"He isn't looking too good," Donovan said, as soon as we were both on top of the roofs of Oase. He had stolen these strange devices from the Followers of Andi. They had a small trigger and a hook at the end, allowing you to traverse upwards on top of the roofs.
"Who?" I asked.
"Osiris. He was injured. Arrow through the abdomen. Apparently, some of these people still use what they call 'primitive weapons'." He said.
"Are you serious?" I yelled, stopping in place. This was all my fault. If I hadn't dashed off to the Spirit Tree in my own naive curiosity, I would have been able to protect him.
"Yes, Cosmo. You mustn't stop. This situation is vital." He grabbed my wrist and nearly pulled me across the clay shingles of the rooftops. He turned back and looked at me. "It isn't your fault, you realize. " He said, reading my face.
"Yes, it is. If I hadn't run off to the Spirit Tree, I would've been with him during the attack. I could've protected him. His life is more important than mine. I can't fight."
"You could never have anticipated the attack, Cosmo." He said, letting go of my wrist as I kept pace. Donovan leaped over a gap in the dwellings and so did I, barely making it. "And don't ever say that again. I saw you in the hull of the ship. I saw you just now, fighting that Follower. You can fight."
We traveled the rest of the way in silence, the cold and dark aura of the night haunting us. Eventually, droplets of water hit my shoulders and back and it started raining. We slowed, as to not trip and kept venturing through what became a downpour. Eventually, we had traversed all the way across town to another town square, without a sigil in the middle. Donovan spoke up.
"We're here." He hooked his device around an ornate decoration on the side of a roof and scaled down. I copied his motions sloppily and reached the ground. He led me to the inside of the general store.
The inside of the store was neat, clean isles with wooden shelves on either side. The ground was a clean polished granite, which looked expensive. The shelves were still fully stocked, untouched. It seemed this building had survived both onslaughts of the Followers of Andi. We turned a corner and the shelves were stocked with bandages and rubbing alcohol.
"Osiris!" I rushed toward Osiris, who was leaning against the shelves. Lysander was leaning over him, snipping bandages with a pair of shears. I leaned over Osiris and gave him a light hug as to not disturb his wound. He seemed barely awake, barely alive, for that matter. His eyes were nearly shut and the smile he gave when he saw me was extremely weak.
"Cosmo. I'm not going to survive for much longer..." Osiris muttered weakly.
"Quit saying that!" Lysander yelled. "You're going to be fine. We'll get you back on that ship and-"
"Lysander. It's futile." Osiris interrupted. "The ship is heavily damaged. Even if it wasn't... the docks are a long distance away. If the ship was intact we would never make it alive."
"Osiris..." Lysander was crying. He tried to hide it but it became obvious when tears dripped against the granite floor. "There's' still hope, Osiris.... I can't just let you go like this..."
"Lysander. Set your feelings aside. I'm not worth crying over." He resituated himself to sit straighter and winced, grabbing his abdomen. I looked down and saw the arrow, protruding from his stomach. It was surrounded by a giant stain of blood.
"Not worth crying over? You're like my father, Osiris... you taught me how to spar. How to forage. How to start a fire. Everything that makes me who I am. You can't leave me right now..."
"Lysander. In these times, I'm lucky to have lived past 35. With our nation on the brink of war, you should not be focused on the old. Be focused on the young. Like Cosmo. He is a strong warrior and knight. He is crucial." At this point, I was crying. In fact, I was sure no one in that general store was dry-eyed. Donovan was tearing up, using all the strength in his body not to cry. One tear slipped as five rolled down my face and onto my ripped tunic.
"Osiris..." I said.
"Yes, Cosmo?" He asked.
"After my father left for O'Jahnz... did you ever hear from him again?" I asked. A look of surprise washed over his face as he was trying to formulate an answer. He grimaced in pain and responded.
"Only in the capture report in the news column." He saw the difference in the expression on my face and added, "But I know he's not dead. There's just something about him. He's Howard Theodore. There's no way he would keel over and die so easily... like me..."
"Osiris. We'll carry your body back. Your funeral will be honorable. You will be remembered as a strong and caring knight. One that never flinched in the face of danger."
"Thank you... so much... Donovan." Osiris' voice was growing weaker. He was bleeding out.
"Cosmo... one last... thing." Osiris said shakily.
"What?" I asked, leaning in to hear his faint and wispy voice.
"The staff... Hold on to it. It's special... when you need it the most, and you are faced with an enemy that seems unbeatable... you will prevail. But only... with that... staff..." Osiris shakily shut his eyelids and I knew he had passed away.
"The man that shot that arrow..." Lysander said. "He wasn't here for Osiris. He was here for a girl with blue hair." I repeated what Lysander said in my head a few times to make sure I had heard correctly. My brain thought slowly, still traumatized by the current events.
