Blood of the Eternal Star: Trusting the Sword II

A Beggining

Brin tossed and groaned softly. I whispered her name gently and rewet the cloth on her forehead. Briana walked into the room and crawled into my lap.

"Is she gonna be okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah. Knowing Brin, she'll pull through."

"She'll do it for you, Rowen."

"Oh?"

"She loves you. I'm her sister. I know these things." I grinned and Brin gave another groan. She dug her fingernails into the blanket and bit her lip in pain. Briana got off my lap and laid on the bed next to her sister. "You won't leave me, Brin," she whispered. "I know you won't. You can't." I stood up and walked slowly out of the room. I loved her… I loved Brin. I always had, as a sister, but since the night she had gotten her armor and the kiss… it's hard to think of someone as a sister after that.

"I've got it!!" I jerked and caught myself on the banister to keep from falling down the stairs. Laori ran past, her short hair pulled into a spiky ponytail at her neck. She disappeared in the kitchen as Mia came down, grinning.

"What the hell?" I asked.

"She's proud of herself," explained Mia. "She found out where the warlords and Kayura are."

"I fail to see anything good it that."

"There's plenty good there," she protested. "Laori cares for Dais and the sooner we find them, the less chance the Dark Stars too." I didn't say anything. She was right, of course. "Come on." We walked into the kitchen to find Laori dancing Micja around in a circle. Then they stopped and Laori suddenly swayed. She barely caught herself on the counter.

"Lay!" said Nicka. "Geez, girl, when was the last time you ate?"

"Uh… um…"

"That's what I thought. Saki?"

"On it," said Saki. "Honestly. I know you don't have a black hole like Nicka or Kento, but how you could forget to eat…"

"I don't have a black hole," muttered Kento. Saki grinned.

"Sorry. High metabolism."

"I wanted to find them," broke in Laori. I helped her to the table and she made a face. "I'm not that- whoa." She tipped again. "Ahhh… fuck."

"Alright, you're officially not going," said Ary. "ANYWHERE, do you hear me?"

"Who died and made you leader?" snapped Lay.

"She's not dead," said Nicka defensively. "And she's not gonna be either."

"I'm not being the leader," said Ary. "But you're too weak to stand, much less go running around warlord hunting. Now. Tell us what you've found."

"They're in the temple under Jewel Lake." Saki gave her a glass of milk, which she downed, then grinned. Her smile faded quickly, though. "But…"

"But?" said Micja. "BUT?"

"But, we only have one chance a year to get them."

"…eh?"

"The actual armors draw their powers from the seasons: Summer, Winter, Fall, and Spring. Meaning we can only get them on the solstice and equinox of their season." Sage made a sound in his throat.

"Uh, we have a slight issue," he said. "Today is the Fall Equinox."

"… what?" Micja was the one with the short job of being articulate. I wasn't sure why… it's just her way.

"Shit," muttered Ryo. He stood up and brushed his bangs back. They fell in front of his face again, as usal. :We have to go and free whoever's trapped."

"Kayura," said Mia. "The armor of the Ogre is also the Armor of Fall. The armor of Venom is the Armor of Spring, the armor of Darkness is the Armor of Winter and the armor of Illusion is the armor of Summer." Laori choked.

"What? What?! Are you telling me I have to wait almost an entire year to see Dais?!"

"Chill, Lay," said Saki. "At least we know where he is."

"Yeah, but…"

"I'll go," said Ryo. "Rowen?"

"You're… not going without… me…" Brin stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Briana was behind her, a worried look on her face.

"Like hell we aren't," said Ryo. "You need rest, Brin. Don't be stupid."

"I don't and I'm not," she said, walking into the kitchen. She stumbled and I caught her shoulders. "Let me go."

"Not a chance."

"Okay, since you're up," said Ary. Brin lifted her head, but made no attempt to get away from me. She looked at the group at the table, or on the counter in Ary's case. "Today's the Fall Equinox and our one chance to get Kayura this year."

"I know. That's why I'm going. I owe Anubis."

"Keshen owes Anubis," muttered Nicka under her breath. Brin glared at her.

"What's the difference?!" she asked. "We're on in the same!"

"You're still too weak," I said softly. "You're staying." She opened her mouth to protest, but Briana suddenly tugged at her arm.

"Brin, please," she whispered. "Go back to bed."

"What?" Brin looked down at her sister and the glare softened. I took advantage of her momentary lapse in guard and scooped her up in my arms. "What the- Rowen of the Strata! You had better put me down!" I knew I was in deep trouble. She had never called me that. She was gonna kill me later, but at the moment, she barely had enough strength to fight me. Halfway up the stairs, she fell silent. I looked down at her. She was unconscious again. Briana gave a strangled gasp in her throat.

"Shh," I whispered, walking into Brin and Ary's room. I laid her on her bed and picked up the cloth laying on the floor. Briana crawled into my lap again and buried her face in my chest, sobbing. "It's going to be okay, Bree, you just have to be strong.

If I lose him, I don't what'll happen to me.

"If I lose her, I don't know what will happen to me," murmured Briana. I blinked. Hadn't been only five years before that I was comforting Brin when her dad had been in a car accident? I put my arms around Briana and realized where my brother/sister bond had gone- where everybody's had. Briana and Yuli were like siblings to us. We would never let anything happen to them. "If Brin dies, what will happen to me?"

"Nothing," I said fiercely. "Because she's not going anywhere."

"He wasn't supposed to either!" she sobbed. "He said he's never leave me!"

"Brin won't," I stated. "She's too strong."

"No one was stronger then he was." Her eyes burned with the same fire I had seen in Brin. "And the Dynasty killed him. I hate them."

