Charisma lay passively under her quilt, she was sure that if a whole tribe of Atribos came storming in her room ready to kill her she couldn't muster the strength of the will even to fight back. Fury leaving had drained her of everything. She didn't know what date or time it was and she no longer cared, all that mattered was that she had lost something that she could never get back, something so real it could not be conjured by magic or mischief, no power in the world could capture it or hold it by force. She had lost so much.
Trust, delicate and essential and love, strong and eternal that had been so elusive through all these many years she had lived, she had found it. She had destroyed it.
"Charisma!"
Charisma didn't fold back the duvet to look at Kiara and Blaze crowding the bedroom door, she closed her eyes tight and wished for them to leave, she almost managed it but her powers and strength depleted by her lack of enthusiasm for once allowed the girls combined to be stronger and though their forms wavered a little, they managed to stay where they were.
"What do you want?" Charisma groaned, not caring.
"The vortex has opened."
It was Blaze's voice and Charisma sat bolt up right in bed. "What?" she whispered in disbelief, Blaze nodded her face a picture of fright she was visibly shaking.
"The vortex opened last night over in the middle east, right in the middle of a battle field. Took out American and Iraqi alike," Kiara paused and took a breath, her face was milky white, a shade paler then the silver of the moon. She was terrified but pressed her lips together firmly. "The Atribos have sent through their assassins, Cartha isn't strong enough to come through yet, he knows Sabine fights for us this time. But they've sent through at least a hundred, maybe a few less. Charisma, we're at war again."
Charisma flashed herself to their side, already kitted out in her battle attire, "lets go," she said steadily, then flashed herself to Ildiar.
Fury watched the shadows move across curtained windows of Charisma's apartment, he saw the outline of three women standing, which he was happy about because he would not tolerate a man near her no matter what mood he was in.
It was simply instinct that he was unable to leave his mate, so he watched from afar, angry at himself, angry at her, he kicked out at the wall in front of him but only succeeded in adding a physical pain to go with all the others.
His thoughts were swirling in his mind, he needed to sort them out, he needed to think ….
Damn it! He thought spinning on his heel and making his way towards Vane's house where he intended to stay the night, then remembered he had to go to his pack, who were already pissed that he had left for three nights. He let loose a howl and flashed himself to his pack just as Charisma flashed herself to Ildiar.
Charisma wore a long white dress this time with bell sleeves made of white lace her hair was down around her face, all around her they wore white, even Sabine for once upheld a rule she regularly broke. They stood at their seats for a moment, while Sabine stood in the centre, then sat and she began to speak in a low hypnotic tone, too beautiful to be ignored.
"The Atribos have found you, they are now in this world and looking for you," Sabine stated, her tone itself was quite emotionless.
"We must run!" Celeste cried, she turned her terrified eyes on her husband Leo, who held her hand tightly. "We aren't yet strong enough to do battle and win!' - she turned her eyes imploringly on Rage - 'please for my children, we must run!"
"Your not the only one with children, Celeste!" Pride spat and he leant forward resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, he spoke through his fingers. "What can we do?"
"Do you plan to run?" Sabine asked with a dark smile though it showed no real amusement, Bane and Rage both growled at her.
"You dare to insinuate us as being cowards!" Bane roared, "You know nothing of what we have suffered! You know nothing -"
Sabine turned her eyes upon him and for once there was no cold indifference, no wry amusement or sardonic laughter but pure hot venom, Bane's voice faltered and he took a step back as a slight wind picked up and the ends of Sabine's long hair began to twist themselves in to tight curls.
"Sabine!" Rage barked and the wind died instantly, her form wavered. "No, don't leave us!"
Rage's voice was for the first time panicked, he reached out a hand though he was too far away to touch her, not that he could not stop her even if he were close enough. "We need you!"
Sabine solidified and rubbed her hands over her face, her hair once more straight as rain.
"You need to fight," she spoke softly, but all heard and all wished they hadn't.
"I suppose it is an easy thing to say for one such as you!" Nitia sneered and Sabine just gave a hollow laugh.
"Doing the right thing is never easy, you of all would not know that! For you, Nitia, have never done the right or honourable thing," Sabine's voice though even and having no real heat rocked everyone around, her words were impossible not to hear and it made a few of them cringe. "None of you have ever done the right thing' - she looked at them all in turn, though her eyes lingered more on the guilty - "In our time and in our world our God's and Goddesses are born into the body of humans, are forced to live as humans to teach them humility, to teach them compassion, to teach them responsibility!"
Sabine flicked off a finger as she listed the lessons, her voice gathering volume, it was relentless and it pushed down on them like bricks on their conscience.
"So you know how to judge right from wrong and act on it instead of selfish desires! You have the power to protect and the power to destroy, your decisions and actions have cosmic effects. If you leave and run thousands of innocents will die as the Atribos lay waste to the earth in search of you. If you do not act upon what you have been taught, on those lessons so deeply ingrained in you from your human childhoods then you are no better then the Atribos that thrive on destruction and live for desire and power!"
