Chapter Seventeen: Elimination


    Yue woke up, and her headache was still there. It was pounding, incessant. She groaned, and forced herself to sit up, headache pounding her like a drum. She tried to remember what happened last night at the hospital with Xander. Slowly, her memory came back.


    — — —


    Xander smiled. “I’m glad it went well. Is there anything we need to talk about specifically? It’s super late, and I need some sleep.”


    “I’ll let you sleep, but there is one thing.” Yue looked at all her friends. “Today, me and Xander came up with a plan on how to find the killer.”


    “Really?” Neena asked. “Go ahead. Tell us:”


    “It’s simple. I feel stupid that I didn’t think of it before honestly. Basically, we’ll do a process of elimination. We’ll see who can’t possibly be the murderer, and through that, we’ll find the killer.”


    “Smart,” Alyx said, “It just might work:”


    “Aster, can you make a list of every member of the Vanguard?” Aster nodded. Yue smiled. “Tomorrow, we’ll start the process. Come back at eight. We’ll find the killer now. Finally.”


    — — —


    Yue groaned again, and looked outside her barracks. She had about an hour to get to Xander’s room. She had to eat first. Work came after.


    That was just the way of the world.


    She got up slowly, and groaned for a third time.


    The headache was officially a migraine.


    — — —


    “Aster,” Xander asked, “You have the list?”


    Aster nodded. “All two hundred and eight members of the Vanguard including the three recently deceased.”


    “Why? They can’t be the killer.” Alyx’s face was confused, and Aster smiled at her.


    “Guilty until proven innocent,” Aster replied.


    “You did good,” Yue said. “Can you hand me the list?” Aster nodded, and passed her the paper. “Okay, I’m off the list.” Yue scratched off her own name.


    “Wait, why?”


    “Because I was fighting Diamond when she died. Diamond is also not the killer considering she was killed first. Jos is eliminated too, because we’re assuming there was only one killer. Even if there wasn’t, and Jos was a killer, he couldn’t be the only one. Rosalia, sadly, cannot be eliminated yet, because she could’ve killed the other two. Does anyone have any information that we can use to eliminate others?”


    “Yes, I do,” Xander said, eyes gleaming, “There were only about thirty people watching your match with Diamond, excluding us. If we know who was watching the match, we can eliminate every other person.”


    “Do you know who was fighting in the other match?”


    “I do,” Aster said, “It was Kol and Yiro. It was a big matchup.”


    “Okay,” Yue replied, scratching Kol’s and Yiro’s names off the list. “That’s great. Any more information?”


    Alyx listed off a dozen names.


    “Who are they?” Yue asked.


    “Some of Kol’s friends and some of Yiro’s. Those were watching the match.”


    “Thank you.” Yue smiled and scratched those names off the list. Mentally, she calculated how many were left. Seventeen names checked off, one hundred and ninety-one left.


    “I was talking to Mono the other day,” Artemis said. Everyone turned toward him in shock, not expecting him to speak. “What? I can talk to people. There’s no sin in that. So I was talking to Mono, and apparently he and his two siblings were visiting their sick mother at the time. They couldn’t have done the crime.”


    “We appreciate that,” Yue said, knocking three more names off the list.” Wow, I can’t believe this is working.”


    “Does any of us have an alibi for Jos’ death?”


    “I do,” Alyx responded. “Aster was still comforting me at the funeral. And there were others there who stayed too long at the funeral to have killed Jos. I don’t know if I can remember their names, though…”


    “I know a couple of them,” Neena butt in for the first time, “Katty stayed long after, and so did Hulio and Kallen. And Linni and Wrynn.” Yue furiously scratched at her paper.


    “This is great, we’re eliminating so many names.”


    “We still have a lot to go, though,” Xander said. “How many have we taken off so far?”


    “Twenty-seven,” Yue responded.


    “Remember, there were about thirty at Yue’s match, so does anyone remember who they were?”


    “I remember a couple, I think,” Aster said, “And I think I remember how many people watched. I was remarking to Alyx about how crazy it was that only thirty-two people were there, compared to the over one hundred seventy at the other game.”


    “Great. I’ll put a star around those who were at the match. All of you were there, so that’s six people, leaving just twenty-six who were at the match.”


