Four✧*。

"How... How are... How are you still alive?" I say, still stunned.

"How am I still alive?" Vi says, quiet anger in her voice. "That's all you have to say!"

"Shh," the librarian says.

Vi points to the nearest seats. "Sit," she says, firmly.

We obey her immediately. Before she sits down, I notice what she's wearing. She's wearing a white long-sleeved sweater with flowers the same color as the sweater embroidered around the neckline. The sweater is tucked into a brown plaid pleated skirt. She's wearing a beret with fox ears. Her shoes are brown loafers. I would think a girl that small would wear high heels to feel and look taller. But, she's better than that. Her physical appearance means nothing to her.

She sits across from us. Her hands clasped together on the table with an almost stern look on her face. If I didn't know any better, I would be unable to take her seriously with her small size and her 'Disney Princess' style.

"What were you thinking?" Vi says. She looks stressed out. "I was doing such a great job hiding you from Justin but, you had to ruin it, didn't you?"

"I watched your violet die," Jake says, fear in his voice. "How the hell are you still alive?"

"You really thought just cause my name's Violet, my plant is a violet?" She says, looking a little disappointed. "Maybe I overestimated you."

"Michael's going to kill us," Jake says to himself.

"If Justin doesn't get to you first," Vi says.

"What?" I say.

"You see," Vi starts. "I'm not mad you tried to kill me. We don't know each other that well and I'm not afraid of death. According to Justin, I invite it."

"Justin is your caretaker," Jake says.

"Yes," Vi says. "And he's going to kill you..."

"Vi!" We hear a voice calling from the hallway.

"Oh no," she says.

Danny bursts through the library doors and walks dramatically towards us. I look at Vi and she looks annoyed but, she's smiling.

"Daniel," she says, teeth-baring. "How've you been?"

"How have I been?" Danny says, voice cracking. "I've been horrible. I'm so sorry I yelled at you."

I almost gasp. Danny has never apologized before. Vi's charm must be strong. I suddenly feel a rush of hatred towards her.

"You were right," he continues. "I shouldn't have yelled at the waiter and I definitely shouldn't have yelled at you. I let my anger get the best of me. But, was that really a reason for you to disappear for a week?"

He goes down on one knee.

"Please get up," Vi says, looking almost embarrassed.

"Only if you take me back," Danny says.

Vi fixes an out-of-place hair on Danny's head. "I never broke up with you, Daniel."

He kisses her. For a second it looks like she wants to pull away again but, she doesn't. The whole library applauses.

"I'll see you after school," Vi says.

"Okay," Danny says. As he pulls away from her, it's almost like he's feeling physical pain.

"So," Vi says. "Where were we?"

"You're such a bitch," I say and storm out of the library.

"Hunter," Vi calls, running after me. I ignore her. "Hunter!" She catches up to me. "What on earth could I possibly have done? Need I remind you that you're the one who tried to kill me?"

"Don't you dare try to blame that on me," I say.

"Oh?" She says.

"I wouldn't have wanted you dead so bad if you didn't steal my boyfriend just to spite me," I say, angrily. "Haven't you ever heard of girl code? You pretend to be nice and sweet but, I see right through that. You're nothing but a pretentious bitch."

"Excuse me," she says, her normally mellow toned, joyful voice is high pitched and angry. "I believe when I met you, you were single. I didn't even know you used to date Daniel. Even if I did, you've made it abundantly clear we're not friends. So, I believe this girl code doesn't apply to us."

"You piece of shit," I say. I raise my fist, ready to punch her. It should be noted that I am a black belt in karate and have taken multiple boxing classes.

"Hunter stop," Jake yells. I turn my back to look at him. "It's not worth it." My anger reduces.

I notice Danny beside him. "Were you really going to punch my girlfriend?" He says. My anger returns.

I turn around to punch Vi but, she stops my hand. She's holding my fist tight. So tight that I almost start crying. Her hand is so small. How is she so strong?

I look at her and at first, she looks surprised at herself. But immediately she starts to smirk and her eyes begin to glow bright violet. She squeezes harder until I hear a cracking sound and I yell.

"Vi." Danny pulls her away. "It's okay."

