Katherine
Aaron and I stumbled up the stone stairs, leaning on each other for support. At the top of the stairwell, Aaron's knees buckled and gave out. "I'm fine, don't worry," he waved my concerns away. "Just let me...catch my breath..."
"No, you're not fine," I said firmly. My knees felt weak too, so I sat down on the ground next to him. "Your entire shoulder is soaked with blood. Your back, too. Doesn't it hurt?"
"It didn't hurt back there," Aaron jutted a thumb in the direction of the booby-trap room. "but it sure hurts like hell now. The adrenaline must have worn off."
"Here, don't move." I stretched out a hand and blue tendrils of magic flickered to life around my hand. I laid the hand on the open wound on Aaron's shoulder. The magic danced along his shoulder and down his back.
"Kath, stop." Aaron grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away from his shoulder. "Healing me will use up a lot of your energy. Heal yourself first, and then save your energy for our battle with Lord Victor."
"If you don't let me heal you, you're going to collapse from blood loss before we even reach Lord Victor. You don't intend to make me fight him by myself, do you?" I argued. Eventually, Aaron agreed to let me heal him enough so that the wound would stop tearing when he uses his sword. I had to promise to stop as soon as I started feeling weak.
As I healed Aaron, I felt my magic coursing along my body as well, closing cuts and mending torn flesh. In all honesty, I was in no better condition than Aaron, and the healing magic was depleting my energy quickly. As the blue sparks started to fade in and out, I pulled my hand away. Aaron and I sat next to each other quietly with our backs against the cold stone wall. I broke the silence.
"It's all my fault. It should've been me to stay behind, not Lionel." A lump formed in my throat. "I told Lionel to step on the tile that released the Evils. Because of my wrong choice, we all nearly died in there, and now Lionel—" I couldn't continue. The guilt was overwhelming.
"Kath, it's not your fault." Aaron comforted me, placing a soothing hand on my shoulder. "We had to try all the tiles anyway, and there was no way to know that that tile would release the Evils. Lionel is a great swordsman; he'll be fine. He said he would meet up with us later, didn't he?"
I met Aaron's gaze under the torch light, and I knew both of us were clinging onto those words and refusing to consider the alternative. "Aaron, what if we're wrong? What if we can't defeat Lord Victor?" The tears came swiftly, like a dam breaking. I tried to blink them back. "We already lost so many people, and now it's just you and me. He still has Indigo in his grasp. Do you honestly believe we can win?"
I hated crying in front of people. I hated feeling weak and helpless. But all the tension and constant fear for my life had reached a breaking point. We don't know whether Lucian is alive or dead. We barely escaped numerous near-death situations. Lionel is wounded and surrounded by an entire pack of Evils. Aaron and I are in no shape to face a formidable foe like Lord Victor. All of this happened in merely a few short hours, and I really wasn't sure if we could keep going.
Aaron surprised me by enveloping me in a hug. "I don't know, Kath. I don't know if we can win or even if...if we'll make it out of here alive." He took in a wavering breath. "But we've got to try, right? We're the chosen ones. We have to face Lord Victor. Like you said earlier, everything depends on us. We can't let the people who died die for nothing. It's a huge burden, but it's something that we have to take on. The prophecy did say we would defeat Lord Victor, so that's something."
I cracked a smile. "Yeah, I guess. But I'm not sure I believe in the prophecy entirely anymore. We don't even have the spear of light."
"We'll make do without it." Aaron patted my back. "At the very least, I'm grateful that I was able to undertake this quest with you. Thank you for everything, Kath."
"Me too, Aaron. Thanks for everything." I closed my eyes for a brief moment before pulling back from the embrace and wiping the residual tears from my face. "You're absolutely correct: we have to try. Let's go; Indigo is still waiting for us."
* * * * *
Aaron and I pushed the stone doors to the throne room open together. The rumbling echoed in the cavernous room. We stepped in cautiously. Although large, tall torches lined the walkway leading up to the throne and many candles flickered in iron chandeliers on the ceiling, the room still felt dim and oppressing. It was empty and silent except for the echo of our footsteps.
"Indigo!" Aaron shouted, sprinting towards the stone pillars to the left of the room. I followed, and what I saw made my heart stop. About two meters off the floor, Indigo was chained at her wrists and ankles in a spread-eagle fashion between the two pillars. Her head drooped and her hands were limp. Bloodstains and wounds of all sizes covered her entire body. There was a small puddle of blood on the ground.
"Indigo! Indigo! Can you hear me? It's Aaron." Aaron looked up at Indigo's unresponsive form with worry and panic. He turned to me. "Kath, I'll cut her top chains, Can you reach the bottom ones?"
