Marty says, ‘It boils down to my pitching skills. In other words, we're doomed."

    "Bravo! Bravo!" The woman who resembled Demeter cheered as her round of applause died. The likeness was uncanny, greatly puzzling me. As far as I could comprehend; it was either Vrha had possessed someone else on passing out, or there was a twin who was so identical to her sister, they could easily substitute each other.

The harsh query Claudine put forth next confirmed both of my assumptions were wrong. "I thought you were dead?"

That was Demeter, herself? My pupils dilated. The bloody corpse with the slit throat was gone, replaced by the perfectly healthy and alive version. It didn't make any sense how a person could come to life that easily. Even Vrha had had a hard time returning from the dead. In spite of Claudine's question, Demeter's bright smile didn't waver.

    "Oh, that wasn't me. That was my secretary, Aliza. Poor girl, and she was a hard worker too." She answered playfully, confusing me the more. The dead body in her house had certainly looked like her, and nothing like the woman I vaguely remembered to have had lavender skin and extensive scales.

Demeter offered an explanation soon enough. "I recently learned a new spell —a disguise spell— that can transform the physical appearance of anything so elaborately, it would take the most trained eye to decipher. Naturally, I was eager to use it, especially as it would be less messy than handling you, as I originally intended."

Her eyes lit up then, revealing her barely contained joy "I was certain you all would come knocking once you realized I'd lied about the date of the transmigration ritual. Children are that predictable. If that's the case, why not take advantage of it? Why not trick you to do my work for me? Plant the clues? Make you believe I was indisposed?"

There stood Demeter, not specifically saying anything, yet saying everything. I didn't know what to think of it... because I wasn't thinking. The shock wouldn't let me. Too much was being unpacked in too little time, and it was doing a good job of overwhelming me.

    "We would have confronted Vrha either way. You didn't have to, like, kill your assistant! Even better, you could have just let the Guardian Corp take care of it." From the sound of Kiki's voice, she wasn't any less stunned than me, but at least she could articulate.

Demeter's response was to chuckle. "I can't, silly. I don't want to lock up Vrha's host in some sealed-off third-world realm. I want her power for myself." All of a sudden, she appeared to turn sad. I eventually figured out her look was that of pity. "Don't be so surprised, darlings. I've been planning this for a very long time. It took dedication, I'll tell you that. Maneuvering the Vrhanian Coven was a headache for the books, but it was the president who posed the most difficulty."

On the mention of Fabian's father, my mind piqued. As my eyes watched Demeter smile again, my ears listened more attentively. "He was sharp. Enough to discover I was double-crossing the Guardian Corp and for personal reasons. To his credit, he didn't confront me. I suppose he was seeking to gather substantial evidence for an arrest —arranging that auction— but it would have been smarter to handle me, before I handled him."

Yet again, she'd avoided being clear, but what she was insinuating was easy to grasp. She was admitting Mr. Linton hadn't been murdered by the Vrhanian Coven or the board of directors. The truth was far worse. I observed Demeter as she proceeded to Fabian. Her pretty face and kind smile still completely exempted her from ever being perceived as a villain. I'd believed it as it seemed —that she wasn't a bad person. It was really devastating to be proved wrong.

Stopping right before Fabian, she spoke to him, "I truly respected and admired your father, but I'd put too much into my plans to lose to him. I'm sure you understand."

Fabian did not reply, but his intense glare conveyed all the words he could have said. I noticed his fingers, which were fisted tightly over his cuffs, burned bright red from the pressure. Beside him, Claudine also glowered.

    "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you." She announced bitterly.

Her declaration appeared to amuse Demeter, because the older woman moved to her, held her jaw, and wiggled her head. "Well, you always were a smart little cookie."

Regardless of her visible annoyance, Claudine had a lot to say. "Why? You had it all; a thriving carrier, beauty, okay money. Why wasn't it enough?"

The jab sobered Demeter, whose smile dropped. Her eyelids lowered slightly, as she seemed to enter deep thought. "I wasn't satisfied, it's that straightforward. My life might have been the dream for many, but my foes ridiculed it. Since I was young, they drummed, 'You are an enchantress. You will never be good for anything other than entertainment and menial work'. Their mockery gave me strength, motivated me to climb the corporate ladder, through hook or crook, confront the Vrhanian Coven. In short—"

Her beam returned, brighter and bigger than ever. "Some say I'm ambitious, others will say I'm greedy. But the question is, why can't I be? I want it all and I have the means to take it. So, why can't I?"  

