Chapter 7: Unpredictable magic

Song recommendation: "After Dark" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVx1mJDeUjY&list=RDdRMaf5mgCZc&index=18)

Not far in the distance, Ace could hear the wizard's voice again. He knelt over Albaric, Rena and Elena. He could never escape with them all. A fight against the wizard seemed equally pointless. Did he make the right decision?

No, he couldn't think about that now. What's done was done. There was only one way now. He took the necklace and placed it around Albaric's neck. If anyone would protect, it would be him.

There was only thing he had left: His own magic. His temperamental unpredictable magic. Ace could only remember a few instances of where it had worked the way he wanted.

He didn't have time to play around. He hated to give in and use what Kalandra had told him, but he had no choice. There was a cold pit in his gut, devouring and dark. The pain was all he had. It was all he ever had.

This was different from anything he had ever attempt, but he had to try. The wizard's voice was growing closer and closer. Ace closed his eyes. He was hit by the blackness of fear and despair. He didn't hide from it. He let it consume him.

The magic felt like cold comfort. It spread through him like poison, sending ice to his bones.

"One thing to another. Here to there," he repeated.

"What are you mumbling about?" came a reproving voice.

Ace didn't turn. He could hear the steps approaching but he kept repeating the words over and over. They filled his soul. He opened his eyes. The dark jungle floor defused into sight. Albaric, Rena and Elena were gone. He could only pray that he sent them back.

A hand yanked Ace back by the hair. The wizard stared down with wild searching eyes.

"What did you just do?!" he roared.

Ace glanced up with a wide grin. He burst into a fit of painful laughter. The wizard flung him against the ground with excessive force. Ace continued to laugh, even as the tears streamed down his face, hot and raw.

"Where are they?" the wizard interrogated, "I just saw them. Where did you hide them? Where's the necklace?!"

Ace's black eyes surveyed him with a hollow stare.

"Fuck you," he said with a smile.

The wizard flew into a rage. He grabbed Ace by the throat and dragged him up.

"Where are they?!" The wizard demanded.

"Where do you think?" Ace smirked.

"You...you sent them back to the tower?" the wizard's passion momentarily subsided as he processed the words. He released Ace as he staggered back baffled.

"What can I say?" Ace clicked his head to one side with a sigh. "You're a good teacher?"

The wizard's eyes widened. He let out a mirthless laugh.

"You stupid boy," the wizard breathed, "You don't know what've done!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ace replied.

"You've just started another war,"

Ace shook his head and scoffed. "You never know when to stop, do you?"

The wizard sank back against a tree. He let out a deep sigh.

"All that work for nothing," he said flatly. "Now they have everything they need,"

"Even after everything you're still going at Leila's beck and call?" Ace dismissed.

"You don't know anything," the wizard scoffed.

He rolled his head back looking up at the sky. The stars gleamed brightly. There was a rustle across from them. Bird rushed out from the thicket. He was soaking wet and panting.

"Ace?" he wheezed. Then his eyes came to the wizard vehemently. "Why did you do that?!"

"I'm sorry," the wizard averted his eyes.

"I told you! I told you!" Bird huffed. "You should have just told the old man. He would have believed you! You and your bloody temper. You could have killed me!"

"Well I didn't but maybe you'll wish I had. It's too late," the wizard exhaled, "They took it,"

"I can't believe it," Bird brought a hand to his mouth in dismay.

"What are you talking about?" Ace questioned.

Bird sighed. "Ah, I think we should go back, for now, then we can explain everything."

The wizard shrugged indifferently. He came to his feet and walked off without saying a word. Ace was left standing with Bird watching him leave sceptically. He considered taking off. Why should he go back there? It could be another trick. Maybe this time he had pulled Bird into the deception as well.

Suddenly, Bird grabbed Ace by the hand. "Please Ace," he said empathetically.

Ace reluctantly followed Bird back to the tower. Inside the fires were still lit. It wasn't at all like the Empire's tower. The inside was like a small cottage. A large wood table and cabinets sat across from a large hearth. It was still a cluttered mess but it didn't have the cold ominous atmosphere of its counterpart.

Bird immediately turned to Ace once they got inside. He ushered him into a seat. The wizard was already sat by the furnace staring into it intently. Ace glanced between them waiting for someone to speak. It was almost too intimate a setting to be sitting across from the man who had tried to kill him not an hour since.

Bird seemed to comprehend. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Michael," he reprimanded. It was strange seeing the wizard in this way. The expression he wore was like that of a sulking child. Ace had to remind himself who this was in front of him.

"You think Leila gave me that necklace?" Michael said at length, " You're wrong,"

Ace didn't say anything. He didn't believe a word of it.

