"Found the what!?" I squeaked. My voice hitched as I stared at Kota, turning his words over and over in my mind. Finally found the missing part of his whole. That didn't make sense. Like a soulmate? Or a soul... sister? I cringed slightly at the idiocy of my thoughts. Such things sounded wholly more fairy-tale than reality, like something the dashing knight said to the damsel-in-distress just before he fought a dragon to win her heart. As much as I wished that life could imitate the stories that I'd loved so much as a child, this just wasn't how my life was meant to turn out. My whole world was spinning wildly out of control, slipping further from my grip with each passing hour, and it was just getting to be too much to wrap my head around.
"The missing part of me," Kota reiterated, as if somehow rephrasing it would help me to understand what was clearly already obvious to the strikingly solemn boy.
"I don't..." I started to say, but, as I glanced around at the other boys, I realised that maybe I did understand. "Is this about what happened with Jade?" They thought I was a conduit for their power, right? The mysterious tenth in their group, whatever that meant in practice. That had to be what he meant. The missing link in their group, their – what was it called again? – Pantheonic Revival.
"Yes." Kota nodded, his eyes fixed on my face as I turned back to look at him. "And no. I mean, what happened with Jade was just the manifestation of your power, but it's more than that. I..." He paused, then his gaze flicked over to Master Blackbourne and back so fast I almost missed it. "We knew you were a manifest the instant we each met you. The feeling in my gut when I saw you that night, curled up on top of your Legacy, was unmistakable, but it wasn't until later that night that I knew exactly what you were to me.
"To you?" I mumbled, not even realising I'd spoken aloud until I felt someone step up beside me and twine their warm fingers with my gloved ones. My breath hitched as my body instinctively reacted to the unfamiliar touch, but I fought to remain still. I wouldn't allow my insecurities, or my past to ruin my fledgling friendships with these people, who had already given me more of themselves than anyone I'd ever known.
"To all of us," Victor said softly, leaning into my side slightly as Kota nodded in agreement. I released a lungful of air slowly, giving my body time to relax and grow accustomed to his presence. A soft smile spread across my face as I mentally added Victor to my rapidly-growing list of people whose touch didn't make me want to run. It wasn't like with Silas yet, an exchange that now felt as effortless as breathing, but I squeezed his hand gently to let him know I was comfortable with this development in our friendship.
"I don't understand," I explained, shifting my gaze from Victor's face back to Kota. He pressed his lips tightly together, as his gaze drifted to a point just north of my right ear. He looked like he was thinking hard, perhaps trying to figure out how to make me understand. I felt like I was missing something, something obvious or hidden away in a dusty corner of my mind, but I was drawing a blank.
"Okay!" Kota exclaimed after a few moments of silence. One of his hand flew up into the air between us, and then his gaze was gone from me. "Luke, you up for a little fairy dust?" I frowned, as I turned to see the boy in question heaving himself up off the ground. Sean let out a strained yelp when he noticed his patient was attempting to stand up, but made no move to stop him. Instead, to my surprise, he simply reached down and attempted to steady Luke's trajectory.
"How big we talking, boss?" Luke asked. He flashed me a smile and a cheeky wink, when he noticed me watching his every move, but the smile didn't quite meet his eyes. The pain in their depths was unmistakable but he wasn't going to bring it up, a true reflection of the stoicism favoured by this family, so I didn't say anything. Sean had hold of his arm anyway. If he looked like he was going to pass out again, I had no doubt that the man would be more than capable of helping him. It wasn't like there was anything I could do anyway, since direct contact would probably leave both of us unconscious.
"That big," Kota said cryptically, flicking an index finger toward the tree that Luke had been nestled beneath. "Thirty seconds, maybe forty. Think you can handle it?" Kota sounded unsure, and I couldn't blame him. I hadn't got a clue what he was talking about, but Luke had been unconscious less than ten minutes ago. Surely he shouldn't be trying to do anything right now, besides securing a big, comfy bed in the infirmary.
