Chương 41: Act 1, Chapter 41: Setting a coincidence

Day in the story: 11th October (Saturday) I was a firm believer in the saying: a coincidence can get you into trouble, but never out of it. That truth had shadowed me long enough to carve itself into habit. But there was a difference between stumbling into coincidence and crafting one. It was possible to arrange events just so, to line up accidents like dominoes and tip them toward your own ends.

That's exactly what I was doing now: walking the razor's edge between masterful orchestration and a disaster spun wildly out of control. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't completely enthralled from the moment the plan took shape.

"Are you ready, Zoe?" I asked my partner in crime. She was safely at home behind her laptop, voice coming through my earpiece, because for what I was planning, I couldn't trust magic alone.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Are you? Peter says this plan is batshit crazy and honestly, I'm inclined to agree this time."

"And yet—here you are, helping me anyway."

"I am. I'm curious if it'll work."

"Reality only knows," I muttered. Zoe laughed.

"Yeah, that's one way to put it. Everything's set on my end. Good luck, Lex. I'm going radio silent now, like we discussed." Good. Good. Good. So far, so smooth. I stood fully suited up in my room, combat gear on, mask secured with its latest upgrade, cards packed tight, Ella and Equinox hanging at my sides, Travel Grimoire in hand a bag of spray cans slung over one shoulder and a head full of dangerously good ideas. I took a deep breath. Showtime. I teleported into Shiroi's apartment first.

"Shiroi!" I shouted the moment I landed. A loud thud like he'd dropped something. Within seconds, he rushed toward me, pushing aside the curtain that separated his workspace from the common room. He arrived with a silent presence, a fleeting shimmer of silver light that vanished as quickly as it appeared. A strange color for him.

"Alexandra? How did you…?"

"Did you get my message?"

"How could I not? You stole the necklace. Again."

"Yes, because you failed to destroy it. So now I'm taking matters into my own hands. But I'm ready."

"Ready to do what?"

"To defeat Eveline. If that's still what you want, meet me at the docks. The place where we fought. Where you nearly killed me. Be there at exactly 3 PM…" I started and laid out the plan.

"This is crazy, you know that, right? You can't be sure it'll work the way you think."

"You want her gone. So do I. Will you do what I asked?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"For the same reason I trusted you." I met his gaze.

"We don't have a choice, Akira." He held my stare for a long moment. Then, slowly, he nodded. And with that, I vanished, reappearing at the overlook above the de Marcos estate. The entire house was on high alert now. Guards were stationed at both the lakeside gate and the main road. A few patrolled the fence and nearby paths and I counted two more on the balcony. I reached into the hidden pouch opposite the one where I kept my cards and pulled out the necklace, holding it in the air in front of me.

"Can't believe all of this, all the magic that's happened and is about to happen, is because of this little thing," I muttered to myself. With my other hand I pressed against the Travel Grimoire and with a thought, selected the dining hall inside the house I'd been watching. In a blink, I was there. A maid screamed the moment I appeared, startled half to death. I quickly tucked the necklace into my pocket and sat down calmly in one of the dining chairs.

"Please tell Eveline that she has a guest," I said. She didn't waste a second, she bolted from the room. [Your ability to manipulate space is being suppressed,] Anansi spoke into my soul. Another sigil? Or Reality itself? [Sigil.] Do you know the order it's bound to? [No one can move using time-space magic within the sigil's area. Notify me of any intrusions that happen.] Are you blocking the second part? If yes, stop. Focus on altering the first restriction.

I hadn't anticipated this sigil, but it changed nothing. I still needed Eveline to confront me and I knew for a fact she was here. Beatrice had confirmed it to Penrose just yesterday. I heard footsteps now—heavy and fast. Guards. But there was another set too—lighter, more deliberate and trailing behind. I jumped over the table and opened Ella with a flick. Become my shield, I commanded. She obeyed immediately, shadowlight flooding her frame, pulsing like rainbow-colored electricity.

