Skeleton Keys (on hold)

Chapter Seven

A/N: This Chapter was updated on 1/17/14.

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“Scythe training?” I asked him.

“Yep. You won’t need those other keys, just the Scythe Key Ward gave you yesterday,” Apollo said. He shifted his stance, sliding his hands into the pockets of his black zip-up hoodie.

I looked down at the keys in my hand again, and tucked them away in the back pocket of my jeans. My hand hesitated as I reached for my scythe key, as I remembered back to this morning.

It was just a bad dream, I told myself again, and fished it out of my pocket.

“Some facts about the scythe that you should know,” he began. “One, the blade will never cut a human. It can only damage a soul or spirit. For example: if you were to attack a human with the scythe, say to cut off their hand or arm, it would not draw blood. But the person would feel as though you had cut it off, and lose feeling as if the hand were gone.”

I glanced up at the blade again and made a metal note to keep clear of it.

“Two, while the scythe is a weapon mainly used for capturing rogue souls, it also acts as a focus for your powers. You will need to summon it, or at least touch the key, to access and use your powers of Charon at first. Which will depend on how strong your powers are. And the third and foremost important rule. This all falls under the privacy of the shop. You can not summon or show the scythe out in public, to your family, other than your father, of course; or human friends. Do you understand?”

I nodded. That made sense, didn’t want anyone else freaking out over the giant blade.

“Alright, now that we’ve got the important stuff out of the way, we can start with the fun stuff. First, you need to know how to summon your scythe. So, close your eyes and concentrate. Clear your mind of thoughts.”

Closing my eyes, I steadied my breathing. Concentrating was a whole other monster. I thought I’d be okay today. That I’d be able to just take all this weirdness as it came at me. But I felt waist deep in quicksand.

“Now, see the key in your mind.”

Not remembering its shape exactly, I opened my eyes to glance at it.

“Don’t look at it!” Apollo snapped. “Picture it however you wish, it doesn’t matter. Just concentrate on that one key.”

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and tried again. I was in this now for better or worse. I pushed all of my earlier thoughts aside and focused only on the key, trying to see it in my mind. I found it odd that it glowed, with a soft, pale blue light that reminded me of the stone.

“Okay,” I said, unsure. “What’s next?”

“Imagine a closed door. Put the key in the lock, and try unlocking the door with it. Allowing that door to swing open and bathe you in bright sun light.” Apollo’s voice  whispered through my thoughts, as if I no longer heard it with my own ears, but with my mind. “You want to feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, breathe it into you.”

I pictured it as he said and opened the door, bathing in the light that engulfed me. The weight of the key change in my hand, and I opened my eyes.

My Scythe was exactly as it’d been yesterday: tall, silver, with the topaz jewel. The same warm feeling enveloped me, like the lingering sensation from a tight hug. Scythe’s blade towered over my head, and I looked up at the designs etched into the metal. I loved that the teeth of the key were engraved on the blade where it met staff.

“Very good!” Apollo said. “It took your father days of practice to summon his scythe. It’s amazing that you did on the first try.”

“Really?”

He smiled and nodded, “Now, in your mind, close the door.”

I closed my eyes and tried to do as he said. Closing the door on that warm light of power was harder than I thought would be possible. I could feel the sweat starting to form on my forehead, but finally I forced the door closed. Immediately, the weight changed in my hand. The Scythe was a key again. I glanced down at it. It was the same as it had been only moments before I’d turned it.

“Good,” Apollo said. “Try summoning it on your own this time.”

I closed my eyes and imagined the key and the door again. Unlocking the door, I swung it open to feel the warm light against my skin. I felt the key change in my hand again, and smiled. It was easier than the first time.

“Great, now that we have found that the first summons was not a mistake of coincidence, we can continue.”

I stared at him, and tried to decide whether I needed to be upset with him. Apollo held his hand out, mimicking my stance. Orange flames licked out from his hand to form his own, very orange, scythe.

“You have one too?” I asked, curious.

He looked at the scythe in his hand. “This is an imitation. It’s not the real thing. Now concentrate.”

Apollo held his scythe out horizontal to the ground, turning his hand to open it, allowing the shaft to balance on his open palm. It wobbled, but then held steady. “Now, you must find the center point, the balancing point, on your own scythe. Since each key is different, in shape, size, design, so is the location of its balance point. It’s important to know this exact point.”

I tried to follow him, but nearly dropped it twice. Finally, the third time, I had it balanced in my hand. It was heavier than it looked, my arm straining to hold it up.

“Have you had any sort of combat training?” Apollo asked me.

I stared at him. “Combat training? Like the military?”

He shook his head. “Your grandfather practiced something called Tai Chi, Tai Kwon Do, and he often asked me to fight with him. Your father practices kick boxing and wrestling, and other sports when he gets a chance.”

“No, I don’t have any interest in sports.” I lowered my arm. I could see where this was going. I didn’t like working out, or exercise in any form. I mean, sure I was a little overweight, but it wasn’t to the point that I was unhealthy. And I made sure I didn’t get heavier, because then I would have to get off my butt and move. 

“It would help,” he said. “Sometimes it becomes handy to have that sort of skill in this line of work. Also, training your muscles to carry more weight might help too. ”

I frowned but said, “I’ll think about it.”  

He nodded, accepting my non-committal answer. “Well then, for now, we’ll focus completely on scythe maneuvers. Once you decide,” he put emphasis on that word, as if it was only a matter of time, “on something, we’ll work that into our training as well.”  He motioned to my Scythe. “Show me the balancing point again.” 

I did as he asked, but not without complaining. “My arms are exhausted.” 

“You’ll be sore for a while yet,” he said. “You’ll want to practice every chance you get, and we’ll practice together for an hour or two before the store opens each day.” 

In my mind, I groaned. What the hell had I gotten myself into?