"I've held bigger," Luke scoffed, with a soft snort of derision added in for good measure. His expression, pale and drawn as it was, told Kota exactly how he felt about the vote of no confidence.
"Never after cardiac arrest!" Kota reasoned, but Luke shut him down with a raised eyebrow and a hand on hip.
"I can handle it. Do you think Vic will be able to see it?"
"See what...?" Victor started to ask, stepping in front of me. Our fingers remained entwined, so I was forced to move with him or let our hands part. I wasn't ready to release him yet, so I fell into step as he steered us towards Kota. Then, as abruptly as we'd started to move, he stopped dead. "Oh. I've never..."
"I'll do it." Silence reigned absolute, as Master Blackbourne stepped into the small circle that had slowly been formed throughout the conversation thus far. "Victor has never tried to see that far back before, and I can simply take the memory from you, Mr Lee. It is much more economical to allow me to do it."
"But what about...?" Sean started to ask a question, his gaze flickering to my face as he spoke, but he hesitated when the stern man turned to glare at him. "Are you sure?"
"She's going to glimpse the abyss sooner or later," Master Blackbourne told his closest friend calmly, like he was explaining how a car engine functioned or why the sky was blue. "Especially if I'm to teach her. At least this way, she'll be prepared. I am in complete control"
My mouth hung open as continued to watch the bizarre exchange unfolding before me. My mind was working overtime, attempting to make sense of the seemingly incomprehensible jumble of words that was filtering through my eardrums, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it. I wanted to scream, to beg for an answer, but I didn't want to upset them. If I wasn't even smart enough to keep up with a single conversation, one that they all seemed to instantly understand, how could I hope to keep up with them in the future? Tomorrow, the next day... At some point soon, they were going to realise that I wasn't worth the effort. I swallowed thickly and then opened my mouth again, unsure of what to say yet knowing I had to say something, but North beat me to it.
"Look at her!" he snapped.
"Mr Taylor?" Master Blackbourne sounded confused.
"Just look at her," North repeated, waving an arm toward me. "Look into her eyes and tell me what you see." The older man sighed heavily, but did as he was instructed. Turning to me, he plastered a completely blank expression onto his face and stared at me in silence. I froze in place, eyes fixed on a neutral spot on his left cheek, afraid to so much as breathe under his intense scrutiny.
"I see," he started to say, after a pregnant pause. Then his faux grey eyes widened in uncharacteristic surprise, as he recognised the overwhelming emotion coursing through me. "I see fear!"
"Exactly," North agreed. Rounding on Dr Green, he continued. "You're an empath, aren't you? Can't you see she's terrified?"
"I-I didn't..." My eyes widened as I heard Sean stumble over his words. It was the first time I'd ever witnessed any of these guys falter, even but a little, and a tiny piece of my heart broke for him right then and there. Scared and confused I might be, but the defeat and failure in his eyes at that moment was agonising to see.
"I'm fine," I said, finally finding my voice. I needed to explain myself, before I lost everything. Before my fear took my new life from me.
"No, you're not!" Kota spoke up then, surprising me by snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me into his chest for another hug. This time it was me who was holding on for dear life, me using him as a life raft in a storm. I let him hold me for a few moments, shutting out my thoughts and allowing my heart to return to something resembling a normal rhythm. Then, despite wanting nothing more than to stay hidden in the deep creases of his blackened shirt, I pushed away from him to face the rest of his family.
"I am scared," I started to explain. I was proud of how steady and composed my voice sounded, even to my own ears, so I continued. "But not because of any of you. Not directly, anyway." I saw Silas start to shift, to move toward me, but I held up a hand to stop him. I needed to get this out, before anyone else tried to hug or touch me, no matter how addictive those touches were.
"I found out who, or what I'm supposed to be less than..." I trailed off and glanced down at my bare wrist. Seconds later, a tanned arm appeared in front of me, wearing a particularly shiny, gold watch. The logo on it looked familiar, a well-known brand perhaps, but I ignored it and checked the time. "...two hours ago. Today my whole world changed. You may have known what I was days ago, but I need time to process."
