“Okay, so here’s the deal. All the peeps in the audience came for a show, so you’re gonna go one by one so they can, like, see it all. Got it?” Ishta says as she twirls one of her curls around her finger. “I mean, it’ll make it easier for the ones who go second and so on, but whatever.”

  Ishta waves her hand in the air, and the surrounding sky turns into a void of nothingness, along with the floor beneath our feet.

  “For my personal entertainment, Dai, you’ll go first.” Ishta claps her hands and slowly the Zodiac balcony begins to form around us, with all of us standing in the back.

  “Ishta, explain yourself immediately.” Theos demands, pushing herself out of her throne and turning her attention towards us. The crowd gasps, them audibly expressing the universal sense of shock. Ishta waves her sister away.

  “Calm down Theos, this is my trial. So, just chill.” Ishta pulls a knife out of her thin air and places it in Dai’s hand. “So sweet cheeks, kill your sister and the seat of Aries is yours.”

  “What?” Dai growls at Ishta.

  “You have gone too far this time.” Law says as she stands up and turns to face Ishta, who simply just shrugs.

  “Oh, just calm down won’t you.” Ishta closes Dai’s hand around the knife, making him grip it. “So buddy, you heard me. Off Law and you can have your old job back.”

  Silence falls over the balcony, and the arena. Several members of the families slowly start to move towards Dai, ready to attack, but Ishta holds up her hand motioning for them to stop.

  “Is this for real?” Avis whispers, trying to not draw attention to us.

  “As far as I can tell, it does appear to be real.” Dardania says as she pokes a column that’s standing next to her.

  “So what, she has Dai kill his sister in broad daylight and everyone just lets it happen?” I ask, something doesn’t feel right. I know she has some kind of power that is similar to a succubus, but I don’t understand how she is doing all of this. There has to be more to this. Until I know for sure I’m just going to assume I’m a guest star in some royal soap opera about the Zodiac. Makes more sense than this bundle of nonsense.

  Dai takes a single step forward, his hand still shaking intensely. Law takes a step back, running into the edge of the balcony. She turns, looking over the edge at the several story drop that lies behind her.

  “Dai.” She says sternly, he continues walking towards her. He raises the knife, holding it several inches away from Law’s neck. His hand is shaking so much that I’m surprised that it hasn’t cut her yet.

  After what feels like an eternity, his hand becomes steady. He loosens his grip, dropping the knife. It slams into the ground, bouncing off the balcony.

  “No.” Dai turns around to face Ishta. “Not like this. I will make my way back, and make her voluntarily give it back to me.”

  “What!?” Ishta gasps as a grin becomes plastered across her face. “Didn’t see that coming.” She waves her hand and the balcony disappears and we return to the void of nothingness, apart from Ishta and her throne.

  “I didn’t think you had it in you Dai. If I cared even one lick about you, I’d be so proud. It could make…. someone that’s not me, cry. On to the next one.”

  Ishta turns her attention towards Avis and Dardania, and again waves her hand through the air.

  “I’m thinking of a twofer. Do you both at the same time. Sibling vs sibling…. again. Sorry Dai.”

  A wall of fire appears around the perimeter of the room. In the center, a pedestal housing a magical seal appears and begins to glow a bright purple color.

  “So, the haps this time is simple. Avis, step onto the pedestal and boom, the camp never happens. Dardania, same for you. One step on that little magical circle and no massacre. Poof, just like that. Never happened.” Ishta barely even moves, she just waves her arm at the pedestal as she explains what Avis and Dardania have to contend with.

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  “It can’t be real.” Dardania says as she grabs a hold of Avis’s arm and starts squeezing.

  “I can assure you sweet thing, it is. Poof, just like that.” Ishta reassures her.

  “I could forget about the camp?” Avis says as he takes a small step towards the magical circle.

  “Well, not quite. It will have just never happened. You’ll be the same age you are but without all the pesky trauma.”

  “Don’t trust her.” I say as I take a step towards them. Ishta waves her hand and a barrier appears in front of me, causing me to run into an invisible wall.

  “Not your turn yet.” Ishta wags her finger at me. It didn’t matter though, they heard what I said. Hopefully it would be enough to cast doubt. I don’t know what game she is playing, but just like with Dai, it can’t be that simple.

  Avis takes several small steps towards the circle, his eyes darting between it and Dardania.

