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Elysian moved next to me. “You need to be careful with that,” he warned.
“No kidding,” I snorted in response. “Come on. I’ll go for the Sinisters up there. You make sure the SWORD guys can get Taygetay out of here and won’t get hit.”
“What about Orpheus?”
I searched the skies for the one-eyed leader of the Sinisters. I saw him a moment later, starting to pick a fight with Starry Knight. “It looks like Starry Knight’s going to take the lead on that one.”
Elysian sniffled indignantly. “Do not underestimate his power. He is the one who is in control of the Sinisters.”
“Really?” I almost doubled over in laughter. “I wouldn’t know it. He sure sucks at his job.”
Asteropy spoke up first, interrupting us. “Aw, look at that, girls, the little boy has a new toy.”
The other Sinisters laughed. The fat one, Celaena, called out, “It’d be perfect for cutting some cake!”
“Yeah, that’s probably all it’s about good for, too,” Elektra spoke up. “I doubt that kid has enough power to wield it anyway.”
I was slightly confused at their sudden willingness to not kill each other in an argument, but I held my ground and decided it was time to unleash my most powerful weapon (my mouth). “You ladies sound pretty cocky, if you ask me,” I called out. “But I don’t see any of you coming over to check my sword out for yourself.”
I had them there, that was for sure.
Alcyonë yawned. “We know that you’re not as powerful as Starry Knight,” she taunted. “We have little reason to fear you.”
Ouch, that burned.
“Hop on, kid,” Elysian rumbled. He ducked down and I jumped on as he flew up, heading straight for the Sinisters. Elysian was ready with his fire, and I was prepared to strike with my new weapon. The wind whipped against my face, the simultaneous chills of excitement and the onset of rain energizing me, sharpening me, refining me.
I felt a rush of adrenaline as I sliced down on the cloud of Sinisters with the Sealing Sword.
And completely missed.
“Huh?” I blinked. Did I really just miss? Ugh!
The Sinisters had taken to laughing.
“You’ve got a lousy aim,” Asteropy called out, her wicked smile making me grit my teeth in anger and embarrassment.
“I can’t believe I was worried there for a second,” Alcyonë chortled, her voice saturated in sarcasm.
“Even I think I could’ve done a better job,” Celaena agreed with a smile.
“See?” Elektra spoke up.
“Well, most of us,” Asteropy corrected, glaring at Maia, who had done nothing to try to get away, obviously.
“Uh, kid? Are you sure that you know how to use that thing?” Elysian asked.
What was this? Even Elysian doubted me? I huffed indignantly. I felt the anger boil within me as the Sinisters continued to laugh and/or mock me. Despite the desire to scream with rage at this grave injustice, I took a deep breath.
Okay, where can I do the most damage? Then the idea struck. “Elysian, turn around.”
“What? Why?” the dragon asked.
“Just do it!”
As Elysian swooped around and headed forward, he suddenly saw what my goal was. “You’re going to try to seal away Orpheus?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” I confirmed. I smirked when I saw that it was good timing on my part; Starry Knight looked like she could use some help.
Starry Knight had charged right into Orpheus as I approached. As he was flung back in between the layers of a nearby three-story parking garage, I felt a sense of approaching success.
“Ouch!” Orpheus barked loudly, as he skidded across the hard cement structure.
He didn’t have much time to pout. An arrow of light was shot at him seconds later. He had just barely managed to move before it whisked past him and shot deep into the concrete behind him. Orpheus huffed in response. “You’ll have to do better than that, Lady Justice!” he called out mockingly.
Elysian slowed. “Kid, are you sure about this?” he asked me.
“Yes, go!” I insisted.
“She seems pretty determined,” Elysian remarked.
I turned to watch an arrow split straight through his right arm. “You’ll do well to address me as Starry Knight, and forget my former title!” Starry Knight called out, a new fury to her words as another arrow was released from her bow.
“Okay, Elysian, slow down,” I said. I turned to see the Sinisters approaching from behind me, but I returned my focus on Starry Knight. Or Lady Justice? Was that her real name?
Orpheus grinned despite the obvious inflicted pain. “I see. So it is you!” His smile lit up as he added, “Does it bother you to recall your past glory?” he asked.
Starry Knight narrowed her eyes at him. “That could easily be said of you as well,” she called back. “A Leader in the Celestial Kingdom, was it?”
