I tried to pull away from his touch, but not with much effort. I looked up to catch his eyes and showed him the battle. He pulled me into his warm embrace and held me for a while. I didn’t cry, but his warmth filled me, and I felt more whole than I had in centuries. When I pulled out of his arms, we were both glowing slightly.
The swirling fire traveled to find her heart, shining through the dark cavities of her body. Shadows danced against her scaly skin as her spindly veins reached out, grasping at their life source.
I placed my hands on the smooth scales of Sayeh’s back and took a deep breath. As I let it out, I tried to call back the stone that ran over her body, but it resisted. I pulled harder, fighting against an unseen force. Her body had been wrapped in the stone for too long, and it didn’t want to let go.
Reacting to the flame’s loss, several geysers burst open at once, raising the temperature within to melting point. Thunder and rumbling reverberated off the walls. Cracks grew across the bridge and the ceiling as liquid earth simmered and roiled around us.
I heard the sound of my heart shattering, taking with it the last glint of hope. I fell to my knees, letting out a howl from the depth of my soul. Selene cradled me in her arms as we rocked back and forth together. Sayeh was lost to me forever.
I opened the folder. On top was a contract. I scanned it and a few words stood out. Proprietary…holder…board voted…Nike of Olympus will now be the legal blah blah blah of Dark Sparks. My eyes grew wide as I scanned the document again before looking up at him. “Dad, seriously? You’re giving me the company?”
The bane of a curse affects both the bearer and the one who laid it. It is too much of a burden to bear. Equivalent to burning yourself to spark the fire of destruction.
“And if you don’t, then not only do I lose you forever, but I will have to live the rest of my immortal life with the weight of your death through my hands!” Selene paced back and forth on the shore.
I turned to leave as a cool breeze blew through the cave with a haunting howl, sending a violent shudder through me. The curse. The curse is now mine to bear, I thought as I made my way back up and out of the cavern.
As I retreated from her, I heard her dying breath curse the pearl. That anyone who possessed her precious gem shall perish. The curse would remain until it was returned to her.
Quietly, I walked through the graveyard and looked at the old and crumbling headstones. Leave it to the pirates to have the most interesting names. Honestly, I was surprised that there weren’t any Seymore-Butts…oh, wait, nevermind. There it is.
They still saw the illusion, and I had a feeling no matter how many times they walked across the bridge, they’d end up at the beginning. “You have to trust me. I think this is part of a test. We have to trust each other and have enough faith to get through each challenge.”
It was me, my flawed pride, the force that burned and destroyed everything in its wake. I’ve become the largest danger and the greatest enemy of those I was born to protect
You’re supposed to be the steady one, the one who dreams. But in those dreams, you’re focusing your attention on improving the world, and the heavens above. Heavenly spirit. Anime mundi…the world soul.
I looked into the pool at the reflected moon and caught my face looking back at me. Darkened over and cold, I realized what must change…me. I closed my eyes and exhaled, a cold breath of air rushed out in a cloud. I have a home, a family. They are here with me.
