by Kristen Day
"Conquer does not equal violence." Natasha smiled appreciatively at her. "Just as all descendants, they have weaknesses. It's a matter of exploiting those weaknesses and breaking their chant. They are not warriors, nor are they fighters. They are young people just like yourselves, who were taken from this earth too early. They are being controlled by Nadia."
"What happened to them?" Ruby asked.
"Nadia happened," I growled. "You may have heard of her. She's the Reaper. She's supposed to collect ghosts and bring them to the Underworld, but instead she likes to steal them for her own selfish agenda. She's Persephone's daughter and Princess of the Underworld." The Captains sucked in a collective gasp and several of their faces drained of blood.
"She...stole their souls?" Oliver gaped with horror.
"She is the guilty party, along with Selene," Natasha clarified. "The witches and their souls are innocent, and they are to be treated as such."
"So what's the plan?" Vette pressed.
"I'll teach you your own chant; something that you'll be able to use against them. If done correctly, it will render them useless to Nadia's demands. They will be, for lack of a better word, frozen."
"Right on," Oliver celebrated.
"I want you all to gather around and face Sebastian," Natasha instructed them. They did as she instructed with the exception of Ruby, who would not be making the trip to the island. They looked to Natasha patiently once they gathered into a semi-circle. "It's a very simple chant, however you'll need to focus your essence - your heightened essence - to make it successful."
She pointed to Sebastian with a mischievous smile. "Sebastian is going to be our guinea pig."
"Oink, oink," he said with a laugh. I wanted to hug him, he was so cute. But I didn't. I had a reputation to uphold.
"Being deceased, technically, he'll be a good person to test this out on. Granted, he's been drinking elixir and will be much stronger than the witches, but we'll have to make do."
"Feel free to freeze his mouth so he can't talk," I added for good measure.
"When I say the chant, I want you to repeat it, but in a very low voice. The words don't have to be heard, simply spoken. You don't want to draw attention while on the beach." She squared her shoulders and the Captains followed suit, awaiting the chant.
"By all the powers of land and sea, be obedient unto me. By fire, well, and sacred tree, stillness reigns, so mote it be."
The Captains began repeating the chant; hesitantly at first, and then with more confidence and force. I could feel the coolness of their essences surging and joining, but when I glanced over at Sebastian he was still sitting there with a smug smile on his face.
"Open your body to the other essences you're beginning to sense around you," Natasha advised them. "Don't try to control it or direct it right now. Just let it flow through you."
As they continued chanting, I noticed they appeared to be putting themselves in a trancelike state. Natasha smiled with approval and sent a warning glance towards Sebastian. He winked at her and propped his leg up; unfazed.
"Now open your eyes and concentrate all of your thoughts, all of your energy, and all of your intention on Sebastian."
The only sound that could be heard in the room was the whispered chants of the Captains and my own breathing as I waited for something to happen. A muffled yelp sounded from Sebastian's suddenly restricted throat as his foot stopped tapping and his eyes darted around the room with panic. I placed a hand over my mouth when I realized it was working.
"Well done!" Natasha applauded them. "Now release him by bringing your essence back to the circle, and then back into your bodies." As they followed her instructions and celebrated innocently, Sebastian's body jerked into motion and he stood with calculating, dangerous eyes trained on the five Captains. Natasha took notice.
"It's okay, dear." Natasha scrambled to her feet and placed a hand on Sebastian's chest with gentleness. "You're alright."
"What's wrong?" I moved towards him and saw that his muscles were tensed and ready to fight. Natasha held me back and I watched her take his hand carefully.
"Don't do that again," he cautioned her almost robotically, clearly having trouble restraining himself from his instincts. He looked like he was in shock, and I could tell it was taking a lot of effort for him to control his emotions.
"It is not a show of your weakness," she soothed him further. "It is simply a side effect of being dead. Nothing more." His wide blue eyes searched hers and his body slowly relaxed. After several moments, he was able to scan the room without murdering anyone. His eyes found mine and softened inexplicably. I stepped closer and took his hand.