    “I know Eva and Joanne were both watching Diamond’s.” Poli pointed out.


    “That’s true,” Yue put a star around their names, “That leaves twenty-four.”


    “Kolin-M’Holtter was there, and Jolthin was too,” Aster continued, “And I remember that Jos watched it as well.”


    “And Deserey and Rosalia were with them!” Neena said triumphantly.


    “Okay, so, for our suspects, we have us six,” Xander told them, “Plus Eva, Joanne, Kolin-M’Holtter, Jolthin, Jos, Deserey, and Rosalia. That’s thirteen, leaving nineteen, right?”


    “Right, and don’t forget that some of the ones we’ve crossed out may have been at the match; we can’t rule out that possibility.”


    “Is there anyone else we can rule out?” Everyone shook their heads.


    “Alright then,” Yue said, “Here’s what we need to do. We all need to discreetly start asking people about Diamond’s match. Whoever was watching it wouldn’t be able to forget it. Don’t be too obvious, we don’t want you being targets. It’s already bad enough that they’re going after me. Try to find motives for why a specific person would kill Diamond. But please keep it secretive.”


    “We’ve got this,” Alyx said. “We’ve got Vanguard tournament practice anyway, so we’ll definitely be able to ask people there. We need to find the other nineteen.”


    “Right, but don’t look just for the ones who were at the match. Try to find alibis so that we know who couldn’t have been the killer. Alibis for both Diamond and Jos’ deaths. If you can do that, I’m sure we’ll find the killer soon.” The possibility was both exciting and anxiety-inducing to Yue. On the one hand, she really wanted to find the killer and kill him. On the other hand, she was anxious that it would be someone she knew well. She hoped it was someone she didn’t know.


    “Are you going to visit Joanne?” Alyx asked.


    “Yes. She needs it.”


    “Then try to figure out her alibi. We know she was watching Diamond’s match. It’s better that we know her alibi for Jos’ death to cross her off the list.”


    “Good idea. I’ll get to that.” Yue said with only a twinge of guilt. She thought it was a little wrong to be using her friend like that, but it was a necessary evil. She was sure Joanne would understand.


    “What about Eva?” Neena asked


    “What about her?”


    “Well, if Eva is gone, we won’t be able to get her alibi. She’ll be permanently stuck on the list.”


    “Hmm,” Yue replied, “That’s a good point. Honestly, I don’t know how we’ll prove she didn’t do it. I know she didn’t. She told me she had a crush on Jos, and she buried him. Her love for him was clear, and I know she couldn’t have done it. But without proof, we can’t eliminate her.”


    “Honestly,” Xander said sadly, “I still think she could’ve done it.”


    “You were telling me she didn’t,” Yue complained. “Now you’re telling me she did?”


    “I’m just saying that just because she liked Jos and was sad he died, it didn’t mean she couldn’t have done it. Imagine Jos figured out Eva killed Diamond. Diamond would’ve had to kill him just to save herself. She could still be distraught over it, but she still killed him.”


    “You’re right,” Yue said stubbornly, “But I still think she didn’t do it. Obviously, she’ll stay on the list, though. Alright, let’s go. We have a practice session to get to soon. It’s better we leave now, so we won’t be late. Remember, be discreet.” Her friends all nodded in agreement, and left, Yue included, although she headed in a different direction.


    — — —


    “I should be out in a couple of days,” Joanne told Yue happily.


    “That’s great.” Yue responded with mutual joy. “Are you feeling better?”


    “Very,” the black-haired girl responded. “My nose will take a while to heal, but I feel fine.”


    “I’m very happy for you.”


    “Thank you. Have you given any thought to what we talked about?”


    “What do you mean?”


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    “About Dautha,” Joanne responded. “Have you made a decision yet?”


    “Not yet,” Yue said, “But I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”


    “What do you still doubt about it?” Joanne’s face was warm, but behind it was a glint of something Yue thought was almost dangerous. She shuddered, remembering that Joanne would do anything for her religion.


    “Well, I just have difficulty processing it all. You definitely know what I mean. It’s hard to believe that my mage friends are above me in stature just because they’re mages. What if a mage is a horrible person? What do you do then?”


    “You can’t,” Joanne replied. “He’s divinity. You must obey him. I know it sounds weird, but you have to trust Dautha. He wouldn’t just give divinity to anyone.”