"Poka!" I yelled, running out the door into the cold and heavy rain. "Where did that man run off to?"
"The Spirit Tree." Donovan and Lysander stood up too and followed me out the door. I sprinted down the flagstone paths I used to walk down every day. I stumbled and tripped sometimes, my vision still blurry from tears and the flagstone soaked from the rainfall. I looked up at the Spirit Tree.
The leaves had all fallen off and it no longer glowed. It stood there on the horizon, a dead and empty shell of its former being. Is Lan dead? I thought to myself. Did they kill Lan? I raced faster, hearing my heartbeat in my ears. My muscles grew sore, but I kept running, faster than I ever had before. Poka was the reason I was alive. I had to repay that debt.
Eventually, I got to the roots of the Spirit Tree. I climbed up the rickety Spirit Wood steps, taking them two at a time. All of the houses were ransacked and in shambles and I passed them without a second thought. I climbed higher in the tree, just as I had maybe half an hour ago. The dark gray clouds came closer and closer until I knew I was close to the top. I heard voices.
"Do you know who I am?" A suave and deep voice came from the top of the steps. I tiptoed higher up the steps. I looked below me to find Lysander and Donovan far behind me, battling Followers. I gulped, knowing I was alone
I peeked my head onto above the ledge to see the top floor of the Spirit Tree. It was in ruins. The chair, table, and chessboard were shredded. The limp, dead body of Lan lay in the corner, his wide and scared eyes staring at me.
The source of the suave voice came from a tall man. He was wearing a black leather overcoat and was taller than Leo. The base of his hair was brown and it faded to blonde at the end. The hair curled down the side of his face, next to his beard of scruff. He paced back and forth in front of Poka, who was standing in front of him. Poka's eyes were full of fear, wide and looking around quickly for an escape route.
Seeing her face I recalled leaving the ship and seeing Poka's whip and deck of cards still lying on the top of her dresser. So that's why she's not fighting. Two Followers slowly walked out of the shadows, their gauntlets buzzing loudly.
"I can't say I do." it was obvious Poka was trying to hide the fear in her voice. Why she was afraid, I did not understand. She was a demigod. Immortal to only one spell.
"I'm Cassius. And I have orders to kill..." He pulled out a small and thin scroll of parchment and unraveled it. "One Poka, Demigoddess of Bad Luck." Poka gulped, her hand tapping quickly against her leg. "It appears your namesake has caught up with you."
"Y-you must have the wrong person. I know of no 'Poka'." Poka stuttered, scared out of her mind for some reason.
"Oh, but I know you're lying." Cassius had walked up, inches away from Poka's face. He lightly stroked the side of Poka's face with his middle finger and a pang of not only hatred but surprisingly, jealousy surged through my brain.
"N-no..." Her face was ghostly white and her hair was disheveled.
"I've been watching your every move, three and four steps ahead of you. I knew you were going to come to this island with that boy before you had even decided to. So I joined this wonderful cult. To check another demigod off the list." he menacingly scratched at the parchment with a small quill he pulled out of his jacket pocket.
"You have no idea how much power I have," Poka responded, confidence coming to her voice.
"Oh, but I do. I know you made a deal with that boy. I know you can't use any of your fancy magic powers. And lastly, I know where your weapons are. You left them on the ship because you are a stupid, putrid, demigod." he kicked Poka in the knee and she fell to the ground, wincing in pain.
"But you don't know-" Poka started.
"Yes, I know the little phrase your momma told you. The one that makes you go bye-bye?" Cassius talked in a mockingly childish voice. He pulled out a book and flipped past a few pages. "Now, you're going to tell me where that boy is, or I'll say these few nasty lines." He threateningly turned the book around and showed Poka the pages. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates in fear and I knew he had the spell.
"Cosmo? Why do you want him?" She asked, confused.
"He is one of the most important living people. He has powers not even he is aware of." Cassius came closer to Poka's face. "Now tell me where he is."
"I don't know where he is! We were split up-" Poka was interrupted with a loud slap across the face that left her skin red. She caressed her face, her eyes watering.
"Don't play games with me, girl!" Cassius yelled, pulling out a strange-looking shiv. It curled at the tip, just a bit, somewhat resembling a scimitar. The blade glowed black and purple, swirling and shifting as if the blade was painted with the cosmos.
"The last time I saw him was on the ship! I swear!" Pokay pleaded.
"Paw. Mahn. She is useless." Cassius said, and the two followers emerged further from the shadows, revealing their cloaks. One cloak was red, with a bright red gemstone at the top. The other was green with a matching gemstone as well. They ruthlessly raised their gauntlets, unwavering as they were about to stun her.
The gauntlets fired, making her body jolt. A surge of guilt weighed upon my chest as I could have helped her but didn't. When Cassius pulled the book out, I panicked and knew I had to help. I waved my arms around and caught the slight attention of Poka's eye. I put my pointer finger over my mouth and mouthed "shhh". She winked in response as I advanced to the plateaued top of the Spirit Tree. I ducked behind the trees and waited for the focus to be all on Poka.