    "You lied." That much had already been clarified, but I hadn't uttered it for confirmation. I said it mostly to come to terms with it. I had to accept that the moment in the basement, where Demeter had put her trust in us and asked the same of us, had been a farce. Laura was never going to be "fine". She'd been aware of that, but she'd lied to me anyway, and finding out hurt.

Her smile lifting at a corner, Demeter cocked her head. "Darling, it's what I do best. Now if you'd excuse me, I have business to attend to."

Sashaying away, she picked up the Pyramid Divino from the floor, which had been forgotten once Vrha awoke. She took it to the stage, pulling an object out of her coat's pocket. From the distance, I couldn't make out the exact details, but it was a thin and long rectangular cuboid appearing to be made of copper. Its size was portable (big, but not enough to be perceived as heavy) and as she moved a small shaft placed across the object up and down, I thought how much it resembled a very thick ruler.

While I watched, the rest struggled to free themselves from their cuffs. Their grunts and groans captured Demeter's attention, and she turned, flashing us a radiant grin.

    "Don't waste your energy, loves!" She called loudly, so we could hear her. "Those are a special kind of binds, it makes use of its prisoner's mana. That is, the stronger you are, the more effective they are. Be good children till I'm ready to kill you, alright?"

The idea of waiting to be killed, most definitely, didn't digest well. I couldn't have survived countless near-death experiences of late to die this conventionally. But what choice did I have? For most of the night, I'd relied on sheer luck and others' protection to stay alive, but the few who would care to protect me were currently occupied. Demeter had taken extra measures to ensure it remained that way. According to her, their mana was being used against them.

The point hit me as a wave crashed on the beach's shore. Their mana prevented them from breaking out, but I didn't have any mana. That was one loophole Demeter hadn't amended. Holding my heart in my hands, I prayed to every benevolent being out there and pulled away from the wall. It took a second or two of effort, but I dropped to the ground at last, free from my cuffs. Pride soaring through me, I swerved to the others, catching Claudine and Kiki's surprised expressions.

Claudine was the first to snap out of it, focusing me with a serious look. "Listen, carefully." She began. "The item Demeter is holding is a mana regulator, meaning she probably doesn't want to get overwhelmed by Vrha's power during the transferal process. Get that out of the equation and you will do just that. You can't get too close, though. Apparently, our HFA is straight-up nutso, and she will hurt you if she gets her hands on you. Throw something instead. Got it?"

Uncertain of what to respond, I nodded, but it did not appease Claudine, for she went further to add, "Fail and you will be responsible for a million deaths and an impoverished society ruled by a power-hungry maniac." 

In other words, the fate of the entire world rested atop my highly inexperienced shoulders. Absolutely no pressure. Risking a glance at Fabian, I glimpsed his crestfallen mood, his attention detached from I and Claudine's exchange. His shoulders sagged and his downcast eyes were fixed on nothing in particular. The sight of his sorrow gave me courage. I had to succeed, no matter the cost, for him —for everyone.

I turned back to the stage and saw that Demeter had progressed with power transfer. Three white beams formed a triangle, with Laura, Demeter, and the Pyramid Divino, which all floated about a meter from the floor, as the three apexes. Laura was still unconscious, but her lips were parted wide, permitting a constantly vibrating beam to flow from her to Demeter, whose glowing white eyes suggested she was in the same state. Between them, the mana regulator intercepted the triangle.

As stealthily as I could manage, I scuttled to the scene, halting at a safe distance. I was well aware I would have only one shot to get this right. And as if that didn't do plenty for my nerves, I recalled the games I'd played in middle school, of dodgeball, and basketball, and volleyball, the list went on. I was terrible at all forms of sport, but the ones that involved throwing bore a personal grudge against me. The chances I would hit that regulator in one try were —sadly— next to none. I couldn't afford to hesitate, however.

Picking the nearest piece of broken-off rock to me, I hurled it with all my might.

A/N:
I hadn't been planning to make Demeter crazy, but then my little sister read the draft and told me she sounded just like that. So, I went with the flow.

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