Role Reversal

Velvet’s rescue came in at last minute and Mira held tight to the wizard. The feeling of seeing the town from so high up was exhilarating, but she didn’t have the time to dwell on it. They were floating tens of meters above the plaza, overlooking it all.

“You really came, Velvet!”

“I don’t wanna hear it! Tell me the situation! Where’s the blonde idiot and whooo’s that guy?” Velvet tightened the grip on her broom and looked over her shoulder.

“Careful, don’t stop!” Mira warned and Velvet accelerated again. Wind sickles zipped past them as Zev swung his blade in their direction.

“Tch… Windblade, such a primitive spell. But it works for that guuuy.”

Velvet masterfully steered the broom in zigzag lines, dodging the sickles in smooth flows like a serpent winding through a thicket.

“Back to my question, Mira!”

“Right!” Mira said and caught her breath. “Rhys got knocked into the hedge, we can’t stay up here forever. I need to go down and help him!”

“Yes, whatever! One thing after another, girl!”

“This guy is blind but he sees through animal eyes. We can’t land a hit if he sees every strike from every direction.”

“Huh… Feral Eye, that’s a druid spell. Well, what do you need me to dooo?”

“Scare the animals away, please! Then we stand a chance!”

“Huuuh?! You want me to play a scarecrow?!”

“J-just do it, please!”

“Tch… The youth, making demands of me…”

“I don’t think I’m that much younger than you!”

“Right, right! I’ll do my best.” Velvet said and descended, weaving through the rain of wind sickles. Once low enough, Mira hopped off the broom.
“I’ll do my job, you do youuurs. Don’t die!” Velvet said and shot off to the roofs.

Mira glimpsed Velvet in the distance. Using her pipe for magicks, she puffed plumes of smoke and whirled them around to scatter the animals.

But Zev wasn’t waiting for her to finish watching. He lunged, blades crossed as he bridged the gap in a blur. Mira saw him moving from the corner of her eye and quickly sidestepped. His blades swung and sliced the air. A miss. He twisted his body and swung in her direction, once more his blade missed its mark.

I knew it! Mira thought.

Her gaze darted briefly to the hedge, where Rhys had fallen. Zev clicked his tongue and turned his head in her general direction.

“Ahh, you think this changes anything? I was born this way, Mira!”

He closed his eyes and stayed still. Mira took a step back, meaning to help up Rhys. Then it happened: she stepped into a puddle. The noise made Zev’s head jerk in her direction. He raised his blades, then rushed her down. She couldn’t raise her barrier in time, instead she took control of his weapons again. She grasped them with Levitate, tried to yank them from his grasp-

“!!!”.

A violent pulse shook her body like a heartbeat. Her grip faltered, the spell lost its effect and she was overcome with a surge of sudden weakness. Her limbs felt leaden, like she was about to collapse. It lasted only for a second, but that was enough for Zev.

She crossed her arms, held her staff up but it wasn’t enough. A point-blank wind sickle erupted from his blades and tore gashes into her arms, her legs, her abdomen and her waist. White-hot pain exploded all over her body. The force of his strike sent her flying and she fell into the broken remains of the fountain. Mira gasped, fought for air and pulled her head out of the water, coughing and wheezing.

What was that just now…?! She thought, the adrenaline just barely dulling the pain.

When she tried to think, she came to a horrifying conclusion. The Vis surging through her veins was weakening.

Percival’s spell! She thought in horrified realization.

It was running out. Right now. The weakness faded as fast as it came. It didn’t last. But it left a lingering heaviness in her bones that wasn’t there before. Mira dragged herself upright and held one hand over her stomach. Every wound pulsed and stung, blood threading down into the clean waters.

Mira got out of the spring and Zev was already closing in. No time for a Starlight Missile. She gritted his teeth and rushed to meet his advance. She raised her staff, then threw up a barrier. Without slowing down her steps, she crashed into him.

With no hundred eyes to warn him him, Zev was caught by the barrier, struck square in the chest with the force of a battering ram. He reeled, skidded back on wet stone with arms wheeling. Mira saw a chance and took it. Laden with magicks, she swung her staff and an array of magic circles bloomed around her. Each one launched a missile of lavender and gold, shooting forward in a spiraling barrage that cut through the rain.

Zev heard them coming. His head snapped toward the sound and he sidestepped, the volley hissing past his shoulder.

 Mira gritted her teeth and wrenched her staff sideways, pointing at Zev. The Starlight Missiles made a sharp turn and changed directions, embedding into Zev’s body. They punched through his shoulder, his ribs and his thigh. Blood sprayed and Zev’s face turned into a silent snarl of shock.

I hit him. I hit him! Mira’s heart leapt, her efforts paid off.

The missiles tore through his flesh, blood pouring from his jaws. A moment of relief for Mira. She turned her head, looking for Rhys in the hedge; but he wasn’t there. But she saw a silhouette move through the storm.

Sudden steps hurried toward Zev, fast and heavy. Rhys burst through the rain with his halberd raised, it’s blade glinting in the lantern light. He charged without a word, his face turned in fierce determination. And then he brought it down like a guillotine.

