Rapture Chapter 6

Rapture 6
Chapter 6

I was at the door to our house, about to leave when Lucia spoke up.

"Where are you going?"

I was going to go study with a friend from class since I was doing horrible in our math class but I didn't want to appear weak before her.

"I'm going out."

"Where?" She asked

"Does it matter?"

"Is it a girl?" She continued.

"What!?" My anger began to boil.

"I'll take that as a 'yes' since you didn't say 'no'".

I clenched my fist, it felt like I was back in the arena being cornered by an opponent's words. I fired back, "Like you care. I am just another one of your play things!"

She stood up from her desk, "How dare you!"

I opened the door with such force that it almost broke. I took one step before she yelled.

"Stop!" I did. "Stay here with me instead."

She was as bad at math as I was and I didn't really want her help-it defeated the purpose of studying. But I was tired of the raging torrent of emotions bruising my insides; my anger, my love, my feeling of betrayal from her. Betrayal for being locked in a cage with her suffering.  All of it was too much so I suppressed all of them, it was the only way to win. Turn off my emotions and try to do as she told me: just like in the Spell Duels.

I asked in a monotone voice, "Is that an order?"

"Yes. You should forget whoever you are going to meet and stay with me." Her tone was softer.

"If it is an order, you should say it like it is an order." I said over my shoulder.

"You will stay here with me, understood?" She demanded.

"Yes ma'am!" I turned and went back into the house. Closed the door and blocked out the sound of the rain and the rest of the world. As Lucia sat back down in her seat I sat on the floor infront of her and placed my head in her lap. She caressed my hair and whispered sweetly, "I lost you once, I can't lose you again. I have to protect you..."

She continued, "I'll make sure you never leave again."

I hide my flinch from her. The worse thing you could do to an animal was cage it and then prode it-human or otherwise.

"Stay here and talk with me." She mused.

Everything I had was already locked down inside, all that was left was my will to fight. And besides, part of me would have rathered practiced military strategy like the Myrmidons had taught me rather than do mathematics-if I stayed I could do that. 

The week rushed by like I was caught in a stream. That stream ended when we were at the Coliseum again. The Olympian there that day was addressing the audience, getting them excited for the championship match but his voice could not reach me. My insides were so torn and twisted from the lashing of my emotions that I stood there numb.

The only voice that reached me was that of Lucia.

"Ready?"

I snapped out of my little trance and realized that a woman had walked out on the opposite side of the coliseum. I wondered where her Guardian was, but I simply looked back at Lucia and confirmed, "ready."

Lucia asked the woman with long black hair, "where is your fighter? Or are you the Sacrifice?"

The woman had a cloth tied across her eyes and hair that reflected all the light that touched it-like a river of obsidian.  Her voice was strangely masculine, "I am both."

"Don't lie to us," Lucia warned.

The strange woman explained, "What is there to lie about? I am two souls: male and female in one body. We are literally one. Two souls, one body. Simultaneously Guardian and Sacrifice. We are Ganymede. "

I looked back to Lucia and she looked as confused as I felt, I had never heard of such Soul Magic before.

Ganymede smiled as she called upon her True Name: "I soar like the heavenward eagle: in pure bliss. I am the cup bearer of my Zeus. We are one like a constellation: eternal. Immortal in each other's minds. We are Ganymede!"

"She's beginning. Don’t go easy on her, trust me-she is dangerous." Lucia informed me.

"We are Brightstar. We are Hope. A reason to breath. Our soul shines so bright that it illuminates all darkness." Lucia and spoke together.

The light of the gods filled all of us in the pit of the coliseum. The collective light was so intense that I couldn't tell whose bond was stronger.

Ganymede was the first to attack, "rain-fall, like a hundred thousand needles. Pin these beautiful butterflies to the dirt from which they were born."

Countlesss needles descended upon us, each one causing a new, deeper pain than the last. I fell to my knees as my body was overwhelmed with the flood of agony.  Ganymede was so fast, I didn't have time to turn and draw strength from my love directly. I closed my eyes for a second and there was her face.

"These wings soar on the harsh winds that bring storms- lightning crash down!" I spat.

Clouds began to swirl together in darkness above Ganymede's head. However, she countered quickly, "Negated, your winds only move at the speed of zero."

"Numbers?" Lucia pondered out loud.

It was then I noticed it as well, the opponent had a habit of using numbers. I needed to find a way to use that against the enemy but more importantly I needed to get close to Lucia before Ganymede could cast another spell, but there was no room for rest. Ganymede was the source of the spells power (Sacrifice) and also it's cannon (Guardian)-there was no pause, not even a second of disconnect. If only I could deal double damage.

Ganymede attacked as I thought, "Clouds that have already come forth, call down 10,000 bolts!"

Bolts of lightning tore through the air and hit the pins stuck into my body, like lighting rods. There was so much pain and then nothing as my body was completely overwhelmed. I feel to my knees and cursed the elements. If only I could do double damage...double elements; double the damage.

I feebly stood and made my words as strong as possible. "Earth hold the fire in your grasp, you can endure anything. Make it erupt onto the enemy and encase her in solid suffering."

Lava exploded from underneath the enemy and engulfed her body, burning the flesh before it cooled and engulfed her. There were no screams from within and for a moment we thought the battle was over. However, Ganymede would not be defeated so easily. Ganymede burst from the encasing lava and attacked again.

"Twenty-thousand leagues: wash over him and let his strength drift away into the frozen unknown."

Waves materialized, waves like I had never seen. And those gigantic waves slammed into my body, each one colder than the last. As the last one slapped my drenched and shaking body, it robbed me of all my heat and strength.

My muscles failed me. I hit the ground.

Lucia came and stood beside me, she helped me to my hands and knees. She reassured me softly, "That's enough pretending to be a Guardian for now. I think we understand each other perfectly now."

She rolled up my sleeve to reveal the burn marks and cuts then continued, "As a Sacrifice you have been taking double damage this whole time. I won't allow that any longer."

I smirked, "What can I say: I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all."

She laughed, "masochist."

She stepped infront of me and turned the tables, "I will be the arrow and you the bow, like it was destined to be. Amplify my power; lend me complete vigor. Release a million rays from the brightest star to pierce the enemy's bullseye!"

From Lucia's hand came a blinding light that reached out with hundreds of thousands of arrows made of light. Ganymede opened her mouth but her words could not travel faster than light. The barrage of arrows struck her again and again, volley after volley until she fell to her knee.

I said between rasped breathes, "I take it...as a Sacrifice...since you...don't have any more....strength...you are done?"

Ganymede smiled, "I think it is ironic that you two are confident enough in your love that you switched roles. For you see: my lover and I can do the same. We can decide who's will dominates this body. However, unlike you who will regain a fraction of your strength, when we switch souls this body regains all of it's strength."

Gany stood and removed the clothe around her eyes to reveal gorgeous green eyes. Her posture became different, more rigid. And in her eyes was a hostility that we did not sense before. The new more masculine Gany warned, "Let's begin again."

I let out a deep sigh and gathered what little bit of strength I had left.