All of her life, Kosa had had a skill for escaping death. As an abandoned baby, the future hadn't looked bright for her, but somehow she'd done quite well for herself. She'd spent chunks of her life being cared for by various loving locals. There was the spinster who had died two days after she'd turned seven. The lovely couple that abandoned her when she was nine. No matter how much people seemed to love her, they always left her. She wasn't sure whether it was a curse or luck. Although she cared for and relied on her carers, the idea of being their perfect daughter terrified her. It wasn't how Vilas worked.

The odds had been against her. With all her bad luck she probably should have died a long time ago. Somehow, however, she'd always managed to stay afloat. That was, until now.

From the ten seconds she'd spent in the afterlife, Kosa had decided it was boring. It was an endless empty space that existed only in greyscale, though it was fairly bright itself. It left Kosa with dysphoria when she lifted her hands and just saw grey. She didn't want this.

"It doesn't last, you know," said a voice.

She turned around to face the boy behind her. He was a weedy boy with broken glasses that kept having to be pushed up his nose. If people like this were all the afterlife had to offer, she wanted out.

"God, if you're the best thing here, I really should have found a religion." She felt bad for being mean, but she'd had a bad day. A day that included dying wasn't exactly a good one.

The young man chuckled fondly. "I'm not sure that's how religion works, Kosa."

"How do you know my name? Are you a god?"

His eyes sparkled like people's do when they know something the other person doesn't. Kosa didn't like it. "Don't just not say anything. I thought the afterlife is where you get to be all-knowing."

He held out his hand the way one does with somebody they've been hoping to meet for ages. It unsettled Kosa greatly.

"My name is Mentirix."

"Ohhhh," she said, "You're ginger tea guy."

"Excuse me...?" He raised a bemused eyebrow.

"Sorry, Anwyn has a lot of nicknames for you. Firehead. Spectacled Spectacle. Uh..." She raked her brain for the others.

"I see. She's a sweet girl, isn't she?" commented Mentirix.

"Yeah. I can see why you picked her to be the chosen one. She was a good choice," said Kosa. Soon afterwards, she begrudgingly added, "I just wish it hadn't been necessary for her to go through so much heartbreak."

Mentirix sighed. "I'm sorry that I dragged Anwyn into this but I had to. I had to if I wanted everyone to make it out alive."

"Yes, yes, I get it, all the chosen ones deserve to live. Their friends can die though," Kosa bitterly grumbled.

"Anwyn never was the chosen one. You were."

"I'm sorry, what?" Kosa rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to make me feel better. I know you're just saying it."

"I'm not, Kosa." Mentirix sighed and made a bench appear. He sat down and patted the space next to him. "Join me." Maybe he was a god now.

Kosa initially declined, but then the terrible day she'd had caught up with her. Uncertainly, she seated herself beside him.

"The initial future - the one Imperon and I originally saw - had all the same chosen ones except for the fact that you were there instead of Anwyn-" Kosa noted how he tensed up when he mentioned Imperon- "However, while you won, you completely broke in that future. You didn't die, but you were left forever scarred. I couldn't let that happen."

"Well, looks like you did it to Anwyn instead," sneered Kosa. Anwyn had deserved better. She was the one who had always dreamed of being a hero, not Kosa. Anwyn had earned it through her kindness and sweet heart.

Mentirix shook his head. "Anwyn survives this. She moves on and finds herself, eventually leading a happy and peaceful life."

"And me? I died. I don't exactly feel like you spared me."

"You've changed a lot. If you'd been the chosen one, you would have turned into an arrogant and insufferable pest," Mentirix explained.

"Gee thanks. Dying sounds so much better," grunted Kosa.

"Death may well not be permanent. Besides, it gives us a chance to talk," said Mentirix.

"No. I'm not sharing a body again," argued Kosa, "I'd rather spend my eternity talking about Imperon's ideal date."

Mentirix flinched again. "Things aren't as grave as you might think. It's true, this isn't the original future in which you won but that was no longer an option." He stood up and looked into the distance, as you do.

