The Shadows of a Supernova

by N P Hector

Katrina’s voice was measured. “So, you don’t need this necklace to unleash your powers?”

  “Nope.”

  “And you don’t have any powers?”

  Selene held her hands up. “If I did, I definitely wouldn’t be here right now.”

  Katrina couldn’t argue with that. “Perhaps you do have powers and they’ll just appear when you mature?” At Selene’s level stare, Katrina gave up that line of questioning. She thought for a moment and then lit up with a smile. “But Rom will come for you! He still thinks you could be Sorcha.”

  “He knows I’m not Sorcha.”

  “Then this was all a big mistake. And we’re caught up in the middle of it.”

  The dome went completely dark. And when the light returned Selene realized that they were surrounded by people in grey cloaks. She could see their faces, and the cloaked people were impassive. She stood firm and tried to quell her shaking legs. She lifted her chin.

  Kem was back. This time, he also wore a robe. His was just a darker grey than the others. “I can assure you that this is not a mistake.”

  Selene racked her mind for any way to avoid what she knew was coming next. Grasping onto the information Katrina had given her, she tried her best to sound authoritative. “I’m not Sorcha, and so I don’t have that magical power you seem to think I have. And even if I did you don’t have the opal necklace to trap the powers once you kill me.” She hoped that Katrina would take the hint and hide the necklace. Maybe the necklace distraction would send them on a wild goose chase away from her if they thought they needed it to kill her properly.

  I really feel like adding a “AHA!” to that statement.

  But before she could truly bask in her accomplishment, Katrina interrupted. “Wait, I thought you said that you didn’t need the necklace? That it wasn’t yours” At Selene’s warning look she put a hand over her mouth. “Oh.” Her eyes darted between the members of the circle and she mouthed, so sorry, Sel.

  Well, there goes that idea. Now they won’t be distracted by the necklace plot. They know they don’t need it to extract my powers.

  Selene fought the urge to cry as the circle chuckled. The insult grew worse when Kem spoke. “So, that settles that. You’ll reach your maturity in about 15 minutes and then this can all be over with, alright?”

  She gave him a look that suggested she thought he was demented. What did he expect her to say? “Alright, sounds good! Let me know what I need to do to make this easier for you”

  A cloaked figure stepped forward and offered him a bright white cloak. Stepping towards Selene, he offered her the cloak. “Be a dear a toss this on.” His tone was polite, but there was a steely edge to it. Selene refused to take it. “You’re being incredibly rude.”

  Selene put a leash on her anger. She couldn’t care less if this pompous ass thought she was being rude. She could tell that this was a short fuse, which would make negotiating that much more difficult. But she had to try. “I will put that robe on if you give me something in return.”

  “Bargaining down to the wire? Interesting. Still have a bit of fight in you, yet.” She just glared at him. He sighed and snapped his fingers. Two cloaked men stepped forward and grabbed Katrina roughly by the elbow. “Hm, seeing that we only have a few more minutes to get this on you, and I certainly won’t be letting you free, how about I offer to not kill Katrina if you don the white cloak, hm?”

  One of the goons yanked Katrina’s curly red hair to the side and exposed her neck. The other produced a large knife and rested it against Katrina’s neck. Katrina looked pained. “Please, Sel. Please put on the cloak.”

  Recognizing that she had been backed into a proverbial corner, she snatched the white bundle from Kem’s hands and discarded her sweater. Pulling the white robe over her pajamas she adjusted it. If she could get Katrina out of here then Katrina’s life would be saved. Kem clapped his hands and the garment started to glow. Feeling drained, Selene swayed on her feet. She suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous. She tried her best, but she eventually slipped to her knees. She was so overcome by the weakness that her kneecaps collided with the concrete floor before she could stop it. Her hands were shaking.

  “What...what have you done to the cloak?”

  Kem rolled up the sleeves of his dark grey cloak. The men holding Katrina released her and returned to the circle. “You were a classics minor, weren’t you? I’m sure you’ve heard the myth about the shirt given to Herakles. It weakened him to the point of death.”

  “So, you’ve poisoned me”

  “Poison is a woman’s weapon. No, I’m just weakening you so if you do get your powers before I can kill you, your body will be too weak to make use of them.”

  Selene grew even weaker. She braced her hands on the concrete beside her and tried to stay awake. “I told you, I don’t have any powers. And even if I did, how do you know they won’t be strong enough to overcome this?”

  Kem knelt before her and Selene used the remnants of her energy to shift away from him. “You really are a gem, aren’t you?” He stood again and pointed to Katrina. “Well, there’s an easy solution to all of that. Katrina here suppresses powers and can easily quell any surprises from you.”

  Selene lifted her head and brushed the hair from her face. “Katrina would never. You can’t make her.”