"I think so." I unsheathed Retribution. As Aaron propelled himself upwards with a burst of wind and began sawing at the chains shackling Indigo's wrists, I stood on tiptoes and stretched my arm to saw through the chain on her ankles. I was glad that our swords were made from the best materials in the kingdom because it cut through the iron chains pretty easily. As the last chain fell away, Aaron caught Indigo in his arms and descended with help from his wind powers.
I rushed over. Her eyes were closed, and she was exhaling more than she was inhaling. Her pulse was very, very faint, but it was there. I had Aaron carefully lay Indigo on the ground and summoned all of my healing magic to heal Indigo. Aaron watched anxiously, murmuring to her. "We're here, Indigo. We're going to bring you home. Hold on, you hear me? Kath and I are here; you're okay now. You're okay."
As the blue magic swirled around Indigo, I saw her lips move. Aaron and I both leaned in close. "...the orb..." she said faintly. "...the orb..."
"The orb?" I repeated Indigo's words. "What about the orb?"
As I leaned in again to see if I could catch more words, Aaron looked around the throne room more carefully. He stood up all of a sudden and pointed towards the throne.
"Kath, the orb!"
I looked up. Indeed, in front of the obsidian throne was a matching obsidian stand, and a magical orb the size of an apple was floating there, glowing a wispy green. Aaron's gaze locked on the orb.
"I'm going to destroy it. Once the orb is destroyed, Lord Victor loses all power, right?" He began taking cautious strides towards it.
I remembered the sorceress Madeline giving us warnings about the orb. Something she said nagged me in the back of my mind, but I couldn't place a finger on it. "Could it be a trap? Why is the orb just there, without any protection?"
"Trap or no trap, we have to try. I'll destroy this one first and see what happens." Aaron leapt over the last few steps leading up to the throne. He circled the stand and the orb warily, even prodding the orb with the tip of his sword. Nothing happened.
"...careful..." Indigo breathed another whispery word. I turned my attention back to her. "...orb...lies...Victor..."
My heart pounded in my ears. What was Indigo trying to warn us about, even when she was unconscious and on the brink of death? Is Aaron in danger? I looked back towards Aaron to warn him again, but the words died in my throat. I saw him holding the orb in one cupped hand and staring intensely into its depths. The orb glowed brighter, and some tendrils of magic began to wound themselves around Aaron's arm. Something was definitely wrong.
"Smash it, Aaron! Throw it on the floor!" I shouted, a strong sense of uneasiness washing over me. "Aaron! Snap out of it!"
Aaron didn't seem to hear me. I would have rushed over and knocked the orb out of his hand, but I had to keep my hand on Indigo to keep the healing magic flowing. Finally, Aaron tore his gaze away from the orb and looked at me. The anger and hurt in his eyes shocked me. "Why, Kath? Why did you lie to me?"
"What?" The question left me speechless. "When did I lie to you? About what?"
"I can't believe it. Everything...everything we've been through together, it was all a lie?" Aaron began walking down the steps towards me, the orb still in his hand. "Kath, why? WHY?!"
I stared at him in confusion. This was not right. What was Aaron talking about? Indigo's words floated back into my mind. Careful. Orb. Lies. The realization hit me.
"Aaron, it's not real. Drop the orb. It's showing and telling you lies! Smash it on the floor, now! Don't fall into Lord Victor's trap!" I desperately called out, trying to reach Aaron through whatever illusion he was under. He didn't stop.
"I trusted you, Kath. You were my friend. How could you betray me? Betray us?!" Aaron's eyes burned with hatred. "Now you want me to give you the orb, so you can take the power for yourself and destroy us once and for all?"
"I—what? No, I don't want the orb! Smash it, Aaron! Let go!" My voice rose an octave. Indigo was still unconscious. I can't fight Aaron. "Indigo is still hurt. She needs us. Snap out of it, Aaron!"
Upon hearing Indigo's name, Aaron halted. He took in the sight of me kneeling beside Indigo with my magic-covered hands over her heart. For a moment, I thought he broke free of the orb's illusion. But then Aaron let out a guttural cry.
"You killed Lucian, then Lionel, and now Indigo too! They were your friends, Katherine! They were your friends!" He tossed the orb into the air, where it floated just above his left shoulder, and unsheathed his sword. "I'm going to avenge all of them today, even if it means I have to die in the process!"
Before I could say anything, Aaron rushed at me with his sword extended. I don't know what illusions he was seeing, but I inferred a few scenarios from what he said. I pushed Indigo away and rolled in the opposite direction, unsheathing Retribution in the process. Clang! Aaron's sword struck the pillar behind where I was in a shower of sparks. He yanked back his sword and glared at me, who was standing only few meters away. "Don't you dare run away, Katherine!" He rushed at me again, and this time our swords clashed together. The force from the collision sent me stumbling back. Under normal circumstances I could beat Aaron without too much effort, but healing Indigo took a toll on me.