The sudden surge, both sharp and wild, crackled through her and through me. Was it the adrenaline? Or something more?

"What are the numbers?" I asked Zoe quietly.

"In the hundreds so far," she replied. The double doors burst open loudly, nearly ripped off their hinges as four guards stormed in—rifles raised and aimed directly at me. I could hear the faint flutter of their hearts, they weren't expecting this. And who could blame them? A girl in sleek, metallic armor stood before them, feet shaped more like a rabbit's than a human's. In one hand I held an open umbrella, spinning it idly to a rhythm only I could hear. They shouted the usual warnings. Don't move. Hands up.

Get on the ground. The same tired script, over and over again.

"I'm waiting for Eveline de Marco," I said, loud and clear.

"Is this how she welcomes her guests? I heard she was once in the market for a friend." That earned me a chuckle, from her. She stepped into view behind the guards, calm and poised, lifting a hand to wave them off. The weapons slowly lowered. Eveline wore a long, elegant black-and-white dress, simple yet regal. Her hair was tied neatly back with a black ribbon, every strand in its place.

"Do I know you?" she asked, her voice sweet, composed.

"No," I replied, "but we've met before." She tilted her head slightly, curious.

"At our first meeting, you were… comforting. But I took something from you. At our second meeting, in the city park, you mentioned you lacked proper friends. But we both know that wasn't really what you were after. You were searching for a Domain. Hoping the necklace would be found soon." Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. That hit home. Her posture changed in an instant. No longer relaxed, now tight, guarded.

But the pleasant expression remained, fixed like a porcelain mask.

"Have you come to return what you've stolen?"

"Do you mean the silver dragon necklace with five egg-like pearls?" I said, loudly and clearly.

"The one that lets you cast magic that doesn't belong to you?"

"That magic is mine. I earned it, as I did the necklace. Give. It. Back." She punctuated each word with controlled fury.

"I might've," I said, tilting my head, "if it weren't for the fact that you're kind of a monster, aren't you?" Her eyes narrowed.

"And yet it's you who's dressed like one. I'm giving you one last chance, hand it over and I'll let you walk away."

"Oh, thanks!" I chirped with mock cheer.

"But no thanks. I've got a meeting at three, you know? With Shiroi. You've heard of him?" That did it. Her mask cracked, fury seeping through. Her jaw clenched and the fire in her eyes ignited, almost literally.

"He's going to get rid of it," I added.

"Once and for all."" Give. It. Back!" she screamed, pulling a lighter from her pocket. She sparked it and a flicker of flame danced briefly, then exploded into a roaring inferno, surging toward me like a living beast. I whipped Ella in front of me and activated the wind rotors painted into her frame. The umbrella groaned, then spun with a screech, redirecting the fire in a swirling arc that engulfed the table I'd been standing on seconds ago.

The blast had barely cleared when I flipped backward across the room, landing at the far end.

"That wasn't very nice," I called out, brushing soot off my arm.

"Also? Not very effective. So, I'll just see myself out, hope we never meet again!" And with that, I dashed toward the window, ready to leap.

"Give me your number!" she shouted. I froze mid-step. Suddenly, I couldn't move. At all. Of course, the debt. I had said it myself when we first met: If we ever see each other again, I'll give you my number. Now she was using that vow against me, turning a harmless phrase into a magical shackle. I'd read all about this in the de Marcos Debt Domain guidebook, so I'd prepared for exactly this. I gritted my teeth and spat out the digits, fast. The invisible weight lifted.

With a shout, I crashed through the window using Ella, transformed into baton form, to shatter the glass. Just as I leapt, I heard her order her guards: " Shoot her!" I landed on the front lawn to a hail of gunfire from every angle. I sprinted forward, the suit propelling me at speeds no human could match. The bullets, when they hit, felt like rubber bands, annoying but dulled by my suit and the passive layer of my Authority. Two guards thought they'd play heroes. They rushed me, batons raised.

