| |
I apparently got my wish. My eyes flickered open cautiously, as nothing happened—well, close to nothing.
I was surprised to see my hands out in front of me, radiating a shield of light, its power pulsating between me and my crumbling surroundings. “Wow,” I mumbled. “That was close.”
“Kid, are you okay?” Elysian came up behind me. He glanced at my power and nodded approvingly. “Nice shield."
“Thanks,” I said. “I was hoping I wasn’t going to die.”
“Good to remember, I guess,” he said. “Hop on. Aleia and Starry Knight need our help.”
At first I was skeptical, but as we fled through the various dropping walls and dodged the splattering debris, I was surprised to see Maia’s power was only growing.
“She’s a monster,” I observed, shocked at her power.
“Maia was originally a Starry Virtue,” Elysian said. “She was the Star of Diligence. It’s no surprise that she can still control a great deal of power when it comes to attaining a goal she really wants.”
“I liked her more as the Sinister of Slothfulness,” I grumbled. “It suited us better.”
“Still, Aleia and Alora’s curse is holding her back from her full power,” Elysian reminded me. “So it’s just a matter of protecting others from her outrage.”
Starry Knight and Aleia were pushing hard against Maia’s defenses as we approached. I certainly hoped Elysian was right.
“Put me down,” I said. “Go charge at Maia. Hit her with your best shot. I’ll cover, and that’ll give Starry Knight and Aleia the time to pin her down.”
“Okay.” Elysian twisted his body downward, and I slid off, running. I called forth my sword again and balled up a shot of my energy. Elysian roared and released a huge flame of celestial fire.
Maia screamed as Elysian’s flames hit her. She knelt down on the ground.
“Perfect,” I said. “Let’s get her!”
Starry Knight, Aleia, and I all raced forward, determined to capture her and seal her away.
“Watch out,” Starry Knight called, pushing me back, much as I had done to her earlier.
As I turned to argue with her, Maia’s power shot up from her position. I felt the ground rumble underneath us, and even Aleia hesitated.
Maia’s power bubbled up and she suddenly shot out of the school. “Come and get me, you fools,” she challenged, her voice echoing eerily in the nearly empty, nearly destroyed school. “If you can.”
The school’s skeletal remains began to shake. My eyes went wide as I looked over at my friends. “The building is caving in!”
“We need to get out of here,” Aleia agreed. “And fast.”
“Elysian!” I called.
As Elysian arrived, Starry Knight held back. “Go!” she cried.
“What are you doing?” I hollered back, trying to grab her. “You need to come with us!”
Starry Knight didn’t answer me. Instead, she took out an arrow and unleashed her power at the ceiling as it fell, allowing it to burst a bigger hole through the remains.
Elysian roared, adding his own flame to her power. The resulting power cut through the sky in a double-helix formation, blasting up through the clouds. We rode through the tunnel between the two strands of power, before being ejected safely into the outside air.
Turning back, I stilled as I watched it. A sense of awe moved through me. A long moment passed before I wondered if I should have tried to help as well. “Wow.”
Aleia exhaled slowly. “That was close,” she said as she looked down at the school.
I turned just in time to see it completely collapse. Starry Knight appeared at our side as I tried to figure out how much more debt the destruction of a school would add to my growing list of collateral damage.
And then some costs I wasn’t willing to pay, I realized. Starry Knight had almost been hurt, too.
“Where’s Maia?” Starry Knight asked, not even allowing me a moment to scream at her for her recklessness.
I felt my mouth flap open a few times while Aleia and Starry Knight discussed what to do next. What is wrong with these two? Don’t they realize how close we were to dying?!
Aleia very carefully pulled out her time orb. “She’s heading for the marina,” she said.
“There she is. I see her,” Starry Knight exclaimed. She pointed ahead of us, bringing our attention to a slim, blue aura, trailing out toward Lake Erie’s quiet waters. And then she sped forward.
My mental tirade would have to break free later, I thought. After Maia was sealed away, I would let Aleia and Starry Knight have a piece of my mind about their blatant disregard for safety.
“Elysian, catch up,” I ordered. “Don’t let Starry Knight get there before us.”
“You know, she’s not carrying two people,” Elysian reminded me, huffing just enough that I had to fight back sympathy for him, and anger at my own stupid wings.
They were still short and stubby, even if they had blossomed out into a reddish color from their blackened roots.
I turned to Aleia. “Can’t you fly?” I asked.
“No,” she said with a grin. “There’s no need for me to fly. My original purpose was to monitor the Tree of Memory.”
“What about me? Can you tell me how to fly?”
“It’s a sign of growth,” she said. “You’ll fly when you’re ready.” She eyed me carefully as she added, “There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to.”
“Just how much of a jump-start does Starry Knight have on me?” Frustration hit me hard again, even though it was becoming my constant companion lately.
“She’s known about the supernatural since long before you did,” Aleia admitted. “She was seven years old when she found out.”
“You know?” Shock and anger were quickly becoming friends I didn’t want to have, especially where this whole supernatural business was concerned. How much do I just not know?