I took a deep breath, hesitating for a moment as I debated whether to divulge the rest, but a single, reproachful glance from Master Blackbourne made up my mind for me. He wanted full honesty from me, and he'd likely know if I held back anyway, so I was going to give it to them straight. I was in too deep now to pull my punches.
"Right now, I really need answers." I glanced around the group, first to Kota, then to Luke, Sean and Victor. My gaze fell on Nathan and Gabriel too, but they were both unusually quiet. They were watching me intently, as were North and Silas, so I boarded my honesty train again. "I might not understand everything that's going on, but right now I understand nothing. You're talking about me like I'm not even here, but you say that this affects me now too. Luke looks like he's about to pass out, but Kota wants him to hold up the tree or something."
Kota opened his mouth to speak, but I hurried on. "And I have absolutely no idea what an abyss is, or why it might be a bad thing, because you haven't really told me anything. You want to train me? That's the first I've heard about it. I didn't even know I needed training." My breathing was laboured now, my chest heaving and my cheeks flushed in a way that must have made me look crazy. "And for another thing..."
I paused, realising that I didn't have anything else to say. My jaw snapped shut with an audible click and then I just stood there, shell shocked. What had I just done? In my life, I'd never spoken so many words at one time, and now I'd used them to hurt those around me. Even as frustrated as I was, I couldn't believe how rude I'd been. They didn't owe me anything. They had every right to keep things from me, to conduct conversations without explaining every iota and minutia to me. What was wrong with me?
"Don't." My head snapped up at the soft, barely audible plea. Master Blackbourne was so close to me, I could have leant forward and pressed my face into his lapel. I blinked, but didn't step back or flinch away. I straightened my spine, pressing my knees together and squaring my jaw. I knew what was coming now. I had been insubordinate, had raised my voice in anger. I would face the consequences in silence, respectfully, like my mother had taught me. If nothing else, I was intimately familiar with repentance.
"Please don't." He spoke again, then his hand was flying towards me faster than my eyes could follow. I tried not to flinch away, but I felt the corners of my eyes tighten and my fists clenched reflexively, steeling myself for the impact.
Neither of us moved a single muscle for one endless, agonising moment. I stared up at him, and he stared back into me. I held my breath, and he did the same. His arm was still raised, hovering in place less than a foot from my cheek. I didn't dare to move, so I waited. I was good at waiting. Waiting was always better than what followed.
He broke first.
"Athena, forgive me," he murmured, allowing his shoulders to fall slightly. "It seems I owe you yet another apology, Miss Sorenson." Eyes locked on my face, the outstretched arm shifted a millimetre in my direction. I remained motionless, watching out of the very corner of my eye as it moved another fraction. Slowly, deliberately, the arm continued its arc.
It took a few seconds before I realised what he was doing. He was giving me time; he was allowing me to take control from him, if just for a few moments, and to set the pace. He wasn't going to hurt me. This man would never hurt me. Everything he... any of them had done up to this point had been to protect me, to show me affection that I hadn't thought was possible for someone like me. How could I ever think that he would raise a hand to strike me?
Because that was what my father would do, I thought, answering my own unspoken question.
Because that's what men did!
Because that was all I knew.
The tears were streaming down my cheeks before I realised that I was crying. I released the breath I'd been holding, unable to retain my composure any longer. I met the gaze of the grey-eyed god in front of me, lifting my chin as I blinked away moisture, then his icy fingers were gliding across my skin, sweeping away my tears.
The faint scent of leather hung in the air and I realised that, at some point, he must have slipped on a pair of gloves. I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and focused solely on the feel of his touch, on the way that my heated cheek fitted into the gentle curve of his palm like there were each written into existence for this very moment. Nothing else mattered. If I never got answers, if I never truly knew myself, I would take this moment for what it was. This man was nothing like my father. This man was not going to hurt me. This man was my friend.
"You know that I would rather die than cause you pain, don't you?" His voice was gentle this time, but a little of his strength had returned. "You have to know that..."
