I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me...
***
Zane
As I reached the center of the arena, I quickly struck the woman using a blast from my hands. She went flying back but sprouted her wings once again as she caught herself in the air.
I hastily turned towards Harper who was breathing heavy with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked. She nodded then focused on something behind me.
"Zane!" I turned around to see the same woman with her wings gone glaring at me roughly. I acted fast and caught the...feather? She just threw a feather at me?
It was blue and green with a colorful pattern. The needle of the feather was sharp and I stared at it curiously before I went after her. The woman was also blonde with black eyes. Her skin was pale and she had freckles covering her skin. I tackled her to the ground and we rolled over, I easily got on top of her.
She wrestled with me before she let out a loud squawk. I grunted as she held onto my arm tightly. I soon felt something sharp and hard press into my stomach and I let out a strained groan.
What the actual hell?
I felt the sting in my stomach and it hurt like a bitch. I grunted again as I tried to hold onto her leg from pressing her sharp and long bird talons into my body. My eyes shifted and we lifted off of the ground- only slightly. We then went crashing back down into the ground, and the woman let out a painful yell as she was pressed down. The concrete beneath her cracked and pushed further down.
The woman clenched her teeth before I felt her claws dig into me deeper. Holy shit, that hurt.
I bared my teeth as my eyes continued to glow. Damn, these Harpies were strong. Too strong. I repeated the actions I performed before and she went smashing into the concrete again.
I tried to ignore the slight pain I felt and bared it when we rolled over- I was now laying on my back. The woman shifted her leg and the talons in my stomach twisted. I groaned again.
Pain. I felt pain. A strange ray of light shined in her face and the woman winced. Letting out another strange bird sound, she flinched and withered at the light Harper was shining.
"Let him go." I couldn't see Harper but I contorted my face as I tried to look at her. I couldn't. The sharp hooks into my stomach pressed farther. Only now could I smell the blood. The sharp pain in my stomach intensified and I knew something needed to be done quickly.
The woman continued to shift and rub her eyes, yet her claws still inside me. As I looked up, I caught glimpse of the torches that were lined around the perimeter of the arena.
Torches. Fire.
"Har...per-" I gritted out. It hurt to speak. It hurt to move. The woman made an irritated sound at the back of her throat and shoved her hand forward. At the same time, Harper whipped through the air and into her hold. She now had Harper around her throat, gripping tightly.
Harper held her hand tightly, trying to pry her hands off. I could see that she could do it. She can get out of her grasp if she wanted. She needed her strength though....
But she still had it. Johanna took her power....not her strength. Her strength...her kales....she still has it. "Harp-arper-" I gritted out. The woman had her in a death grip and Harper was gagging. "You have to chan-Ah!" I cried out when she pressed her claws in deeper.
Holy fuck!
"This is taking too long." The woman stated boredly as she wore an evil frown. "She wants the girl."
"Harper....channel your power." I gritted out. "The-The..t-torches."
Although she was being denied air, I saw Harper's eyes meet the torches on top of the arena. She shut her eyes tightly and shook her head tightly.
"Harp-er!" I grunted. She had to channel her power using her strength- it was the only way we were going to get out of this. "Harper!"
Harper opened her eyes as she contorted her face and choked. I was glad to see that they were shifted. They shined a bright orange and I cast my gaze back on the woman who was choking Harper and impaling me simultaneously.
I grunted again, feeling the pain grow stronger. "It's alright, the both of you will technically be dead in seconds." I used my foot to push against the woman holding me down.
I gritted my teeth as I fought the pain in my stomach and used everything I could to push her off. Harper's eyes continued to glow and I internally smiled when the flames above the arena blazed a little. Giving one last final shove, I pushed the woman off me and her talons came thrusting out. I let out a painful scream and at the same time, fire from around the arena raged.
Flames erupted around the arena in random spots and the woman in front of me was now engulfed in severe heat as she drowned in the flames. Her screams were heard instantly and I turned to Harper who was now free, Her eyes were still shifted and she was shaking slightly.
At that moment, when the flames around the woman died, I acted quickly and gestured my hands towards her. Lightning shot out and sent her flying across the stadium.
