9. Trial by Fire #2
Mom conjured a portal to a private Realm she had created, something Odysseus used often during his training sessions, but right now, it was an empty canvas.
Zephryine was already there and was directing clouds to cover the sun to set the mood and keep all ounce of hope from leaking into the atmosphere.
The girls hugged themselves, worry flashing across their faces, as Mom positioned Deveraux in the center of the field and placed both hands on his temples.
“This might sting a little,” she teased lightly.
“I can handle it,” he lied shakily. Dad was not pleased by Deveraux’s rattled nerves but decided to not intervene more than he had, though he tapped his foot harshly to contain himself.
Mom flashed pure gold eyes before her veins illuminated the same color, and her element began to course through Deveraux’s body.
His eyes flashed the amber, and his head tilted back.
His mouth opened, and when it did, the landscape around us burst into an incredible light.
Dad did his part and opened a rift in the Shadow Realm, where souls began to funnel from by the hundreds.
Around us, fallen soldiers from Ancient Greece began to spring from the ground, fighting their eternal battle with one another.
Spears impaled men, horses neighed frantically as they bolted through the landscape, and wives wailed at their husbands’ feet.
Temples made from glorious marble materialized across the hillside, as well as horrendous flames that overtook the battlefield.
Children raced across the ground, running from the chaos, tripping over burned bodies and fallen weaponry.
Their tears broke my heart, but I knew this was a simulation, and not reality for them the way it once was.
Deveraux slumped to his knees. He looked around the battlefield with horrified gold eyes, shaking from head to toe as his darkest memories consumed him.
To him, this battlefield was fully alive, fully real, and as long as we had this test going, he needed to be under Mom’s spell.
He flexed his hand, as if to signify he should be holding a weapon, and kept spinning in circles to watch the devastation taking place around him.
The harder he hyperventilated, the more worried I became.
I wanted to yank him out of this immediately, but he had agreed after all, so I knew he’d be mad if I did such a thing.
Dad and Blaine ran through the battling souls and pulled Deveraux up by his arms, so they could drag him to a safe distance and console him. He wasn’t entirely sure what was reality and what wasn’t, but he knew his friends were there and let their voices bring him back to us.
I turned to Isadora and Odessa, who were distraught over what they watched transpire on that field. “Well, who wants to go first?” I prompted.
Isadora was still frozen, so Odessa took a step forward. “I suppose we should go at the same time. We'll only argue if one finishes and the other doesn’t.”
I pondered her offer before nodding once.
“Fine with me. You will start here...” I marked an X on the ground with my scythe tip, “and need to make it to the gates at the other side of the field without interacting with a single soul. Not a moment of regret, remorse, guilt, nothing. No empathy, no sympathy. Do not let these souls in, because the moment you do, you will be transported back to my side and fail the challenge.” I looked to Deveraux, who had his face buried in Dad’s chest. “Make this test worth it.
It's costing my dear friend a lot of anguish.”
“This will be a slice of cake!” Odessa exclaimed joyfully.
“No empathy, no sympathy, no guilt...” Isadora repeated as she and Odessa moved to stand on the X’s I drew.
I, being used to this kind of landscape after reaping souls in war-torn countries, bounced across rocks and bodies until I was suspended above the flames. “On your mark...! GO!”
Odessa was much more confident than Isadora.
She raced forward at blinding speeds, slipping through souls on the ground that howled and clawed at her legs.
Isadora skittered behind her sister, hugging herself to keep all her focus on the gates across the field.
Odessa soaked in the dangerous amounts of despair around her and lapped it up like a dog at a water dish, her mouth contorting into its demonic, wide-toothed smile.
Her smile was the same as her mother’s when she used her demon form, and the sight of it made my stomach turn.
Isadora, on the other hand, remained in her ‘Human’ form and walked slowly, at an even pace, with her eyes fixated on her goal.
She did not look at a single soul that wailed at her feet, did not break her focus for a second.
She stayed still, consistent, and dialed into her mission.
Her sister bounced by her like a child chasing a butterfly, laughing even at the destruction around her.
I found this particularly interesting. One sister was overly confident, maybe to a fault, while the other was careful, not shaken, but not blind to the challenge.
Their contrast was obvious, and not what I expected of the bickering duo.
Dad watched the two curiously himself, his eyes jutting back and forth between them.
He signaled for me to catch up with them, and left Deveraux with Blaine, Zephryine, and Mom so he could join me.
We hovered over the field and silently watched the girls, both of us taking mental notes to compare when this was over. “Isadora seems nervous,” he commented.
“Not nervous: calculated.” I pointed to her. “She is entirely focused. She is not feeding, not doing anything beyond controlling her emotions. Odessa is indulging, carelessly at that. Not a good sign, if I'm being honest.”
“Calculated, you say?” Dad cupped his chin. “Let’s see where this goes, then.”