    “But some mages disagree with others. Are you saying that Dautha intended for that to happen?”


    Joanne laughed. “No, he didn’t. But when Judgment Day comes, any mage unworthy of his divinity will be stripped from it. It’s only fair that Dautha gets to do that. He’s more divinity than mages who are more divinity than men.”


    “What about their parents? They’re not divinity!”


    “That’s true. The babies are planted there as divinity. As soon as the baby is revealed to be in the womb, he is already divine. He is already semi-god.”


    “It’s hard to just believe it.”


    “I understand. But feel free to ask me if you have any questions. I’m here for you if you need it.”


    “Thank you. I do have one question, but it’s not about Dautha.”


    “Is it about Diamond’s death?”


    Yue nodded. “How did you know?”


    Joanne smiled. “I guess. You’re looking for her killer, that’s obvious. I’m guessing you’ll ask me for an alibi when Jos died, won’t you.” Yue nodded again. “Well, I’ll be honest. I don’t have a great one. I was just talking with a friend.”


    “That’s not a bad alibi. We can just ask your friend.”


    “Well we could, but I heard she died yesterday.”


    Yue winced. “Oh, I’m sorry.”


    “It’s fine. I didn’t know her too well, but it’s still sad. About the alibi, though, you need to find someone who saw us talking at the cafeteria. It shouldn’t be too hard. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help. I didn’t kill them, you know.”


    “I believe you,” Yue said sincerely, “But it does look suspicious that you ratted Eva out and it turns out that there was no proof.”


    “I know. I made a mistake. I shouldn’t have done that, but it’s too late now. I’ll just have to live with it now.”


    Yue nodded. “That’s what we all have to do now. We’ll get through it. We just have to stick together.”


    “That’s the truth,” Joanne responded. “Thank you for visiting me again, Yue.”


    “Anytime. Have you gotten many visitors?”


    “A couple. You’re the first that’s come first.”


    “I’m happy to help.” They fell silent. Yue stood there for several minutes looking at Joanne and the bandage around her nose. It was clean, so it had definitely been changed recently.


    Eventually, Yue had to leave. She wished Joanne well, and Joanne did the same. She got up and walked out of the hospital, taking a glance in Xander’s room. He was asleep and snoring slightly. Yue smiled and went to practice with the Vanguard.


    Xander was already getting much better. She wondered if he would like Zade. He probably would. They were both too nice to hate each other.


    — — —


    “Move, Yue, move!” Yue heard a girl scream excitedly as Yue sparred with Durlan. Yue was obviously winning, but that didn’t stop the other boy from trying. The match had gone on for a couple minutes, and Yue wanted to prolong it a little longer. At the end, she would try to get his alibi.


    She struck at Durlan’s side and Durlan stepped back, sweating hard. He was an expert swordsman, but Yue was better. Durlan would probably get very far in the tournament. That is, if he didn’t face Yue first.


    She stepped back and let him attack. She could see on his face that he appreciated her choice to not finish the match quickly. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be embarrassed. He knew he needed the practice. Yue respected him for that.


    It was hard to imagine anyone as the killer. As soon as she met someone, she couldn’t see them as a killer. She knew the murderer would be masking their real personality, but these people looked so sincere. Durlan really loved to spar, she could tell. He would never want to hurt someone in the Vanguard, right?


    Yue didn’t know what to think anymore. If she was suspicious of anyone, she should be suspicious of her friends. They were closest to Diamond after all. But none of them would have done it. They would all have alibis.


    Except for Artemis. He and Astil hated each other. There had to be a reason for that, and Yue betted it would be a very legitimate one. Maybe Artemis had killed someone, maybe a family member. Maybe he just liked to kill people.


    No. Yue didn’t like Artemis, but he didn’t like killing people. If that person threatened Polu, he might.


    And what happened to them leaving? Yue guessed they didn’t really want to anymore, but she didn’t know why.


    She jumped back as Durlan attacked her again, and this time she barely escaped. He was clearly trying to get the best of her now. He could tell she was thinking too much. She stood her ground as he thrust at her. She parried and sent her own volley, sending him cursing and jumping back, grinning wildly.


    He was loving this.