Orpheus lost his smile quicker than the pop of a cheap balloon. His voice was a deadly hiss as he muttered, “So, you do remember.” He clenched his fists. “Then we must finish it! Let us finish the battle that we started on the other side of Time!”
“It has been finished!” Starry Knight argued. “I told you then that you would never get what you sought; you have already lost. There is just the matter of carrying out the sentence of your rebellion.”
I didn’t have any idea of what they were talking about.
But I had my own trouble to deal with. A blur of color caught my attention. Spurts of pink, yellow, and green all flashed briefly in my mind as I ducked, squatted, and scooted around on Elysian’s back to avoid the Sinisters and what I was pretty sure were their claws.
I was about to try to fight back when I shot forward onto the hard surface of a roof; after I made sure my face was still on my head, I looked up and saw one of the Sinisters had figured out attacking Elysian was more effective than trying to fight me.
“Elysian!”
Elysian roared, giving me enough time to see Starry Knight was exchanging blows with Orpheus on a parking garage just across the street. I hurried to the edge, faltering as I looked down. What are the chances, I wondered, that I’ll be able to fly?
Glancing at my leathery black wings, I rolled my eyes. “Why is it always at the most inconvenient time that stuff doesn’t work!?” I lamented.
I stopped when I almost pushed off seconds later. “Ouf!” I grunted as I managed to twist myself onto the ledge. I felt vomit threaten me again at the thought of hitting the road from this far up. I wasn’t a physicist, but I was pretty sure I would’ve been splattered onto the ground.
It was Alcyonë again. She sneered at me. “Too bad. You got lucky.”
“No, I didn’t. You just got weak!” I screamed, as I slashed through the Sinister with the sword, thrusting with my full weight on the blade.
The sword cut all the way through Alcyonë; her body disappeared in a flash of swirling emptiness and whirl-winding green light as Alcyonë cried out, captured in her own black hole of a heart.
And then it was over.
I blinked a few times as the bright array of lights slowly subsided. When my eyes stopped flashing color dots all over my field of vision, I saw the Sinister was gone. All I saw that remained was a small, black chunk of rock.
The rock blazed, gradually fading from sinister green to bland gray to black; and then it lingered before me, as though it were waiting for me to do something. Am I supposed to take it?
Taking another leap of faith, I took a hold of it, and felt the odd texture of it against my fingers. Nothing spectacular happened.
I tucked it into my pocket, deciding to ask Elysian about it later. I turned around to see if anyone else had seen my heroic actions. I was extremely disappointed to see Starry Knight was still engaged in her battle for life or death.
Battle, part two. “Elysian!” I called out.
I watch as Orpheus, enraged, unleashed an attack of his own. The dark energy swirled around them as it sought to bring Starry Knight down, but she dodged it easily enough. The wind of the energy flowed passed her as Orpheus continued his assault.
It was a dance of danger and precise movements, as one would attack, and the other would dodge; for several moments this continued, knocking down several support beams in the parking garage and throwing up a bunch of debris and dust.
“Elysian! Come here!” I cried out again, this time more urgently.
“Just a moment,” Elysian grumbled up, as Maia and Meropae had tried to take turns riding him. He was bucking and thrashing horribly, trying to dispel himself from their grip.
Starry Knight landed another arrow into Orpheus’ left arm. He staggered, and fell back. Starry Knight saw her chance and went in for the kill.
“Elysian, now! Toss me over to the parking garage.”
Elysian reared back and flicked his tail in response, managing to kick off Maia at the same time.
Talk about whiplash, I thought as Elysian’s tail hit me hard, flinging me into the air. “Thanks!” I called back, half-serious, half-regretful. I rubbed my butt where Elysian’s tail had struck.
Seconds later, I found myself thrown (literally) between Orpheus and Starry Knight. Orpheus, aware of the danger, managed to push his body back over mine, just in time to avoid the killing blow of Starry Knight’s bow.
“Ouch!” I muttered, falling over.
Starry Knight, angered by his escape, faltered for a split second at my arrival. It was just briefly, in the twinkling of the eye, but Orpheus saw it, and it was enough time to make his move.
As I flouted around on the floor, his wispy hands shot out from his long robes, and grasped at Starry Knight’s throat.
“Starry Knight!” I cried, only to have Orpheus send a blast of energy at me. The cackling energy ball hit me square on, sending me tumbling further away.
