."
Layla smirked internally. Alexandria would've to forgive her but if she checked the odds, he was the best scapegoat.
He had an older brother in S-Class, and many relatives who could protect him if a Dark Mage came for him.
Meanwhile, A'lessander of Miano, One Who Conquered Death was the last hope of his family.