Icarus

Blood

Blood

The room was as dark as midnight in a country cemetery. When Alexander entered, he only heard the sound of his own footsteps on the creaky wooden floor. He wrinkled his nose as he smelled something awful. He paced towards the window and opened it to let some fresh air in as the moon bathed the room in just enough silver light to see a silhouette of a person sitting in a chair.

"Pete?"

Of course it was Pete...and Alexander knew it, but the darkness, like hands of the Grim Reaper pulling the young man away, somehow made the Guardian call his name...again and again. Was that Petra or a mere replica of the boy he once knew?

"Alexander?" he finally replied. The low and sore voice got into his soul reverberating through his celestial body...filled with intensity but no emotion at all.

The Guardian turned around, to stare out into the empty streets rather than face the person Petra had become-a strange, foreign and complicated creature. He tried to ignore the aura emanating from the odd being, but he couldn't, it was like a black hole sucking in all of his light. Alexander felt a cold breeze caressing his face and sensed it came from Petra's mouth.

"I changed the Aesterdis," he admitted.

Petra didn't respond right away.

"And what did you change exactly?" he finally asked.

Alexander clasped his hands tainted with guilt and replied slowly, "That's what I wanted to talk about."

His calm voice was interrupted by Petra's explosive reaction-an outburst of unreasonable rage.

"Then talk! WHAT DID YOU CHANGE?!"

Alexander took a deep breath, still looking out the window.

"I... I don't know."

Petra sat up in his chair, then, looked at the black cloak Alexander was wearing, making him seem more like a shadow melting into the floor.

"Naturally, Alexander" he said quietly, the fire of rage suddenly extinguished. He got up from the uncomfortable chair and adjusted his shirt. "You served me all these years..."

Alexander frowned, not knowing why he would use the word serve, nonetheless he let the boy finish speaking.

"You even made me think that I was going to be in charge of the Icarus Mission...that I was going to be part of The Twelve when Heron fulfilled his cycle there."

Alexander's breathing became shaky-his hands working hard to remain steady in the window frame. For a second, fear turned his stomach upside down and flooded him with the emotional acid of anxiety.

"But I realized something curious, something I didn't expect and it's because deep inside I always knew the truth-you can't trust anyone other than yourself with important responsibilities. So, Aexander, my dear friend and master, from now on I will do everything on my own."

"What are you talking about?" Alexander probed as he turned around. Before he could finish what he had to say, Petra had turned the light on. What he saw curdled his blood. Every surface was covered in photographs, notes, and mounted dissected butterflies. Alexander's heart froze.

He focused on one of the walls painted in white, black, and blue acrylics. It was Cassie, an odd version of his brother's apprentice. Darker, her soulless sapphire eyes watched his every move...just like Petra.

"Do you like it?" the boy asked without giving Alexander a chance to reply he added, "I love it."

Alexander shook his head and got back to asking him why he was so upset.