Her speech ended leaving a ringing silence around the hall, Sabine was breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed with her passion. No one spoke, no one wanted to be the first to voice what they knew must happen, had Sabine not been here the rest of the Gods and Goddesses save a few may have been able to pack up and flee but Sabine was like a mirror forcing them to see themselves and all their faults, it was one of the reasons she was so hated.
"Choose then," Sabine whispered, "You have a day."
And she spun around and began to walk into the mist beyond the council hall, Charisma followed her.
The mist was thick but easy enough to see through as a God, she cut through it and followed her sister's path until she found her looking out on to a clear landscape, with rolling hills, snow capped mountains and purple moors that moved restlessly under the frantic play of the shooting stars.
"Will you stay if they run?" Charisma asked knowing the answer already but wanting to hear Sabine voice it.
"Yes. I won't see innocents die simply because your family are too cowardly and weak!" Sabine was rarely outwardly angry, she tended to show her emotions through her turbulent powers but never in her voice or face.
"Your family too, Sabine," Charisma reminded her quietly.
"Ha!" she huffed out a sardonic laugh, "they stopped being my family a long time ago. You are my family," she sent Charisma a warm look. "You and Blaze, Kiara and Keira and Odette and even Celeste when she isn't so wrapped up in trying to be 'human'."
Charisma grinned, their sister Celeste had been on a quest since she had reached her godhood to live as human a life as possible and shunned her sisters to achieve this, though when needed she rose to the occasion wonderfully.
Sabine breathed in the cold night air, then exhaled with her eyes closed, her features were once more serene and her mood and therefore her powers balanced. She turned to Charisma and her eyes were glowing green, Charisma raised an eyebrow.
"Showing off again, sister?" she teased and Sabine let her eyes fade back to grey before she shrugged and tucked her arm into Charisma's, they began to walk. Through the years of war with the Atribos, her brothers and sisters had been forced to accept Sabine, her knowledge and power was one of the only things that were holding Cartha and the rest of his rebel army back. Charisma had always been her second in command, Sabine had not accepted anyone else, it was a show of loyalty that Charisma had never forgotten.
"You've argued with your wolf, Teva." Charisma smiled at one of the pet names Sabine had given her as a child, it meant nature. Then she grumbled.
"How do you know?"
"Because I know everything. I'd rather you tell me then have me flaunt my wisdom again," Sabine said pointedly.
"Wisdom my ass, your just nosy," she muttered but proceeded to tell Sabine everything, it felt like she was reciting some Greek tragedy as she explained about Fury's deep mistrust of anyone and how she had unintentionally abused said trust when it had been so cautiously given.
When she stopped she looked to Sabine for answers, wanting comfort and solutions, Sabine looked pensive for a moment and then shrugged nonchalantly.
"He'll come around."
"That's it?" Charisma said incredulously, "that's all your going to say?"
"What else can I say? I mean right now we have a war on our backdoor and we have to hide Blaze because she's too young to fight -"
"She won't like that," Charisma remarked sullenly.
"And your pregnant so really haven't got time to coddle him at the moment."
Charisma whipped her head around so fast to look at Sabine her neck cricked, she massaged it while eyeing her sister with a dark frown furrowing her brow.
"I hope your joking!" she growled, her face suddenly very reminiscent of the wolf of whom she regularly changed into and was incidentally, ironically her favourite animal.
"I don't have a sense of humour. According to Kiara," she added and then gave Charisma a grin.
"Your going to be a mummy," there was something almost wistful in her eyes and voice and if Charisma had not been feeling shock waves go through her which radiated throughout Ildiar, she would have seen it.
"No, no, no!" she muttered her head in her hands. "This can't be happening to me!"
She continued to shake her head and it was only when Sabine, her voice gentle and genuinely amused asked, "is it so bad?"
Did Charisma look up and having no other course of action in mind laughed, what else could she possibly do as under shock and terror was a blossoming feeling of joy and hope. She laughed until tears rolled from her eyes. Sabine simply slung a arm around her shoulders and led her away from the cliff's edge and to steps that led up to a bedroom, that looked more like a majestic conservatory. Its pillars were made of pure gold encrusted with rubies, it was flashy and gaudy to Charisma's eye but it had a bed so she looked past that.
The bed was huge and circular and feather soft, Sabine guided a shell shocked, half laughing half hiccupping Charisma on to it.
"I think it's best if I stay here until we finish business," Charisma informed her sister decisively. "I'm not sure how he would react if I told him and I'm not sure how I'd react if I saw him, so all in all its probably best. Not that he's wanting to see me anytime soon."
"What fools these immortals be," Sabine sighed softly and shook her head whilst she gently smoothed blond locks back from Charisma's forehead. "Be ready to fight, Charisma."
And with that she left.
Charisma lay down upon the bed with her hand resting on her stomach, dreaming simple dreams that always ended with the Atribos hurting the people she loved.