Rory sailed down from the air. She landed elegantly on the ground. She grinned a bit in her success. It took her many tries, but now she was able to land with ease. She could stay in the air longer now too. She wasn't able to fly yet fully, but she could tell Caeler wouldn't have her try that today. Rory hated to admit it, but she was glad that she had been able to gain something from his plan. Each time he taught her something new, she not only got a rush of power, but she rose higher in his ranks. Every few minutes, she reminded herself of her mission. She had to continue to remind herself because Caeler made the allure of power very strong. Rory would not side with this man- she would save her friends. At any cost.
"You're improving quickly," Caeler complimented as she composed herself.
"Is that surprise, I hear?" Rory questioned knowingly as she made her way to stand in front of him.
"Quite the contrary. You've mistaken shock for admiration, little star," Caeler corrected pointedly before holding his hand out. She stared at his hand, not moving. Did he really expect her to fall at his feet just because he taught her how to jump?
"Asking for my hand so early? I thought you were a gentleman," Rory mocked breezily, referring to his stretched out hand.
"I thought we established that I am no gentleman when it was revealed that I killed you, Rory," Caeler reminded her in a flat voice. Rory couldn't help but recoil, bewildered that he brought that back up. He had been trying to get her on his side. Examining him closely, she tried to figure out his reason for mentioning it. "I told you. I don't want you to be a feeble, agreeable fool! I want your anger!"
"Trust me, you don't," Rory grunted, letting her tight mask break slightly, anger slipping through the cracks.
"Perhaps, you are right. I don't want your anger taken out on me... I have someone else in mind," he began with an ambiguous half-smile, only confusing her further. He said nothing else as he dropped his hand to his side. Turning around, he left their mat. She hesitantly trotted behind him, trying to keep up with his quick pace. They made their way towards the sparring mat where Tempest was still fighting.
The man she was fighting almost had the upper hand, he pinned her to the ground but then made no other move. He must've thought he had won because he had her pinned. Tempest quickly weaved her leg in between his legs and pushed her hand to his chest. He flew to the other side, and she lit up her hand, holding the electricity dangerously to his throat. "Any more predictable moves you'd like to make?"
"Very good, Ms. La'More," Caeler praised, causing her to grin. She pushed a few blonde strands from her face, smoothing them back in her sleek ponytail. Rory glanced around to see the other people in his army. She recognized Valery, who stood in the front, but other than that, she didn't recognize anyone. In this room alone there were about fifty people, but she assumed this was not all they had in their arsenal. Caeler snapped her out of her thoughts when he addressed her. "Rory, would you like to take a guess at what his mistake was?"
Rory pondered for a few moments, recalling the fight that had just occurred. "He thought the fight was over because he had Tempest pinned."
"And what gave him that idea?"
"I'm guessing that's one of the rules in sparring. But in a real fight, people aren't worried about fighting with honor or worrying about the rules of engagement, they're fighting to win," Rory declared forcefully with a touch of ice in her voice, knowing that the warlock would be pleased with her answer.
"Indeed they are," Caeler agreed smoothly. "Now, as I mentioned a few minutes ago, I am not the one to take your anger out on. I would like you to spar."
"Fine, who should I fight?"
"How about... Tempest and Valery," he decided with a small nod. Rory frowned at the decision, unsure if she heard him correctly.
"You want me to fight two well-trained weapons?" Rory questioned incredulously as the two girls smirked, clearly confident in their fighting skills. She had seen Tempest's powers, and she would be stupid to not be worried- lightning was powerful. However, she was more concerned about fighting Valery. She had never seen her powers in a fight, and she only saw them briefly in the cells.
"Worried?" Caeler quipped with fake concern.
Very. "Hardly."
The three of them stepped onto the mat. Valery and Tempest stood on one side of the mat while Rory stayed on the other. The girls all stared at each other, trying to figure the other out before they fought. Rory knew she was doing a decent job at hiding her nerves, the second she showed fear would be the second she lost. Tempest appeared like she was about to make the first move when she was interrupted.
"Oh! Wait, silly me. I nearly forgot," Caeler stopped with a shrill laugh, waving his hands, "I almost forgot to mention- this fight will not end until your opponent is dead. Right, well... carry on!"
They all froze.
"What?" Rory whispered in shock, unsure if she had heard him right.
"Rory, you must kill Tempest and Valery. Meanwhile, Tempest and Valery will be attempting to kill you. Make sense now?" he explained slowly with hands clasped behind his back. Rory gaped at how he could say those words so calmly.
"You want me to..." she trailed off, tilting her head down slightly.
"Kill them," Caeler completed in boredom, clearly getting frustrated by the need to repeat himself. He began to walk off the mat, leaving the three girls unsure of what to do.
