Chapter Thirteen
I listened to where the sirens were the greatest, near City Hall. Once there I flew down to the street, but I did not touch the ground. No one seemed to notice me. They were too many into fighting, both 'creations' and humans. A bullet smacked into me and I channeled my energies into my voice.
"Enough!" My voice seemed to blanket the air for whole city blocks in all directions. Everyone immediately froze where they were. All the citizens of the city looked in awe at me. Some even fell to their knees at the power of my voice. In unison, every 'creation' came to me and knelt before me with their heads bowed. "Raise! I desire no worshiping." My voice again was blanketing the air. They did not move.
One lifted his head to me. He had wings too and a few bird feathers along his temples. His hair had a green tint to it like his eyes. He looked part tropical parrot. "We are yours to command. Led us and we can rule this world."
"It is not my desire to rule anyone and it should not be yours." I stared at him intently and moved close to him placing my feet on the ground. "We are here to help and protect. I have always felt that was my purpose here. That's why I was allowed to be created. Look in your heart and tell me if that is what you feel."
He closed his eyes and concentrated for three heart beats. He looked lovingly back to me. "I feel your words are true. You are a living goddess as we were told." For heaven's sake!
I looked down on him more intently. I could feel the air filling with my anger. "I do not like being called a goddess." He was cringing away from me and wrapping his wings around him as he was shielding himself. Suddenly all the 'creations' were screaming in agony from a sound in the air. I touched the bird man in front of me on his shoulder. He stopped screaming. "Touch the ones on either side of you." I had a hunch and needed to try something. He did as I instructed willingly, and they stopped screaming.
Soon all the creations were all link, but I was down on my knees. Every time another set link, I could see my light spreading out to them. As they were being blanketed in my light, the light around me as weakening. The sound was breaking through whatever it was that helped the sound not to touch me before. When my hand was falling from his shoulder, there was shifting and he caught me with a free arm. The sound was not killing me, but making me feel pain. I was slipping unconscious because of that pain. I felt so spread thin.
"You all should not have left the organization. We will forgive you if you bring Bast back along with all of you." Dr. Sabers had shown up. Slowly I was starting to feel better though the sound was still present. The birdman who held me placed his other hand under me and lifted into the air. He was taking me away from Dr. Sabers. I heard other sets of wings.
"We are not yours to command anymore." His voice shouted down to the ground. "She would want us to protect everyone. We must stop the organization." He was talking to his comrades. I stirred in his arms. "Don't worry my lady, we will protect you and the humans as you wish."
"Take me somewhere high and unseen." I needed to shift my form to get rid of this weakness. I need to 'reboot' myself again.
"As you wish." He flew higher and higher. My head lobbed back as I was becoming weaker though the sound was gone. I felt the moment we landed somewhere. Wind was caressing us as he was laying me down on the skyscraper.
"Close your eyes please, hold me tight, and cover my mouth so I cannot scream out." My voice was a pathetic version of a moment ago.
"I don't understand, but I will do as you say." And he did. I felt as his grip got tighter around me, then his other hand was over my mouth. I had to try twice to move the light into my heart before I succeeded in looking normal. I heard his gasp as I went limp in his arms. I was exhausted. "Impossible!"
I opened my eyes to the birdman. He was worshiping me with his eyes. I placed my hands over my heart concentrating again to keep it there. "You can do this too. Just takes practice. Though I will tell you it is very difficult to remain like this." I scrunched up for a moment at the pulse of the fire in my heart.
I heard him swallow hard at the sight of me in pain. "If it hurts, why did you change?"
"To rid myself of the weakness the sound caused me... Its time for me to change back." I rolled out of his arms and knelt as well as bent over slightly. Hands together, I released the light from my heart again. I could not hide one scream as my wings burst out of my back once again. I looked over at him. He was pale from watching me change. I need for him to forget for a moment. "What happened to the others when you took me away. The sound was still in the air."
"I believe you made us immune to it just with one touch." He knelt before me again and almost touched his head to the roof of this building. "Thank you."
"Please stop bowing." I sighed because I knew they will continue. "If you wish to honor me, then do this." When he raised up to see me, I placed my right fist over my heart. "It is how the amazons in Greece used to honor each other."
He sat back onto his heels and mimicked me. "I will inform everyone my lady that this is how you would like to be honored." He looked passed me as I heard the flap of wings. "My brothers and sisters approach, and by their looks, it is good news." I stepped aside as the landed on the roof top. They started to worship me, but the birdman rose and stepped forward. "She has informed me how she wishes to be honored." He did as he had just done and the others followed suit.
"What have you come to tell us?" I said kindly.
"We have captured Dr. Sabers and a few of his followers." A birdwoman stepped forward timidly before me. Her wings were that of a dove's white. With her blonde curly hair, she looked more like an angel than any of the others could be. She looked so wary at me like there was something that I would not like. "But his followers are trying to take him back. They are calling him their god and trying to say you are a false goddess."
Though I try to deny being a goddess, I cannot help but feel connected to that title. I sighed and the wind picked up. "Take me to Dr. Sabers." She led the way while the wind stayed under my wings. Now it seems like all I have to do is glide while the wind carries me to my destination.
She guided me to an area a few blocks away from City Hall. I saw a group of citizens cowering away from a few menacing 'creations'. I swooped down and grabbed one that looked part gator and tossed him away. His companions tried to attack me in response, but my own companions did as I did and flung them away.
