Chapter 41 – Revenge

Sal knew she’d see through any attempts to lie, so he resigned himself to telling the truth.

“She’s not really my girlfriend, though. We have more of a friends-with-benefits kind of thing. We don’t actually talk that much.”

Sal let the sentence die out, but Divinity didn’t look appeased. With a heavy sigh, and the conviction that he wanted to make things right with Divinity, he kept going.

“We haven’t known each other very long, and I haven’t really gotten to know her. The last few weeks, I’ve not been very good at messaging, so we’ve drifted apart somewhat.”

Divinity tilted her head to one side. “But we haven’t known each other very long, and you suck at messaging me, too. Yet I’m top three. What makes me different from Hannah?”

Her wide smile told Sal that she was definitely enjoying herself. If he had to embarrass himself to get things back on track, he’d happily take that deal.

“I made those gauntlets for Hannah, and they helped amplify her powers. It was something she was really insecure about, and I think her gratefulness got us started down that path.”

Sal looked away as he thought about how to phrase his next words. The clicking of Divinity’s fingers told him that he didn’t have much time, and he had to resign himself to throwing a jumble of half-thoughts at her. With a laugh, he did just that.

“You were the first person to see me for more than my powers, which made me feel special. I don’t feel special with Hannah. I know you wouldn’t drag me onto a stage full of people to dance, and you would have kicked those guys in the face if they spoke like that to you. You’re great, and Hannah’s great, but that’s how you’re different.”

Divinity sighed as she tapped the monocle with one finger. “This is incredible, Sal. Thank you for giving it to me, and thank you for being so honest with me. You have an incredible way of subverting my visions and changing things up. I was sure it was going to take me a few weeks of silent seething to get over all this, but I can tell you now that we’re good. I will say, though, that if you’re not serious about Hannah, you should probably have that talk with her. She’s convinced you have the hots for me. She cornered me in the canteen and asked me outright if we were a thing.”

Divinity reached up to take the monocle off when Sal answered.

“Probably Victoria whispering lies and rumors in her ears. Nothing to worry about. She should know I only see you as a friend.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Divinity’s fingers faltered on the monocle before she abruptly took it off. She hopped down from the dresser and slipped it into her side pocket, her movements looking almost panicked.

Sal laughed as he gestured to the monocle. “It’s a shock, isn’t it? When the Calm effect deactivates, it feels like you suddenly have all your emotions back in one piece. I actually collapsed after using it for so long. It blocked my fatigue from me, so be careful with it.”

Divinity didn’t look Sal in the eye as she nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it certainly is a shock to the system. Anyways, I’ll catch up with you later. How about—”

Sal stopped her with a raised hand. “Canteen at eight? You can tell me all about the tactics for the tournament and the recap from the Doom Society. Sound good?”

Divinity’s shoulders straightened as she regained her composure. A small smile appeared on her lips. “Good baby steps, Sal. Showing your initiative already. I’ll see you then.”

With that said, Divinity walked to his door and opened it, only to be met with Hannah, who was holding her hand up to her ear. The sliding door caught her off guard, and Hannah stood ill at ease as she put her hands behind her back.

“Ah, this looks awkward. I was knocking and heard voices but wasn’t sure you could hear me.”

Hannah laughed as she made a knocking motion with her hand. Her smile was aimed at Sal, but when Hannah looked at Divinity, it was clear that there was animosity brewing. Sal had no idea what to do as he looked between the two of them. Just a few weeks ago, they had been smiling and laughing in each other’s company, but Hannah clearly suspected there was something more going on.

Divinity made it easy on Hannah as she sidestepped the girl and walked straight out into the corridor. “He’s all yours.” She smiled sweetly. “I’m already done with him.”

Hannah’s expression darkened as Sal groaned inwardly.

“She’s already done grilling me for not messaging her for a week. I owe you an apology, too.”

Hannah remained in the corridor as she watched the departing Divinity. She didn’t even look at Sal as she spoke. “So, if you’re doling out the apologies for being shit, why wasn’t I first on your list?”

There was a harshness in her tone that made Sal bite back his next words. Instead, he reverted to damage control. “She was impatient and looked into the future to see when I’d be free. Silly, isn’t it?”

Hannah looked at Sal with a raised eyebrow as though he were an idiot. “So, you’re telling me that she planned her exit for the moment I’d be outside the door? She wanted me to see her leave your place. How does that look, Sal? You tell me.”

Sal took a step back and raised his hands defensively. “Hannah, I told you that me and Divinity are just friends. Me and you are supposed to be casual, so what’s changed? I’m sorry for not messaging you over the last while, but I can promise there’s nothing going on with Divinity. We have classes together and worked together for the cohort fights. We’re friends. That’s all there is to it.”

With a shake of her head, Hannah stepped into his room and closed the door behind her. “I don’t want people listening and making me out to be the crazy one. You’ve changed since you got ranked into the top three. Don’t deny it. I know you said all that shit about ranks just being numbers, but suddenly my messages stop going through and I see you constantly hanging around the top ranked. How does that look, Sal?”