"No!" Rory refused in horror. Caeler paused in his step, straightening his back. He turned back to her slowly, a furious expression on his face. She didn't back down as he stalked towards her. She had gone along with everything so far, playing her role well. But she refused to take a life- especially two lives! He let out a dark laugh, eyes voice of emotion.
"You will do as I say, Rory," he demanded in a light tone, but anyone could hear the underlying threat under it, "unless you'd like me to make a little visit to your companions downstairs."
This made Rory pause... but not from fear, from anger. She said nothing as she took a dangerous step towards him, standing just a few inches from his face. Caeler towered over her, but she refused to be intimidated. Although she had the urge to take a step back, she fought it- she couldn't let him win. Rory brought her hand up with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she gently dragged her hand along the side of his face, cupping his cheek slightly. His eyes glared at her icily but she only leaned forward, her lips closed to his ear. Her voice dropped to a low whisper, star-filled eyes narrowed to slits. "You do that, and not only will I never fight for you, but I will make you suffer in ways, not even your twisted mind can think of."
Rory leaned back to see his reaction, but his face remained unchanged. The two stared at each other for a few moments before a lightning bolt surprised them both. It cut in between them, causing them to both dart backward. Rory whipped her body to face Tempest, who had an unreadable expression on her face. Valery's face matched the blondes, and Rory wondered if they really wanted to do this. The two stalked towards Rory in synch. Valery swept her hands beside her, a thick red stream surrounding her. It almost looked like red paint, swishing around her as a protective wall.
"Either you fight us, or we kill you where you stand," Tempest threatened, dancing her lightning around her elegantly.
"I don't want to kill you!" Rory exclaimed in horror. She didn't notice Caeler make his way off the mat, giving the two girls a small nod.
"How honorable of you!" Valery spat in a mocking tone. "But neither of us plan on dying today."
With that, Valery swished her scarlet stream around her before bringing it flying down towards Rory. Her eyes bulged as she dodged it. She had to dart to the side, rolling on the mat before landing in a crouching position. Fine, if it's a fight they want, then that's what they'll get. Rory thought bitterly to herself. She threw her hand out to Valery, and a blast of star energy erupted from her hands. Valery was tossed back like a ragdoll, shrieking as she landed with a thud. Rory lifted herself off the ground, standing in a strong stance.
"Don't do this, Tempest!" Rory shouted at her. She so badly wanted to tell her that she didn't have to be what they've made her. That she wasn't a weapon- she was a person. However, Rory couldn't blow her cover yet. She knew she couldn't save everyone. If she helped Tempest, then she risked the people she was sworn to save.
"I don't take orders from you!" Tempest reminded her as she hastily flicked her wrists over and over in Rory's direction, small lightning bolts cutting through the air. Rory clumsily dodged almost all of the bolts before she was struck in the shoulder. She had never truly fought like this before; she only had fictional fights on Earth to go by, and she knew those weren't reliable teachers. Her shoulder was jolted back, throwing her to the ground. Hearing footsteps approaching her, she wasted no time in directing the star energy towards her legs. She weakly swept her feet under the blonde. Due to the energy in her legs, it made her feeble hit much more powerful. Tempest landed on the ground with a thud. Rory frantically stood up, sending a quick blast to the girl which promptly kept her held down.
Rory was suddenly sent flying, being swept up in a red stream. She tried to jump out of it, but her legs seemed to be stuck. Originally, she had thought the stream was a substance like paint or water, but now she felt that it was more so a thick silky cloud; it was cold but still a bit watery. Valery threw her hands towards the ground, roughly slamming her to the ground. She let out a pained yelp as she landed but immediately tried to stand up. Another red stream slammed harshly down on her, keeping her pinned down.
The stream gave a little, letting Rory sit up to fight. She held both of her hands out to Valery, sending multiple quick blasts towards her. Valery was able to dodge most, using her red stream to diminish the star energy. Rory's eyes widened when Valery raised her hands up, the red stream roaring up behind her in a strong tidal wave. With a roar of power, she slammed her hands down. Rory quickly rolled away from the stream in a panic. She crouched before standing up, tilting her head with a fake smirk of fabricated confidence.
Valery swung her first towards her head, but Rory blocked it with her arm, shoving it upward. Rory took the opening to punch the girl in the stomach. She knew the hit wasn't very hard due to her lack of experience, and she hadn't had to fight anyone before. Valery gracefully lifted her leg in a kick and swung it up to Rory's head. She dipped herself under Valery's leg before rising behind her. Closing her eyes, Rory placed her hands on her shoulders. Eliphas was right, her fighting skills weren't good enough yet, but she could use her mind. Catching Valery off guard, she was able to plummet herself into the depths of her mind.
