Not for the first time, I was grudgingly thankful for my morning runs with Rose. I had arrived at the school after months of debauchery in the aftermath of England’s fall, and she had whipped me into shape.

Still, proving why I needed to be more selfish, my fretting over Hiro had given Maggie an insurmountable lead. There was no sign of her by the time I arrived at the theater on the third floor of the mall. A faint scent of lavender filled the air as I came closer to the mass of magical batteries on the roof. Still, I could make out the forms within, and they were all moving, including one familiar, slender form that was running from something.

I had to restrain myself from charging right in, instead tying my scarf back into place. The memory of the soldiers’ rifles seared into my mind, I knew that I needed options for long and short range. “Svalinn’s Mercy! Svalinn’s Wrath! Svalinn’s Wrath!” A black throwing knife appeared in each hand, while I willed the shield ahead of me. It was a smaller one to conserve energy; I wasn’t running low just yet, but I was closer to my limits than I would have liked.

The space was completely dark, thanks to my jamming fabricata. The only light came from the faint glow of my Svalinn’s Mercy. I decided that was for the best; I knew the layout of the theater well enough, after Kiyo and I had had some amorous adventures there.

The small theater only had two screens, and with the racket they were making, I didn’t need my Mimic Sight to find them.

I burst into the small theater, taken aback by the chaotic scene before me. Something had knocked most of the seats down, and I guessed her name was Hurricane Rose. When the mundane soldiers had reported they were losing control of the prisoners, they hadn’t been exaggerating. One of Kiyo’s stationary Fireballs lit the room, though a powerful wind threatened to snuff it out at any moment. Rose’s arms were still trapped behind her back, but she was able to knock one of the soldiers back with a powerful gust. Her high kick did a worse job of shaping the weather than her hands, though, and she was blown off balance.

A red glow caught her. “Save your energy,” said Yukiko, before turning to hurl back a soldier who had drawn a sidearm on her. “We don’t know how many there are left.”

I expected Rose to say something cutting in return, but she just nodded.

I wondered where his rifle had gone, but I got my answer soon enough. Gunfire from an unseen source hit Maggie’s armor, confirming Kiyo’s location as well. The bullets didn’t penetrate the plate, but a flash of runes across the fabric told me Kiyo had been dead on.

“Angel, I’m here!”

Of all of the reactions, I hadn’t expected a burst of bullets to pound my shield.

Anger flashed across Maggie’s face, before being replaced with a calculating grin. “You’re just in time, Brother Mockingbird! You were right, we should have just killed them before! Help me fix my mistake.”

I scoffed at her obvious ploy. “You can’t seriously think they’d fall for-”

All of my so-called friends attacked me at once, which actually saved me. Rose, ignoring Yukiko’s admonition to conserve magic, launched a full tilt gust that hurled me from my feet. Yukiko grabbed me with her Gravity Shift, slamming me into the ground before more fire from Kiyo’s stolen rifle could perforate me.

“No,” I choked out, struggling to stand against the increased pull of gravity. “I’m on your side this time!”

“Fool me once, Magpie,” said Kiyo, her voice much closer and colder than I had expected.

“If you think we’re going to let you knock us out again, you have something else coming,” said Rose.

“Magic Bolt,” intoned Yukiko, downing the last of the soldiers. She hadn’t put her whole strength behind it, so the impact only threw him into the back wall instead of running him through. “Don’t let your anger get the best of you. We have more enemies than Marlowe.”

Yukiko was right, as she often was, annoyingly. Maggie and Mrs. Perera took full advantage of their distraction. The redheaded wizard was wreathed in a golden aura as she moved far faster than she had any right to. I thought they might have cast Hasten, a demonic spell that we usually only used on the lesser races due to its unpleasantness. After a moment’s study, I realized that Mrs. Perera was adjusting Maggie’s relative flow of time instead.

Maggie landed next to Rose and Yukiko. The shorter girl blocked a slash from Maggie’s sword, shoving Rose back with her magic.

“Hey!” The blonde wizard protested.

“I’m the best suited to deal with…” A bright red line went across Yukiko’s chest as her uniform’s runes struggled to stop Maggie’s blade. They succeeded, but Yukiko still doubled over in pain.

“Yukiko!” shouted Rose. Her eyes locked on Maggie, and a gust of wind blew the Holy Sister back.

“D-didn’t fix my ribs enough,” groaned the Sato heiress. With her focus broken, I was finally released.

Kiyo opened fire, the muzzle flash revealing her position. To my horror, she wasn’t aiming at Maggie. Two of the three bullets bounced harmlessly off my floating shield, but the third ricocheted off the edge, blasting a hole in the carpet next to my hand.

I looked imploringly at the source of the shots. “Kiyo, stop! She’s lying. I’m really here to help this time!”

“You’re lucky I’m empty.” She came back into view, tossing the stolen rifle aside. “I’m not going to let you h-hurt me again, Magpie.” Her eyes were swollen red, and I couldn’t fault her for her tears. Hell, if I hadn’t been high on adrenaline, I would have been misty myself.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Yukiko levitating a knife to cut through Rose’s bonds, as the two of them squared off against Maggie and Mrs. Perera. Good; I needed to get through to Kiyo.

