Chapter 52
Arados wasn't sure what he hated more; being a girl, being in Giya or having to take orders from his older brother. But as the first wasn't permanent and the second wasn't too bad, if he was being truly honest then the third was the clear winner. Giving a heavy sigh he stared down at the symbol of the First lying below his feet. It was the symbol which had been imprinted so firmly into his mind he could have drawn it in his sleep. Looking up at his formally male friends, he could see they were thinking the exact same about the symbols they were stood above.
'Don't we need a Win,' the female Lus tilted his head in thought.
'Says who?' Taylor shot him a look. 'I mean, I love you guys, but not enough to share anyone with you.'
'That's not what I mean,' he sighed and pointed towards the symbol in the centre of the Yatnuh. 'This thing was designed for four, not three.'
'But we don't have a Win,' Arados shook his head, still hating the female sound of his voice, 'and the others have left us to it, so it's not like we can just ask one of them.'
'We could if we called them back.'
'But that would probably make our Win Jo or Crovell and there's no way I'm going to allow that.'
'Why not?'
'Because it's bad enough I'm under his orders to do this. If we call them back, it will be like saying we can't do this on our own.'
'Maybe we can't,' the female Taylor pulled a face. 'I think Lus is right. I think the reason nothings happened yet is because we need four.'
'We're not calling them back,' he folded his arms stubbornly, 'or had you forgotten they're the reason we're currently girls.'
'What does that have to do with needing them or not?'
'I just wanted to point out the fact they're hardly to our benefit right now.'
'I'm sorry Ara, but I really have to disagree.'
'Me too,' the female Lus nodded, 'I mean, how are we supposed to stop this guy if we can't connect. And if what we need to connect is a Win, then we're really shooting ourselves in the foot if we don't get one.'
'But this is our turn to shine,' his female voice was filled whining tones. 'This is our turn to prove we're just as good as they are.'
'But we already know that.'
'But everyone else doesn't. I'm tired of being treated like an idiot. Like a kid, just because I'm not as smart as them. I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm nothing but a thug. A nobody. I'm…'
'Glowing,' the other two interrupted him.
'Huh?' In confusion he stared down at his female shell, only to be amazed at the way it was coated in a glow of white light. 'What the hell's going on?'
'Kayrty Part Merostit,' his sister's voice sounded to the left of him.
'What are you doing back here?' He couldn't help but gawk at her.
'You didn't think I was dressed like this,' she indicated towards the tunic she was wearing, 'for no reason, did you?'
'You're our Win?' He wasn't sure if it was disappointment or disgust he felt.
'You don't need a Win,' she lowered her gaze, 'it's enough for it just to be the three of you.'
'Then what are you doing here?'
'Praying,' she carefully lowered herself to her knees, refusing to meet his gaze.
'What?'
'You are the Heirs to Light, aren't you?'
'Yes, but we're not…'
Before he could get any further, his sister swept her arms across her body, then positioned them as though she were offering them something. Her head lowered and she began to murmur something, very quietly, in Etean. In confusion, the trio exchanged glances.
'Is she praying to us?' The female Lus shifted nervously.
'No,' Arados shook his head, 'she can't be. Not like that. That's how you pray to the Mistresses.'
'But the Mistresses aren't here. And we are their heirs.'
Suddenly the other two also began to glow and a whirlwind of light began to flow around them.
'What's happening?'
There was no answer. Instead a thunderous noise began to fill his ears and his vision filled with an unbearable light.
'What's going on?' The female Lus's voice was little more than a scream. 'Why does it hurt?'
As the words reached him, Arados's body flooded with pain. It was enough to bring him to his knees and it felt as though his body was being torn in two. Fearfully, he took in a deep, painfully jagged breath in as what Simüte had said about a worthy sacrifice sounded inside his mind. Hot tears began to roll down his cheeks. Cheeks which already felt as though they weren't there.
They were the sacrifice. The children who were never meant to exist. The Ohpayo Cousins. The Heirs to the Light. What worthier sacrifice was there? And the bodies they were in, the ones they should have had, were more connected than they were. Because they were true blood. Because they had been raised like sisters, not cousins. Their bond was stronger, reinforcing the strength of the connection the three boys shared. He should have known something like this was coming, it had been written all over Jo's face, the whole time, why hadn't he seen it?
As the thoughts whirled round his mind his body felt as though it were dissolving. Fear turned into a sick dullness. He was beyond true emotions now. Beyond true thought. Beyond everything. This was death. The end of his existence. The end of everything. He knew in that moment this was why they'd needed to keep the adults distracted. Why they needed Simüte to be here. Why... everything. They could have prevented this and they chose not to, because their lives were meaningless to them.
'I'm sorry!' The sound of his sister's voice broke through the whir of noise. 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!'
Suddenly he felt a pair of arms gripped round him and the feeling of him not really being there anymore retracted into blinding pain.
'I can't do it. I can't. You're not a sacrifice I can just throw away, you're my brother and I can't... I can't do this to you.'
The more she spoke, the more distant and distorted she sounded. His vision began to dim and his head swam sickly.
'I'm sorry Ara. I didn't want to do this. I swear I never wanted to do this. But... but we thought... It doesn't matter what we thought, we should never have thought this was an option.'
The grip around him tightened and he felt something pulling him away from the Yatnuh.
'Please don't be too late. Please don't be too late.'
His head felt fuzzy. Heavy. He wasn't even sure if he felt real anymore, never mind whether or not anything around him did.
'Say something Ara, please say something.'
He wanted to scream at her for trying to kill him. He wanted to shout and rage and do something, but his mind was too heavy and no words made it passed his lips.
'Please say something Ara, please.'
He felt twitches in his muscles, but wasn't quite sure what they meant. And the longer he just lay there staring up at the blurred haze that was his sister, the more he felt certain he was slipping away.
'Please little brother, please; I don't want you to die. I'm sorry. I didn't want it to come to this, but... the way things were changing... the path we were heading down... it made it feel like this was the only way. No matter how hard I tried... no matter how hard I looked for another option I couldn't... But I never wanted... I never wanted to do this I swear. Please... please don't die Ara, please, I'm sorry. Please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't die. Please don't die.'