"There's a reason future vision is so stigmatized. It's easy to go mad. Imperon saw that future and has been doing everything in his power to avoid it from now on. He..." His voice trailed of and he collapsed into his body, his arms wrapping around himself. Kosa could tell that Imperon had done something terrible to the boy. "He messed with Libros, he messed with Caitlyn - though that was largely Crayver wanting her knowledge but not her goodness - he killed me. What he was doing, was avoiding the future he saw. He still is. He's desperate not to lose. What he's forgotten is that there are many futures. He's forgotten that doing everything to avoid the first future can still end in his demise."

"Are you saying we're destined to win?"

Mentirix shrugged. "I don't know. The last future I saw you won in."

"Don't tell me you changed something," whined Kosa, "Why?"

"The price was high. So, I took a different approach," he confessed, "I planned like you all did. I planned as if the future were uncertain. Once you know about a future, it may well not play out as it should."

"You said the price was high... But isn't the price of this future high?"

"Maybe," he said, "But there's a clear advantage. Kosa, do you want to know why your parents really left?"

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"I'm sorry."

Yaz shook her head, her heart breaking as Anwyn frantically apologised. While they looked completely different, Anwyn's childlike innocence reminded Yaz of Hadiya. She seemed so fragile, too young to die. Anwyn was older than Hadiya, but if they failed, Hadiya would die too.

If. Still her mind couldn't accept the fact that they'd failed. Hope had died with a bobby pin. She felt ashamed that she'd ever thought that might work. Soustren wasn't about to fall to the power of a hair clip. But she'd had to hope.

"I wish Dale were still here," Anwyn said through the tears, "He would have fixed it."

"He was a great kid," Yaz acknowledge, hitting the door again. "Maybe Jacob will appear. You know, like Dale did when we were stuck at the door."

Anwyn remained silent, the tears pouring down her cheeks. Eventually she said, "Remember when he used Junior's willpower to flick Junior?"

Yaz laughed sadly, before growing still. The gears and levies of her brain were starting to shift into motion, piecing together something.

"Anwyn... What were the sources of magic?"

"Nature, willpower and higher power," responded Anwyn.

Yaz couldn't believe it. She was probably being too optimistic. But she had to try everything, right? It didn't matter if she looked like a fool. She needed to try.

Firstly, she took several deep breaths. Then she scrunched her eyes closed, summoning all her love for her culture, all her respect for her dragons and her roots. She pushed aside intrusive thoughts about how the dragon had turned her down and how she was a Drava. She had to believe that the dragons were watching her and giving her power.

Her hand thrusted forward in a forceful motion. The door didn't detach from its hinges or go flying through the air, but it slid open just enough.

"You did it!" gasped Anwyn, clapping her hands together in ecstasy.

"We did it," Yaz corrected her, hugging Anwyn in her delight. She hadn't been sure she could do it, but clearly it was enough. There was hope.

The two girls rushed into the room and were delighted to see a bubbling solution inside an odd metallic form. Yaz couldn't even jab a guess at what it was, but it had a pyramidal form.

"Funny how the whole world is at risk because of a soup," commented Anwyn with a serious expression. Without further comment, she extracted the solution from her clothes and tipped it into the weapon.

They were instantly knocked back. Like with Tammy, its magic manifested in the air like a swarm of hornets. Yaz tried to summon a magical shield, but couldn't recreate her previous magic. She was reduced to the role of an observer as the magic floated into the distance.

"We did it..." mumbled Anwyn.

"But at what cost?" questioned Yaz.

Anwyn shook her head. "That's insignificant to what would have been lost otherwise."

Yaz's stare travelled to where the magic had disappeared off to. Anwyn was right. If it posed a threat, the Order of the Bells could deal with it or Lypera could find a new chosen one. They'd done their part and there was only so much that could be expected from them. It was time for an end to their story and a retreat into a blissful life.

