Indigo's Owl [Indigo Rewrite]

Chapter 38 - Traitor

"Then why aren't you in binders?" said Athira, taking hold of Talia's mindscape with Black. It felt different from Reader's. It was harder, more solid, carved entirely from a single block — or at least, it had been. A deep, ugly fracture split the scape into jagged halves and left the foundations unstable. "Why were you standing beside those Elites like you're just fine with what they've been doing?"

"You think I'm fine with any of this?" yelled Talia as the faultline through her mindscape slipped a little further. "I considered some of these bastards family, and it turns out they've been torturing people! If I were fine with that I'd be no better than the rest of the Underground scum!"

"Really?" said Athira coldly, sensing the truth to that, at least. "If you're that torn up about it, why weren't you at base with the rest of Indigo?"

"I—I went for a walk," said Talia, mentally scrambling for the words. "I had to get out—clear my head." A thought — a breeze of dusty wind swept across the stone in her mindscape. Can't tell her about the others. "I stayed out longer than I meant to, and when I got back, the rest of the team was go—"

Athira tightened the Black, squeezing a choked breath out of Talia. "I told you not to lie to me. Who did you meet on this 'walk'? Who did you tell?"

"I didn't tell anyone," gasped Talia, but Athira felt the deception set in the stone. Talia clawed at the Black around her throat as her feet came off the ground, leaving her with one frantic thought that swirled through her mindscape. Can't know. Can't know. Can't know. "I just—"

"Liar," snapped Athira, and threw Talia at the wall hard enough to crack the tiles.

Talia staggered to her feet, bracing herself against the wall. "I would never—"

Athira silenced her with a fist across her jaw.

The impact echoed down her arm, wholly intoxicating. Sure, she could crush the elemental with the flick of her finger, but there was something all too satisfying about being able to feel it.

Athira grabbed Talia's chin and forced her to look up.

"I could pry the truth from your mindscape," said Athira, tilting her head at the elemental with a smirk. "But honestly, I just don't care."

Talia opened her mouth to reply. Athira closed it again with a second and third blow that sent the elemental sprawling across the ground. Talia tried to defend herself, gripping a chunk of stone from the ground and hurling it at Athira, who caught it with Black and smashed it over Talia's head.

Athira's next three strikes didn't pack the same kind of savage satisfaction as her punching bag curled into a defensive ball. Annoyed, Athira grabbed the elemental's arm with Black and hauled her onto her feet, shoving her back against the wall and pinning her there with a hand against her throat.

The elemental attempted to inscribe a rune on Athira's arm, only for the Black to wipe it away — and as amusing as it was watching her fail, Athira wanted this elemental to understand exactly how helpless she was before this ended.

She reached into Talia's mindscape a second time, diving down past the desperate, scattered thoughts and the secret rivers burrowed through the stone until she found a slim, Blue tether that linked the mindscape's depths to somewhere else and severed it.

Even after that, the elemental fought. She struggled and kicked and clawed with a stubbornness Athira had begrudgingly come to respect, but it didn't matter. She'd been given her chance, and she'd squandered it. Maybe she had betrayed Indigo. Maybe she hadn't and she was protecting some other secret.

Either way, it was going to die with her.

"He—elp," gasped Talia.

"Hues, you're pathetic," muttered Athira, watching as Talia tried to inscribe another rune, apparently not yet realising what was missing. "I'm almost doing you a favour by putting you out of your misery."

"Not—not me." Talia choked on the words; her teeth bared against the pain of Athira's fingers slowly crushing her throat. "Zoe. Help. Zoe."

Athira's smirk froze. "What?"

"Wardens—have her," Talia managed, lifting a weak hand to point further down the road. "Tattoos—"

They'll be taking her to get inked.

To stray from the cause will trigger the individual's breaking point, killing them instantly.

She doesn't have to agree.

Athira staggered back from Talia. The elemental sank down the wall, coughing with a hand against her throat as Athira's thoughts went into a death spiral.

Zoe.

She'd forgotten about Zoe.

Rathe's growl rumbled through the back of her head, annoyed, impatient. Athira could feel his claws. His spines. His rage that she'd given herself to so easily. She grabbed her head, trying to catch her breath, to draw in enough air to stop her head from spinning, to stop herself from—

"Thira?"

Athira looked up, finding Shift standing beside her, his hand on her shoulder, steadying her.

"Stay back," muttered Athira, pushing him away. "I can't—can't—"

"Breathe," said Shift, bringing his second hand gently beneath her chin and turning her head to look at him. "Watch me. In. Out. One then the other, not both at the same time." His hand dropped from her chin to her other shoulder. "What happened?"

Athira glanced towards Talia. Kione knelt beside her, Raph covering them with a large shield of semi-transparent Red — just like the one that was on Shift's arm now.

"Talia—I thought—" She cut off, bile rising up her throat as she realised exactly what she'd done — what she'd been ready to do before she'd remembered— "Zoe!" She grabbed Shift's arm. "Where's Reader? Did he—"

"Escaped when we were fighting the Elites," said Shift.

Athira huffed. "Doesn't matter. I think Talia knows where Zoe is. You have to go with her, stop them from tattooing her with their runes."

Shift frowned. "Why does that sound like you're not coming with us?"

"You need Talia, and I don't trust myself around her right now," Athira said stiffly. Even now, just looking at the elemental made the blood pound in her ears, Rathe's snarl twisting into her thoughts.

Traitor. Betrayer. Liar.

"What are you going to do?" asked Shift.

"I'll... keep the Wardens distracted," said Athira, shaking her head. It didn't matter what she said. She just had to get them out — get them away from her before she snapped again. "When you have Zoe, leave. Don't come back for me. I'll make my own way out."

"Thira, we are not—"

"You have to," she hissed, raking her nails down her arms, unable to bring herself to look at exactly how much of her runes were left. "You get Zoe, and you make them leave." She met his eyes, holding it with every last bit of desperation she had left in her. "You promised me."

Shift was silent for a long moment, his emerald gaze locked on hers. "Only if you promise me that you'll try to come back to us."

"I'll... try," said Athira, leaving the unspoken words hanging taut between them — that there might not be anything left of her to come back. She stepped away, out of his reach before her resolve broke. "But if not, tell Zoe—tell her I'm sorry."

And with that, Athira threw herself into the air and left.

*+*+*+*

A/N - I'd write 'Uh oh' here again but lets be honest, these chapters are just gonna get progressively more ~uh oh~ from here on out 

(also, I'm curious as to how we're feeling about Talia at this point)