The Unknown Thief

Part 22

Chapter 22

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at the man.  He turned towards her, and her narrow eyes widened.  “What are you doing here?”

The woman let out a laugh, causing Aubrey to glance towards her.  The woman’s long red hair curled around her shoulders.  He blue eyes sparkled with power, but there were no emotion in them.  “Did you think I would come unprepared?  I know your weaknesses, Aubrey.”

“Well,” Aubrey answered, trying to appear unfazed.  “You do have me at a slight disadvantage.  It seems that you know my name and I do not know yours.”

“Victoria,” she answered with a slight smile on her face.

“Victoria,” Aubrey echoed, rolling it around in her mind in attempt to connect it with past memories.  She had heard the name before, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not place it.  “Who are you?”

Her face turned to one of complete rage.  “You do not remember me?  Do those of you in which you harm leave your mind so quickly?”

“Luther,” Aubrey called out, tired of the woman’s monologue.  “Do you remember me?”

The man turned towards her with a blank expression.  There were only two emotions that Aubrey could invoke in the man in order to get him to move from the middle of them, anger or love.  Seeing as the man felt no love towards her, she opted for her first option.  Her choice was taken away from her though when Nathaniel crashed into the man.  The rolled on the ground, leaving the area between Aubrey and Victoria completely open. 

Aubrey did not waste any time as she threw her own version of fire at the woman.  Victoria quickly dodged before throwing her hand up.  The shield Aubrey formed deflected whatever the woman attempted to launch at her.  They threw their power back and forth for minutes before realizing that all they were doing was tiring their selves.

“Tell me,” Aubrey mumbled.  “What did I do to you?  I know Luther; I am aware that I killed his brother.  Tell me, what did I do to you?”

“You made me do it,” the woman hissed.  “If it weren’t for you, I never would have had to do that to him.”

Aubrey froze.  “It was you?” she whispered.

“He thought that running away with you would be great,” Victoria snarled.  “Oh, he loved you as soon as he saw you.  The only problem with that was the fact that I was on his arm at that moment.  What did he do?  He casted me aside because some pretty princess smiled his way.”

She took a step back as her eyes clouded with tears.  “I loved him.”

“Are you sure about that?” Victoria questioned in an evil tone.  “If you loved him so much, you would not have killed him.”

“I killed him,” Aubrey whispered while looking at her.

The evil laughter floated towards her, sending her nerves on edge.  Bringing back the past was hard enough, but having a physical reminder was too much.

“Aubrey,” a voice whispered from beside her.  She looked over at Nathaniel before glancing over his shoulder at Luther’s unconscious body. 

She let out a small laugh.  “Could you not end the spell?”

He shook his head with a smile.  “No one has ever said that I lacked ingenuity.”  Her shield crackled as lightning struck it, but Aubrey ignored the woman as Nathaniel began talking once more.  “I think you need to tell me how you killed him.”

“I should never have agreed to allow him to stay with me,” she whispered.  “I knew it was dangerous.  I knew people would be after him for that reason, but I could not force him away.  I truly loved him, Nate.”

Something flashed in Nathaniel’s eyes before he shook his head as if he were clearing it.  “Tell me how you did it.”

She hesitated.  “It was my actions that killed him.  If I would have pushed him away as I initially thought I should have, none of that would have happened to him.”

“Wait,” Nathaniel mumbled.  “You did not physically kill him?”

“No,” Aubrey admitted, “but I did kill him.  If it were not for me, he would be alive.”

Nate reached out and pulled her into a hug.  “For a woman who can only speak truths, you’ve mastered the art of lying to yourself.”

“It was my fault,” she whispered as another blast of power hit her now disintegrating shield.

He tightened his grip on her.  “Do not be foolish.  You may have made mistakes, but you did not kill him.  You did not do it.  It was someone else.  Not you, Aubrey.”

She shook her head in his chest.  “It sounds silly when you say it aloud.”

“Because it is silly,” Nathaniel whispered into her hair, “and who in the bloody hell is that woman?”

Aubrey let out a laugh and pushed away from him.   “I stole him from her, but other than that, I do not have a clue.”

“And the man?”

“Luther is his brother.  He blames me for what happened, and I do not see why he should not.  It was my fault.”

“Aubrey,” he groaned.

She just shrugged and sent him a small smile.  “I did not physically kill him, but his death is still on my hands.  I cannot think of it in any other way.”

He rolled his eyes at her and motioned towards Victoria.  “You need any help with her?”

Aubrey shook her head.  “She’s angry.  I do not think that she will be much of an opponent.”

Nathaniel stepped out of her protective shell, and Aubrey immediately threw another around him.  If the man were not careful, he would harm himself.  She let out a huff and narrowed her eyes at him.  She did not need the worry of his health during a fight.  She needed to focus on her opponent.

Dropping her shield completely, she rolled her shoulders.  “I am ready now.”

Victoria let out an inhuman screech of anger, making Aubrey wince at the sound.  As the ground began to rumble around her, Aubrey panicked slightly.  This woman had more power than Aubrey had initially thought.  It was not the fact that the woman had power that panicked Aubrey.  It was the safety of her friends.  What would they do as the ground began to split beneath them?

Her question was answered when fire lit sky.  The fire did not come from neither Aubrey nor Victoria.  Looking up, a large smile crossed her face.  She should have never thought that she would actually be able to leave the two of them behind.

“Hello sister!” Ainsely called out as Daisy huffed.  Just as she did, fire flickered through the air.  Aubrey opened her mouth to stop her friend, but it was too late.  Where Victoria once was, fire now was in her place.  The woman would be gone for now on.  Daisy turned towards Luther, and Aubrey had enough time to call out this time.

“No,” she yelled.  “Not him, leave him.”

Daisy turned her eyes towards Aubrey and rolled them as if she thought Aubrey’s choice was a weak one.  Aubrey let out a laugh. It was good to have her friend back.