"I don't like being vulnerable," he explained, ashamed of his strong reaction. "That was...that was weird."
As Natasha walked back to the Captains, I wrapped my arms around him. The pounding of his heart in his chest and the shallowness of his breathing let me know he wasn't in the clear just yet. I took his arm and brought him back to sit on the couch with me.
"My first reaction was to kill them." He blinked quickly and looked at me with alarm. "Whatever they did touched on something that I didn't know was in there."
"It's just instinct," I told him. "You're a warrior. Vulnerable isn't a place you like to be."
He nodded in agreement but remained deep in thought. I turned my attention back to Natasha, who was addressing the Captains once more.
"I want you to do the same thing on that beach," Natasha instructed them closely. "But on a much broader scale. When you have more elixir in you, it will come naturally. You will spread out along the beach and focus on a section of the witches. With five of you, you should easily reach them all."
STASIA
The knowledge of my death wilted over me with dark promise. Like a stalking raven circling her prey, I felt as if my destiny was watching me. Waiting. A funny thing happens when you have nothing to lose. A clarity presents itself as those things you used to deem important suddenly become expendable. Those things you thought you'd never have to think about sneak into your thoughts and you find yourself thinking only of others; those who will continue living without you.
When your own needs, wants, and hopes are no longer part of the equation, decisions become much more black and white. There is no time for gray. That polarizing perspective was surprisingly refreshing, and an odd, calming feeling urged me into a place of acceptance and contentment. It allowed me to see the world for what it truly was; not what I wanted it to be or what I thought it should be, but exactly what it was. No intentions. No motives.
The ocean I was cruising through asked nothing of its inhabitants and demanded no calculation of scores. It was a simple balance of displacement and energy. The ocean never rejected any being; it welcomed it with open arms and accommodated it in every way possible. It healed. It gave life. It recycled our essence and kept us alive. And for once, the ocean needed our help. It was our turn to give back and protect her.
I took a deep breath of water and glanced up at the four figures swimming up on the surface. We were headed towards the island, our bodies full of elixir and frayed nerves. Avery, Carmen, and Phoebe gladly agreed to accompany me and Sebastian onto the island near the glass house in an effort to find Selene. Olivia and the Captains were on their way to the other side of the island, while Natasha would transfer Finn and his Paradigms once Sebastian gave the signal.
The warm colors of sunset blanketed the horizon and filtered into the ocean at large. The darkening light felt like a curtain call; a last act to a life I never would have imagined, and it had all culminated into this moment. I could only hope I was successful. There were too many people depending on me to fail, so I had to do everything in my power to make this right.
The ocean's song began growing in intensity as we approached the crux, as well as the island. I could see its rotation in the distance and kicked to the surface to join the others. Whatever Selene was planning, she hadn't started yet. But I knew it was only a matter of time.
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"Nice of you to join us." Carmen smiled at me between strokes. Sebastian headed the group with Phoebe and Avery flanking him, while Carmen brought up the rear. I fell into stride next to her and took a moment to enjoy the serene calm of the water flowing over my skin and the light showering down upon us.
We quickly reached the rocky base of the island's cliffs and crawled up a less daunting boulder within an eddy, of sorts. The towering wall of rock was intimidating at best, and I saw Carmen and Phoebe exchange worried glances. With a calculating gaze, Sebastian summed up our options and found a section that would provide the path of least resistance. Unfortunately, that wasn't saying much.
"Follow me," Sebastian directed us. The sun's still glow graced the top of the cliff, but had already deserted this side of the island as it wandered beneath the horizon to our northwest. I remained at the back of our group in an effort to keep everyone safe. With our bodies buzzing with elixir, we were able to climb across the boulder yard pretty quickly. The wall Sebastian was now climbing up would be another beast altogether.
