The Armor of the Soul
By Dixxy
Chapter Thirty-Two: Destiny Appears
(Cye)
"Let me go you jerks!" I demanded, struggling against Dais, Sehkment, Cale, and Osiris. The four of them were dragging me (literally) kicking and screaming towards Trulpa's throne room. Eventually Sehkment, who'd been bringing up the rear, grabbed my hair. I cried out as he jerked my head back so he could look at me in the eyes. I can almost see a difference in his eyes. . . they're beadier and sharper. . .
"Shut up, Torrent," said Sehkment. He grinned, then laughed in that mechanical way he always had whenever he was up to something REALLY nasty. "Trulpa has a special plan for you."
"Well you can tell her to go-"
SMACK!
"Don't even say it, boy," said Osiris. I whimpered, not liking the beating I was receiving. Osiris snapped his fingers and I watched as my armor orbe popped into the air above his hand and fell into his palm. He waved it in front of my eyes, teasing me. I didn't bother trying to get it, so turned my head away. I knew that he was just doing it to get a cheap laugh. I wouldn't let him get it. Osiris didn't seem too pleased with that, but I wasn't going to let them get so much as a laugh out of me.
"I hear Trulpa thinks that Torrent is going to be the key to her success against the Ronin Senshi," said Dais. He looked down at me. "But how? He's the runt of the Ronins. He doesn't have Hardrock's strength or Wildfire's wit or Strata and Halo's speed."
"He's a pretty agile little whelp," said Sehkment. "You've never fought him like I'VE fought him. Damned good swimmer- one of the best I've seen in my four hundred something years of existence."
I didn't know what they meant by me being the key to Trulpa defeating my friends, nor did I truly care. I just wanted to get out of there and get back with Kento and Sage. They were all I had now, truth be told. I wasn't sure how Anubis would receive me if I told him what I was, and I was afraid of rejection. All of my life I've wanted a father, and now that I had one. . . I was afraid.
Before long we stood before the large red doors that lead to Trulpa's throne room. Osiris pushed them open and the other three Warlords brought me in and threw me to the floor before Trulpa. I landed on my hands and knees, panting. My body was already aching, and the throw didn't help.
I'd been "lucky" enough to spend the past several weeks since Kaze's end in one of Trulpa's torture chambers. Anubra had happily used her whip against my bare skin (my clothes had been taken away and only returned before my "audience" with Trulpa) and Vanessa occasionally dumped strong acids on my back. I'm pretty sure that took off a few layers of skin. Hell, I was glad I was even alive.
I looked up to see Trulpa sitting like a prima donna on her throne. She sat sideways, wearing a black body suit and a red, knee length skirt. The evil Dynasty Empress I've grown to hate with a burning passion was twirling a strange, black version of the Jewel of Life around her finger. A sly grin played itself onto her blood red lips. Against her vampire pale skin, they were incredibly creepy looking. "Hello, Cye. How nice to see you."
"Really? How NOT nice to see you," I said. I know, pathetic come back, it was the best I could come up with at the time. My head was clouded over with thoughts I just couldn't organize right and I was actually considering hurling I felt so bad.
Trulpa snarled. "No matter. Warlords, you know that my latest plan requires both Torrent and the Jewel of Death," she said. She sat up and crossed one leg over the other as she leaned forward, clasping her hands together. "Do you know why?"
"No." "Not a clue." "Why?" "Does it matter?"
I stared nervously at the jewel in her hand. That must've been the Jewel of Death she spoke up. It must be some sort of an evil Jewel of Life. And knowing the power of that. . . how powerful is THAT!? "What are you going to do with that?" I asked.
"You see, Warlords, I'm sure that all of you, except Osiris, remembers one of Anubis' more prominent drunk antics, roughly seventeen years ago, correct?" she asked, sitting up. I hugged myself, knowing the story she was going to tell me.
"Yeah, he got so drunk he and this woman left the bar. It took us two hours to track them down. By then they'd streaked, had sex, and gotten a tattoo," said Dais. He sighed heavily. "It took us forever to get that horrendous thing off of him. Why is it so important?"
Trulpa stood up and stepped down to where I knelt, reaching for my chin. I tried to lash out, but Sehkment grabbed my arms and held them behind my back. She scratched my chin with one of her long fingernails, my trying to yank my head away from her. I didn't want that woman touching me! "You see, that was the night that our little Cye here was conceived."
Dais gasped, his one eye dilating. "He's Anubis' child?!" he said. "You mean Anubis and the woman conceived that night?! Anubis is a father and his son was on the opposing side?!"
"I thought he looked a little familiar," said Sehkment, looking at me in slight interest. I shook, frightened by the looks. I felt so helpless, so scared. What were they going to do to me, anyways? "So is he bait or what?"
"Not quite," said Trulpa. Her grin grew and my fear increased. She sensed this and laughed. She then turned her attention back to her fingernails, looking them over. "Do you recall that children of armor bearers are, special?"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Dais, raising the eyebrow above his existent eye. "What makes Torrent so special, aside from the fact he's the result of a little accident Anubis had?"
I cringed at the comment, close to tears.
"Cye is the first child born to an armor bearer. No other armor bearer has ever had a child. All died before they did, most in battle. He is what is known as the Child of Destiny. This means he can not only use his own powers, but he can also use some of the Armor of Cruelty's powers."
My eyes widened. I could do that?
The Warlord of Darkness snorted a laugh. "Really? This pathetic excuse for a Ronin Warrior is the Child of Destiny?" asked Cale. "Doesn't look like much if you ask me. What's he gonna do, huh? He doesn't know how to USE any of his FATHER'S powers, now does he?"
"As he is the Child of Destiny, I can use him for my own uses," said Trulpa.
"I'm not going to do it, whatever it is. I know that Kento and Sage escaped. I know Cara has left your services. I won't do anything you say," I said. "I heard Dais talking all about it."
"I told you not to talk to Sehkment about that outside of the torture chamber!" said Osiris, yelling at Dais. The Warlord of Illusion recoiled at the sudden snap. "THIS is the very reason why!"
"Oh shut up, we'll find a way to get him to do what we want," said Cale.
"I know you won't work for me without a little, magical persuasion," said Trulpa. She then took the Jewel of Death and grasped it in her hand. "One of you hand me his armor orbe." Osiris tossed it over. She caught it and kept her attention on the blonde Dark Warlord. "Osiris, I also need some sort of an element from your armor. Preferably a weapon of some sort."
"What are you doing?" I asked. Osiris produced a whip very similar to the one Anubra used in addition to her chain and sickle. "Haven't I been whipped enough already!?"
As I expected, she pretty much ignored my comment. "Excellent," said Trulpa. She laid my armor orbe and the whip on the ground before me. She held up the Jewel of Death and began to chant something in an ancient tongue I didn't understand. As she spoke I began to feel sick. I watched helplessly as my armor orbe and the whip lifted into the air, levitating before the jewel. Trulpa snickered. The Jewel of Death began to glow and I screamed.