"I do," I said calmly. I meant it. I had never been forced to ask the question of myself before, but the answer was clear in my mind. "I trust you with my life." I paused. "All of you."
"And we you." Master Blackbourne spoke for all of them. With my eyes still closed, I sensed rather than felt the others around us nod their agreement, but I recognised the significance of this moment. Something had changed irrevocably in the dynamic of the group gathered here, under this broken, damaged tree on the edge of the campus, and I hoped that it would be for the best. I had hope in them, in us.
"Now," the older man continued, letting his hand drop to his side. I felt the loss of his touch like I'd been burned, the flesh flaming almost painfully in the absence of the leather, but I kept silent. We shared a knowing look, and I knew that he felt the separation just as acutely as I had. "Kota, if you would like to continue with your explanation. Only, this time, perhaps a few more details." I heard Sean chuckle from behind Master Blackbourne, but the man didn't move from his position directly in front of me. I didn't think he even noticed he was blocking me from view, and I wasn't about to correct him.
"Let's start again, shall we?" Kota jumped in, smiling apologetically over at me as he stood beside Luke, who looked considerably less pale. Dr Green must have been working his magic on the boy, during my exchange with his oldest brother. "It's hard to explain how I knew for sure that you were, for want of a better phrase, the missing part of my whole. By which, I mean the part of our family that we never knew we were missing, until we met you." I blinked twice, managing to hold back the tears from falling once again, but only barely. "Instead of telling you," he continued, "I'm going to try to show you."
"How?" I knew that he was getting to that, but I couldn't help but ask the question regardless. I knew that they could do some unbelievable, incredible things, but how could he show me something that he couldn't even put into words?
"Do you remember the cafeteria, when Gabriel was able to show you the image of your father that Victor saw, because he channelled Victor's power?" I nodded. I didn't know how they'd done it, but I couldn't deny that I'd seen it with my own two eyes. "Well I want to try to do something similar with Luke."
"Try?" It hadn't seemed to be too much of a struggle for the other two boys, from what I'd seen.
"We've never tried to manifest a mental image as an illusion before," he explained, tipping his head sideways towards Luke as he spoke. "I don't even know if it's possible, to be honest."
"Don't belittle your abilities, Mr Lee. Or Mr Taylor's, for that matter," Master Blackbourne admonished him gently. Kota nodded, but didn't seem surprised by the interjection. I suspected that this was a guy who doubted himself and his ability to lead daily. Which was, ironically, one of the reasons why, in my eyes, he was born to be a leader.
"I wouldn't be contributing much, besides the memory. I need a conduit, to allow Luke to manifest my thoughts as his own. Victor can do it for his own thoughts, but, as I said, we've never tried it with a third person before, or with Luke rather than Gabe."
"...So that's why Master Blackbourne offered to stand in for Victor," I finished, and the man in question flashed me the faintest hint of a smile.
"Precisely, Miss Sorenson. I should be able to pull the memory straight from Mr Lee's mind, especially if it's at the forefront. Then, if Luke is able, we should see what has already been seen."
"If?" Luke muttered incredulously, crossing his arms across his chest. "Just because I've never held an illusion during a melding before, doesn't mean I can't!"
"Melding?"
"When we mix our powers together and see what happens." Nathan explained this time. He smirked. "It can be awesome, or a total disaster."
"Which is why, if we are to attempt this, you need to be far enough away for the others to stop you, if your goddess decides to take over again," Master Blackbourne said. Wait. Was he talking to me? I glanced up to see him staring down at me intently, waiting for my response. Definitely talking to me, then!
"Is that likely?" I asked, frowning.
"It's happened before, when none of us expected it," North offered. I simply blinked at him. He looked confused for a moment, then realisation dawned in his eyes as he remembered my super specific amnesia. "Sorry. I forgot you wouldn't remember that."
"All the more reason to keep her a safe distance from the meld," Victor agreed. I couldn't argue with that.
