Sedgewick remained frozen as the voice of his archenemy whispered in his ear. Bilara's arm remained around his waist as the other brushed some strands of hair behind his ear. She flicked the pointed tip in a mocking gesture of superiority, sending a brief spike of discomfort running through it. A sharp jolt of panic surged through him and time seemed to stop as he slowly turned his head to face her.

Memories of pain and betrayal and soul-crushing anger flooded his mind as her mocking violet eyes met his rage-filled amber ones. His hand shot out and grabbed hers from around his waist. He twisted out of her grip and snatched his book off the floor, putting a measly four feet of distance between them.

Sedgewick glared at the woman before him and clutched his book to his chest, desperately wishing that looks could kill.

Bilara smiled at him as if his actions were some sort of game. The sickening thing was that to her, they probably were.

She leaned against the table, tapping her long, pale fingers against the wood. They were marred only by the faintest hint of black veins near her nails--a side effect of years of black magic usage. Her midnight-colored hair was brushed away from her face, revealing red-stained lips curled into a bemused smirk. She sighed and untied her dark cloak, letting it slip from her shoulders. Her dress was a dark purple and cut as close and as low as was practical in the country's colder climate, accentuating her womanly curves.

In another life, he had thought her beautiful. But then again, in another life, she hadn't yet betrayed him.

"I must say, I did expect you'd be here sooner. Has the Abreylian heat finally softened your brain, Sedgy, darling?"

His bubbling anger spilled over as he snatched his staff from his back and pointed it at her smooth throat.

Only to be met with Bilara's pointed at his.

"Well, someone's certainly touchy," she said, her Northlander accent sickeningly similar to his own.

"I wonder why," he snapped back through gritted teeth.

They stood there at a stand-still, staffs raised as neither made the final move to start the inevitable deadly dual.

"Now, shall we skip to the part where you fail at killing me or would you like to have a drink first? We could reminisce about old times. Like when you used to passionately declare your eternal devo--"

"Shut up," he snarled. Anger seared through his veins, but he managed to hold himself together. "I'm not playing games with you."

"Life is a game, Sedgewick. One that you're sadly not very good at."

His fingers clenched around his staff as his lips curled into a sneer. She was baiting him. Try to get him to lash out in rage and waste his remaining magic. Sedgewick's eyes flickered to the nearby table, scanning for any sign of her spell notes.

"Looking for something?" asked Bilara, her voice tinged with amusement. She reached into her bodice and pulled out a small bundle of neatly folded papers tied together with a bow. It dangled from her finger, swinging back and forth slowly.

His eyes snapped onto the bundle as his breathing became heavy. There it was. The solution to all his problems and the cause of all his current misery. Dangling precariously from his enemy's finger

He cursed silently to himself. Of course, Bilara wouldn't leave them lying around. She'd been expecting him. It wouldn't surprise him if she'd know the minute he'd set foot in her cave.

That would certainly explain the ease with which I entered, he thought.

"How is your magic essence behaving now, darling?" she asked while spinning the notes on her finger before clenching them in her palm.

He glared at her in silence before shooting back with a question of his own. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish with this little scheme of yours?"

"Do I need a reason other than a chance to make you deliciously angry?"

"A side benefit, I'm sure." He stepped further away from the table, staff still raised as they began circling each other like animals on the prowl. "Give me the notes."

"Give me the book."

He snorted. "You'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands."

Her smirk faltered, transforming into a scowl. "Don't tempt me, Alverdyne. We both know who has the upper hand."

"And you used to say arrogance would lead to my downfall."

"To quote a wise man, 'It isn't arrogance if it's true.' " she said, tossing the words of his youth back at him.

He resisted the urge to immediately strike out at her but still began calling on his magic. Usually, his magic essence would fly to the surface, aching to be used. Now it felt like he was dragging it there every step of the way as it grew weaker all the while. "How did you manage to get my book?"

Bilara's eyes narrowed as if she could see the struggle he was having. "It was a payment from my...accomplice," she said, lingering with relish over the final word.

The book almost slipped from his hand, but he managed to grab on tighter at the last second. Sedgewick's head spun as he tried to absorb this new information. Bilara hadn't acted alone?

A faint orange glow finally encircled his staff as his voice became dark and threatening. "What do mean, Bilara?"

"Oh, Sedgy." She shook her head. "It's always rather amusing how someone as brilliant as yourself always has such trouble seeing the things right in front of you."

"Enough with your riddles! Who are you working with and why the gates are you doing this?" he shouted, his patience finally starting to snap.

"Well, other than making you miserable, it's been a long time since someone gave me such easy access to all those wonderfully powerful texts you mages selfishly keep locked away. Providing the black magic for your curse was practically a reward instead of a payment."

Bilara's words echoed in his head. "Providing the black magic"? But that would mean that someone didn't want to cast the black magic for themselves...

Who the gates would still team up with a sorceress if they didn't want to meddle in black magic? he thought as his confusion and frustration mounted.

"As for my partner, the answer was right in your hand."

A paper flew off the ground and floated right in front of Bilara.

The leaflet with the withdrawal names.

The violet light of Bilara's magic essence coated the paper until it brightened suddenly. Sedgewick's eyes widened in horror as he lurched forward seconds too late.

Flames consumed the paper, taking his answers with it.

"YOU BLOODY--"

"As far as anyone at the Ivory Tower is concerned, your precious book's withdrawal was approved by you. I do so wonder what the Archmage will think when she learns that it landed in the hands of a sorceress. Especially one that you have such a long history with."

Fire filled his veins as his vision seemed to narrow to only the woman before him. The last threads of his self-control snapped, leaving only thoughts of blood and violence and vengeance towards his enemy. His book sailed out of his hand as he levitated it as far across the large room as possible. If the action caused him pain, he was too blinded by anger to notice.

Sedgewick's eyes blazed with rage, but his voice was eerily calm. "Give me the notes, sorceress."

Bilara smiled darkly as if she'd been waiting for this moment. Her violet magic swirled around her staff before it darkened to a sickening black. "Come and get them, mage."

Sedgewick let out an animalistic growl and swung his staff forward as the duel commenced.

*****************************

Author's Note: Wow, that was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Sorry this wasn't out earlier in the day. Christmas kinda threw off my writing schedule. Hope everyone had a great one! Also, LuckyPlum drew a GREAT picture of Feyla in her art book.  I highly suggest checking it out.  Any thoughts on Bilara?