Undying #Wattys2015

Chapter 23: Breaking Free

Through the eyes of Halo Arkenheart:

            He's sleeping. Sleeping like a wary child of the monster hiding under his bed. Hidden in his room for several days now, he has not been eating or speaking. Ender went to check on him a few hours ago, but he was sound asleep. Better that way. I'd appreciate it if he wouldn't order us within his walls.

But this was the time. Time to make my move. I haven't been able to speak my mind since I've been Touched. Now is my chance.

            He's been ill. He's been relaxing his grip on us. And I know this is my only chance. To break free.

            Under the light of the candle, I sat upright, feeling the cold stone under me. With my fingernails, I chipped at the stone, digging into the rock. With my hurrying mind, I was thinking of all the possibilities. And I needed to speak my mind. I needed to tell someone. The flickering light of the candle created light shadows on the wall, changing as the light moved. Most of the darkness snuffed out the orange flame, and I felt it weighing down on me, absorbing me into the blackness of Bane's radiating aura.

            Then, Eon appeared at the threshold. With messy black hair, she had a white blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her gray eyes shined in the darkness by candle light. With a quiver in her voice, she whispered, "Hello."

            "Eon!" I whispered excitedly, getting onto my feet. I continued, in a worried tone, "What are you doing here?"

            She walked over to me and sat on my stone bed. I sat with her, and she wrapped her white blanket around me. With her heavy head, she leaned on my shoulder. With a soft voice, she said, "Tell me what you are thinking," and she moved her hand to my broken finger, touching it gingerly.

            "We need to break free from Bane's wicked grasp. We need to take control," I asserted, clenching my fist.

            "But if he finds out, who knows what he will do?" she noted. Then she lifted her head off my shoulder and stared into my eyes, "You are planning a coup, Halo. And that would make you a traitor. Are you prepared to face your fears?"

            With those words, I remembered the first time I saw Bane. The first time he clouded us with thousands of shadowed butterflies, which latched onto our souls, like parasites. There was no escape from his grasp. Once he Touched us, there was no way to fight him. Whatever blows we threw, he deflected. He became our leader, our God, without any true opposition. We could try to fight him in our minds, but we could not fight him with our abilities. He had taken control of our bodies and our hearts.

            And now, he is weakening. Recently, I haven't seen him creating his butterflies of darkness. Now, he just keeps to his quarters. What has happened to him? The darkness of the room attempted to breach our thoughts and our bodies, but Eon's white blanket protected us. We were silent, and I declared, "Bane needs to step down. We need a new leader."

            Eon nodded, "If that is your decision, I promise I will follow you, till the end of time."

            "What are you planning?" a voice asked in the darkness.

            My fearful dragon eyes watched my doorway, and I saw an entity of darkness walk over to where we were sitting. Aure had her golden hair pulled up, as she normally did. Her lilac eyes were shining like stars in the void of space. Her cunning smirk came to light as she walked into the radius of the candle's rays. I admitted with a low voice, "Nothing, we're planning nothing."

            She smiled, "Oh Halo, don't try to overthrow an ingenious psychopath without a plan. Because, trust me, it doesn't work."

            Confused, I asked, "Are you... supporting us?"

            "Supporting you? No!" she admitted. Leaning close, she whispered, "You'll be supporting me."

            "What do you mean?" Eon asked, pushing her black bangs to the side of her head. She continued, "Do you even have a plan?"

            "Oh, I have a plan alright," she smiled intensely, and her eyes glowed. "And you two are going to help me carry it out.

             I nodded, "What do you have in mind?"

            She walked over to the candle, moving her hand over the flame. With intense luminosity, the candle burned bright blue, filling the room with its radiance. Parts of the flame detached and jumped across the room, as stars in the night sky. A whitish-blue light surrounded the candle, and she smiled, "I wonder what Bane would do..." She paused, moving her hand around the bright blue flame, parting it slightly to form the Aetherial Warrior insignia. With mastery over the light, I saw her brilliance shining in her eyes. I had always respected Aure; she was the strongest, besides Bane. She continued, "If Bane cares so much about Aiden, then I wonder what he'll do in order to save him."