A citizen ran up to me and flung his arms around me. My companions were about to pull him off me, but I put up a hand to stop them. "Thank you, thank you!" I straightened up in one swift movement. I know him. He's Keith's boyfriend Peter. I don't recognize him before. I was concentrating on the 'creations' and not on who they had.
I looked at the others and they were Keith's co-workers. I took Peter's arms from around me. "You're alright now Peter. You should go home and take Keith's co-workers with you. You live far enough away that you will be safe till I can stop this."
"You...you know my name!" Oh heavens!
I waved a hand in front of me to try to get him to forget that little slip of mine. "Focus Peter, you need to leave now!" I started to turn away from Peter, but he grabbed my arm.
"Do you know where Keith is? You must know because you called them his co-workers." He was on the verge of crying. He was really worried for Keith.
I smiled at him. "He is in the safest place in the city." Safe with my fiancee. Oh, I am going to so have to get used to that. I would not be right to laugh out at the sheer pleasure of thinking about having a fiancee who was gorgeous and kind. I felt my skin tingle with my happiness.
Peter's eyes looked shocked as he stared passed me to my companions. I turned to see them honoring me again. Though they added bowing their heads to the mix. I never told them that the amazons did that too when honoring someone.
"Why are you honoring me?" I kept my annoyance out of my voice as my skin stopped tingling. They all lifted their heads to me.
"My lady, your light...it flowed out from you." I really should ask what his name is instead of calling him birdman, but what he said shocked me. Did thinking of how happy Darien made me make my light shine brightly?
I shrugged off the questions I was starting to have about my light. I needed to focus and calming the situation down. "Take me to Dr. Sabers." I repeated my command from a moment ago. The dove woman bowed her head for a moment and then took off, and I followed her with the others behind me.
They took me to the steps of City Hall where several 'creations' were bound and circled many others. Dr. Sabers was in the center of it all yelling at his captors. His yelling ended when I landed in front of him. I stared angrily at him trying not to let myself feel the anger I had earlier come forth. The sky darkened partially with my mood. That made Dr. Sabers smile as he looked up.
"Tell me my beloved Bast. How did you do it?" His eyes sparkled back at me.
"Do what?" My voice was stern and powerful. My face showed distaste for him.
"How did you unlock your true power?" He started to lean forward and touch me, but my companions held him back. He hungered for me to tell him.
"You do not deserve to know." I turned away from him, but he grabbed the tip of my wing. He tugged to turn me back. My companions tried to get get him to release me. "If you must know, I found true love and it was never you." I wrenched my wing out of his hand and towered over him. "You had always been lacking something that made me always hate the way you treated me. You never treated me like a woman."
He seemed to become angry at my words. "I gave you sweets and tried to help you during training. This is how you repay me? How you repay me for loving you?"
"A woman is stronger than you ever thought. You treated me like I was glass instead of the steel that I am."
"Who could possibly love a freak besides their creator?"
"One who looks past the appearance and sees the person within."
"No one is like that!" He spat at me.
I straightened up and placed my hands over my heart. "He is. My love and fiancee!" My skin tingled with my love for Darien. I heard all the 'creations' gasp in awe. I looked at the bound 'creations' and they were bowing to me. I looked back at Dr. Sabers who was in complete shock. "You have never known love, but I have and do." I felt my love for Darien grew larger and my skin was pulsing with that love.
The sound of fighting had stopped completely as my love for Darien filled the air. Could they see my light? Was my light connected to my love for Darien? Love. Joy. Happiness. Is that what caused me to become so powerful? I felt that it was right.
"No. NO! That's impossible. You cannot have found anyone. I was the one meant for you!" Dr. Sabers was thrashing and screaming. He brought me out of my happy moment. I looked at him and he was going mad. He had been mad for a while, but now he looked like it. His hair was whipping around and he was pulling against the hold my companions had on him.
In an instant he was free from their hold and trying to strangle me. The force he collided with me, pushed me to the ground. My body being pushed into the steps of City Hall. But he should know better than to try strangling me, he could not hope to get past me skin's resistance. I placed my hand on his wrists as he struggled with no hope of killing me. He kept screeching over and over that I was only his.
Whenever one of my companions tried to reached for him, he would smack them away and I would hear their thud. I was mesmerized by the madness that was gripped by him. My eyes were locked on his. I saw darkness in his soul through his eyes.
Slowly I saw the darkness within him spreading to cover him. I closed my eyes as it creeped down his arms toward me. Darien. I could feel the darkness coming, crawling closer to me. Darien! I tried to think of the one who had my heart, but something was blocking his image from my mind. DARIEN!!! As the darkness was getting closer to me, Dr. Sabers' grip was getting stronger.
I started to panic. Think. Think! What does he look like? What does Darien look like? He has green eyes. Yes, I can see them now. Like gorgeous emeralds. Deep and majestic. Short brown hair. So wonderfully business-like and perfect for a CEO. So soft too. His strong caring feature. Wonderfully toned body that is so soft skin and hard muscles. I can see him now. I held him. I held onto the image in my mind. I feel complete with him and stronger. More powerful.
Screams pierce through the air, but I ignored them and thought of only Darien. I felt heat, but I ignored it too. Darien was all I wanted and needed right now. My skin tingled as I thought of him. Of him kissing me. Of him touching my body gently and lovingly. I could feel my light grow stronger as I felt Darien's love for me in my memories. It was like he had a light shinning from him too.