That takes care of that.
I blew out a tiny breath and looked to Harper. I slowly and carefully made my way towards her as she looked like she was going to faint. "Harper-whoa." I caught her before she could fall to the ground.
"I'm sorry." Her voice rasped. "I just feel...dizzy."
"But you're okay, right?" I asked. Her hair was wild and I'm not going to lie, it looked like she'd been through a lot.
Harper looked down and caught gaze at the blood pouring out of my stab wounds and her eyes widened. "Am I okay, Zane," She gasped. "Look at you, you should lay down." Harper stepped forward and tried to maneuver away.
I stopped her movement and chuckled a little but stopped when it immediately hurt. "I'm fine- I can feel it healing," I explained. Harper looked at it curiously.
"You're barely bleeding." She told me, quietly.
"And you're barely breathing," I told her as I winced. "Maybe you should lay down."
Harper shook her head and placed a hand on top. "I can't-I can't-I just- it needs-"
I furrowed my eyebrows as I watched Harper. "Whoa, what's wrong?"I asked. "What's happening?"
"I can't do it." She breathed out quietly. Her voice cracked a little and she shut her eyes tightly. "I can't."
"Do what?"
"This. I can't do this." Her voice raised a little and she began pacing. I've never seen Harper this hysterical. She was just a little charged that's all. I knew she had to be okay. "I don't- I-I don't know why I came with you-"
"Harper-"
"Zane, she's still after me. She still wants my power." Harper began to tear up. "She wants to take the rest of my power away and we went out looking for her. If anything we need to run, Zane. Run. I don't know when we're gonna cross paths with her again and I'm not prepared for her to break me any more than she has."
"Harper, you're not broken."
"Do you understand what'll happen if she gets to me? She's going to drain me of anything I have left. My entire being will be gone, Zane. I'll have nothing- no strength, no power, nothing!"
"Harper, relax." I placed my hands on her shoulders to keep her from pacing. "Please, relax. Okay, yes she has some of your power but she's not going to hurt you anymore. You still have your kales- your strength. It's important that you remember that because if you feel like you've already been beaten, then you have." I told her seriously. "You need to use your strength to help you face Johanna and take back what she stole from you. You're not alone in this either- I'm right here. You have nothing to worry about."
Harper shook her head. "I can't-"
"You can." Harper gave me an incredulous look. She opened her mouth to reply but I cut her off. "Nope, everything's going to be fine. I'm right here by your side and there's no way she can hurt you, Harper."
I waited for her response but both our attention was taken away when an unusual shadow was cast across the arena. We both looked up to see birds.
Birds. Damn it, why did it have to be birds? I was alarmed at how many of them there were. "What the hell is that?" Harper asked lowly beside me.
There were about...fifty of them. They were large and alarming. I watched them carefully before they began to circle in the air. They flew around each other in circles until they came closer and closer to the ground. What the fuck is happening now?
The birds eventually all reached the ground and I watched as they transformed from different colored fowls into multiple women. They all looked different but it was the girl in the middle that caught my attention.
At the sight of Johanna emerging in front of the crowd of women, I took a step back and I reached behind me to grab Harper's arm. As Johanna stepped forward, she was wearing a smile. Dressed in all black, her hair was in a ponytail and her cold blue eyes were concentrated on us.
"Hey, guys." She greeted with a sinister smile. She was chewing on a piece of gum- I'm assuming- and she popped it as she looked to a particular part of the arena. "It's a shame you took out Charlotte. She was sweet. Unlike you, my future king." She chuckled.
"Sorry, you couldn't be referring to me," I answered keeping my eyes on the women standing solely behind Johanna.
"In due time, my dear." She smiled. Johanna lifted her head and stared at us intently. "Now that I've regained my strength a little bit...." I watched her carefully and squinted at the sinister smirk on her lips. "I wanna take you guys somewhere."
*****
She's everywhere. But things have only started. It gets crazier from here.
Next chapter, we rewind back to Zeus and Hera. I absolutely love writing about those two. Hera says her goodbyes....?
Until next time, munchkins,
-brittany.