“Of course,” Aleia said. “We are friends, even if we don’t agree on some things.”
I didn’t want to talk about Starry Knight anymore. “Why is Maia so determined?” I asked, deciding it was best to focus on the part of the problem I could actually do something about. “Did she manage to break through your power?”
“No,” Aleia said. She hesitated. “She’s upset about Orpheus.”
“I figured that much,” I replied. “Why?”
“She was in love with him on the other side of time. Maia was the first one to follow him.” Aleia sighed. “He tricked her and lied to her. And she has never exactly recovered from his betrayal.” She looked ahead, where I saw Starry Knight had managed to catch up with Maia at the docks. “But she still loved him.”
Understanding struck. “So that’s why she protected him that time I almost sealed him away,” I said, recalling how Maia had hurriedly pushed Meropae between Orpheus and my sword at a previous battle.
“Yes,” Aleia agreed. “Now that he’s gone, she’s lost in more than one way.”
“I almost feel bad for her,” I admitted. That was uncomfortable, I thought.
Aleia smiled. “Compassion looks good on you.”
“Let’s hope it helps my fighting skills,” I said. “Because we’re about to land.”
The wooden docks clogged beneath my feet as we landed, but, awkward or not, I was determined to hit the ground running.
Starry Knight and Maia were facing off at the end of the marina. I could see the small dome of Lakeview Observatory in the distance as lightning and arrows of light flashed through the sky, almost like a very poorly choreographed fireworks show.
Maia unleashed a full wall of energy, crying out to celebrate her horrible and destructive power. “You shall not beat me!”
The rippled lightning coursed through the air, sending Elysian and Starry Knight both reeling back, while Aleia stumbled and I felt my steps falter.
Starry Knight recovered more quickly, as Elysian needed to get his body untangled.
Maia stalled. “You took Orpheus away from me. I’ll destroy you for what you did.”
“We didn’t take Orpheus away,” Starry Knight argued back. “He was purified by fire. He’s still alive.”
“Don’t you see? It doesn’t matter!” Maia cried out defiantly. And for the first time, I thought I could see a glimmer of tears in her eyes.
I came up to them slowly, wanting to investigate.
“Orpheus promised me an everlasting life where he would always be by my side.”
“I’m sorry that you believed him,” Starry Knight said, her voice surprisingly soft. She took a tentative step closer to Maia and lowered her bow.
It was easy to see Maia as an enemy, I thought. It was hard to see her as Starry Knight’s sister.
But that was what I knew Starry Knight was thinking. Compassion and sadness were driving the deepest kind of division into her heart. I could see it. Torn by duty and love—that was where someone like Starry Knight would stumble.
Maia finally put her face in her hands and wept. Starry Knight’s bow dropped, then she walked forward and drew her sister into a hug.
Maybe we can purify her, I thought, recalling how Orpheus had been changed. Maybe Maia could be transformed, too. My heart swelled with marvel at the thought. Maybe that was enough.
I turned to Aleia to ask her, when panic suddenly laced through me.
Maia’s weeping turned into laughter as her power erupted in blinding strokes.
My eyes squeezed shut at the blast, but when I looked up, I saw Starry Knight had crumpled onto the ground.
“Starry Knight!” I hurried forward.
“That was cruel, Maia,” Starry Knight said through gritted teeth. She pulled herself up onto her elbows.
“Kid,” Elysian called, “move!”
Before I could ask why, I found myself in Maia’s grip. “Hey!” I sputtered, before my air supply was cut short.
She laughed as she grabbed me by the throat. “If you think that was cruel, Sister, you’ll really hate this.”
I choked and gasped, barely managing to get my sword out. I slashed at her, but only managed to hack at her messy, bluish fro. Fear swarmed me as she grasped onto me.
Was this the end?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aleia and Elysian rush toward us; Maia easily sent them flying back with an impressive amount of power.
“You’ll suffer greatly. Just as Orpheus did,” Maia promised me, a blue flame dancing in her hand.
I said nothing, barely squirming anymore as I remained unable to breathe. My eyes felt their sight slip away into darkness as I wondered if I would suffocate first.
And then, all at once, she dropped me.
I gulped air down into my shrunken lungs, cautiously rejoicing as my body regaining its various functions. A glimmer of light sparked above me, and I squinted up at Maia’s slumped form.
An arrow of light stuck out through her chest.
Starry Knight had attacked her from behind, smashing an arrow through her just under the collarbone. It looked painful. But when I looked up at her face, I was surprised to see Maia was grinning.
“You didn’t like that, did you?” Starry Knight asked calmly.
My fingers grappled around on the ground for my sword, but were unable to grip onto it. Maia wasn’t going to stop until she was destroyed.
Maia flashed a grin so sinister, it far surpassed the definition of her own title. Dreaded fear clutched at my throat as another one of her lightning bolts lashed out, heading straight for me.
“No!” The cry of defiance was loud, but I hardly heard it as my breath was once more knocked out of me.
☼11☼