    Which led Yue to more thoughts. How could a member of the Vanguard betray it? They were supposed to be a close-knit army, but because of this killer, it was falling apart. It was a horrible thought. If the Vanguard fell apart, Magefell wouldn’t be safe. If the Vanguard was gone, the tournament wouldn’t go well. Magefell would be overrun.


    And what did the cult want with the tournament anyway? Would they try to bring about Judgement Day? Or was it just some other terrible plan? Yue shuddered to think about it. If they would give one of their members the scars they gave Xander, they would definitely do anything.


    She felt bad for Xander. He’d been forced to say he’d kill her. What if it was a binding vow? She was sure mages could do something like that. If they did, Xander would be forced to kill them. And if he was able to, he would live with the guilt for the rest of his life. She couldn’t imagine that. She didn’t wish that on her worst enemy. No, that wasn''t true. She would wish it on the killer.


    The killer deserved everything. She liked dreaming about what she would do to him. She just wanted him dead. She wanted him to feel pain before he died. She wanted him to feel the pain of the deceased''s friends and families. She wanted him to feel the horror she felt when Diamond died. She wanted him to hear her final word and let it rest on his soul. She wanted him to rot in hell with everyone he killed torturing him for all eternity.


    And eternity wasn’t enough. The rage she felt was too powerful for just eternity. She would savor killing him. For Diamond’s sake.


    Was she crazy? She thought so. She didn’t really care, though. As long as that bastard rotted forever, she didn’t mind.


    She realized she’d been getting too aggressive when she saw Durlan on the ground and her pointing her sword at him. He was shaking hard, and she sheathed her sword and helped him up.


    “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to get so aggressive!”


    “It’s all good,” He smiled. Yue sighed in relief.


    “You did good,” She said.


    “Thank you,” He replied respectfully, bowing. “You did amazing.”


    “My best performance was with Diamond, I think,” Yue said.


    “I think you did really well with Kol. But now I’m sad I didn’t see your matchup with Diamond. I’m sorry about what happened. I was watching Kol’s fight, and when I heard what happened, I didn’t know what to do. A murder in the Vanguard? How could that happen?”


    “I was thinking the same thing,” Yue told him. “By the way, were you watching Kol’s game with anyone?”


    “Yeah, Markuth. Why?”


    “No reason. Just checking.”


    Durlan smiled. “Okay. I’ll see you around, I guess.”


    “Yeah, exactly. Good luck in the tournament.”


    “You too. You won’t need it, though.” Yue blushed and Durlan walked off. Inwardly, Yue crossed another name off the list. She would have to ask Markuth to verify Durlan’s story, but now she knew.


    Durlan wasn’t the killer either.


    Another name down, so many more to go.


    — — —


    “I saw Markuth at the cafeteria,” Alyx told Yue. “Why do you want him?”


    Yue shrugged the question off. “I’ll tell you later.” Alyx started to ask a question but Yue was already off.


    She found Markuth sitting at a table and sat next to him. He looked strangely at her.


    “Um…Hi,” He said.


    “Hi, Markuth. I need to ask you a question.”


    “You’re Yue, right?”


    “Yes.”


    Markuth nodded. “I’m saying this in the most polite way possible, okay? What the hell are you doing here?”


    Yue laughed. “I just want to ask you a question.”


    “What is it?”


    “I was busy fighting with Diamond when Kol and Yiro had their match. I heard it was a crazy fight. Can you tell me about it?”


    Immediately, Markuth beamed. “Yes, I can. When I arrived there, the match had already started. It was a great one. Both Kol and Yiro were on the offensive, leaving all of us on the edge of our seats. Yiro was using more blunt force than strategy, and it was working for a time. But blunt force doesn’t lead you anywhere, and that was obvious with this one.


    “Eventually, Kol got the slight advantage and really pushed himself to fight better. I think the fight ended a couple minutes before yours did. I’m sorry about that by the way. Sad, just sad.” He saw Yue’s somewhat impatient glance and continued. “Kol kept driving Yiro back until she had nowhere to go. She became desperate then, It was a last ditch effort what she did. It was crazy, and it worked a little. When we saw it, me and Durlan were speechless after—”


    “Thank you. I have to go,” Yue said as she left. She hated to be so brusque but his confused face made her laugh a little.


    Cross another name off the list.


    Slowly, the list was getting shorter.