I grabbed at my ribcage, and turned, watching as Orpheus tightened his grip on my partner. He squirmed at the touch of her skin, as it still carried the remnant of her light, but he frowned wickedly as he held her. Her breathing caught, and she silently began to choke. “Do you think this is some kind of game?” he asked her, his voice deadly cold. “Do you!?”
She shook her head as she coughed. Her bow fell to the ground with a small clatter as she grabbed his hands, seeking relief from his clutch.
“Starry Knight,” I muttered, trying to catch my breath.
Orpheus wrapped his hands around her neck tighter, clearly glorying in the feel of her twitching and struggling under his hold. “I’ll admit I underestimated you before. But your power can’t last forever! The curse that you placed on the girls is breaking. Soon their full power will be released, and then this world will be mine!”
Starry Knight shook her head, and managed to inhale deeply before sputtering, “It’s ... not ... my power.”
“What?” Surprised, Orpheus loosened his grip enough for her to wriggle free. She swatted him back with her power, managing to thwart his advance. She slumped to the ground and scooted away quickly, moving towards me. “Are you all right?” she asked me, her hand reaching down to my chest. A trickle of power leaked out of her hand, and I felt the rush of her healing powers settle me.
“Are you okay?” I asked, letting myself reach up and gently touch the marks on her neck. “He hurt you.”
“He hurt you, too,” she reminded me. She took my hand though, and whispered, “I’m fine. Now, please go.” Her insistence pushed me away as forcefully as her arms.
She turned back to Orpheus, and began circling away from me. “It is not my power that seals back the full power of the Sinisters. It is another’s.” She straightened, shaking off any inkling of weakness. Her violet eyes narrowed. She picked up her bow and drew back her bowstring, prepared to resume the fighting.
Orpheus flexed his hands impatiently, itching to get his fingers wrapped around her throat again. “That’s enough!” Orpheus growled, as he began to lunge forward. “This time, you will perish!”
A burst of power shot out from me, and a second later, I opened my eyes to see I’d managed to push myself in between the two foes, forcing them apart from their sparring before landing on my hands and knees right in the “Customer Only” compact car space by the entrance door.
I shook my head to clear my vision. When I looked up, I saw Starry Knight standing over me. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice tight. “You need to go. Now.”
I ignored her. “You’re welcome,” I muttered, standing up.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I just saved you from Orpheus!”
“You did not! I was doing perfectly fine on my own.”
“You can’t defeat him.”
“You interrupted the fight; of course I didn’t defeat him.”
“I said ‘can’t,’ not ‘didn’t,’” I snapped.
“It doesn’t matter! You shouldn’t be here,” Starry Knight muttered back. Her eyes shifted from me back to Orpheus, who was suddenly watching me with wicked eyes.
Orpheus’ inner hatred burned even more brightly at the sight of me and my sword blocking him from his initial prey. “You!”
I wondered why I’d even woken up this morning. Cold, paralyzing fear had overtaken my body at Orpheus’ accusatory tone.
“You! I will kill you this time! I will wring the soul from your body and cast it into Hell myself!” Orpheus cried out as he launched himself forward, his power glowing with an ominous void.
I pulled my sword up, intending to use it as a shield. There was no room for hesitation here, I reminded myself, even if my body wasn’t as compliant as my mind.
With what I thought was a pretty brave front, I awaited impact of the growing, circular void and its crushing power.
It never came.
“Augh!” A flash spurted out from behind me, hitting Orpheus in the heart, holding him back. His attack crumpled around him, and I allowed myself a (brief) moment of relief.
I glanced at Starry Knight; there were beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she glanced behind Orpheus and his attack.
I noticed suddenly the other Sinisters were all heading over; Elysian was laying limp on the roof of the other building. A twinge of fear interlaced with concern shot through me as the stampeding rainbow of Sinisters bore down on us.
I woke up from my fear just in time to hear Orpheus question Starry Knight.
“Why do you protect him?” Orpheus asked Starry Knight scathingly. “Why? Tell me why!”
I recalled how Starry Knight had been accused of having me as her biggest weakness. Before Starry Knight could chide me for being weak, or incompetent, or useless, I decided to answer that question. “Because we’re partners!” I shouted as I stood up.
For some reason, this was even more irksome to Orpheus. The Sinisters arrived just as he pointed to me. “Attack him!” he ordered.
But I was ready this time. I swung out my sword, and took aim. “This ends now, Orpheus!” I announced, ready to deliver the defeating blow.