"Where, then?" All eyes turned to Master Blackbourne, but he was, instead, watching Kota. I didn't know why, but I knew that this was important to him, that Kota be the one to take charge. Likely, the older man recognised the same self-doubt in Kota that I had seen. This was one way that he could demonstrate, in the smallest of ways, that he had faith in his younger brother.
Kota thought for a moment. "Silas, take her back to the edge, where we climbed up. You'll still be able to see the entire clearing, but you'll be close enough to get her clear if it looks like she isn't in control anymore." I made a mental note to bring up said control – and my concerning lapses in it – at a later date. I definitely needed to know everything they could tell me about the minutes I had lost, and what I had done with them, but now was not the time.
Moving into position, I followed the rest of the boys down the hill some distnce, while Luke, Kota and Master Blackbourne gathered at the base of the tree. I watched them intently as they spoke to each other for a few moments, then arranged themselves so that Master Blackbourne was flanked by Luke on the right and Kota on the left. He pulled off the gloves he'd donned to interact with me, and raised an arm out to either side of his torso, so his fingers were hovering over each of their exposed necks.
"What happens ne-" My words were forgotten as Master Blackbourne allowed his arms to drop simultaneously, latching onto the sensitive skin at the nape of each boy's neck so forcefully that it had to be painful. I saw Luke's head snap up, long blonde strands falling free from his hair tie and trailing down his shoulders. Kota flinched visibly, as the taller man's fingers seized him in a vice-like grip, but didn't move. I thought, when I recalled the scene later, that it was probably evidence of Luke's inexperience with the process, rather than of Kota's own fortitude.
The air around the three of them rippled and ruptured, the green and brown of the landscape folding in on itself in a perfect, impossibly smooth halo around Master Blackbourne. I felt a hand curl around my shoulder and glanced to the side just long enough to see that Silas was standing vigil, with North only steps away. They watched me carefully, as if waiting for me to make some move, but I didn't know what. Turning back to the scene unfolding in front of me, I watched in dumbstruck awe as, at the point where oxygen and man met, the fabric of the universe seemed to unknit itself before my eyes. Grass, dust, even light seemed powerless to escape the vacuum that was Master Blackbourne.
"What is that?" I mumbled, mostly to myself, as I began to glimpse a glittering blackness in the sliver of emptiness where life had once been. It was darkness, pure and simple. With no beginning or end, it stretched into oblivion for as far as the eye could see and, in that moment, I'd wager that no telescope or device made by man could fathom an end to the emptiness. It was everything, and it was nothing. It was... an abyss.
Suddenly his words earlier made sense. This was a thing to be feared, to run from. I would be strong, I would stay and bear witness, but I knew now why he had been concerned. It was a terrifying thing indeed.
"Watch," I heard Victor whisper, from the opposite side of me to Silas and North. I blinked, forcibly dragging my gaze from the emptiness of the abyss to the men stood within its inky halo. "Luke is projecting." I turned my attention to Luke, looking for outward signs of effort or strain, anything that might indicate that he was manifesting his powers, but I saw nothing. His face was tensed in concentration but, besides that, he was surprisingly relaxed.
"How can you tell?" I asked, admitting defeat. I just couldn't see it.
"He gets this look on his face," Nathan whispered, leaning in, his breath tickling my ear. "Like he's about to poop. That's how you tell." I gasped in shock at his words, then shoved a hand in front of my face to keep from laughing aloud. I shook with silent laughter and, as his bare arm pressed against my own, I felt his body shaking too. Without looking away from Luke, and what was, undeniably, a pretty constipated expression, I nudged Nathan playful. He nudged me back, harder, and I giggled.
"Stop it, Nate!" I heard Gabriel mutter from behind me and I sobered up instantly. If sunny, carefree Gabriel was taking this seriously, as I should have been, then I couldn't afford to be messing around. If I distracted them by giggling too loudly, I might ruin everything. I didn't want to be the one to ruin Kota's plan. My lips pressed together in a straight, harsh line. I wouldn't mess this up!