"Aaron it's not real! No one is dead!" As our swords met again and again, I attempted to talk him out of it. "It's all an illusion from the orb. Lord Victor is playing tricks on you! We need to destroy the orb, not fight each other!"
"I won't fall for your lies again, Katherine! You will pay for all you have done!" Aaron didn't seem to hear. He swung his sword in a wide arc, which I narrowly avoided. His eyes were clouded with the illusions he saw. Aaron hadn't called me "Katherine" since we first met years ago; he always called me "Kath". My heart hurt suddenly, even though I knew he was under the influence of the orb. The orb...I had to destroy the orb to pull Aaron from the lies.
"Ahh!" A cut appeared on my right arm, the blood appearing immediately. In my moment of distraction, Aaron wounded me. I forced him back with my sword and leapt backwards, surveying the situation. The orb flashed, enveloping Aaron with more wisps of green magic. He readied his sword before lunging for me again.
As we fought, I slowly directed our battle away from where Indigo laid on the floor. With every clash of our swords, I worried that I wouldn't be able to take the blow the next time. I tried to avoid hurting Aaron, which meant I was always on the defense—and losing.
The orb stayed right above Aaron's left shoulder. As Aaron swooped in for a fatal blow, his sword aimed straight at my heart, I rushed forward and suddenly tilted my body sideways, shifting my entire left side back. My extended sword struck the orb hard, and I saw cracks appear on its surface. It careened backwards, trailing green magic. At the same time, Aaron's sword buried itself deep in my left shoulder, piercing through the intersection of my deltoid and pectoral muscles. I let out a muffled scream.
For a split second, no one spoke or moved. I peered at Aaron intently to see if he was back to normal. Then he pulled his sword out in one fluid motion and my blood splattered across half of his face and his already bloodstained shirt. I stumbled backwards, passing Retribution to my left hand and pressing my right hand over the gaping wound, trying to summon enough magic to heal myself. To my dismay, a green sphere shakily rose behind Aaron, its surface filled with a spider web of cracks but still miraculously intact.
Aaron summoned a gust of wind that lifted me from the ground. I shouted at him to put me down, but he sent me flying backwards into the stone wall. I fell to the ground in a heap. My head felt like it's about to split open. My back screamed in pain. Blood dribbling down the corner of my mouth mixed with the blood streaming from my shoulder on the dark gray ground. I struggled to blink the fuzziness away. Through the haze, I saw Aaron stalk towards me slowly with his sword in hand, still dripping blood. The orb wobbled behind his head, as if using Aaron as a shield to hide from me.
I pushed myself into a half-sitting position and grabbed the hilt of my sword, groaning at the pain. Aaron walked closer, his steps measured and even. I watched his feet and silently gauged the distance between us. Retribution, it's all up to you. In my grasp, the sword seemed to hum in response.
Aaron was only a few paces away. The torchlight bounced off the metal of his sword, illuminating what was probably my imminent death. Suddenly, I reared back and threw my sword as I would with a javelin toward Aaron's head with all my might. As predicted, Aaron dodged my attack easily by simply leaning towards the right. But my goal wasn't Aaron—it was the orb that hovered right behind him. Retribution streaked past Aaron and struck the orb with full force. The momentum sent both objects sailing through the air. There was the sound of something shattering, and the orb exploded into a million shards, the magic shrieking in the air and dissipating in a cloud of green smoke. My sword landed vertically on the walkway, its point buried in a crack in the ground. The entire sword shuddered at the impact.
Aaron had his sword pointed at me, ready to deliver the final blow at any time. I was defenseless. But as the green smoke disappeared, the hatred in Aaron's eyes cleared. He gasped, as if waking from a nightmare, and shook his head rapidly a few times. Then he registered the sight before him and his face twisted from confusion into shock and horror. His lips moved, but nothing came out.
Slow applause echoed in the chamber, making both of us jump. Lord Victor was seated on the throne, watching us with an amused expression. A hooded figure stood silently behind him. When did they get here?
"That was a wonderful show. You two deserve a standing ovation." Lord Victor stood and clapped a few seconds more.
With each echo of the applause in the throne room, Aaron's face turned paler. He stumbled backwards, his eyes wide with disbelief. His sword clattered to the ground. I fought another wave of pain as I watched Aaron tremble all over, before his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees. "K—Kath..." he managed to force out. "Kath..."
Lord Victor laughed at our pain. He extended his arms to gesture at all that around us. "Welcome to my castle, dear children. I'm so glad you were all able to make it. Now that everyone is here, let's get the party started, shall we?"