“No!” the strangled, dying-cat cry of a Sinister shot out of the darkness at the last second. I didn’t even see the shadow of bright pink as I cut into it; all I knew was a moment later, my brain was able to process Meropae’s scream of terror and rage as she was slowly sucked up into a singular point and sealed away.
I had not managed to seal away Orpheus; Meropae was the one I’d managed to capture. I turned to face Maia, wide-eyed, as I realized Meropae had been pushed in front Orpheus. And it had been done by Maia, of all people (using the word “people” lightly here) at the last possible second.
That was the confusing part for many of us. Maia hated Orpheus, and work. I was confounded as to what had caused her to save him. Starry Knight and I exchanged a quick glance, and from her expression, she was just as surprised by this as I was.
In the meantime, Orpheus had averted his attention to a retreat. He flew up into the air, regrouping with his remaining girls.
With his cruel, fuming glance, Orpheus looked down at me, and then to Starry Knight. “This isn’t over,” he assured us, before taking off like a black shooting star across the night sky, finding a hideout in the sea of colors in the city night life. The leftover four Sinisters quickly followed, already talking about Maia’s unbelievable actions and the possibility of getting some food somewhere.
I looked down to see a bright speck glittering on the cement floor. I reached down and picked it up. The stone-like object was cold and surprisingly heavy against my palm. I put it in my other pocket and heaved a sigh of relief. The battle was over.
The lights of the city began twinkling back on.
I could see over the edge of the parking deck as SWORD agents hurried to deliver medical attention to the injured parties. My gaze jerked over to Elysian. “Mikey!”
I didn’t even really register until later I could’ve asked Elysian to carry me down to Mikey’s dumpster.
But when I came over to him, I saw him try to sit up and stumble, shaking so badly he couldn’t move much.
“Hamilton,” Mikey spoke up. So he was awake. And he knew it was me. There was a huge bump on his head, multiple cuts on his arms and legs, and there was a black eye slowly swelling up on his face. “You’re Wingdinger.”
I nodded. “Er, yeah. I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention that to anyone.”
“Dude, that’s awesome! Don’t worry, I won’t tell. You can trust me.” He glanced away. “I’m sorry I was jealous of you.” His voice had a straggling quality to it when he spoke. “It’s hard to not be, when I see you with your grades and your abilities. And now I have this superhero business to get used to as well.”
“I can’t help being who I am,” I shrugged.
“You could work on your bragging and attitude about it, though, if you don’t mind my saying.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’d been thinking about working on that anyway,” I told him as Elysian finished landing beside me. “I’ve heard that a lot this week.”
“The kid here doesn’t make anyone’s life easy,” Elysian told Mikey. “And jealousy’s not an easy emotion to deal with in the first place. But if you trust in each other, it will help you to overcome it.”
Mikey gaped at Elysian with an open mouth. “You can talk?!”
I laughed heartily. “Hey, Starry Knight’s still here.”
“You both saved me,” Mikey muttered sleepily.
“She’s right over—” I looked up, realizing I’d left her alone several stories up. “Well, she was—”
A pair of wings fluttered behind me. I sucked in my breath sharply. I had seen Starry Knight up close in a long time a number of times today, but somehow her beauty always cut right through me.
No wonder Mikey had been obsessed with her, I thought. She was nothing short of beautiful. Up close, I gathered she was around our age. Too bad for her zero personality, I thought, mustering up a grim look.
Mikey straightened wildly, spurring on a dizzy spell. “It’s you!”
Starry Knight barely acknowledged him. “He seems all right now,” she murmured delicately.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Mikey spoke up, nearly falling over as he reached for her. He cleared his throat. “The name’s Michael; my friends call me Mikey, but you can call me ‘Darling.’”
“He’s a big fan,” I explained brusquely.
A softened look came over her face. She knelt down next to Mikey. Her eyes met his and held them for a long moment.
I rolled my eyes, frankly annoyed. After all, it wasn’t fair of her to lead Mikey on like that. Of course she deserved—no, not her, Mikey—deserved so much better.
“You are not the one I’m meant for,” she told Mikey gently. “I doubt I will call you ‘darling,’ but Mikey suits you well enough.”
Mikey wasn’t deferred in the least. “I might not be the one you’re looking for, but I’m the one you found.”
It was rather tragic to see him trying to flirt with Starry Knight and stay awake, I decided.
“Okay, Mike, that’s enough of Lover Boy tonight,” I interjected before turning to Starry Knight. “Can you heal him?”