A ripple in the air dragged my attention from Luke, out through the halo of the abyss and into the surrounding clearing. The air rippled more gently this time, reminding me of the way the air had shifted before Luke had made the butterflies appear in homeroom, and I waited to see what would appear.
"We came through here that night." I jumped when I heard Kota's voice, booming out loud and clear, even as far away as we were at the far edge of the wide, open space. Before my eyes, the vast tree appeared to knit itself together, the ripples of power emanating from Luke trailing upward and appearing to repair the damage from the lightning strike. The sky grew dark in a tight radius around the tree too, as if night had fallen only in that one small part of the sky.
It was strange. Had there been a storm that night? I didn't remember one, but I had been unconscious for a long time while Kota had been carrying me.
"I passed right by the tree," Kota continued. As if on cue, a figure came striding purposefully into the clearing, passing just feet from when the three of them were grouped. I gaped as I glanced from Kota to Kota, from the real, present Kota to his doppelganger, dressed in black from head to toe. I couldn't see his face but it was unmistakably him, the first person I'd laid eyes on in my new life. I'd recognise him anywhere. "And I stumbled."
Gabriel cursed softly behind me, as we watched the usually graceful Kota trip on a small, exposed root. Through the slightly opaque illusion, I could see that the same root was nowhere to be seen now. I wondered what had happened to it.
"I stumbled because you said my name."
"What?!" I couldn't hold back my shout of surprise, even as I clamped a hand over my mouth as if to try to will the noise back inside. My body quaked as I tried and failed to process his words. I'd never met him until he'd found me that night, I knew that for certain. Or did I? How much of my life was in doubt? What else did I not remember? The fear started to rise in my chest again, threatening to overwhelm me, but Kota's next words held back the tide, as did Silas' fingers snaking around my own.
"You called me Jupiter," he said quickly. "I didn't know you, although I wished, even then, that I did. Your soul, your goddess and the part of you that searched for your true family knew me, and called me by name." I saw the illusory Kota stop dead, standing almost directly between me and the real Kota. He stared down at the prone me cradled in his arms. I couldn't see his face, but his body language conveyed abject shock. I wasn't surprised. If someone I'd never met addressed me by a closely guarded, unspoken name, whilst also unconscious, I'd be shocked too.
"I reached out," the figure followed Kota's description seamlessly, "and brushed a stray hair off your cheek. I didn't know-" Boom! Whatever he'd been about to say was obscured by an almighty roar from the heavens, as the sky roiled inside the radius of the illusion and squalling winds howled overhead.
"Hurry up, Kota!" Luke screamed out, barely audible over the thundering din above him, and I looked over in time to see him start to list to one side. Master Blackbourne still had a strong grip on him, but it seemed to be the only thing keeping him upright. If I hadn't realised yet how strong the central man was, it was now clearly evident. His arm shook under Luke's weight, but it remained high, outstretched and unequivocally strong.
Crack! The sky erupted in flame as a huge, crackling lightning bolt sliced through the sky, appearing as if from nowhere as it entered the illusion at the uppermost edge. It carved a sizzling, white hot path earthward, until it struck the tree with another thundering crack. In an instant, the huge tree split in two down the very centre, and one side started to bow under the pressure.
"I didn't realise what I'd done until later, when I talked to Master B, but it was enough," Kota said then, cutting through the deafening noise as it ceased between heartbeats. One second it was chaos, the next it was as it appeared now, only shrouded in night. In a single instant, Kota had touched me and the life of this tree had been forever changed by his power.
"Let us go!" Kota told Master Blackbourne then. I waited for the man to comply, but he remained completely motionless, seemingly unaware of Kota's words. The abyss, that halo of emptiness was starting to spread too, I noticed. Little by little, it was starting to blot out the grass and the wide trunk of the tree behind them.
"Is it supposed to do that?" I whispered to anyone who would listen, but Dr Green was quicker than me. Before I opened my mouth, he was hurrying back up the shallow slope towards his three brothers.