Sal stared at her in shock. “Are you hearing yourself right now? You’re one of the only people who knows about my Mythcrafter ability. I’ve been working with the lecturers on special projects because of that power. It’s taken me away from everything over the last few weeks. I haven’t had time to think, let alone message people. Here, look!”

Sal pushed his tablet at her and showed her all the unread messages he had received and not responded to. He was sure it would turn her around and make her see sense.

Hannah’s face was unreadable as she scrolled through Divinity’s messages first. It was true that Sal hadn’t responded to any of them. She glanced up at his earnest expression and sighed when a name on the tablet caught her attention. Clicking into the messages, Hannah glanced up with a frown.

“Who’s Vanessa?”

Sal laughed. “She’s one of the employees on the Credit floor, works on auction stuff and helps me source materials. She’s really attractive, but you’ve got nothing to worry about. We work together on projects from time to time.”

Sal added the caveat of how attractive she was in case Hannah went snooping and assumed the worst. He was sure he had all bases covered, and it was honestly exhausting having to do so much mental gymnastics over a misunderstanding.

Hannah nodded as a humorless laugh escaped her lips. “Okay then, so why is this really attractive auction bitch asking how you’re feeling after her session? Apparently, she was worried she went a bit too hard on your body because you haven’t gone back to her for more. She wants to know if you’re able to walk and sent a little winky face. Sal, I actually liked you…but if there’s one thing I hate, it’s liars. People have been talking about me trying to fuck my way to the top. Rumors are spreading, and you’re not around to say anything to the contrary. How does it look?”

Sal couldn’t take it anymore. He snatched his tablet back from Hannah. “How does it look? You’ve said that three times now, Hannah. Is that what you care about? Appearances? What people think? Did you ask me why I haven’t been around the last few weeks? No. I went to a dungeon and had to clear it out myself, despite being scared shitless the entire time. Everyone is pulling me in different directions because of my powers, and their expectations are almost impossible to bear. But you don’t know any of that, and part of it is because I have been too busy to tell you. The other part of it is because you never ask. We meet, we fuck, we say our goodbyes, and we repeat.”

Sal gritted his teeth as he fought to calm the torrent of emotions swelling in his chest. “I’m sorry that there are rumors floating around about us, but you are in control of your own narrative. Tell them that you dumped my ass because you assumed I was fucking someone else. Tell them you called it quits because I didn’t respond for a few days. Tell them whatever you like, Hannah. I’ll smile and nod and apologize, or whatever it is you want me to do. Because this rumor shit is so fucking inconsequential when you consider the fact that we’re here to become Heroes.”

Hannah’s hand cracked across Sal’s face in a vicious slap. Her voice was deathly quiet, like a whisper. “Don’t you dare tell me what we’re here for. I know more than you could ever fucking imagine. I’m sorry I’m not best friend material or even in your top fucking three. Yeah, that’s right, I heard you two laughing and talking about me. I don’t make you feel special? It’s because you’re not special, Sal. You cheated and created a power that isn’t rightfully yours. You said it yourself—you used other people’s powers and made something for yourself. Maybe cheating is just a part of you, so you can go to bed at night and tell yourself that you’re the good guy. You’ll always stand behind Heroes, Sal. Never among them.”

Tears lined her face as she took a step back from him and moved toward the door.

Sal could only stare after her in shock, not believing what had just happened. He stood there for an age until his tablet vibrated in his pocket. Taking it out, he saw a message from Divinity light up across his screen. It vibrated again and again as more messages appeared from her. He wanted to throw the tablet across the room but opened it to see what she had to say. Sal didn’t want to think that Divinity wanted all that to happen.

Divinity: Get to the stairwell now!

Sal didn’t hesitate as he bolted from the room and sprinted down the corridor. He went in the same direction that Divinity had taken and hoped more than anything that she was okay. When he barged through the door, he saw a chaotic scene unfolding before his eyes. Divinity stood at the base of the stairs, with Hannah huddled in the corner, clutching at her head. There was blood on Divinity’s knuckles as she looked up at Sal.

“Use your powers to take away his!”

Sal followed her line of sight to a student who was covered in blood. His black uniform with yellow shoulders identified him as a second-year Controller. When the second-year made eye contact with Sal, there was nothing but loathing in his gaze. Sal opened his mouth to speak, but Divinity overruled him.

“Just fucking trust me, and do it before he gets in my head, too!”

Sal activated his eyes as he moved down the stairs. The weave of the second-year’s power looked intricate and almost completely devoid of knots. It was also clear that it was active.

Sal saw that it connected to his throat, which Divinity had certainly damaged at some point. At her urging, Sal reached into the student’s weave and knotted the main line that attached to his core. Without knowing whether it was truly enough, Sal added a few more blockages that he was confident he could undo later.

When he deactivated his Skill Master ability, he took a step back to see the second-year gaping at him with wide eyes. Nothing but a croak came out of his mouth. Sal looked at Divinity for context, but she was holding her knees as she panted for breath. He didn’t say a word as he waited for her to recover, and the first words he heard were from Hannah, who spouted a continuous stream of apologies.

Divinity groaned as she stood upright and rolled her shoulders. “Thank you, Sal.”

Divinity gave the second-year a swift kick to the chest, causing him to double over in renewed agony. “Happy. Fucking. Monday.”