Ascension - (Alarian Warriors)

You okay? Damon asked, clearly concerned for her.

Do not worry, I have been through far worse. She concluded more to herself than to reassure him.

I can get through the warding; I’m made of his flesh. It’s the main reason he always felt the need to control me. Damon offered. He was thinking of a plan as they spoke.

Being closely connected with him she could easily read his thoughts. I understand, I will keep him busy, giving you enough time... hopefully. She didn’t need an explanation. The others are coming. She added as reassurance.

“Can you please undo the bindings, I would like to speak to lord Ashera as his daughter, not as a prisoner.” Aveyon had both the men confused in that moment.

“Your father?” Damon was generally dumbfounded.

Sorry Damon, I should have told you sooner. She was careful to keep up the act.

She giggled lightly. “You really think I would be stupid enough to come here with you Damon, when I can read minds? Please, you should have known we were siblings, it is pretty obvious when you think about it.”

“Daughter!?” Ashera half laughed. “I have no such thing.”

“You feel the connection do you not? We are never meet before; how do you explain such a thing?” She added. “You know we share blood. And the shard that Damon stabbed me with, your blood simply absorbed into mine like it was a part of me.”

“I thought you were given the Ichor as a gift, but you were born with it?” Damon was in shock.

Ashera narrowed his gaze on her before nodding the okay to Damon, who undid the flimsy restraints around her wrists. “Continue.” He ordered.

“Ask the women that watches from behind you, the so-called goddess that is my mother.” She spoke the words with venom, even Damon cringed.

Ashera’s brow raised. “Woman, does she speak the truth?” He called over his shoulder.

“Yes...” a weak sounding female voice responded from the darkness.

A cruel smirk spread across his face. “So, you are his spawn then, not mine.”

Aveyon frowned. “His?”

“It does not matter; he and I were once the same. So yes, you are my daughter. How... interesting.” She felt like Ashera was speaking more to himself than to her. “This, could be useful.”

“How so?” She folded her arms across her chest.

“Now, you are far more valuable alive, then dead.” His deep voice sent a shiver down her spine. “I see now, why she chose you to succeed her.”

“I believe you and I have gotten off on the wrong foot.” She walked past Ashera, up to his throne and slowly sat herself down on the arm of the massive stone seat. “You wanted me dead as I was the only one that could hurt your goals, correct? Those goals we have only ever been able guess at, but I can assure you I have no desire to rule, or to take you off your throne. If anything, I want someone else to take the burden from me. Why fight a war that was not of my making?” She threw her hands in the air, emphasizing her words as she crossed her legs, making herself comfortable. The thing that surprised her the most was that her words were not entirely a lie, they came naturally.

“And what makes you think I would believe such a thing?” He followed her movements, watching carefully.

When Ashera turned toward Aveyon, his back was turned on Damon, who took the opportunity to sink into the darkness of the edge of the room. Vanishing from sight, Aveyon knew she needed to keep Ashera’s attention on her until Damon opened the cage. Once open they would have mere moments to escape.

“Why would I want to be here to meet you otherwise?” She was making a point to not look at Vexous.

“Why indeed.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw twitching.

“I simply wish to get to Alarious so I can put an end to everyone wanting so much from me, they want me to make more aura’s, more Alarians.” She laughed dryly. “I was betrayed by the man I once called father, ripped from my home and held prisoner by a human! The very creatures we were drilled to protect, ironic isn’t it.”

“He was human?” Ashera asked intrigued. “Impossible.”

“I wish it were.” She shook her head with a pained expression in her eyes. “He ate pieces of the unnaturals and gained abilities.”

Ashera let out a half laugh. “A mere mortal figured that out!” One of his brows raised. “Your eyes, one is a fake...”

She turned away wrapping her arms around herself. “He ate it.”

His jaw clenched as his anger rose. “Then you are not whole, that could have been troublesome had it not been for the newly acquired facts of your birth. Your consumption would have been premature, I need both him and you.”

Her head snapped back, her eyes locking with his. “Consumption!?”

He huffed. “Not like you think child, I am not a barbarian-” He tilted his head. “Well actually, I guess I am. But that is not the point.” He strode forward, leaning forward, he was inches away from her now, their noses almost touching. “We celestials are different. Though I must applaud you as your act is compelling.”

She frowned, growing confused. “Act?”

“Where do you think got your spirit abilities from, if not from me?” He continued. “I know exactly for what purpose you are here.”

Her eyes brows creased as he raised his hand, his eyes were locked with hers, a smirk appearing to taunt her. “You’ve gotten better, but I’m still stronger. I may not be able to command you-”

She felt a rush of air whip past her. The power behind the attack had her on her feet in an instant. But it was already too late, she heard the sickening sounds of the razor-sharp blades made of air slicing through flesh behind her. Her body stiffened as she saw Damon laying in a bloody mess behind her. One of his hands, now detached from his body was still clenched onto metal trapping lady Vexous.

“I can still read you with ease. Though your words are true which is interesting, you should never have come.” He took a single step toward her. “But oh, how glad I am that you choose to be, so foolish.” His grin widened as he spoke, it sent chills down her spine. “I have learnt something interesting today.”