"Stop, Owen!" he bit out, but the only response was another clump of grass folding itself smoothly into the emptiness. "Owen, hear me!" Something was wrong! This was clearly not meant to happen, but I didn't know what to do to stop it. What could I do?
"Nephthys?" I whispered, glancing around to make sure the others couldn't hear me. Most of them were focused on Master Blackbourne but Gabriel was peering curiously at me, so I tried again without words. Nephthys? Can you hear me?
No response was forthcoming. I didn't really expect one, if I was honest. I didn't know why she'd chosen to help last time, but it hadn't been through any choice or request of mine. She'd help if she wanted to. I just hoped it wouldn't be too late, if there was something she could do to help.
Dr Green had reached Luke by then. He seemed to be physically repelled by some kind of aura around Master Blackbourne, as he reached towards the taller man, but he managed to reach out and grab hold of Luke. "Luke, you need to wake up," he shouted, leaning in to press his free hand to Luke's bare chest. He was probably trying to revive him, I thought. If Luke was awake, he might be able to get himself free.
The outer halo of the abyss leapt out from the centre twice as far as it had the last time, swallowing up half a dozen small shrubs and plants that grew in the shadow of the gigantic, blackened structure. Sean appeared to try again, as a ripple of power surged between him and Luke. Shielded by the darkness, I barely felt it as the faintest hint of energy breezed past me a few seconds later. Then the abyss leapt outward again.
"He's using the energy," I realised. I repeated my words, louder this time. "He's channelling your power through Luke, Sean! You have to stop." He couldn't hear me. My voice didn't carry far enough. I clenched my fists in frustration, squashing Silas' large fingers as I did so. "He needs to stop!"
"He will," I heard North say, then a roar erupted from his throat. "Sean, stop!"
The healer's head snapped up in recognition and I sighed in relief. Of course he would hear North. How could he not? I imagined that one could probably hear North from clear across campus, if he wanted to be heard. Seconds later, Sean pulled his hands from Luke's unconscious form and stepped back. Relief flooded through me once more, until Sean's back hit an invisible barrier and he bounced off it, stumbling back towards Luke.
"Get out of there, Doc!" North bellowed, taking a step forward. Silas reached out to stop him, but he stopped short of actually charging up the hill.
"I can't!" Dr Green pressed a hand up to the barrier, which, whilst he was in contact with it, glistened black like onyx. I would bet, if I was up close, that it would be creeping closer to us, and distinctly abyss-like, if viewed from a different angle. It seemed that Master Blackbourne – or, more likely, Chaos – had allowed him to enter, but didn't want him leave. From the effect his touch on Luke had had on the rate of expansion, it wasn't hard to see why.
"I'm coming to help." North clearly decided that then was the right time to stop thinking and charge in, all god powers blazing. Thankfully, Silas' arm across his chest slowed him down a bit. Silas' hand slipped from mine as he turned his attention onto his hot-head brother.
"Think about this, North." He spoke calmly, like it was the most casual conversation in the world. "If you go in, you'll get stuck just like Doc."
"We need to do something!" North was still fighting Silas' hold on him, but his fervour seemed to have died down a bit. Hopefully, even North wasn't beyond seeing reason.
"We can't do anything from out here," Silas told him, tugging firmly on North's shirt. "Dr Green needs to find some way to sever the connection or get through to Master B."
"How?" Sean and I asked simultaneously.
"Uh..." Silas paused. "I don't know."
"Can't you, you know, use your powers to make it turn out okay?" I hedged. It was a long shot, but it wouldn't hurt to ask the question, no matter how stupid it sounded.
"Not against Chaos," came the reply. "I already thought of that but, in training, I tried betting against Master B. You remember I told you there were always exceptions?" I nodded. "Well you're looking at one of them."
Nephthys, this would be a great time for you to, I don't know, do something goddess-y,I thought earnestly. Again, I wasn't expecting a response, but I had no other options that I could see.
This should be interesting.
"What?" I asked aloud. Silas and North both shot me confused looks, confirming my suspicions. The voice I'd just heard had been inside my head.
Hello? I didn't know how to direct my thoughts her way, so I waited to see if she talked again.