Then I remembered. He was Sebastian. As he ascended, small blocks of rock began to displace and protrude willingly, creating an upward path of perfectly placed hand and footholds. Avery began her descent when Sebastian was several yards above our heads, hanging onto the side of the rock wall with ease. Every so often he would hang on by one arm and look down at our progress.
"I think I'm going to throw up." Phoebe stared up at Sebastian and Avery with terror in her sage eyes. They searched mine with desperation. "Don't let me fall."
"I'll catch you if you do," I assured her; masking my own nerves all the while the people who were the most important to me put their lives in danger.
"You can do it, Phoebs." Carmen wrapped a comforting arm around her. "Just pretend you're a spider. And don't look down."
"You're going next," Phoebe informed Carmen as she watched Avery slowly make her way up the wall. "I want Stasia right behind me."
"You mean you don't trust me to catch you?" Carmen feigned hurt feelings.
"Not with those puny arms." Phoebe grinned at her.
"Fair enough." Carmen laughed. "See you at the top." She turned and gripped the first of the handholds, lifted her body upward, and then found a foothold; mirroring Sebastian and Avery's path. The ocean behind us battered the boulders as the wind changed directions with a vengeance. Up above Carmen, Avery pulled her body against the cliff and closed her eyes as a gust of wind flew up the wall and wrapped around the three of them.
"You're up, spider woman," I prompted Phoebe. I was itching to get off the side of the rock wall where we were so vulnerable. She wrapped her fingers around the first handhold with apprehension but lifted herself up and began to climb. With each step, her trembling legs became a little more stable and her confidence grew. After she was a couple steps away, I started the climb myself. The handholds were scraggly and perfect for gripping, and I found myself moving up the wall pretty quickly. Up above, Sebastian had already disappeared onto the top of the cliff and was helping Avery up onto solid ground.
The wind picked up once more as I continued my rise and I could hear Phoebe talking to herself above me. Her foot slipped slightly on her next step and she plastered herself against the wall in fear, unmoving.
"You got this!" I tried to soothe her. "Just one step at a time! I'm right below you! You're doing awesome!"
She peered down at me with doubt before closing her eyes and giving herself a silent pep talk. She glanced upward once more and slowly began to climb again. I noticed the ocean's song wane momentarily before a slight aching in my head pulled at my concentration. Something was happening. We needed to hurry.
"I need you to climb as fast as you can, Phoebe!" I called up to her. Carmen was now almost to the top and gaining speed.
"I'm trying!" she shouted back at me with frustration. We continued climbing in what felt like slow motion as I fought against the pain radiating through my skull. A wail louder than I'd ever heard echoed from the depths of the ocean and sliced through my entire body, causing me to scream out in pain. I tucked my face into the crook of my arm to muffle any sound, but I was having trouble keeping myself upright. The world tilted and my head exploded as the wailing rained down on me in earnest.
"Stasia!" I heard someone bellow.
"I'm...fine!" I squawked. "Keep moving!"
I was definitely not fine, but I had to work through it. I couldn't allow Selene's actions to incapacitate me further. I had to find a way to block it out or filter it away from me. Nothing I tried helped though, and the pain continued; wave after wave assaulting my essence. My arms began to shake as my muscles strained from the agony and the increasingly difficult task of holding my own weight.
Phoebe was almost to the top of the cliff and I could just see Sebastian's arms held out in anticipation. I concentrated on breathing and not falling, but the wailing only got louder. A fresh echo of pain ricocheted through me and I screamed out in pain again with my forehead pressed against the wall. I could feel my body weakening dramatically and I fought to uncork the vial around my neck. I was able to hold on with one hand and pour several drops down my throat before another gust of wind tossed me to one side. Up above, Sebastian was making his way back down the cliff side toward me with urgency.
"Don't move, Stasia!" he ordered down at me. I held on until my fingers became raw and sweaty, and I felt them slip when he was only a couple of feet from me. My hands suddenly grasped air and I slid to the side, my body scraping against the wall. I reached out with both hands in a last ditch effort and felt one wrap around something solid.