    Markuth was not the killer.


    — — —


    Night. Once again, they were at Xander’s room in the hospital. This time, they were here to eliminate more names from their list.


    “I have two names to cross out,” Yue started. “Both Durlan and Markuth watched Kol’s match.”


    “I have some names as well,” Neena said. She listed off a couple of names and explained their alibis. Yue crossed them both out. Neena looked proud of what she’d accomplished, and Yue, for one, was definitely proud of her.


    “Good job. Does anyone have any other names to cross out?”


    Xander groaned. “I hate being at the hospital.”


    Alyx grinned at Aster. “I think I win.”


    “What are you talking about?” Yue asked. Alyx and Aster shared a knowing glance.


    “Me and Aster had a bet over who could get the most names. Names crossed out counted for one. Names of people that watched your fight counted for two. Like I already said, I know I’ve won.”


    “Don’t be so sure,” Aster replied.


    “You should’ve included me in this.” Yue said playfully.


    “But you only got two names. You didn’t do very well,” Alyx said. “I have five names of people that watched Kol’s game, and two of people that watched yours.” She listed the names and alibis and Yue looked at her happily.


    “That’s great.”


    “It’s not that good,” Aster grinned. “I got ten who watched Kol’s and four that watched yours.” Yue’s jaw dropped as Aster told her the people. She crossed out the ones she needed to and starred the other names Aster mentioned. Aster explained in vivid details about each alibi, and by the end, Alyx was extremely pissed.


    “Poli? Artemis? Do you have any?” They had one apparently. A man named Gabreil. She crossed him out.


    “How many names are left now, Yue?” Neena asked excitedly. Yue did a quick count. “We’ve taken out forty-seven names completely. That leaves one hundred sixty one. We’ve got nineteen people who watched my game. That leaves thirteen. Good job everybody. Tomorrow we’ll keep this going.”


    “Alyx, hand it over,” Aster said. Alyx grumbled but handed three coins to Alyx.


    “I’ll beat you tomorrow,” She said.


    “Yeah, sure,” Aster said. “I’d like to see you try.”


    “Alright everyone, let’s let Xander have his sleep,” Yue said. Her friends filed out of the room.


    “Need anything, Yue?” Xander asked.


    “I’m tired,” Yue said. “I don’t think I’m cut out to lead us.”


    Xander cocked his head. “Why would you think that? Because of you, we’re closer than ever to finding Diamond’s murderer.”


    “But we haven’t, have we?”


    “We’re so close. We’ll have thirty.two suspects soon. And a lot of them we know aren’t the killer. You’re a great leader, Yue. You’ve done more than all of us, even if it doesn’t look that way.”


    Yue nodded, but left without saying farewell. She was lost in thought again.


    — — —


    Yue reached her barracks and removed her shoes. It was well past midnight. She could barely see in the cabin. Most of the girls there were already asleep. She would have to be silent getting into bed.


    She walked to her bed silently and removed her outer layer of clothes, leaving her in her undergarments. She slid into bed, and, for the second time in her life, she heard something fall off of it. Immediately, she was alert. She grabbed the piece of paper. It was too dark to read in the barracks. She didn’t bother to put on her clothes. It was indecent, sure, but this was more important. She walked outside and tried to read with the moonlight. It took her a moment to be able to read it.


    You think I forgot about you? Meet me in the Harbor Warehouse at three in two days. Come alone. See you then.


    There was a smiley face next to the last phrase. The creepiest part of the letter, though, was definitely the third word. It said ‘I’ now, but there was a scratched out ‘we’ next to it. The word sent chills down Yue’s spine. Could there be more than one?


    She ripped up the paper.


    “What are you doing?” She turned around as a vanguard girl looked suspiciously at her from the door of the barracks.


    “Nothing. Go back to sleep,” Yue replied, annoyed. The girl narrowed her eyes but closed the door. Yue breathed out slowly. She’d known, but now she felt it.


    She wasn’t safe. She entered her barracks. Yue could see the girl watching her from her bed, but Yue ignored her.


    She got into bed. She didn’t sleep that night. When she told her friends about it, they all reacted shocked, and they all came up with a plan. Obviously, Yue wouldn’t go alone. They had to stick together.


    They would work together.


    And they would take down the murderer.