Flashback - Human World 793 years ago
'No!' gasped Sirius, her tear-blurred eyes staring at Chrissie's limp body falling to the ground.
It had been seven years since they had first met and while Sirius had remained unchanged in that time, save for her skill, strength and endurance, Chrissie had grown into a beautiful young woman with several strong celestial spirits and many wizard friends. Despite this, Sirius remained to be her best friend, even though she often fought in battles for her wizard, they still spent a lot of time together, simply talking and enjoying each other's company.
So it was that Chrissie and Sirius had been enjoying walking and talking with each other on a sunny afternoon on the edge of the forest a few miles south of Chrissie's town. They had walked together, stepping over the sunlit grass and listening to the gentle breeze and distant bird calls while catching up with each other since they had not been together socially for almost a month. Sirius loved hearing about how Chrissie had improved her summoning skills after a vigorous training session with her mother, or how she had found a new gate key for sale and needed help thinking of innovative ways to earn money for it, or the new boy in town who had handed her a flower as they passed in the main street of town. In turn, Chrissie was fascinated with Sirius' description of the celestial spirit world, learning about the history and relationships and origins of various spirits, as well as advising Sirius with her social life, like how to deal with the arrogant Scorpio, or what sort of birthday gift to get for Tucana.
On this particular afternoon, Sirius had been walking next to Chrissie, still with the giggle from her last comment on her lips, when she caught an unfamiliar scent and pricked her ears up, stiffening her body. Chrissie sensed her unease and began looking around the forest.
A huge man stepped out of the from the shadows of the trees. He was almost twice Chrissie's height with huge shoulders, wearing a long black cloak with a hood that covered his face from view. His head moved slightly to look Sirius up and down, from her bare feet to the tip of her dog ears and simply said, 'Ah, a Celestial wizard.'
He walked briskly towards Chrissie, as if going for a morning walk. Sirius felt a growl in the back of her throat and stepped between the two wizards in a fighting stance.
'Stay back,' warned Sirius, crouching lower in preparation to spring at the man and protect her keyholder. He made an amused noise and in a flash drew a sword from under his cloak and cut through Sirius' body.
'SIRIUS!' screamed Chrissie. Of course, as a spirit, Sirius would not die, but pain cut through her as the hole in her side began to glow. Realising that she would be forced back to the Celestial world, Sirius ran towards the cloaked man who simply threw out an arm and knocked her down while continuing his walk towards Chrissie. She fumbled quickly with her keys, but none of her spirits were stronger than Sirius and she couldn't summon another one anyway.
Sirius was fading back to the spirit world fast and her vision blurred with pain and tears. She could only make out a few details. A red stain across Chrissie's new white summer dress. A limp girl's body falling to the ground. A sword gleaming in the sunlight. A metallic smell that tainted the entire forest. The last thing she saw before the familiar sucking feeling dragged her back home was a silver key held delicately in the big fingers of a black glove. The key of Canis Major.
'Sirius, stop. You don't have to tell me. I'm so sorry,' Wendy rubbed the dog spirit's back with tears in her eyes as Sirius bawled her eyes out, taking in gasping breaths.
'It was my fault!' she burst out. 'It was me! He was after me! I didn't protect her! I was in the way of her summoning another spirit!'
Wendy continued trying to calm down Sirius as Magnolia residents passing by looked curiously at the two weeping girls on the bench.
'I'm so sorry Chrissie…'
'No…' whispered Lucy. 'That's awful…'
'How do you know all of that?' asked Gray.
'Sirius told me, but not for a very long time,' said Loke. 'She blamed herself - she still does - and took what came next as a punishment for failing her duties. She told no one what had occurred and that she now belonged to the man who murdered Chrissie. She told no one how he abused her.'
Flashback - Human World 790 years ago
It was Gwador.
That was his name.
The one who had killed Chrissie three years earlier. The one who had taken Sirius' key.
The constant thoughts echoed through her mind, as they had done since that day.
Sirius was huddled in the corner of a dimly lit room, appearing almost unconscious save for her shivering. She no longer looked like the spirit that only ten years ago challenged the leader of the zodiac to a fight with a smile on her face. Her ears were tattered and drooping and her wayward floaty hair now hung limp and matted. Her eyes were dull, no reflection of that mischievous sparkle that had previously lit them.
Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her head downcast. Her arms were pinned behind her back by shackles. She had been in the human world for just over three days this time. She was vaguely aware that if he didn't release her soon, she could die, but she did not really care.
Gwador continued his work, analysing his notes, briefly coming over to check her pulse or slap her for whimpering.
Since he had found Sirius, Gwador had also obtained several other spirits in a similar manner, but none as powerful as her. She was the one he used in his experiments and she was the one he believed could lead him to his goal.
'What could he possibly be trying to do?' asked Carla.
'He was seeking eternal life, and knew that the celestial spirits held the answer.'
'What?! Really?'
'Well we do live indefinitely,' said Loke, 'I know of no spirit to ever die from old age.'
'But it didn't work, did it?' asked Lucy.
'No,' agreed Loke, 'not once we realised what was going on.'
Sorry I took so long to update. I didn't really think anyone liked my story that much. I would really appreciate some reviews to help me finish the story. Just let me know if you are enjoying it please.
ringtailpossum