"No! Mom, don't let them take me!" A young Valery sobbed in a hoarse voice. She struggled against the spells from the coven, binding her in place. She looked like she was in her young teens. Her striking white hair with red streaks sticking to her face from a mix of sweat and tears. "Please! I don't wanna, I don't-"
"Shut up!" A warlock barked at her, backhanding her roughly. Her face snapped to the side, but other than that appeared unbothered.
"She's too young!" Valery's mother pleaded in a weak tone. The warlock ignored her, not bothering to answer. Another woman emerged from the house behind them with a boy.
"No," the woman gasped in horror. "No, you won't take our daughter!"
"And are you going to stop us?" a witch holding her daughter mocked with a self-satisfied smirk.
"No, I will!" a boy who Rory assumed was Valery's brother spoke up bravely. Valery shook her head wildly at her brother, quietly begging him to not do anything to anger the already-irritated coven.
The vision skipped slightly, almost as if it glitched.
The witch shouted a nasty sounding spell, the words "Occidere!" echoing in the air.
A flash of black from the witch's hands.
It hit her brother square in the chest.
Silence.
Then a scream.
Valery's heart-wrenching scream filled the air, chilling Rory to the bone.
The mothers fell to the ground, sobs racking their bodies.
Another glitch in the memory.
One of the mothers was clutching her son's body, head buried in his clothes.
The other mother ran towards the coven.
Another black flash.
Another dead body.
Another chilling scream.
Glitch.
Valery looked a few years older now.
She landed on the mat roughly, greedily gasping for air. A man towered her, looking disappointed in her. He shook his head once before roughly grabbing her and yanking her to her feet. Valery let out a cry of pain, stumbling on a swollen ankle. She struggled to stabilize herself, wincing in doing so. The man looked frustrated with having to wait, rolling up his sleeves as he watched her struggle.
As soon as she was on her feet, she was back down on the mat with a harsh hit.
Up... then back down again.
"Stop it! Can't you see I'm hurt?" Valery pleaded as she motioned down to her ankle.
"When you're hurt in a fight, your opponent won't stop to get you medicine!" the man shouted before kicking her ankle, making her scream in pain as she fell to the ground, her eyes squeezed shut. "You know what they'll do? They'll kill you! Just like we killed your brother... and your mother... and, actually, your other mother!"
She growled in fury, turning upward to hit him. He grabbed her fist firmly, twisting it back, which made her face contorted in pain. She tried to avoid eye contact with him, but he wouldn't have that. He snapped her body to face him, and that was when he noticed the tears in her eyes. He let out a humored scoff.
"Don't you dare cry, girl. The dead do not get to mourn."
"And the wicked don't get to rest," Valery responded automatically without even meaning to say the words.
"Good, now try again. This time, try not to let your emotions get the best of you."
"Yes, Caeler."
"That's enough," Rory decided plainly, taking her hands off the girl's shoulders. She tried not to react to what she had just seen. Valery fell to the ground, wild eyes flickering around as she tried to grasp back onto reality. Rory felt a pang in her heart, feeling terrible for making the girl relive those memories. However, she needed to stop the fight before someone got killed. The star girl locked eyes with the warlock, who looked impressed with her skills. The smug look on his face was enough for Rory to snap. This fight had sent her over the edge, and she hadn't been ready to fight for her life. Rory stormed across the mat, her path set on Caeler.
"Get over here! You better fight me right now!" Tempest shrieked in a sharp tone, trying to push herself off of the ground. Rory rolled her eyes, snapping her arm over to Tempest. Energy burst from her hands, knocking her to the ground once more.
"Shut it," Rory snapped furiously, arm still pushed out as energy spurted from her hands. Her arm fell back to her side before she raised it once more to Caeler. The man did nothing as she reached him. She lit her hand up and held it close to his neck. "Give me one reason not to kill you! You just tried to kill me... so, it's only fair, right? An eye for an eye!"
"Oh, little star... do you really think I would have let you die? You're his trophy," Caeler reminded her with an unabashed shrug.
Second mistake.
"Oh? And who's trophy am I now?" Rory spat with a tilt of her head. His breath hitched slightly, realizing his mistake. She thought hard about his words and realized that this wasn't Caeler's plan. He might be carrying it out, but someone else was pulling the strings.
Caeler recovered quickly, quickly grasping her wrist and throwing it down to her side. She didn't react, waiting for him to cover it up. "Slip of tongue."