In that moment he intimidated her, she felt as small and insignificant as she did when she was Bevan’s captive. She hated that feeling, and yet the sheer pressure of his presence was overwhelming, her limbs lightly shook as fear gripped her. They’d made a mistake, a big one.

“Shocking, isn’t it? To find you’re not the only one with the ability to slide into another’s mind unnoticed. It is true that I normally make my presence known, what can I say, I like to see people in pain.” He laughed, taking another step toward her.

She took a step backward, slowly descending the stairs at the back of his throne. It was as though the world had stopped, only his slow movements toward her ringing in her mind as his heavy boots hit the stone.

“From the moment you were making your whole plan outside the door, I was there.” He tapped a finger to his temple.

She felt the weight of the world crashing down on her.

“Your conversation with your little brother, so touching.”

A sick feeling was forming in the pit of her stomach.

“Though, I will say that I cannot get into the part of your mind that controls your thoughts or body anymore.” He frowned as though annoyed.

She tried to calm her breathing. That was right, he couldn’t get in. She was stronger now, more than she had ever been. From behind her she could hear Damon; it sounded like he was choking on his own blood. She needed to snap out of this frightened state.

“But I can still linger on the edge and listen in. Those pesky thoughts that you aren’t guarding, they slip through.” He was enjoying this, almost singing the words. With the wave of his hand, he sent another wave of deadly wind toward Damon.

“No!” Aveyon screamed. Her own hands flew swiftly into action, trying to counter the attack and protect Damon. She didn’t have enough time to conjure a barrier, the best she could manage was to intercept the wind blades with her own, cancelling them out as they impacted each other. But she didn’t get them all. Several slipped though.

Damon cried out in agony as his body was battered with the razor-sharp winds yet again. “Run! You...you need to run.” Damon managed to muster between short sharp breaths and gurgles of what she assumed was his own blood.

She didn’t want to leave him, or Vexous. Damon continued to plead with her to run, how he remained conscious with the damage to his body, she didn’t know. Blood began to soak the ground at an alarming rate. She felt frozen, unable to muster the courage to fight or run, what was she meant to do?

“Think of the others, you need to get them out, tell them what you know.” Vexous spoke as she reached through the bars to grip Damon’s still attached hand with her own. A pained expression on her haunted face as she watched on helpless as her children suffered. “You are all our hopes and dreams combined.”

Well before Aveyon could tell her body to move, a tight grip clenched around her neck. He was fast, she hadn’t even seen him move. He was standing inches from her, looking down at her as his grip squeezed her windpipe. She squeaked in protest as her hands clawed at the fingers taking her air away.

“I think we can fit another in that cage of yours Vex, what do you think?” His fingers dug into her neck and she began to gasp for air, unable to breathe. “Our one weakness, you need oxygen to the brain for our minds to work. You let your guard down love. Your mine now.”

Like hell I am! She screamed with venom directly into his mind. He may have been quick to act, but so was she. She’d opened the vial at her hip and had already imbued her essence with the liquid. Using the same method he had earlier with air, she strengthen her attack by adding and merging her blood with the air essence. With a small flick of her wrist, she sliced through his abdomen, it impacted and sliced into his flesh just enough for him to release her, sadly it didn’t do a great deal of damage.

That small amount of contact and she knew, she was no match for his mind, she couldn’t get through, not as she was. Her head whipped up, anger and resentment filling her. She was going to ascend and take him down!

“Blood welding?” His eyes widened, shocked. He stumbled a few steps back, disbelief on his face as he looked at his blood coated hands.

Seconds later Vincent and Kirra came storming in. It was a given that Vincent would have felt her fear the moment she had, she knew it would only be a matter of time before he showed up.

“Get her out! Now!” Damon screamed at them.

Vincent looked on in shock, but he was quick to act. He ran for Aveyon pulling her towards the door before Ashera had a chance to recover from the shock of the blow.

“We cannot just leave him!” She frantically tried to struggle against Vincent’s hold reaching for Damon.

“You must!” It was one of the fallen Alarian’s that spoke, taking them all by surprise.

“Lady Aveyon, if you wish to free us all, you must leave now. Live to fight another day. It is good to know you are ali-” Ashera back handed the women. “I see you need reprogramming again.” He grunted.

Aveyon held back tears as she was pulled from the throne room, she didn’t want this. To leave people behind that needed help, people that were surely going to be tortured and because of her.

She heard a voice call after them as they made their escape.

“The boy with you, he is the key. He holds a means of getting to Alarious!” Vexous yelled as loud as she could.

The cries and screams of women erupted from the room as she was dragged away. Her bottom lip quivered, and her eyes strung as she fought back the tears. She knew what that was like, she knew the suffering they were enduring.

The doors slammed behind them locking them out as a mass of bodies concealed in the darkness, only their glowing red eyes could be seen as they came scrabbling toward them. Demon’s and fallen Alarian’s alike, frothing at the mouth and hungry for the kill.

They had no choice but to run, she knew the way to the fissure, she could get them there, she had too. She hated herself for running. Most of all she hated herself for leaving her brother behind, when he had only just gained his freedom, when they had only just found each other.