Wacky AU fanfic for the (still unnamed) Nanonovel 07!

...()

"Henna!"

It was a moment before Heliae realized she was being called. She hadn't used the name "Henna" in a long, long time. It felt strange to answer to it now.

The young man who had called her she recognized from high school, by the name of Max. In the back of her mind, she was a little surprised she was able to recall that little piece of information so quickly.

Max ran up in delight and recognition, "I thought it was you! How have you been?"

His face was open, friendly, like she'd remembered it. But there was a naivette there that she hadn't noticed before.

They chitted and chatted about frivolous things, and somehow or other he'd followed her onto the roof. He apparently hadn't noticed, still chatting amiably about an incident she'd forgotten about, back in those days. Though now that she thought of it, she supposed it hadn't really been that long.

Suddenly he noticed that they were standing on a roof, and had enough intellect to ask about it.

She'd been about to answer, when the sky ripped in front of them, and a grotesque creature jumped out of it, from where it'd been hiding. She'd expected that; on the way up, she'd been working on the spell to dispel its hiding magics.

She'd planned on casting it after she'd gotten rid of Max, but the creature had apparently noticed her dispell and had other ideas.

It lunged, but Heliae had been expecting its appearance sooner or later, and had slipped the butterfly sword down her right sleeve, at the ready (thanks, in part, to Avien's training), and as it got closer, her butterfly sword came up and blocked the blow to her face that otherwise would have been fatal.

She barely registered Max backing quickly away, but the creature was drawing back, and she leaped forward quickly, and thrust her sword into its upper arm.

It screamed, but Heliae had activated binding spells and ran it through her sword. Its secret name yielded itself to her, and she spoke it, and "You are charged with the crime of ten counts of murder," and then named them all, careful to use only their outward names, though she herself didn't know most of their secret names, and finished with "and in the name of the Queen of Ilarisane, I bind you."

It howled as the spell became complete at her words, and writhed as it tried to escape, even now. With her left hand, she touched its forehead and activated the magics that would send it back to Cristae, and to a waiting prison until it could be tried.

After it was gone, she stood still a moment, until she was certain the magical residue had become quiescent. She'd beena little careless, and there was more residue than was appropriate, or wanted.

Then she remembered Max, and turned around to see him fallen (his legs apparently haven failed him before he could get safely away), staring up at her in shock. "Y-y-y-y-you..."

She didn't wait to find out what he was trying to say, turning away and activating the magics in her transport stone, and stepped away into the air and back to Cristae.