  “Fuck.” He screams. “Fuck! Something like this should be easy, but fuck. It’s pulling at me, but just something feels off, ya know?”

  “I do know.” Dardania also appears to be hypnotized by the circle. I don’t know what this magical influencer is playing at, but this whole thing feels like someone trying to make a monkey dance. If she had an Instagram she would absolutely be taking a selfie with duck lips bragging about what was happening.

  “That place wrecked me.” Avis turns towards his sister, “Who would I even be without it? I’d be fuckin’ happy that’s who.”

  “Perhaps there wouldn’t be so much blood on my hands. Sometimes when bathing, I feel as though I can still see it. That the blood is somehow still on my hands, never truly washing off.”

  “Oof, girl, that is heavy.” Ishta groans from her throne, now hanging upside down with her feet against the back of the seat. Dai kicks the edge of the throne after her crude remark.

  Ooh, when this is all over I’m going to go all Michael Myers on these crazy rich bastards.

  I turn my attention back towards Avis and Dardania and they both have taken several steps closer to the circle. I want to scream at them to stop walking, but it wouldn’t make a difference. Besides, I have this stupid barrier between me and them.

  “What about my parents?” Avis asks softly, turning towards Ishta.

  “They’d still be there, of course.”

  Avis stops walking.

  “They’d still be there? Exactly as they were?” Avis asks again.

  “Um, duh. Didn’t I just say that?” Ishta sighs as she spins around in the throne, sitting upright.

  “I don’t know.” Avis lowers his head towards the floor, until finally he turns his attention towards me, tears in his eyes. I reach out for him but my hand runs into this stupid barrier. I could probably try to break it, but she would fail me on the spot. I just knew it.

  “Where would I end up?” Dardania asks as she stops right outside the circle.

  “Before you attacked the camp. No massacre, clean hands for you.” Ishta yawns, clearly not feeling her game anymore.

  “I see.” Dardania turns towards Avis and smiles, “I’m not doing it.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” Ishta’s mouth slowly falls open, “Did I hear you correctly? You want to keep your massacre?”

  “Yeah, I do. If I go back before the attack, then Avis will still be in the camp. Knowing that, I’d do it all over again.” Dardania takes several steps towards Avis, and rests her head against his shoulder, he does the same.

  “I’m not doing it either.” He turns towards me, “If I go back I won’t be who I am today, and I wouldn’t have met you. I don’t want that.”

  “Oh geez, you guys are so moral and boooooring!” Ishta waves her hand, the magical circle disappears and the sky returns.

  “Okay, it appears that three of you have passed so far. That only leaves the Magician. Magician, I beg of you, please make this entertaining for me. Cause who knew I would get stuck with the ones who were all like good people and shit. Why is that fair? I’m convinced that one of those heads of the families cheated. I mean, what are the chances that all of you would be in the same trial. Someone clearly has it out for all of us.” Ishta rambles on and on without taking a breath.

  “Get to the point Ishta.” Dai groans, crosses his arms, and rolls his eyes.

  “Great to know that our misery is entertainment for you.” I mutter, but loud enough for Ms. Zodiac Influencer to hear me.

  “Oh please, don’t do the whole holier than thou thing.” Ishta stands up and starts walking towards me, “Just cause you’re all Arcana and shit doesn’t make you better than the rest of us.”

  “Says the rich asshole.”

  “I have worked hard for my place thank you very much.” Ishta scoffs and I merely huff at her.

  “Whatever. Let’s get on with it.”

  “It’s not like you could tempt me with anything, so let’s just get this over with.”

  “Oh okay.” A sinister grin starts to form on her face. “I’ll bind the Saint, and you can whack him. How about that?”

  “Bind him? That’s not your power though.”

  “Oh you think just cause we are born with a power that we can’t do magic? We may not be all fancy like you can manipulate mass amounts of energy but magic is easy peasy. So, like I said, I’ll bind the Saint’s magic, and you can whack him.” Ishta makes the motion of cutting a throat, a sinister smirk plastered on her face.

  “Or perhaps one of the heads of the Zodiac? My sister maybe?”

  “Wh— Why would I want to kill one of the Z- Z- Zodiac?” I stutter, my face turning red. Was I that obvious?

  “Just an option, but the Saint for sure. So, James the Magician of the Major Arcana, I offer you the chance to murder The Saint of the Order of the Saints right here right now for all of Zodiac to see. Shall you take me up on that offer or will you continue to let him run rampant through the world?”