“Kiyo, please,” I said, stepping forward. “You have to listen to me.”

“No, I d-don’t. Last time you talked like this, you knocked me out and tied me up. I woke up looking down the barrel of a gun. Yukiko told me how you just stood there while that m-monster broke her bones.”

I took another step forward. “I can explain it all, my dear.”

“Get away! Diamond Shower!” Kiyo’s magic froze the water into the air into a hail of needle-sharp icicles. I shifted my daggers up, keeping them from hitting anything important. I hissed as some of the barrage dug into my arms. I missed my Brotherhood armor. I would have even taken the black wool of the jacket I’d left downstairs covered in glitter.

The look of utter hatred in my Angel’s eyes cut deeper than any icicle. I grit my teeth. My combat instincts told me to gut her with my energy knives, but they could go hang themselves. This would be solved by words, not swords.

I dismissed the energy weapons and shield and held my hands wide open. “Kiyo, I’ve done a great many foolish things tonight, but I swear, it was all for you.”

“Yeah, right,” she said with a derisive snort. “Joining the Brotherhood was for me? Attacking the Tower was for me? Knocking me out was for me?”

“In a roundabout way, yes,” I said. “I’ve had to keep a lot hidden from you, but you have no idea how much danger you were in.”

“Yeah, I was in danger from you! You’ve been acting shady for months, but I just let it slide. This wasn’t even the first time, was it? Did you shock me at the restaurant too? I know I didn’t drink as much champagne as you said. Is Dante another Holy Brother?”

“You have no idea how far off you are,” I replied, trying to skirt the issue of Fera’s servant. “Kiyo, you don’t have to forgive me right now, but I promise, nobody wants to stop the Holy Brotherhood more than me. If the four of us work together, Maggie won’t stand a chance!”

“You d-don’t get it,” Kiyo said. She unsheathed a short sword from her scabbard. “I said g-get back! I l-love you and y-you’ve never done anything but lie to me. I should run you through where you stand.”

I spread my arms out wide. “We both know you would never do that to me.”

A choked off screech from the other side of the room drew our attention back to the fight. Yukiko doubled over and collapsed, her arms wrapped around her chest, a moment before a yellow aura surrounded her, freezing her in a moment of agony. Rose was in better shape, but just as stuck in place.

Maggie returned to the normal flow of time. “Sister Macaw, hold them for a moment. It’s time to deal with Jones.”

“Don’t take forever,” grunted Mrs. Perera. “I don’t have much left in the tank.”

“I’ll be right with you,” said Maggie. She crossed an arm over her chest, place the other on her cheek in a coquettish pose. “Brother Mockingbird, is there a problem?”

“You’re damn straight there is, you murderous witch!” I shouted.

“Tsk tsk. Are you still in character? You can drop it now. We’ve won.”

I looked at Kiyo, willing her to believe me. “Kiyo, you can’t possibly think-”

“No more lies! Spectral Web!” Kiyo took me by surprise; I hadn’t expected her to try casting with her hands full. My mouth was covered, and the blue strands resisted my efforts to claw them away. “Wh-what do you mean i-in character?” said Kiyo, taking a step back so she could keep her eyes on both of us.

Maggie lowered her mask, and Kiyo gasped. “Ms. Edwards?”

“Please, students can call me Maggie,” she said with a chuckle. “Soren’s been on my side since he went to the Merlin Academy. I used him to divide Hiro Takehara’s little clique so you wouldn’t get in our way again.”

Kiyo nearly dropped the blade. “Is that true?”

I couldn’t respond, but Maggie was kind enough to do it for me. “Think about all the little lies he told you. All the time he and I spent alone over the last few months. Did you really think we were practicing magic?”

I desperately struggled with the strands around my face, succeeding only in scratching my cheeks with my fingernails. I realized I could use my silent Fireball, but as I made the gestures, Maggie seemed to anticipate the movement and shifted to put Kiyo between us.

Kiyo advanced on Maggie. “Now I know y-you’re lying. Whatever else Soren did, he doesn’t like you.”

Maggie’s girlish giggle conflicted with her smug expression. “Oh? Soren, why don’t you show her those photos on your phone? You were happy to use them as bait for Ms. Yamada earlier, after all.”

Kiyo reacted like she had been struck. “What photos?”

Maggie batted her eyelashes bashfully. “Just some bedroom pictures.”

Kiyo stomped over to me. “Magpie, is that true?”

Not strictly speaking, I tried to stay. My mouth was still shut, naturally, but my expression must have spoken volumes, as Kiyo’s tear-filled eyes hardened.

“How could you?” she demanded, holding up the blade at me.

“Those pictures are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Maggie. “Oh, the things we’ve done together…” She shuddered in ecstasy at a pretended memory.

I finally felt the strands starting to give way. “Kiyo, she’s obviously-” My half-mumbled explanation was cut off as Kiyo buried her sword up to the hilt in my gut.

“No more lies,” Kiyo choked out. “The boyfriend/girlfriend contract is cancelled.”