Unfortunately, gravity had another idea and the force of my body falling quickly stripped my fingers from the hold and sent me tumbling downward. The world flew by me as I awaited the pain that would accompany my landing on the rocks below. I remember trying to position myself to avoid broken bones just as something caught me. My head snapped back at the sudden stop and the breath was knocked out of me.
"You should stick to the water, love," my worst nightmare sneered down at me. "Rock climbing really isn't your thing." I felt her arms tighten like a steel trap around my body and my mind reeled. Of all the things that could have happened, this was the absolute worst. My eyes focused on the cliff above where all traces of my Council and Sebastian had disappeared. I could only hope she hadn't seen them yet.
"Where's your ghostly brother?" Nadia peered down at me. "I can smell him on you."
"Screw you," I managed, only making her laugh.
"No!" Sebastian boomed from above, causing Nadia to glance up with excitement. "Speak of the devil." A cloud of her essence shot upward and gripped his body. Suddenly our surroundings were replaced with a flash of light and I felt a strange motion. The cliff and sounds of crashing waves was replaced by silence and a room of glass. She dropped me at least three feet onto the floor and I pressed my hands against the sides of my head. The wailing was so loud I thought I might throw up. Just then, another pain sliced through my head and I screamed out in pain.
I looked over at Sebastian, lying limp several feet away, and tried to reach out to him. Nadia swept an arm around the entire room and I felt the pressure change, but I didn't know what she had just done. I watched her walk up to me before she knelt down and whispered in my ear.
"Big brother's soul is mine now," she sneered. "You're next. Until then, be a good girl and stay in your room."
She kissed my cheek as I wrapped an arm around my stomach in an effort to keep my body together. The pain was unbearable. The wailing was the only thing I could concentrate on, and I barely felt the tip of Nadia's boot as she kicked me in the stomach and disappeared from the room with Sebastian.
OLIVIA
After drinking all of my elixir, the rest of Blythe's, and half of Vette's, I could finally stand without collapsing into a ball of writhing pain. The searing agony in my palm told me Stasia was in as much pain as I was. The feeling of doom that accompanied the last drop o
f elixir felt like a door slamming shut on my soul. Our choices had become glaringly narrowed: succeed or die.
The wavering sun dipped below the horizon in the west, taking with it clear skies and calm seas. A storm was building; casting another precarious shade of gray onto our situation. The wind added its own soundtrack as it whirled in and around the ridge. The tall grass we crouched in bent over in waves, allowing me to rest before we descended upon the beach.
The side of the island that we had just scaled sloped upward more gradually than the opposite, rocky side that faced the monolith. It took us longer than I'd hoped, but we successfully made it onto the ridgeline without incident. However, that would be the easiest feat. The ultimate test was coming up next. Not only did I need to camouflage the entire group to ensure we went unnoticed on our way down to the beach below, but there was the small task of simply accessing the beach. I was hoping it would be as simple as stepping down upon the sand or being blocked by an unknown wall, but we wouldn't know until we reached it.
I squeezed my palm closed and scanned the surreal island that stretched out before us. If not for the deadly crux, a circle of chanting witches, and an evil moon Goddess, it would make a fabulous vacation spot. Three figures were visible on the opposite ridge, however, it appeared that the witches were the only ones wreaking havoc on the whirlpool at that moment. They stood silently with their arms outstretched and their faces to the sky. I could see their mouths moving but I couldn't hear a word.
The knowledge that Sebastian would soon be giving us the signal made me scramble to my feet. The stabbing sensation continued to torture my stomach and the debilitating wailing still bounced around in my head, but we had to move.
"Don't even take a step until I say the word," I warned the five Captains, who were gathered around me with focused expressions. The mixture of concentration, elation, and untethered eagerness in their expressions sent my adrenaline flowing. There was no fear in their eyes. No apprehension. Only intent. We definitely made the right choice in bringing them along. "You are all tremendous fighters. Any Paladin would be proud to have you by their side."