“Sure,” she agreed. Her hand went out and took a hold of his. After a moment of consideration, she took off one of her gloves. She held up her right arm and pulled back the bracelet that she wore. I could see her own Emblem of the Prince on her wrist.
Shining in the moonlight, there was a mark very similar to my own; the only difference between the two was the color. Starry Knight’s mark was silvery in color, while mine was blood red. “We can’t always see everything that is real with our eyes, you know. You have been marked, Wingdinger—the very essence that is you, not the DNA of the body but of the soul, has been marked for a purpose.”
She’d obviously caught me staring.
As her power seeped from her palm, I reached out involuntarily, wanting to touch Starry Knight’s mark. She moved away before I could. And then I wondered why she had been marked, too, and what her purpose was for being here. Was it different from mine?
I watched as Mikey fell back into a healing slumber, and then turned to her. “Do I know you?” I asked again. “Have I seen you before?”
A small smile flitted to her lips, one of her rare, genuine smiles. “It’s doubtless you have seen me,” she told me. “But I doubt you would know me.”
Awkwardly, I turned my gaze away from her. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected anything helpful from you.” There was long moment of silence before I turned back to face her. “That reminds me, I have another question.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the black gem-like stone that had appeared with Alcyonë’s destruction. “What is this?”
I didn’t have long before I got my reply. Starry Knight came over and swiped it right out of my hand.
“Hey!” I objected. “That’s mine.” I gritted my teeth. My hand instinctively tightened on my sword.
Starry Knight frowned. “You might have sealed them away,” she conceded, “But they are still meant to belong to me!”
“I don’t see your name on it,” I fought back, trying to grab it back from her. I looked over to see Elysian had finally managed to come over to the parking lot. “Elysian, tell her to give me the thing back!”
“Never mind asking me how I am. What are you fighting about?” Elysian asked sleepy-sounding, as he looked back and forth between our two churlish, childish figures.
“See for yourself,” I muttered angrily. What good was having Elysian’s help if he was going to be such a slowpoke about it?
Elysian squinted down at the object Starry Knight was trying to concealing in her palm. He shrugged. “I have a better idea,” he announced.
“What?” The simultaneous reply from Starry Knight and me was the perfect distraction. Seconds later, the intentions of the changeling dragon became clear, and even I was impressed.
Elysian had transfigured himself into a smaller snake-like animal, and had wrapped himself around Starry Knight’s body, preventing her from flying, moving away, and to some degree, breathing properly.
I laughed to see the shock on Starry Knight’s face.
“Sorry to do this,” Elysian told her, “But I was afraid you would leave before we could talk.”
“I have no idea why you would ever think such a thing,” Starry Knight muttered back, struggling to find some loosen area to get free through.
I was still laughing, and finally Elysian had enough of the apparently awful sound. “Enough!” he nearly shouted. “Can’t you see that this is serious?”
“Hey, I have my sword now,” I replied back, “And I am not afraid to use it!”
“Or qualified, apparently,” Starry Knight replied easily enough.
Elysian had to fight the temptation to laugh on that one, I could tell. But he let it go. There was business to attend to. “All right, that’s enough of you, too!” he told her.
“Elysian, let’s get the crystal thing and let’s go,” I spoke up. I looked down at the street to see some of the members of the SWORD had managed to lock away Taygetay and were coming back for more.
“Can’t you see this is more important than just a crystal?” Elysian groaned. “She is a threat to us!”
That stopped me there. “No she’s not,” I said slowly, as my mind tried to find Elysian’s line of reasoning. “We agreed that we’re going to be allies ... ” But she did just take the crystal from me. And it is obvious she doesn’t want me to know anything ...
I thought carefully about this.
“It doesn’t matter? Don’t you remember earlier? She was just about to blow open the space-time continuum earlier tonight!”
“What?” I was confused; I didn’t know much about space. I wasn’t supposed to take Astronomy until twelfth grade. There was also the matter I was getting tired. I’d been through a lot tonight. There was so much to go over and to do I didn’t really want to know where to begin. And it didn’t help I was going to have to take Mikey to the hospital and make up some story about how he’d been stuck in a pothole on the other side of town for two weeks.
Elysian gave up. “Talking to you is wasting time, I see,” he said through bared fangs. He turned his attention back to Starry Knight. “Who are you? Tell us!”
Okay, I’ll listen to this, I thought as my attention was instantly caught. The desire I’d felt earlier, to know who she was, and how I was connected to her—because there was little doubt in my mind that, as the only other defender-type supernatural fighter around, Starry Knight wasn’t connected to me—came rushing at me, plaguing me anew.