"Don't hate," I told her. "It's what they want you to do."

"Don't you hate them?"

"I fight them. If I hate them, then I'm no better then they are."

"Row?"

"Yeah?"

"How can you all be so cool and at the same time, a target for evil?" I smiled gently.

"I don't know, Bree." I should ask you the same thing.

Chapter 1(Nicka)

"Scratch on Ronin of Strata," I said. "That… that child will kill herself!"

"Probably, but she's gonna have to take a number," said Saki. "The rest of us have to kick her ass first."

"Right."

"Exactly."

"You bet."

"Hell yeah." Ryo stared thoughtfully at the ground. I sighed. "Uh-oh. We're about to experience leader boy mode."

"Nicka, shut up." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a look. Yes, the look. "You have to try and see it from her point of view: She owes Anubis. Keshen or Brin, they both do. And she wants to protect Rowen. That's just the way they're relationship works."

"There's also Briana," said Mia. "In the long run, Brin wants to make sure that nothing happens to her."

"Her mind's so one tracked it's not even funny," I muttered. "She doesn't realize that dying does a lot more harm then risking her neck. A LOT more harm."

"Unless you're Kaji."

"Right."

"Guys," said Laori. "I hate to bring down the mood in here, but we've got to get Kayura."

"Rowen's not going," said Saki. "Neither are Brin or Lay. Any volunteers, other then Ryo?"

"Hey Wildfire, how many people does it take to free a warlord?" I asked.

"Uh… two?"

"Then I'm in. It'll be quicker if we take the Shadow Express anyway."

"The what?"

"Don't ask. Come on, California Boy. Let's go."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that." I grinned and started into the shadows by the wall.

"Good. We all gotta dream." Ryo was right behind me, shaking his head. We were in a room with an alter in the middle. The walls were smooth, but a dark smell hung in the air. "Yuck. What is that?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it's happy." I followed his gaze and saw a giant creature, almost human like, standing against the wall. Its skin was yellow and mottled and the only thing it wore were torn rags..

"An ogre!" I yelled. "Laori didn't say anything about there being a guardian!"

"Can we take it?"

"In our civilian clothes? No."

"Then let's armor up."

"Yeah. It might help. Armor of Water Star!"

"Armor of Wildfire!" I ogre ran at me, club raised. I blocked with my yari and felt its brute strength shock through my arms.

"Damn! It's strong!"

"We need to find Kayura!"

"Somehow, I get the feeling we need to beat big and ugly over here- shit!" It attacked again and hit me in the chest. I slammed into a wall and felt my knees collapse underneath me. My yari lay on the ground, broken in two.

"Are you alright?"

"Barely. Hold on. I got an idea." I stood up and pulled the daggers off my back. "Rain… Dagger… STRIKE!" The twin daggers glowed and separated into six more. . They lanced forward, hitting my new found friend. One missed the creature and sliced Ryo's shoulder. It didn't make it through the subarmor. Still, he looked at the light blue line on his outer armor with a slight awe.

"Damn…"

"It's a Talent." I resheathed the blades as the ogre vanished. Candles burst into life and Kayura appeared, in her/Anubis' armor. I let my armor go as Ryo picked her up. He nodded at me and I walked into the shadows. Saki was sitting at the kitchen table, alone, and on top of that, it was dark outside. "Saki?" She jumped and looked at me.

"Nikki? Ryo?" she asked. "Are you okay? Where have you been?"

"Um… getting Kayura?"

"It's been almost four days!"

"Are you serious?" She nodded at Ryo. "Wow… It only seemed like four minutes."

"I know." I suddenly felt incredibly exhausted. "That's it. No more missions with you, Calli boy. Not if I'm gonna get pounded like that again."

"That wasn't my fault."

"Yeah, well, it is now." I pushed my hair over my shoulder, grinned, and went to bed.

Chapter 3(Ryo)

It was maybe a week after Nicka, Kayura, and I came back that Brin woke up. She came downstairs, Briana one her shoulders, giggling, and Rowen behind her, shaking his head.

You don't want to know, he said in the back of my mind. I grinned.

"Morning all!" said Brin energetically. Briana waved and rested her hands on her sister's head. "What have I missed?"

"Math test," said Saki.

"Language test," said Micja.

"Government test," said Laori."

"Science test," said Ariogya.

"California Boy and I retrieving Kayura," said Nicka. I shot her a look, but she just grinned. "By the way, you look like shit."

"Thanks," said Brin. "Where is she?"

"I am right here," said Kayura, raising her hand above the back of the couch. "Hello, Brinara."

"Don't call me that. It's just Brin. You have a headache and whose fault?"

"Halo and Ariogya."

"A ha. Get used to that."

"Not funny!" said Ary. I laughed.

"Miss us, Brin?" She smiled.

"How could I not?"

End.

Peek at 'Christmas Wish'

Christmas. That glorious time of the year that can be incredibly interesting in a house with nine girls and six guys, two of the group being six and one having the mind of a six year old. Yup. Nicka. Even Kento's not as bad as her around the holidays. But, that's part of the reason we all love her so much.

"Giggling, Briana and Yuli raced upstairs, White Blaze at their heels. The poor tiger had already been subject to Nicka and worse a collar of green tinsel. Our overly energetic friend was decorating the tree with Kento, Rowen, and Ryo. Brin, and Kayura were sitting on the couch, making bows, while Cye, Saki, Mia and I were in the the kitchen, baking. Laori and Ariogya were out playing errand girls, with Sage as their driver.

Alright came Nicka's voice in my mind. Time for Operation Mistletoe.