110 Seeking Revenge

The rain continues to fall outside as we step back through the door and back to the magic tower. The candles continue to float as I walk straight to the Council room. People give us odd looks, staring at Bolin with questions in their eyes but I ignore them all.

When I walk into the Council room, Alaister and Sullivan were discussing something. When they look up, they do a double take before asking, "Lyra! Have you heard from Vanir? We've been trying to get in touch with him all day."

I look around the otherwise empty room as I ask, "Where is Balcom?" They both frown before saying, "He should be back soon. He ran to the library with Lolan. What's wrong?" I give them both a small smile, but even I can tell it's a cold one.

I slowly walk over to Balcom's Council chair before slowly dragging my finger along the armrest. I walk around the chair before plopping down in a lazy manner. They both watch me with confusion but before they can say anything else, Aston walks into the room.

He looks a bit winded as he looks around for me. As soon as his eyes land on me, he walks over while saying, "I heard the others talking about your arrival. I can't get in touch with Vanir. I think something's wrong. He's never done this before."

I lean back in the chair and lift my legs, slamming my boots on Balcom's desk as I ask, "Did you leave right after me last night?" Aston blinks in confusion before nodding and saying, "I smelt like three-day-old tuna. I gave him a quick report and headed home. Why?"

Aston's eyes glance over to Bolin who silently stands behind me before shifting back to me with growing worry. He looks over at Alaster and Sullivan before glancing back at me with a deep frown.

When the door opens again, Lolan and Balcom walk in with some old documents. Lolan comes to a sudden stop as she looks at all of us but when she sees me sitting in Balcom's seat, she frowns. Balcom calmly walks into the Council room with a calm smile before saying, "It's good to see you back, Lyra. Who's your friend? He's not a warlock."

I give him a dark smile as I remain leaning back in his chair with my boots on his desk. Lolan goes to say something, but Alaister quickly stops her with a shake of his head. I stare at Balcom as I say, "You seem like a busy man, Balcom."

Balcom smirks and says, "Well, there's a lot of work to be done. Not everyone is as gifted as you. Some of us have to put in a lot of work." I dark chuckle escapes me as I look down. My desire to kill him has me tasting blood but I try to control it.

Balcom's dark brown eyes twinkle with a knowing light but he still plays the game. Lolan steps forward and snaps, "Okay, I don't know what's going on but you're being extremely disrespectful Lyra! Enough!"

I don't take my eyes off Balcom as I snap, "Shut up!"

Lolan's mouth is suddenly sealed shut. She panics, touching her mouth in fear as Alaister and Sullivan yell, "Lyra!! Have you lost your mind!?"

Balcom's smirk becomes strained as his fear can be seen dancing in his eyes, but he still stands his ground.

I slide my feet off his desk as I lean forward and slowly stand up while saying, "You have a lot of nerve to come here after what you did. Did you really think I wouldn't be able to find out? That I wouldn't discover your magic? I will give it to you, you were able to bury it quite a bit, but it wasn't enough. Did you not think I would come after you? Or is it because you have something else up your sleeve, so you don't fear me?"

The other three Council members suddenly quiet down as they start looking back and forth between Balcom and I. They now realize that something was wrong. Balcom and I silently stare at each other before he starts chuckling.

The chuckling then turns into laughter as he finally decides to show his true colors. Aston's body language instantly changes as he moves closer to me with growing unease.

Balcom finally stops laughing as he says, "The old man really should have kept his nose clean. If he had minded his own business, he could have lived longer. It's fine though, I've grown tired of this charade. What was only supposed to be a few years has turned into several more. Enough is enough."

I narrow my eyes as a sense of unease starts to build within me. I try to control my emotions as much as possible as I say, "You know I'm going to kill you in the most painful and slowest way possible, right? You sealed your fate when you killed him."

Balcom scoffs as he says, "Do you really think I don't know that? I wouldn't have stayed if I didn't have a plan. I didn't have to track you down because you came straight to me. For that, I have to thank you. The sooner I can leave, the happier I'll be."

Alaister takes a step forward with confusion written all over his face as he asks, "What's going on!? Who killed who!???"

Aston's fists are clenched so hard, they're nearly completely white. His voice shakes as he asks, "You... Did you kill Vanir?" The whole room grows silent as Balcom starts chuckling again. Aston curses and charges forward, "YOU BASTARD!"

I lift my hand and send my magic out to him. I throw Aston and the other Council members into a protective bubble before any of them could get hurt. They all yell and beat against the bubble but it's useless.

When I look back at Balcom, I see that he's still holding the old documents. When my eyes reach his, I smirk and say, "You have all the dark Artifacts, don't you?" A cocky grin takes over his entire face as he says, "You truly are too dangerous. It's no wonder they're after you."

My eyes grow dark as I ask, "When did you move them? I'm assuming you took them all and moved them one at a time so no one would notice." Balcom just smirks as he says, "Why ask when you already know?"

I frown a bit, trying to think when suddenly, a thought comes to mind.

I softly say, "The Dark Witches and Warlocks..."

Balcom points at me with a smirk and says, "Bingo! It's time for a new world order. No longer will we hide in this realm like cowards. We will once again reign over the other supernaturals as it's intended."

I sigh with irritation as I rub my temples and say, "Great, another mess for me to clean up."