Excerpt: Hugemogous Prophecies Aren't Always On Time

I spat in contempt on the ground at my feet. “Let us out that door, Dalliance Gordons,” I commanded, “There are people in this building who can see through our magic, melt our guns to pieces, kill without a second thought, shoot the life out of anything that moves. Do you understand?” My voice was getting a tad desperate. Here we were, in a desperately lethal situation, and Dall was going on about Cattlic beliefs! Honestly! The man was deluded.
“I know who they are, Raven. Why do you think I’m still alive? We should be welcoming them here, not reacting as if they were exotics from the Orient. This was a foreseen event, so we should let it happen peacefully.” The way he delivered his little monologue was what I guessed a priest sounded like when they delivered a sermon.
Though something in me died as I made the decision, I knew I had to do it.
“No, Dall,” I whispered. I raised my gun and pointed it at his chest. “Get out of the way or I shoot.” Emilia gasped and started shaking on the spot. Dall eyed my gun warily but did not move.
“You won’t shoot, Raven. I have faith in your love.” He smiled in what I guessed was supposed to be an inviting, forgiving smile. What in the name of all that got fucked?!
I snorted, “Love? I don’t love you, Dalliance Gordons. And you don’t love me, either. I can sense that electricity ball boiling in your right hand.” And it was true; I felt the spark of electricity ripping through his veins, ready to be thrown at me. I took it as a good sign. It meant he was scared of me, and it meant he knew I wasn’t bluffing.
“Raven,” he called softly, “Raven, don’t push me. I’m trying to make this peaceful. Do what I say and you make it out alive. I’m still alive, aren’t I? I greeted them like human beings and they’ve given me my life, and a chance to save others. Put down your gun, come with me, and you’ll be all right.” His voice teased at me, much like a lover’s breath on my neck. Tears formed in my eyes; I blinked them down my cheeks so my vision wouldn’t blur. My slippery grip on the revolver wasn’t made any easier. I inhaled shakily, and delivered the final ultimatum.
“Dall, if you don’t move away from the door and nullify that electrical charge, I am going to shoot you. This is your last warning. Do it. Now.” Emilia was crying behind me. She couldn’t believe that we were turning on each other. The suspense was driving her mad. It certainly wasn’t doing my mental balance any good either, now that I thought of it.
Dall didn’t move. But a muscle of his right arm twitched, ever so slightly.
I can safely say that while I paused for a split second, I hesitated not for a moment. I sent a bullet straight to where it belonged.
He fell to the ground like a lightning-struck tree.
“Damn,” I lamented out loud, “Too much magic has made me complacent.” I had missed his heart by a good few inches, and had hit him in the stomach instead. His death would be slow. Sadly, I didn’t have the time, nor the propensity to waste another bullet, to make it more merciful.
“Sorry Dall,” I apologised coldly as we stepped past his body.
Bile rose in my throat, despite my flippant dismissal. Emilia’s mouth was open in a silent scream; her hands were covering her mouth and tearing at her hair in absolute disbelief; I placed my arm around her shoulders in silent comfort, even though it was me who was being torn to shreds on the inside.
We made it out the door, out the gate, out of Parliament, into a city that was chaos personified. It was clear on stepping out that the alien invasion had penetrated the streets of the capital. Amongst flashes of metal armour, denizens rushed about, screaming, waving guns and other weaponry around in mindless defensiveness. The buzz of the pandemonium inversely inspired a sort of dispassionate clarity in me.
“Emergency plan it is, then,” I announced, and prepared the appropriate spell.