Zev’s forearms were severed, his blades clattered to the ground. His deafening scream echoed through the empty streets and overpowered the heavy rain. The tide had turned. So they thought.But in a horrifying twist of events, his screams turned into twisted laughter. Zev exhaled, magicked particles rushing out of his gaping jaws. His hands reformed like a lizard regrowing its tail and his wounds closed, undoing the damage they just dealt.

“I told you it was futile, little heretic!” he said, reaching forward and his fallen blades returned to their master’s hands.

“That… That was the other spell!” Mira recalled.

When she examined his Feral Eye, there was another spell hidden beneath. And now she knew what it was for. His wounds regenerated, his body moved fast and his reflexes were sharpened. It was like his entire body was accelerated beyond its limits. And this extended to his natural healing too.

Another violent surge struck her body, Mira staggered forward and clutched a hand over her heart. Her eyes were wide and Rhys steadied her.We can’t win a battle of attrition, he’ll wear us down. She thought and staggered back. The feeling of weakness persisted.

 But magic has its limits. Just like my barrier. The memory of it shattering was vivid in her mind. Lightning broke the sky and for one blinding instant, the plaza was draped in white. Rhys was bleeding from a dozen cuts, his white tunic stained in red. Mira’s robes shared the same scarlet. But Zev’s complexion was paler than before. Noticeably so.

Does it take a toll on him? It might. But we’re injured. We can’t keep going for longer. Unless… she thought.

Then Velvet face surfaced in her mind again. Not the one who was scattering animals on the rooftop, but the one pressing her spellbook into her hands. And how she said that Mira was messing with spells she didn’t understand. Her eyes dropped to her bag and her hand curled into a fist.

“Rhys…” she said, her voice coming out steadier. “Buy me time.”

“I don’t think so!” Zev called and launched himself forward, boots tearing through the water and blades gleaming.

“I don’t know what you’re planning this time, but you’re not going anywhere!”

His blades were screaming through the air. Rhys raised his halberd to block, but Zev brought a blade down on his wrist instead. The chainmail caught the blow but not the force. A deafening crack and Rhys’ forearm bent in a way nature never intended. Zev elbowed Rhys, staggering him and lunged for Mira.

She raised her staff but found Zev’s blade waiting. His dagger pierced her palm and while she screamed in pain, she struck his side with her staff. It was enough to knock his coming thrust off-center. But his blade still came through, pushing through her abdomen and erupting from her back. It struck no vitals but the shock paralyzed her.

With a cruel grin, Zev grabbed his dagger, about to twist it. But he fell. Rhys had hooked his halberd’s axe head behind Zev’s legs and yanked. Zev’s dagger came loose and blood poured out of her new, gaping wound. Pain lanced through her, white hot and blinding. It traveled up her spine like a blade of fire.

Mira should have passed out. But even weakening, Percival’s spell still kept her going. She dropped to her knees, breathing raggedly and tears ran down her face. The pain was unbearable. She felt like curling up, passing out, anything other than keeping going. This pain felt so much more profound than when Albert and Rhys removed the bolt. And the implications were worse: If too much time passed, she would bleed out.

It hurts… It hurts…! Not yet… Please not yet…! Move! She screamed in her mind.

Zev got back to his feet, looming over her and poised to kill, but Rhys rushed in from the side. His fist clashed into Zev’s face, sending him reeling. The force opened a wound in Zev’s face, but it regenerated as fast as it came.

“Hold strong, Mira! I’ve got you!” Rhys bellowed and rushed Zev again. Rhys gripped his forearm. One sharp motion, a crack and a muffled grunt and the arm was straight again. Still broken, but Mira deduced he wasn’t giving himself time to feel it. Then he brought his halberd down to meet Zev’s waiting blades.

Rhys… she thought, watching him hold his ground.

It didn’t matter how injured, how battered and bruised he was. He still bought her time without a moment of hesitation. And she knew she could not betray that trust. She felt another pulse run through her body. They came more frequently now. It made her collapse forward, her bags contents spilling across the road. Her fumbling hands found the old spellbook and threw it open. Velvet’s work had been thorough, but she couldn’t restore some pages. Many pages were still unreadable, their ink too washed out. Then she found them: pages that previously stuck together. And they were readable. Now she understood what Velvet meant.

The magical diagrams, the circles, the descriptions. The diagrams were intricate, layered, almost obsessive and the text was thoroughly descriptive. Her past self created this. The woman she couldn’t remember had poured her brilliance into these pages. Even in her addled, weakened mind she could read and understand it.

This is it! One spell.

It was this one. She pointed at the last few lines on the page and her ears moved upward. A gleam ran across her eyes.

I can pull this off. I have to! She thought.

Mira used her staff to drag herself upright and walked toward the fountain. Her movement was slow, she was hunched. Every step lanced fresh pain through her body.

Keep going!

Once she reached the fountain, she set a foot on its edge and climbed up. Her legs were shaking, blood poured from every bruise and cut. But she forced herself to stand. She whirled her head around to face Rhys who traded blows with Zev.

“Rhys! Immobilize him! He mustn’t move! Then get away!” 

She shouted with such volume that it overpowered the din of the storm. Both looked up at her but Rhys gritted his teeth. She knew, he could trust him. And she hoped he thought the same of her.