Starry Knight looked hatefully up at Elysian. I thought she was going to spit on him or something, she was so frightfully disgusted. I decided to take a step closer in case Elysian needed him for back-up or something.
That was when she looked at me, and I thought if she could, she would try to send some kind of mental pain package.
After a moment of studying her face, I felt something behind my heart step back.
This was not the right thing to do. I wanted it. But I would have to hold off for now.
I looked up at Elysian. “Let her go, Elysian.”
“No!” the fangs flashed and Elysian’s temper was up. “Those Sinisters called her their sister!” He glared back at Starry Knight. “And the leader, Orpheus, called you the Guardian of Justice. Whether you are or are not, we need to know.”
“Sister?” My brow crinkled, trying to remember that one. “She couldn’t be their sister, Elysian ... ” But my voice trailed off as I noticed Starry Knight’s eyes had narrowed.
“What they have said was true, once,” she spoke, her voice embittered by anger. “But they are not the same anymore. And neither am I.”
“But you were a Star!” Elysian exclaimed. “And a Guardian, no less. You have retained your powers.”
“Yes, but my purpose has changed,” Starry Knight told him.
“Does that make a difference?”
“Yes. All the difference in the world.” There was no playing around or joking inflection in her voice.
I suddenly wondered if she was going to be able to keep her promise to be my ally. I had to admit, I wouldn’t want to be allies with people who treated me like we were treating her.
“All right, Elysian,” I spoke up. “Let her go for now. We are not getting anywhere in questioning her like this.” I looked over at her and added, “We will just have to trust her for now.”
Elysian stretched out his head, allowing himself to talk into my ear privately. “Uh, kid? Are you crazy?”
“What? It’s not like she’s going to kill everyone tonight,” I objected.
“Don’t you remember she tried to supernova the city earlier this evening?” Elysian asked frustratingly. “I just reminded you of that!”
I grabbed him by the horn and lifted myself up next to his ear. Or where I assumed his ears were (Come on, dragon anatomy is hard.) “Come on, I’ve got my sword now, and I’m not really hurt anymore, and you’re fine. We can take her if need be. Besides, why don’t we just wait until that other girl comes back? She should be able to tell us more. And she seems like she’s capable of being nice about it, too.”
“You don’t know how important this information is!” Elysian scolded. But I had to smile; Elysian was losing his resolve to argue.
“We need her trust more than we need her information,” I reminded him.
And that was the deal breaker. Elysian sighed, and released her. “You do realize you’re not getting your crystal back, right?”
“What?” I’d forgotten about that. I turned only to see her kick the ground and fly off before I could say anything else. I cursed.
“It’s your own fault,” Elysian taunted. We watched her fly off; as she disappeared into the midst of the city’s lights, Elysian whistled. “She sure can fly fast. She looked really sick earlier. Wonder where she gets all that power?”
That triggered something in my mind. “Elysian, is there something about her power that I should know about?”
“I don’t know, remember? If you’d wanted to know you should’ve asked her before making me let her go.”
“Stop it, I’m serious here. She mentioned, when we were breaking out of prison, that her full power had returned. Where had it gone? Is it dependent on something?”
Elysian thought about it. “She was tired before, and weaker, when you weren’t around,” Elysian recalled. “If I had a guess, I would say that her power is dependent on you.”
“What?” I cocked my eyebrow. “I doubt that. She’s stronger than me.” That was a rare admission I didn’t like to make. “And I’m her biggest weakness, according to Alcyonë.” Thinking about her, I reached into my pocket and felt the other crystal. At least Starry Knight didn’t get a hold of this one, I thought.
“That makes more sense, actually,” Elysian said. “She began to be less powerful when you went away, and stronger when you came back. If she loses you, I wonder what happens to her?”
“Do you really think so?” It didn’t sound quite right to me.
“Well, it’s still a guess. But a pretty good one, I’d say. If it is true, we will definitely find out.” Elysian’s eyes glared at me. “I guess we’ll just have to trust her.”
I decided that my own words tasted too sour for my liking. “Ugh, let’s go,” I muttered. I watched as the SWORD agents began tending to the wounded. I was glad to see a medical squad was coming around the corner, and while I didn’t see Dante’s face, I imagined I could see him glowering at me. “Come on, Elysian. We have to take Mikey to the hospital.”
☼25☼