Allies and Enemies
Elena's POV
I gasped back into existence behind a row of burned bookshelves.
The first thing I felt was pain shooting through my entire body, like I'd been torn apart and put back together wrong. The second thing I felt was confusion. I remembered dissolving, disappearing, being nothing.
But somehow, I was here again.
"Maya!" I called out, stumbling toward where I'd last seen her.
The library was a disaster zone. Smoke was rising from piles of destroyed books. Tables were overturned everywhere. And Maya was standing in the middle of it all, staring at her hands in horror while golden energy swirled around her like a tornado.
"Elena?" Maya looked at me like she was seeing a ghost. "But you... you disappeared."
"I remember," I said, checking myself to make sure I was solid. "Maya, I think your magic brought me back."
"I didn't mean to make you disappear in the first place," Maya said, tears streaming down her face. "I thought you weren't real, and then you weren't real, and now I don't know what's real anymore."
"I'm real," I promised, reaching out to touch her shoulder. My hand was solid, warm, completely there. "Maya, listen to me. Whatever that voice in your head is telling you, you have more control over your power than you think."
"But the dragon said the ancient witch is trying to become me. How do I fight someone who's inside my head?"
That's when my phone started ringing. Multiple phones, actually. My personal cell, my work phone, even the old emergency landline I kept in my office. All ringing at the same time.
"Elena Martinez," I answered my cell phone.
"Professor, thank god," said Dr. Patricia Valdez. "I'm at the hospital with fifteen other healers. We felt the magical explosion from across the city. Are you and the Chen girl safe?"
"For now. Patricia, how many people responded to the call?"
"More than you'd think. Elena, there are magical people all over Portland. We just stay hidden because we're afraid of exactly this kind of situation."
My work phone was ringing insistently. I answered it while keeping Patricia on the other line.
"Elena, it's Roberto from the fire station. I've got twenty-three people with elemental gifts ready to help. Where do you need us?"
"University library," I said quickly. "But Roberto, be careful. We don't know who we can trust."
That's when my emergency landline started ringing. The caller ID showed a number I didn't recognize, but when I answered it, I heard my ex-husband's voice.
"Elena, we've got a problem," Detective Marcus Holloway said. "I brought six officers with magical abilities to help you, but when we got to the university, we found twelve people already there claiming you called them too."
My blood went cold. "Marcus, I only called three people. You, Patricia, and Roberto."
"Then who called the others?"
Before I could answer, the library doors burst open. People started pouring in - some I recognized from my emergency contacts list, others I'd never seen before in my life.
Dr. Patricia Valdez rushed over to us, a medical bag in her hands. "Elena, is anyone hurt?"
"Not yet, but—"
"Professor Martinez!" A woman I didn't recognize ran up to me. "I'm Jennifer Walsh. You called me about helping with a magical emergency?"
"I never called you," I said suspiciously.
"But you did. About an hour ago. You said to come to the library and help protect a Chen witch."
More people kept arriving. Roberto Santos from the fire station brought a group of people who could control fire and water. A woman who introduced herself as Lisa Park said she could talk to animals and had felt distress calls from creatures all over the city. An elderly man named Frank Morrison claimed he could see through magical illusions.
But mixed in with the people I'd actually called were strangers who all insisted I'd contacted them too.
"Elena," Maya whispered, pulling me aside. "I think someone is impersonating you to gather magical people here."
"But why would they do that?"
"Maybe to help me," Maya said hopefully. "Or maybe to hurt me. I can't tell anymore."
That's when Detective Marcus walked over to us. But something felt off about him. He moved differently than I remembered, more confidently. And when he smiled at me, it wasn't the warm smile I'd fallen in love with years ago.
"Hello, Elena," he said. "Long time no see."
"Marcus? You're acting strange."
"Am I? Or am I just acting like myself for the first time in years?" He looked around at all the magical people filling the library. "This is quite a gathering. Almost like someone planned it."
"What do you mean?"
Marcus pulled out a small device that looked like a radio but hummed with magical energy. "Elena, did you really think you were the only one with an emergency contact list? Marcus the Sorcerer has been building a network of magical people for centuries. And today, we decided to collect them all in one place."
My heart stopped. "You're not Marcus Holloway."
"Oh, but I am. I'm just also Marcus the Sorcerer. Elena, your ex-husband has been working for me since long before you married him. He was supposed to keep an eye on you, make sure you didn't cause any trouble with your little witchy hobbies."
I felt sick. "Our entire marriage was fake?"
"Not fake. Just... business. Though I do think Marcus genuinely cared about you. It made it so much easier to manipulate you through him."
All around us, I started to notice things I'd missed before. Some of the people who'd come to help were standing too close together, like they knew each other. Others were watching Maya instead of listening to our conversation.
"How many of these people work for you?" I asked.
"Let's see," Not-Marcus counted on his fingers. "About half. The other half really are independent magical practitioners who think they're here to help. It's going to be so sad when they get caught in the crossfire."
"What crossfire?"
"Elena, you didn't really think I gathered all these magical people here just to chat, did you? Maya Chen needs to see what happens to witches who don't cooperate with me. And what better way to show her than to have her watch me destroy every other magical person in Portland?"
Maya stepped protectively in front of me. "I won't let you hurt them."
"Maya, that's exactly what I want you to do. Use your power to protect them. The more magic you use, the easier it becomes for my master to take control of you."
"Your master?"
"The original Chen witch, of course. Maya, did you think I was working alone? I've been her servant for five hundred years, gathering magical people and testing their abilities. And now, finally, she's ready for the harvest."
"Harvest?"
Not-Marcus gestured to all the people around us. "Maya, there are forty-three magical practitioners in this library right now. When my master absorbs all their power along with yours, she'll have enough energy to rewrite reality however she wants."
That's when I realized the horrible truth. Every person I'd called for help, every magical ally I thought I was gathering to protect Maya - I'd been helping Marcus collect them like sheep for slaughter.
"Elena," Maya said quietly, "I think we just walked into a trap."
"The best part," Not-Marcus continued, "is that half these people genuinely want to help you. So when the feeding begins, you'll get to watch the good ones die alongside the bad ones. Maya, will you use your power to save them all and give my master exactly what she wants? Or will you let them die to protect yourself?"
Before I could warn Maya not to listen, every magical person in the library suddenly froze like statues.
"Don't worry," Not-Marcus said with a grin. "They're not dead yet. But Maya, you have exactly five minutes to decide before I start draining their life energy one by one."
"And if I use my power to save them?"
"Then you'll create enough magical energy for my master to complete her transformation. Maya, either way, everyone dies. The only question is whether you die as yourself, or as a puppet wearing your own face."
That's when I heard Maya's voice speaking from somewhere else in the library, even though Maya was standing right next to me.
"Actually," the other Maya voice said, "I think there's a third option you haven't considered."
We turned to see another Maya walking toward us from the back of the library. She looked exactly the same, except her eyes were glowing with ancient power and she was smiling with absolute confidence.
"Hello, everyone," the other Maya said. "Don't mind me. I'm just here to take back what's mine."