I planned to sidestep them. But before I could, they exploded, literally, as a fireball tore through them, spraying gore across the grass and trees. Then I heard another fireball shrieking through the air behind me.

"Damn," I muttered.

"She has actual fireballs." I veered sharply left, diving behind trees. Bark exploded in embers as the fireball crashed where I'd just been. Are we good on the rule rewrite, Anansi? [Yes. Changed according to your instructions.] Good, I thought. I want her to see it. I need her to see it. Instead of fleeing, I turned, ran toward Eveline and her guards. If they were disturbed by their comrades being incinerated, they didn't show it. She must've enthralled them somehow.

I picked up speed, charging Eveline and then leapt high, toward one of the remaining guards. My suit-enhanced legs turned my leap into a rocket-powered dive. I dropkicked the man square in the chest. But I didn't just hit him, I took him. The moment we made contact, I activated my lifeline talisman, pulling us both into my Domain, sidestepping the sigil's space restriction the same way I did before. She never saw how I did it. We landed hard inside my Domain. The guard was already unconscious from the impact.

I stood over him for a breath, then flicked him back through the anchor, straight to the de Marcos estate. I didn't need him. What I needed was for Eveline to see me disappear… and wonder how. And that? That I got.

Penrose went ahead and attacked Robert's operation after all. I didn't mind, one snake biting the other's head off meant fewer drugs on the street. Better for everyone. And if Phillip wanted to deal with the consequences, that was his mess. He'd been hounding me more and more about the necklace these past few days, but I decided he didn't get to have it. Not after deciding the course of my life once before. Now it was my turn to choose for him. That's why he still thought I was looking for it.

Meanwhile, I stood on the crumbled wall of a riverfront building, the necklace dangling from my extended hand, the silver dragon with five pearlescent eggs, still warm with its twisted power. I could've dropped it into the river right then. But that wouldn't stop Eveline.

"Such a beautiful thing," I whispered to the wind, "and so deadly. A source of almost all Eveline's magic." I tucked it into my hidden pocket. She was unhinged, that much was clear from our last meeting. Power-hungry. Manipulative. The things Beatrice and Shiroi had said about her might be true after all. One way or another, today would prove it. Shiroi arrived early. He stood by the rusting machine near the spot where he once tried to unravel me into threads. I scanned the river and city skyline.

"How are we with the numbers now?" I asked into my earpiece.

"Almost ten thousand" Zoe said.

"But most think it's CGI. Pre-recorded."

"That's why I'm here. I see some in the distance."

"Yeah. Your open invitation to non-believers at the riverfront is spreading."

"They can hear us?"

"No. I muted all of our comms like you told me."

"Good. Wish me luck. I hear our other guest incoming now. Showtime."

"Good luck, Alexa." I leapt from the building. The fall was forty feet, at least. I hit the shallow water with a crack and splash, pavement fracturing beneath me. My legs only tingled. Oh, Reality, I love magic. Shiroi jumped back when I landed, startled like a cat. For someone who could unravel people on touch, he sure startled easy.

"Why did we have to meet here?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.

"It reeks. It's a dump and it's repulsive."

"That's what she said," I replied. He blinked, confused.

"…What?"

"Never mind, man." I waved it off.

"Remember what I asked? Please, for the love of everything holy, do not use your powers until I tell."

"I remember."

"Someone else is coming," I pulled out the necklace, "someone who really wants this magical necklace giving her all the powers back."

"You're talking weird." Before I could answer, bullets ripped through the air. I shoved the necklace away and dove behind the rusted machine in the center of the yard. Shiroi came after me—his eyes wide.

"Follow the plan and trust me," I said.

"Even if it's the last thing you ever do, just trust me and do nothing." He nodded and held position. I stepped out. Ella in hand swirling open, glowing with infused shadowlight. Bullets pinged against her and scattered. A few struck my suit—meaningless from that range. Then she walked in. Eveline. Dressed for war now—cargo pants, boots, tactical vest. Hair tied back. Fury in every step. She looked powerful and she was. More powerful than me in every aspect, but mobility.