Why are you waiting?
I blinked in surprise, glancing up to see five pairs of eyes watching me intently, before I internalised my focus again. Uh, because I need your help, I tried to project. It seemed to work, because the voice spoke again.
Dear girl. You don't need my help. The solution is simple.
What? What do you mean? I need more than that! I felt my brows furrow in concentration as I thought furiously to myself and to the goddess who might or might not be listening, but she didn't speak again. She obviously felt that she'd done her part, and that now it was up to me.
"Are you going to go all badass goddess on us again?" Gabriel asked after a few minutes. I sighed, lifting my chin to meet his piercing gaze.
"Unfortunately, no," I told him. "She said I can do it by myself."
"Good!" Nathan cut in, before Gabriel could respond. "That thing with your eyes is freaky as all hell!" Despite everything, I grinned. I knew Nathan the least of all of them, having only met him properly that morning, but I couldn't wait to get to know him better. He seemed fun.
"That is," Victor struggled to find the right words, "incredibly irritating."
"Tell me about it." I froze, an idea rocketing through my brain at a million miles an hour. "No, really! Say that again." My eyes widened as I stared at Victor. It couldn't possibly be that simple, could it?
"Um. This is incredibly irritating," Victor repeated hesitantly, unsure as to my grip on my mental faculties more than likely.
"Irritating," I parroted. "That's it!" I turned back to Dr Green, and the darkness that was starting to reach the edges of the clearing to my left and right, where the other trees were closer. I really hoped this worked. "Sean." I put every ounce of strength and power I had into my voice, throwing it as far as I could make it go. When he turned to look at me, I knew it was enough.
"Focus on Master Blackbourne," I told him. "You need to bring out his human side, the side of him that knows that this is bad news!"
"How?"
"Irritation," I called back. "Irritation is an entirely human emotion. What is the most irritating thing you could do to him right now?"
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Silas asked, the doubt evident in his voice, but I ignored him. I had to believe that this would work. It had to work!
"I could tickle him," Dr Green suggested. As amusing a mental image as that was, it wasn't going to be enough. It needed to be enough to drag him back into his own mind, from beyond Chaos' reach. For that, it needed to be more than a gentle annoyance.
"Think bigger," I urged. "Best you've got!"
Crack! For a second, I thought that Kota had called down another bolt of lightning, then Sean's palm impacted with Master Blackbourne's cheek so hard that I saw the other man's jaw break in several places on impact. The doctor put everything he had into the slap, so much so that he actually stumbled forward as he made contact.
No one moved for two... three... four agonizingly long seconds, then I heard the most beautiful sound in the world. A groan of pain from the man partially concealed by Dr Green.
"What was that?" That was Kota's voice. I sought out the voice in an instant, only to see that his eyes were fluttering open. He reached up and pulled the taller man's hand from his neck and stepped free. At that exact moment, the abyss vanished, leaving behind what had been lost. Then, Master Blackbourne's eyes opened and he released Luke, who started to fall, only to be caught by Sean as he lunged forward.
"That," Nathan said softly, so only the six of us huddled at the edge of the clearing could hear him. "Was a close one!"
~V~
"Did you do as instructed?" I asked the pathetic creature before me. The filthy shirt hung so loosely off his torso that I doubted he had any flesh left on his bones, but he was nothing if not loyal. And, as I knew only too well, loyalty was worth far more than the largest treasure store of the greatest of the Kings of Old.
"It was done as you requested, majesty."
"And the diversion?" This was the crucial part of the plan. I would accept nothing less than perfection from those in my service.
"Worked exactly as you said it would," the creature confirmed. I couldn't help but smile at that, although he would see nothing but immaculate composure. The mask I wore would take care of that. "Those puny gods fell for the bait, once we took care of their guards. The traitor was able to make the exchange at the second entry point."
"No mistakes?" My eyes narrowed. I would hate to have to kill him, he who had been with me since the very start, but I could not condone missteps.
"None!" I smiled again. Perfect.