"Any last words?" Cassius asked, holding Poka's head in his hand. The surge of jealousy flared again, which quickly burnt into rage. I charged, my feet silent against the marshy dirt. I leaped and wrapped my staff around Cassius' neck, bringing him down to the ground on top of me. I pulled the staff tight against his neck, hearing his gagging noises as he choked.
Cassius grabbed my staff with two hands and flipped me over him, throwing me into the dirt. He slammed the hilt of his blade into the back of my skull and I ate dirt. I looked up, my vision spinning. I picked up my staff as my vision re-focused.
I ran forward, holding my staff offensively. I took a wide and vulnerable swing, slamming into Cassius's side, but leaving me open for an attack from the right Follower, blasting me backward. I felt overwhelmed and hopeless. This is too much. This is too much. I can't do this! My brain yelled at my body for getting back up. I charged at the Follower that had blasted me with electricity.
I hit the follower twice in the head, left then right. Thock! Thock! it was stunned temporarily and I swung my staff around, gaining momentum. I brought it up and struck it in the groin. The Follower crumpled to the ground and I turned around to find the other one right in front of me.
I swung the staff at his right side, but this one was more quick-witted. He caught my staff and disarmed me, throwing my staff into a thicket. He swung his armored fist at me, electricity buzzing by my face as I dodged. I rolled over to the thicket and reached in, grasping my staff. Cassius gripped my ankle and threw me across the dirt. I felt small pebbles dig into my skin, making me bleed.
"Why... are you doing this?" I asked through gritted teeth. I wiped blood off of my arm and watched as the other follower regained his stance, standing to the left of Cassius and the other Follower. I was cornered.
"Oh, that's quite simple." Cassius crossed his arms. "For every one of those demigods I kill, I get a little something from my master. Like this little something." He pulled out the cosmic knife once again, turning it around and watching it gleam in the lightning that lit the night sky.
"Who is your-" I started, but I was interrupted by Cassius.
"It doesn't matter who my master is. It matters that I get you to him. Safe, sound, and all tied up so you can't get anywhere." he smiled maliciously, leaning down so our faces were close. "And this time, you won't have a demigoddess to get you out of the little pickle you'll be in." He snickered, lightly slapping me on the face a few times as if I was a child.
"And if I were to flee?" I asked, looking around the vicinity, for any way out of the situation.
"Oh, I might not get you now. You are a slippery little slug. But I could get you the next day... or the next. Might not even be ten fortnights. But I will get you. And bring me to my master." He cracked open his book and turned a few pages. It felt like the two Followers were staring at me, although I could not see their eyes. I watched Cassius walk up to Poka, who was frozen in fear.
"So, what was it?" He asked, rhetorically. "Ah yes, Aceh meh toramus. Lah cah Sheh moreh ens lunahr." I couldn't just sit there hopelessly. I had to fight.
I got up quickly this time, both Followers firing their gauntlets and missing. I felt a special energy surge through me. My bones seemed to be indestructible and my skin resistant to anything. It felt like I knew everything and nothing at the same time. I felt as if I could learn or do anything in the universe. That was when Lan's voice echoed through my head and I knew what was happening.
My staff turned the color of a star, blazing in the night sky. I thrusted my staff into one of the Follower's abdomen and watched as they erupted into orange, glimmering sparks that soared up into the stormy sky. I swiped at the other Follower, my staff itself not hitting the target, but a projectile of energy slamming into its body. The second Follower had the same fate as the first.
"La mezzoria de talamar. No cutsa le frencia." Cassius said. Then there was a pause. He turned around to look at me, a look of pure evil spread across his face. Lightning struck and his terrifying smile was engraved on my mind. I looked over at Poka and she had a tear streaming down her face.
"Poka!" I yelled her name, knowing it would do nothing to save Poka. The words had already been said. There was no going back. I ran over and embraced her, feeling her short, blue locks hit my shoulders. Her hair smelled like the wax sealant on playing cards, which hadn't ever smelled good until this point in time. A tear rolled down my cheek as I could feel Poka fading away.
I opened my eyes and backed away just in time to see Poka's last expression. A smile. It was the most pretty and beautiful smile I had ever seen. Her body faded into red leaves and poker cards that flew up into the sky.
"Awwww, you liked her didn't you?" Cassius mocked. "Well, I'm really sorry about killin' your little friend." He grabbed my wrist and started dragging me away. I snapped out of the stupor I was in and slammed my staff against his arm, breaking it. He screamed in pain.
"I'm really sorry about that, too." I copied, my staff glowing red hot once again as I smashed it into his head. I looked up to Lysander and Donovan standing there. Then my vision went black as I passed out from exhaustion.