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Chapter 2
- Dance Apollo
Music exalts each joy, allays each grief,
Expels diseases, softens every pain;
And hence the wise of ancient days adored
One power of physic, melody, and song.
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Leaving campus was the easy part. Nobody really expected delinquents at Sevens,
so they weren't looked for. Not to mention that Tatsuya was becoming something
of an old hand at it.
Thankfully he was a senior, so none of the teachers questioned him for walking
in the halls during lunch. The front door wouldn't be open during the school
day, but the exit to the courtyard was unlocked and from there he only had to
skirt around the back to the parking lot.
He hurried across the lot to his motorbike. He was anxious to get home quickly
and change out of his uniform. He slipped on his helmet and shot out down the
road lined with soft orange leaves. As he rode, he thought about taking the
night off to spend some time at the Zodiac. He smiled into the wind and
accelerated, leaving a flurry of fallen leaves in the narrow wake of his bike.
His place was only a few blocks north of the river and it didn't take him long
to get there. Gravel crunched under the wheels of his bike as he walked it into
the small garage where he lived. The mechanics that owned the lot were friends
of his, and they let him stay there in exchange for help on the weekends. It
wasn't much, but it was better than home.
He ran his fingers through his hair as the steel door shut heavily behind him.
He tugged at his tie and unbuttoned his jacket, tossing them both into a heap
on the floor. Light streamed though two small chain link windows and heated up
the small room. He fell onto his cot with a sigh, throwing a fine cloud of dust
into the air.
He draped one arm over his eyes, and despite the heat he eventually dozed. It
was dark when he woke up again. He sat upright and rubbed his eyes. How long
was I asleep? He stood and walked to the window, reaching up to lace his
fingers through the links. Pink clouds tickled the horizon and the sky was
still a dim shade of blue.
Tatsuya turned and stripped out of the remainder of his uniform. He fished
around in his bag and came up with a black shirt and jeans. He shook the dust
out of them and pulled them on, then scrubbed his face at the industrial sink
in the corner. Good enough, he thought, and walked out the door.
The evening air was surprisingly cool, and a light breeze ruffled his hair as
he walked out his bike. The roads were quiet and he made good time, whistling
idly under his breath while he rode. The stars were coming out by the time he
arrived at the club.
Every time he came to the Zodiac he was surprised by the contrast between it
and the outside world. Where outside it was cool and calm, inside it was warm
and stuffy. The walls seemed soft and thick and the air was laced with smoke
and perfume. He braced himself as he crossed the dark threshold into the
building.
The music was the first thing to hit his senses. The bass throbbed dully
through the floor and the treble line felt disjointed, surreal. He nodded his
head to it and made his way through the entryway to the table area. He pulled a
chair aside and sat down, leaning back against the wall, half hidden in
shadows.
He watched. The crowd was still thin, but he could see that some people had
already gotten caught up in it, had become absorbed by the music and the
atmosphere of the club. He watched as it slowly percolated, simmering quietly
as more and more people trickled onto the floor. He watched as a group of girls
moved together, their bangles sparking in the fragmented light, eyes closed
against the sound and the fury. He watched as the throng of people grew and
pulsed, the music deepening as it wrapped itself around them. He followed them
with his eyes until he felt that if he didn't cling to his seat he would be
sucked in too and lose himself entirely.
This was the part that he lived for. This was his moment of rapture, his moment
of living.
"It's just about reached critical, don't you think?" a voice spoke
softly from the shadows next to him.
He jumped, broken from his reverie. He looked up sharply. Squinting, he could
make out the silhouette of a woman wreathed in smoke. The end of her cigarette
flared red in the darkness.
"You have me mistaken," he said, and got up to leave. A strong hand
gripped his arm and pulled him back. Irritated, he turned to face her.
"Now listen -"
He trailed off, taken aback. Two deep, dark green eyes held him transfixed as
their owner smiled wryly. "All this living energy, all these people suspended
in the music, in the frenzy... can you feel it?" The corners of her lips
curled up slightly. "Isn't it simply delicious? Doesn't it just make you
feel alive?"
Tatsuya just stared at her, his eyes tracing the line of her hair down to her
jaw, then to her neck and shoulders. He couldn't tell what she was wearing – it
seemed like she was clothed in darkness itself and her bare skin shone in stark
contrast. She pulled on his arm and a sudden panic washed through him.
"Who are you?" he asked slowly. He wanted to move, to run, but his
arms and legs felt too slow and heavy. "Who... are you?" The music
seemed to grow louder as the crowd of dancers thickened.