"I stole it from her," Michael added softly, "I told her, again and again, it was a mistake. They didn't know what they were doing. The demon world isn't something you can just play with it."

Ace glanced at Bird unconvinced, but Bird urged him to keep listening.

"The necklace is the key to crossing the border," the wizard said slowly.

"We knew that. That's why we based the other device on it," Ace retorted.

"No," the wizard paused, "It cannot be replicated. I realised it not long after we began,"

"Maybe you just couldn't pull it off," Ace derided, "Sister Rena is..."

"She knows it too," the wizard interceeded.

"You're...you're lying," Ace countered, "Why would she pretend to have completed the item?"

"It was just an excuse to gain your trust I imagine. So that they could steal back the real device," the wizard asserted.

"That's ridiculous. Why would she need to steal it back in the first place then?" Ace rejoined.

"Because...She and Leila didn't want the Emperor to know they had lost it,"

"You're saying they were working together?" Ace scoffed, "Rena threw Leila out of the tower the first day they met,"

"Another show for your benefit?" Michael shrugged, "The point is they needed you to get it back in secret for them,"

"Why go to all the trouble? Even if you're right and only my necklace works, the whole plan was to kill the demon lords who stole the items from the northern temples. They would need more than one necklace to achieve that."

"They're not going to cross the border," Michael returned. "They're going to destroy it. They're planning to destroy the demon world altogether,"

"That's... impossible," Ace said, baffled. "You're forgetting one thing. Clover would have known! There's no way they would just let them carry out a plan like that,"

The wizard's eyes came up slowly and acutely. "After all this time, you still don't get it."

"What?" Ace snapped.

"Clover hates the demon world," Michael said categorically.

Ace blinked for a moment half in rage and half disconcerted. Could he truly deny that fact? Everything he had seen told him it was true, but still...

"You're wrong," Ace replied bitterly. "Clover gave me the necklace."

"Because they're impulsive. Always so damn impulsive."Michael said cuttingly, "It's not because they care about this world or that one," Michale returned.

Ace suddenly regurgitated everything that had happened. A tinge of doubt started to take shape. He kept replaying the moment Clover placed the necklace into his hand.

"The attacks to the north were the final justification. The Emperor has been searching for a way to get rid of its demon problem, now more than ever. When I learned about the items, I thought we would just be getting rid of Clover. Then Leila...she wanted more. She wanted a way to stop them from crossing altogether. I told her it was impossible. As long as there are desperate humans there will always be a way for demons to cross. I never imagined Clover would tell the Emperor how to destroy the whole place. I tried to delay as long as I could, but things didn't go the way I planned. So, I took the necklace and I ran. Then you came..."

"This just...doesn't make sense," Ace said dubiously, "For one, Albaric wouldn't have lie to me,"

"Albaric doesn't know. None of the courts does. They all believe this story about a covert assassination of the demon lords," Michael scoffed, "Only Leila, the Emperor and I knew. You're precious Sister Rena probably doesn't even know the purpose of the weapon she's building,"

"How can that one necklace destroy the whole demon world?" Ace gave one final push back.

"That necklace is different from the magical items that the demons stole. Those relics are mere toys compared to your necklace. I don't know why they went to such trouble to steal them but they didn't know about yours. That necklace contains ancient and powerful magic. I've never seen anything like it." Michael met Ace's eyes unflinchingly.

"Where did you get from?" he said directly.

Ace didn't answer. He broke from Michael's gaze and said:

"The necklace could barely protect me." he returned. "How do you know it's so powerful?"

"It was just low on power," Michael sighed, "Bringing it to the human world damaged it. But Clover knew how to fix it. I was sceptical too, but I realised they were telling the truth. By then it was too late. I tried to persuade them against it,"

"Why would you do that?" Ace said coldly, "You hate demons,"

"No," Michael retorted with thinly disguised displeasure, "I just hate Clover. Regardless of my personal feelings about the demons, there's more to it than that. Our world and the demon world are two parts of a whole. The flow of life magic and its inverse, demonic magic is closely linked together. Destroying the demon world will change the balance of nature. If we destroy the demon world, it will have a catastrophic effect on this world too."

"Why didn't you tell the Emperor?" Ace chided.

"You don't think I did?!" Michael snapped, "Of course I did. He doesn't care or he doesn't believe me. He's not thinking straight..."

"He seemed to be thinking clearly enough whenever I met him," Ace recalled with a scowl.

"That's a facade. He hasn't been the same since she died..." Michael hesitated.

"You're talking about the Empress?" Ace surmised, "Why does everyone act this way when it comes to her? The Emperor? Albaric? Even...Clover. What really happened?"