< | ■ | >

"The afterlife provides clarity about many things... Though as a mage, I learnt quite a lot about creatures created by magic," said Mentirix.

"They abandoned me because that's what all Vila do. They don't have a parental instinct. I can understand that..." Kosa retreated into her body. When she'd said she was too fleeting to Hjalmar, she'd meant it. It was okay with Natalia, Natalia herself didn't seem the type to seek her one true love. But commitment terrified Kosa, especially when it came in the form of men who dreamed of starting a family one day. She knew Vilas couldn't raise kids and she couldn't bring a life into the world only to abandon it. Her conscience wouldn't be able to survive it.

"It's true, many Vila babies are neglected but it's different from what you think. It's a mere myth that's been spread among Vila to justify things and keep their young in the dark," Mentirix filled her in.

"Who's going to know better? A Vila or a mage?"

"Oh, save me that. Have you ever actually met a Vila?"

Kosa escaped the eye contact, examining the floor. She could tell he was grinning. He wasn't the smug type, but who didn't like being right?

"There are two ways of creating Vila. One is by being born to a Vila. The other more common variant is by being a terrible person," Mentirix explained.

Kosa scoffed. "You calling me a terrible person?"

"No. I'm calling your parents terrible people."

"That's not much better."

His lips dismissively twitched, then he continued. "Your parents were such terrible people, Lypera cursed them with a bad luck charm as a child. That's why everyone always left. It wasn't you, it was your parents."

"And this was meant to make me feel better? Finding out my parents are huge jerks and that I'm probably the reason Dale died or something? Finding out I'm a bad luck charm and hence probably doomed this plan?"

"That's not why I told you," said Mentirix, "I told you because the bad luck curse can be lifted by sacrificing yourself. You'll still be Vila, it's true, but you'll be a Vila Ren instead of a Vila Fuch. You'll still have your powers when you're revived, but won't be bad luck anymore, nor will any future children if you choose to have them."

"Gee thanks, that really helps me now that I'm dead." Kosa exasperatedly gestured with her hands.

Mentirix merely smiled as a bright light appeared.

"What's happening? Mentirix? Is this me dying for good?"

His eyes warmed. "In this precise moment, Jessalyn Rose has discovered how to free a Wendigo. Hazhil sends her blessings."

Kosa stared at him, tears welling in her eyes. "No. No way. I don't have that kind of luck."

"Lypera wouldn't be Lypera without a bit of that fairy-tale luck, Kosa." He was fading, as Kosa was slowly being pulled from the afterlife. "Goodbye and good luck, Kosa Sommer."

The afterlife flashed with colours. She saw a flash of flaming red hair, then the afterlife completely dissolved. Stark light surrounded her and illuminated her world. How long had it been? Her lips felt dry, suggesting she'd been dead for a while.

She pushed herself up, the world feeling more vibrant then it ever had before. She wondered whether Caitlyn had felt the same rush when she'd been resurrected. Only then did she remember, she was still fated to share a body. Well, that hadn't been the plan but she wasn't sure how much more good luck she could hope for.

Almost on cue, she felt her body shake. It wasn't frozen, but her control over it had vanished. She was relatively used to this from Caitlyn, but this didn't feel the same. Her body felt possessed.

A strange queasiness manifested in her belly, gradually dancing throughout her abdomen, skipping down into her legs. It both was a tingling and sickening sensation. The world blurred in front of her face. Was the poison still in her system? Had she been revived merely to die again?

At the climax of the sensation, Kosa saw stars and screamed out. All of a sudden, it was over. Her vision was clear and next to her lay another body. Caitlyn Sequor slowly opened her eyes.

"What? No. No way. Life does not go like that. Mentirix, you devil," Kosa vented, but a grin spread itself across her face.

"Yaz really outdid herself there," murmured a groggy Caitlyn, "That dragon really didn't look happy about that."

"There was a dragon?" gasped Kosa.

"Not physically here but... I saw the grumpy dragon give me a body. I wonder how Yaz convinced him..."