If anything went sideways I could always just leave and teleport out. That made me bold—and boldness was everything I needed.

"Stop the shooting," she said quietly, yet I heard her perfectly through my rabbit ears. She stepped to the front, unafraid. So sure of herself. So stupid. So reckless. Penrose was right. Maybe it really would've been easier to just blow her up.

"You thought I wouldn't find you?!" she shrieked. So much power. And yet she didn't even see the leash dragging her here.

"You stupid girl. I could track your phone! You gave me your number!" She laughed. Genuinely delighted. Oh, I really needed to find myself a proper villain someday. I kind of hoped to fight and defeat Shiroi, he at least had a style.

"If you want this necklace, the source of your powers, you're out of luck, Eveline," I said, holding it up.

"I won't give it to you." With one charged leap, I soared up to the steel balcony above. I hit the grating and sprinted across it, boots clanging on rusted metal. Below, I heard her shouting orders to her minions and then the heavy tread of her own feet as she moved.

"Get her!" she shouted again. The grunts followed, both feet and bullets pounding after me. They flew like angry wasps. I ran along the railings, jumping from one to another, trying to dodge as many as I could. I extended Ella in front of me, like a shield on a stick, catching whatever I could. Some still hit. They stung a little, maybe just like those wasps I mentioned, but from that distance, they weren't life-threatening. I leapt, higher and higher still.

I jumped across a wide gap between two metal walkways, cutting the distance to the roof entrance by at least a quarter. I landed by grabbing a railing, then I slid along the underside of the bridge and flipped myself back up just in time to block another burst of gunfire from below. Eveline was following too, no longer just a passive commander. I caught a flicker of motion, her hand opening a metallic lighter, a tiny flame dancing to life. Then came the infusion of shadowlight from her other palm.

The small flame launched into the air like a comet, soaring straight toward me. I activated the rotors painted atop Ella and deflected it with a gust of forced air, then bolted upward again, pushing ahead. This chase reminded me of the first one Eveline's goons gave me, back when I was holding this very same necklace. But this time, I wasn't trying to escape. This time, I wanted their attention. So when I reached the roof I did something crazy and I slowed down, just a little.

I leaned back against the chimney, catching my breath while I waited. Might as well use the moment for a little show. Oh, did I forget to mention? My mask had received an upgrade over the last three days, courtesy of Zoe. We'd installed a discreet camera, one that streamed everything I saw through my phone's Wi-Fi, managed by the one and only Zoe Harper. So yes, the audience was watching. And it was time to show them that magic is real.

I climbed onto the chimney and scanned the rooftops, then further, toward the bridge, the riverside. People had come. They were out there, watching. Doubting. Hoping. Some convinced this was just some high-effort CGI stunt. I pulled a light card from my deck. Shadowlight flowed into it, warping it into steel. I charged it with radiant flare, turned it into a beacon, then hurled it high. Next, a rotor card. I did the same, infused it, threw it near the roof's edge.

It whirred to life, blasting away garbage and dust in a perfect visual storm. It was all Just for them, just so they could see that this was real. And then my pursuers caught up. The first wave were guards, clattering out of the steel stairwell with rifles raised. With a swift jump, I landed right in front of them. I could hear their hearts spike, panic. I drove a hook into the jaw of the closest one in a sharp upward arc. Even with his tactical helmet, the blow sent him sprawling out cold.

One of the others turned to run, flight response, kicking in hard. Two stayed—one swung his rifle butt at me, but I ducked under and swept his legs, he toppled backward into his comrade. They fell together, tangled while I surged forward, placed a single open palm to the fallen man's chest and pushed. The air left his lungs in a wheeze and his lights too went out. I grabbed the other by the collar before he could recover, jumped high, twirled once mid-air and flung him at the one who'd tried to escape.

Both landed hard and both stayed down. And that's when Eveline arrived.