The woman turned her head and laughed quietly, flicking her cigarette to the
ground. "Call me Laurel," she said. A soft, sinister melody tinkled
in her voice and Tatsuya closed his eyes, tried to shut it out. He felt her
draw close and a peculiar warmth spread across his
skin. She touched his arm lightly and walked her hand to his shoulder, then his
cheek. "Why don't you dance with me?" she said, nudging him towards
the crowd. "Won't that be fun?"
He stiffened. It was all he could do to hold his body in place as something
deep inside him warned, don't go with her. Don't go with her. Don't go -
The woman - Laurel - leaned towards him. Her breath trembled in his ear and she
murmured, "Dance with me, Apollo."
Tatsuya's strength flooded back in that moment and he sprang back, slapping her
hand away. His vision swam and the music thundered in his ears. No... The
woman's expression changed from surprise to anger, and he felt a strange fear
swell in his chest. She's not human, he thought suddenly. In his mind a
thousand clamoring voices diminished to one. RUN!
He felt unexpected lightness rush through his legs and he took off faster than
he would have thought possible. The crowd ebbed around him as he ran and he
made it to the entryway unchallenged. When he looked back, he saw no sign of
the woman save for a slight shimmer in the air. By the time he opened the door
and stumbled out onto the street, it was gone.
The fresh air hit him hard. He took a few deep breaths and ran his fingers
through his hair. What just happened? He rubbed his eyes until blotches of
light appeared behind his eyelids. Am I dreaming? He slumped against the wall,
breathing in and out slowly until he felt calm enough to drive.
After a minute had passed Tatsuya got on his bike and took off. He set out for
home, but when he passed the park he felt a strange pull and he turned off of
the road. It seemed harmless enough; two old-fashioned lamps lit the area dimly
and the place was empty save for a lone car with steamed-up windows.
He parked his bike in the low grass and walked towards a tall oak tree. He sat
and leaned his back against it as he looked up to the sky, watching the stars
filter through the gently waving leaves.
It wasn't long before he felt himself drifting again, although the feeling was
somewhat different than sleep.
He dreamt that he was walking along a rough cliff that overlooked a dark gray
sea. A single tree grew there, its roots gnarled and tangled in the rocky soil.
He approached it and touched the trunk lightly with the tips of his fingers. It
comforted him.
Someone spoke behind him. "That's a very special tree."
Tatsuya turned, alarmed. "Who's there?"
A young man stood there, calmly regarding him. Below them the sea rolled
against the cliff, and Tatsuya found himself staring into his own face.
"You're me," he said in an oddly quiet voice.
The young man smiled warmly. "You're half right. I am Apollo, but here I
am also an aspect of you, a persona." He waved one arm. "This place
is your doing."
Tatsuya slumped against the tree. "So I'm dreaming?"
"You might say that." Apollo's face wavered slightly, as though Tatsuya
were looking through a heat-haze. "Although I am always with you, even
when you're awake."
"What does that mean?"
Apollo crossed his arms and looked out to the sea. "Think of a mirror.
When you look into a mirror, you see an image of yourself. That's what I am
right now; just a reflection." He turned back to face Tatsuya. "But
when you called on me today, I passed through the mirror to join you in my own
form. I was no longer simply a reflection of you. I was my own self, and I was
able to lend my strength to you."
Tatsuya was silent for a long moment. "So that was you in the
nightclub."
Apollo nodded. "I gave you the strength to resist her and the speed to run
away. That woman is very dangerous. To both of us."
Tatsuya looked up sharply. "So you know who she is?"
"She is..." he paused, as if deliberating on the words. "She is
a living shadow, a kind of demon that reflects something dark inside your own
heart."
Tatsuya shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. I didn't recognize
her."
Apollo's eyes darkened. "I did." He was silent then, and Tatsuya
watched as he walked in some long-lost memory. After a few minutes he shook his
head and spoke. "The shadow-woman must have felt me in you, and couldn't
resist the opportunity to test her own strength."
He smiled wryly. "You are lucky that she did. Had she targeted you, I
might not have been able to help. As it was, she underestimated both of
us."
Tatsuya looked down, lost in thought. A persona... it gives me strength. Why
does it all feel so familiar?
He looked up suddenly. "Apollo, have we - "
Apollo smiled then, a little sadly, and turned away. "We've
met before," he said quietly, and then he melted into the mist.
"Wait!" Tatsuya jumped up to follow him, but as he ran through the
mists they just grew denser and denser until he was lost.
He woke, cold and shivering, his clothes damp with dew
and his head still full of questions.
