Lies and Illusions

---Katherine---

"What?" The question was so absurd and unexpected that I didn't process it immediately. "When did I lie to you? About what?"

"I can't believe it. Everything…everything we've been through together, it was all a lie?" Aaron began walking down the steps towards me, the orb still in his hand. "Kath, why? WHY?!"

I stared at him in confusion. This was not right. What was Aaron talking about? Indigo's words floated back into my mind. 'Careful. Orb. Lies.' The realization hit me.

"Aaron, it's not real. Drop the orb. It's showing and telling you lies! Smash it on the floor, now! Don't fall into Lord Victor's trap!" I desperately called out, trying to reach Aaron through whatever illusion he was under. He didn't stop.

"I trusted you, Kath. You were my friend. How could you betray me? Betray us?!" Aaron's eyes burned with hatred. "Now you want me to give you the orb, so you can take the power for yourself and destroy us once and for all?"

"I—what? No, I don't want the orb! Smash it, Aaron! Let go!" My voice rose an octave. Indigo was still unconscious. I can't fight Aaron. "Indigo is still hurt. She needs us. Snap out of it, Aaron!"

Upon hearing Indigo's name, Aaron halted. He took in the sight of me kneeling beside Indigo with my magic-covered hands over her heart. For a moment, I thought he broke free of the orb's illusion. But then Aaron let out a guttural cry.

"You killed Lucian, then Lionel, and now Indigo too! They were your friends, Katherine! They were your friends!" He tossed the orb into the air, where it floated just above his left shoulder, and unsheathed his sword. He brandished it at me, and his blade glinted coldly in the torchlight. "I'm going to avenge all of them today, even if it means I have to die in the process!"

Before I could even respond, Aaron rushed at me with his sword extended. I don't know what illusions he was seeing, but I inferred a few scenarios from what he said. I pushed Indigo away and rolled in the opposite direction, unsheathing Retribution in the process. 'Clang!' Aaron's sword struck the pillar behind where I was in a shower of sparks. He yanked back his sword and glared at me, now standing only few meters away. "Don't you dare run away, Katherine!" He rushed at me again, and this time our swords clashed together. The force from the collision sent me stumbling back. Under normal circumstances I could beat Aaron without too much effort, but healing Indigo had depleted most of my remaining energy.

"Aaron, whatever you saw, it's not real! No one is dead!" As our swords met again and again, I attempted to talk him out of it. "It's all an illusion from the orb. Lord Victor is playing tricks on you! We need to destroy the orb, not fight each other!"

"I won't fall for your lies again, Katherine! You will pay for all you have done!" Aaron didn't seem to hear. He swung his sword in a wide arc, which I narrowly avoided. His eyes were clouded with the illusions he saw, and I knew he was still stuck in them. Whatever he was seeing, it was not what was happening.

Another realization hit me. Aaron hadn't called me "Katherine" since we first met years ago; he always called me "Kath". My heart hurt suddenly, even though I knew he was under the influence of the orb. 'The orb…' I had to destroy the orb to pull Aaron from the lies.

"Ahh!" A cut appeared on my right arm, and blood appeared immediately. In my moment of distraction, Aaron wounded me. I forced him back with my sword and leapt backwards, surveying the situation. The orb flashed, enveloping Aaron with more wisps of green magic. He readied his sword before lunging for me again.

As we fought, I slowly directed our battle away from where Indigo laid on the floor. With every clash of our swords, I worried that I wouldn't be able to take the blow the next time. I tried to avoid hurting Aaron, which meant I was always on the defense—and losing.

The orb stayed right above Aaron's left shoulder. As Aaron swooped in for a fatal blow, his sword aimed straight at my heart, I rushed forward and suddenly tilted my body sideways, shifting my entire left side back. My extended sword struck the orb hard, and I saw cracks appear on its surface. It careened back and fell down behind Aaron, trailing green magic. At the same time, Aaron's sword buried itself deep in my left shoulder, piercing through the intersection of my deltoid and pectoral muscles. I let out a muffled scream.

For a split second, no one spoke or moved. I peered at Aaron intently to see if he was back to normal. Then he pulled his sword out in one fluid motion and my blood splattered across half of his face and his already bloodstained shirt. I stumbled backwards, passing Retribution to my left hand and pressing my right hand over the gaping wound, trying to summon enough magic to heal myself. To my dismay, a green sphere shakily rose behind Aaron, its surface filled with a spider web of cracks but still miraculously intact.

Aaron summoned a gust of wind and lifted me from the ground. I shouted at him to put me down, but he sent me flying backwards into the stone wall. I fell to the ground in a heap. My head felt like it was about to split open. My back screamed in pain. Blood dribbling down the corner of my mouth mixed with the blood streaming from my shoulder on the dark gray ground. I struggled to blink the dark spots and the fuzziness away. Through the haze, I saw Aaron stalk towards me slowly with his sword in hand, still dripping blood. The orb wobbled behind his head, as if using Aaron as a shield to hide from me.

I pushed myself into a half-sitting position and grabbed the hilt of my sword, groaning at the pain. Aaron walked closer, his steps measured and even. I watched his feet and silently gauged the distance between us. 'Retribution, it's all up to you.' In my grasp, the sword seemed to hum in response.

Aaron was only a few paces away. The torchlight bounced off the metal of his sword, illuminating what was probably my imminent death. Suddenly, I reared back and threw my sword as I would with a javelin toward Aaron's head with all my might. As predicted, Aaron dodged my attack easily by simply leaning towards the right. But my goal wasn't Aaron—it was the orb that hovered right behind him. Retribution streaked past Aaron and struck the orb with full force. The momentum sent both objects sailing through the air. There was the sound of something shattering, and the orb exploded into a million shards, the magic shrieking in the air and dissipating in a cloud of green smoke. My sword landed vertically on the walkway, its point buried in a crack in the ground. The entire sword shuddered at the impact.

Aaron had his sword pointed at me, ready to deliver the final blow at any moment. I was defenseless. But as the green smoke disappeared, the hatred in Aaron's eyes cleared. He gasped, as if waking from a nightmare, and shook his head rapidly a few times. Then he registered the sight before him, and his face slowly twisted from confusion into shock and horror. His lips moved, but nothing came out.

Slow applause echoed in the chamber, making both of us jump. Lord Victor was seated on the throne, watching us with an amused expression. A hooded figure stood silently behind him. 'When did they get here?'

"That was a wonderful show. You two deserve a standing ovation." Lord Victor stood and clapped a few seconds more.

With each echo of the applause in the throne room, Aaron's face turned paler. He stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with disbelief. His sword clattered to the ground. I fought another wave of pain as I watched Aaron tremble all over, before his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees. "K—Kath," he managed to force out. "Kath—"

Lord Victor laughed at our pain. His laughter echoed in the cavernous throne room and bounced off the walls. He extended his arms to gesture at all that around us. "Welcome to my fortress, dear children. I'm so glad you were all able to make it. Now that everyone is here, let's get the party started, shall we?"