Fall of the Spectrum

Chapter Twenty-Seven, Part One

"Got all your gear? Good." Phenex's grin slipped, sadness lurking at the corners of his eyes as he studied her with the same deep-seated concern Forneus himself had. From the way his expression softened, there was no doubt in his mind that Phenex had heard her crying before, too.

"I think so." Gwen checked herself over, seemingly oblivious to the glances being exchanged over her head. Then looking up expectantly, she asked, "What are we working on today?"

Forneus hesitated a second before answering, "Self-defense." Considering Asclepius had intended to focus on Gwen's powers, he hoped he wouldn't be adverse to a slight change in plan. With the way Gwen had been acting lately, it just didn't seem like the right time to push magical work on her.

And with any luck, the physical work would distract her from her worries; perhaps even put them out of her mind completely.

"Okay, sounds good." Gwen gave him a weak smile, though it still didn't reach her eyes. They seemed as cold and distant as ever. He was so busy mulling this over that he didn't notice Gwen had started walking toward the corridor's exit until she turned to look at him, frowning. "Aren't you guys coming?"

Forneus exchanged one last, curious look with Phenex and nodded. "Of course," he said, smiling at her. "Shall we?" 

*

After Gwen's training for the day had concluded, Phenex opted to pay both Hercules and Verin a visit. With the preliminary hearing having been discarded in the wake of the attack three days prior, the High Council had decided to go right to trial. As the trial would be held first thing tomorrow, there was no time like the present—both to go over Verin's testimony one more time, and to give Hercules the moral support he needed.

With the trek into the lower levels being uneventful, Phenex allowed his mind to wander to other matters, painfully aware of the damaged walkways as he descended first one staircase, then another. Gwen's training, while a vast improvement over the past few days, still hadn't gone as well as it could have. True, some of her initial shock seemed to have faded, but all he had to do was take one look at her to see that her heart wasn't in it.

He knew Forneus was right; they needed to give her time to come to terms with what she'd learned. Even so, he couldn't quell his impatience. There was no logical reason for him to be upset with her, he knew this. And yet, he couldn't help it. Deep down, he suspected it was the feelings of helplessness the situation invoked that had him angry, not Gwen personally. He hated seeing her suffer like this, hated not being able to heal the kind of pain she was enduring the way he could heal her wounds.

I wonder if this is how Forneus feels, he mused, releasing a rueful sigh. This isn't something we can fix—Gwen has to overcome this on her own. The only thing we can do is be there for her when she's ready.

No matter how many times he told himself this, it did nothing to lessen his frustration. Hadn't she suffered enough already?

Phenex growled deep in his throat and pushed the thoughts away. They were getting him nowhere, and with the severity of damage getting progressively thicker the closer he got to the Underworld's portal, he needed to be more mindful of his surroundings. Crystallized detritus filled the lowest levels to such a degree that he could barely make his way down one of the staircases without some careful climbing, the treads of his sneakers preventing him from taking any unpleasant falls that he otherwise might have.

By the time he reached the portal—shoving a large slab of crystal out of the way before he could access it—all thought concerning Gwen had faded into the background. In its place were thoughts of the upcoming trial and whether Verin's testimony would be enough to convince the council of Hercules' innocence.