"Of course, happens to all of us," she agreed breezily, clearly not meaning it. He nodded slowly, examining her carefully. Rory decided to take a risk, one she knew she will likely regret. "Or perhaps... as us Earthlings say, it was a Freudian slip? Your subconscious mind making an appearance?" Caeler stayed silent, clearly not wanting to make another mistake. "Let's not fool ourselves, Caeler. I know who you're preparing me for. I know that speech of yours about how I'm a trophy for you was all just words to fill the silence... to amuse me. No need to lie-"
"Who's lying?" Caeler feigned innocence, causing Rory to let out a dry chuckle.
"Tell Metus I say hello, would you?" Rory boldly quipped as she turned away from him, no longer seeing why she needed to be in such close proximity to him.
"One last thing," Caeler said loudly, causing her to exhale in annoyance and face him once more.
"Yes?"
"Kill her," Caeler ordered, nodding towards Valery, who looked both shocked and mortified.
"No, no... Caeler, please!" she pleaded in horror, but she was quickly dismissed.
"Quiet! Do not beg! Do not plead! You quivering fool," he snarled in disgust, staring at her like he just took her out of the trash. Valery immediately bowed her head. Rory felt her heart tug when she saw the girl was holding tears that were building in her eyes. His voice rose to a roar, his rage getting the best of him. "I have been very generous to you, Rory. But that ends now! You will listen to me! You- will- kill- her!"
"No, not her! Just you!" Rory corrected before throwing both of her hands out. Energy exploded from her hands and pummeled through the tense air towards the warlock. He looked alarmingly unaffected, which startled Rory. She saw him move his lips quickly, muttering a small as he swiped his hands in front of him. A small orange shield appeared in front of him, deflecting her energy back toward her. Rory gasped before she was thrown back by her own powers. Slamming on the ground, she let out a moan of pain. She had never realized how strong the energy blasts were.
"Such a pity! I thought I could teach you how to be powerful, but as it turns out, you are not ready," Caeler drawls, acting bored. "Perhaps, you need to be reminded of that dreadful life back in that cage with your people."
Rory knew this would happen; she just hoped that she had gotten enough information to use against Caeler and the rest of the coven. She didn't put up a fight when two people emerged from the crowd. She had almost completely forgotten about the rest of the army watching her. Two warlocks grabbed onto her, holding her in place for further instructions.
"Now, my little star, I could just let you get away free of harm... but what kind of mentor would I be if I taught you that insubordination is allowed? Encouraged, even? No... do not worry, I will be sure to teach you a lesson that sinks in well," Caeler smirked, not even bothering to hide the malicious edge in his voice.
The two warlocks bent her arms roughly behind her, making her fall to her knees, leaning her back as if to present her to him. He slowly proceeded towards Rory, arms behind his back. Caeler stood in front of her for a moment before bending down in front of her. She panted heavily in fear, her chest heaving up and down rapidly. Rory refused to break eye contact with the warlock, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her scared.
"Let's hope, for all our sakes, that the message... leaves a lasting impression," Caeler snarled before roughly grabbing onto Rory's face, squeezing her cheeks. She tried to break free of his grip, jolting her head slightly.
He grinned before lifting his other hand to his lips. "Cicatrice," he whispered hauntingly. It took a few moments, but his pointer finger began to glow a harsh orange-red. Rory started to writhe, trying to get away from the unknown spell. Caeler laughed darkly at her squirming. "If you stay still, this will be so much easier!"
In a blink of an eye, his hand darted out and firmly grasped her wrists, wrenching it over to him. Caeler smoothed out her hand, brushing it gently, which sent a shiver down Rory's spine. His eyes were wild with rage and a twinge of excitement, making Rory more scared than she would care to admit.
That's when he dipped his finger to her right hand, and he began to carve.
The scream tore apart her throat instantly like a shard of glass. Her eyes squeezed shut, hot tears leaking from her pained eyes. The pain was nothing like she had ever experienced before; it was searing and never-ending. Caeler didn't react to her screams, and he simply furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. She tried to distance herself from the pain in her mind, but she didn't get that mercy. The scream that escaped her mouth was rawly terrified, desperate... and human. She could feel the blood trickling down her hand, and she tried not to imagine what he was carving into her.
Finally, the pain stopped.
Caeler backed away from her with a proud expression.
Rory panted heavily, unable to stop her tears from strolling down her face.
"What... did you do... to me?" Rory questioned hoarsely, she meant for her voice to come out strong, but she couldn't do that anymore. She clutched her hand to her chest, terrified to see what it was. Rory assumed it was something to mock her, to always remind her of the power he had over her. Her hand burned with pain, her body jolting slightly every few seconds from painful spasms. She scolded herself for thinking she outsmarted him. In the end, she showed him just how weak she truly was.
"I gave you a reminder of who you belong to, Rory. Never forget that you are nothing more than a mere trophy."