Vi's eyes are back to their normal color. She looks at me and she suddenly gets this guilty look like she just snapped out of something.

"Hunter..." She begins.

"Stay away from me," I say and run away holding my hand.

°°°°°°°

"She's alive?!" Michael yells. He starts a lecture about how an Eradicator always double checks.

I'm not paying any attention. I look down at my hand. It's in a cast.

"I told you," Jake says. "I did double-check. She didn't show up to school..."

"Do nymphs have super strength?" I ask.

"What?" Michael says.

I show him my cast. "Vi broke my hand with her bare hand," I say, my voice shaking.

"That can't be," Michael says. "When it comes to physical strength, nymphs are the weakest creatures. Even weaker than humans."

"Are you sure?" I say, tears running down my cheeks. "Because not one thing you've said about nymphs applies to her. I helped you guys kill her or try to kill her because you told me nymphs are harmless and weak. Vi isn't weak. She's dangerous, unhinged and now she's out to get me."

I turn to Jake. "You told me I need your stupid glasses to detect her magic and see her eyes glow but, her eyes glowed without the glasses."

Michael's skin turned pale. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"What?" I ask.

"If what you're saying is true, we're screwed," Jake says.

"You think I didn't already know that," I say.

"You don't get it," Michael says, fear in his voice. "When a magical creature's eyes glow without the glasses, it means they're Mutineers."

"What does that mean?" I ask, scared.

"Just like nature, the supernatural has rules," Michael says. "Defined rules that under normal conditions are impossible to break."

"What about under abnormal conditions?" I ask, now terrified.

"Those rules don't exist," Jake says.

°°°°°°°

I sit in my bathtub pondering on all the things Michael had told me.

•••••••

"Mutineers tend to be the opposite of what their creatures are," Michael said. "Mutineer elves can grow to be six feet tall, mutineer fairies can breathe water, and so on. The thing with mutineers is that they usually only show up once in like a hundred years so, they only occur in supernaturals with a lifespan similar to that of a human's. Or so we thought. There's only supposed to be one mutineer per century but, we've already dealt with this century's mutineer. Which can mean one of two things; this is a freak occurrence and we have two mutineers or she isn't a mutineer. Which would mean she's something much, much worse."

"That's great right," Jake said. "If she's a mutineer we can take care of her the way we do to the others."

"No actually," Michael says. "That's horrible. Have you ever killed a mutineer nymph? No? I didn't think so. Do you have any idea how much more dangerous she is now? Nymphs are the most powerful magical creatures on earth. They are responsible for the things that keep us alive. The trees, the rocks, the air, the animals. They control it all. The only thing that kept them from taking over is their timid nature. Once that's gone..."

"Then why the hell would you send me to kill her?" Jake said, angrily.

"She's not supposed to exist," Michael snapped. "With the powers of the nymph, her mutineer powers, and the absence of cowardice to tie her down, she's practically indestructible. We're no longer dealing with a nymph. We're dealing with a daemon... an avatar."

•••••••

I'm startled by a noise coming from my room. I'm the only one at home. I get out of the tub and put on my towel. I grab the wooden spoon Michael gave me which was on the sink.

"Who's there?" I say, my voice shaking. "I've got a weapon and I'm not afraid to use it."

I slowly sneak to my room door.

•••••••

I came out of Jake's car.

"I could stay with you," Jake said. "There's a possible goddess on the loose who's not a fan of you."

I looked up at him. There were still tears in my eyes.

"Hunter," he said, pulling me into a hug. "I'm so sorry for bringing you into this mess."

"It's not your fault," I said. "I chose to be a part of this. I should be able to handle it."

"No, you shouldn't," Jake said, hugging me even tighter. "It's okay to be afraid."

"But I'm not afraid," I said, pulling away from his hug. "There is an unhinged, dangerous woman with practically all the power in the world that is out to get me." I raised my broken hand. "Look at what she did to me without even trying." I burst out crying. "Jake, I'm terrified."

Jake held me. "I'll stay here and protect you."

"Go home, Jake," I said. "If she's really after me then I'm already dead. No sense in two people dying instead of one."

•••••••

I kick open my door and see Vi sitting on my bed.

"I could be wrong but, I don't think a spoon is going to do any real damage," she says.