Precisely then, Oburon ripped open the door. "You're fine! Good. You can't trust Crayver-"

"Ya think?" said Kosa, facepalming. "He already poisoned me."

"Then... You're alive? And Caitlyn?" Oburon couldn't decide who to look at.

"Yaz's dragons revived me."

"The manifestation of Hazhil's Rindea powers healed me. Apparently she's human now," Kosa uncertainly explained with several awkward facial expressions. "Wait, where's Natalia?"

"She shifted into Crayver. She said she was going to cause chaos," Oburon filled them in.

"Sounds like Natalia," commented Caitlyn.

Kosa shook her head frentically. "We need to get to her. Crayver wants to frame her for our murder." In gesticulating, she spotted the sparkly ring on her finger and pocketed it. She felt no desire to wear it, but might as well keep it so that she could sell it and maybe buy a replacement ring that didn't represent deceit and betrayal.

"But we're not dead anymore. They won't be able to frame her," Caitlyn said.

"Either way, she's not safe. Crayver knows about her just like he knew about us. She's in danger. So, as her friends, we've got to help her."

Caitlyn grimaced, but nodded nevertheless, and though Oburon did nothing, it was clear that he'd be joining them. Kosa's heart fluttered momentarily, then she already dashed out. She didn't worry about whether they were following her, she trusted them. It surprised her, normally she didn't trust her friends to stand beside her, let alone people she wasn't that close to. It was Natalia, not her, she told herself, but a small part of her mused with the thought that maybe her luck really was changing.

In no time at all, they were out on the cobblestone streets. The moment they were out in the fresh air, Kosa could feel that there was something strange in the air. The further she went, the more unsettled she felt. Crowds were gathering around the Calim and as soon as they reached it, they saw why. A cloud of green particles was swirling around the building. Naturally the specators were terrified, but the chosen ones celebrated.

"It worked," exclaimed Caitlyn, "They did it."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure whether that cloud is a good thing," pointed out Kosa, watching it warily.

"I don't know. It looks pretty... Tame."

As if on cue, a boy walked out of the Calim, a blue essence by his side.

"West..." mumbled Caitlyn, "It must be."

Soldiers rushed forward but storm clouds gathered around him, lightning striking the ground scarily close to him. It was enough to make the soldiers step back and mothers to gasp as they watched a little boy almost get struck by lightning. Arrows fired at him, soaring through the air, but West's shield ability now also granted him physical protection as well. There was no way of stopping him.

He marched through the crowd with the two clouds, most people just stepping aside, but a few fools charged at him. Each of these fools was knocked back by a violent gust of wind. The once bright land was dark and threatening, all influenced by the power of a little boy. If Kosa hadn't known him, she would have been terrified. As it was, she was frightened, but she trusted West. She doubted he was about to use his new found power to take over Lypera. Despite this, she feared that giving a boy that life had treated so unfairly so much raw power could end badly. Mentirix's words echoed in her mind, but she tried to cast them aside. She'd come out alright, hadn't she? Why shouldn't he too?

He passed them too eventually. Caitlyn sought comfort in Oburon's arms, clearly shaken up. Kosa would have liked a hug too, but neither of them were the right people for the job. Besides, third-wheeling didn't appeal to her.

They are all safe. I made sure of that.

His brown eyes pierced into her mind and she was struck by how haunted he looked. She couldn't smile at the good news, all she could manage was to stare. Still, she attempted to communicate gratitude to him through her thoughts, though she couldn't help panicking that his "all" didn't include Natalia Lax.

They still watched in silent as he continued on his path. Whether this was a good choice or not was unclear because Caitlyn tensed up.

"No. They didn't. No way." She scowled, but it was more heartfelt than your standard scowl. "They promised."

Heading towards them was a gigantic legion of the Northern army. Every man was armed, most physically, a couple with powers. The crowd erupted. The Soustrenan civilians screamed, ushering kids and their loved ones to safety. But who knew if they'd ever be safe again. They were at war and this was an attack.

Kosa cursed, "Fairies."

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