  The circle laughed at Selene’s conviction. Katrina spoke, “he doesn’t have to.” The chain around her ankle anchoring her to the floor disappeared, and someone tossed her a grey cloak. Selene’s body turned to ice. She asked, brokenly, “Katrina, why?”

  “Because we needed to have a bargaining chip to make you more cooperative.”

  “It’s you. You’re the mole.”

  Katrina clapped and took her place in the circle. “And all without a PhD! Guess that it didn’t help you too much in the end, anyways.”

  “But they killed your fated!”

  Katrina tucked her curls into the hood and spread her arms. “Darling, how do you think someone gains entry into this club? You kill your fated and take their power unto yourself.”

  Kem nodded. “Katrina had heard of us and approached intending to join. She couldn’t until she found her fated, so when she stumbled across him in a small town, we arranged a little scenario where he could be the knight in shining armor. So, we had the group swarm her car.”

  “Men love playing the knight in shining armor.” Katrina let out a cackle. “Don’t you agree, Selene?”

  “So, you killed him. Your fated. Why? For power?”

  “Do you know what it’s like to double your capacity for power? It’s so much better than finding a fated and having to be tied to them. I mean, look at Joan. Her fated makes her miserable. Was I going to be chained to someone who might treat me like that?” Selene opened her mouth to retort, but Katrina continued, “don’t feed me that crap about love being the most powerful of all, even you had your misgivings about being tied forever to Rom.”

  “But I wouldn’t kill him for power!”

  “Oh, but I would.” Kem smiled. “After Kem took me in I was going to make a play for Rom’s throne. But then you showed up, and I couldn’t have him bond with you and grow more powerful. He wouldn’t be as powerful as he could have been if he killed you, but he’d still be a good deal more powerful than I would be.”

  Kem jumped in, “Katrina wanted Rom’s throne but couldn’t do that with you in the way, and I needed your power but couldn’t have you bond with Rom yet, so this was the perfect solution.”

  “For all of you, at least.” Selene glared at them. “I’m going to fight you tooth and nail. I promise I’ll make this the most difficult task. I’ll fight until this robe is crimson.”

  The grey cloaks grouped together. Something like a large soap bubble shimmered around them, and Selene had the distinct feeling that they were too pretentious to get themselves dirty killing her.

  “Oh, dear, that sounds so messy. No, this way is much easier. Far less fuss.”

  Selene looked around. “
What? Am I going to be food for your pet tiger?” She tried to cover her fear with sarcasm, but her voice quivered a bit. She considered herself to be brave, but when faced with her own death, her resolve did flag.

  “No pet tigers here.” Kem raised his hands and water from the pool lining the wall began to overflow. It crept across the floor slowly until it gripped the edges of Selene’s white cloak. The water reached the edge of the bubble but its occupants were protected and dry. It seemed that the bubble was a barrier of sorts to the water.

  The water was flowing steadily now, and Selene pulled her feet closer to her body to avoid it. But it followed, determined to swallow her whole. She began tugging at the chain attached to her ankle cuff. Looking over her shoulder, she realized that the entirety of the grey cloaks would be watching her death. While on the job she had never feared bombs, being hit with a bullet, or the death messages that had sometimes followed a complicated negotiation. But she had feared a slow, drowning death.

  When she was 6 a neighbor had pushed her off the deep end of the dock and she had sunk like a stone. She remembered the blind panic and loss of control of drowning slowly and had lost all senses until an older neighbor had fished her out. He had dragged her limp form to the dock where she flopped like a fish, coughing out water. It had been a singularly terrifying experience and her parents had spent summers trying to repair her relationship with the water.

  Realizing that the water would continue to rise, Selene yanked earnestly at the chain now. But the bolt held strong. Turning her fear into anger, she yelled out, “I swear to whatever god you freaks worship, I will not make this easy for you.” Taking another approach, she pulled at the device that attached the chain to the floor, but she couldn’t pry it open. The white cloak had made her so incredibly weak. And panic had not made her already weak hands steadier.

  “So, you’re not going to hold out hope that Rom will save you?” Katrina mocked.

  Selene’s eyes filled with water and she pulled weakly at the chain. “I don’t need anyone to save me.” She knew that Rom wouldn’t be able to find her. They weren’t truly fated. Even if they were, they hadn’t yet bonded. He was lost to her, and she was here alone. But she was truly happy that he wouldn’t come to save her. She didn’t want him near this kind of danger because of her. She loved him, and she wanted him safe. She began to claw at the cloak, but it was like a second skin on her now. She couldn’t remove it.

  She was taking a deep breath in an effort to restore her energy when a masculine voice boomed across the dome. “Well, love, should I just go home, then?”

  Her head whipped around and she let out a desperate cry. Her tears spilled over. “Rom! You came!” An army of Order members appeared behind him in flashes. All were armed to the teeth with magical fireballs, glowing bolts, and swords. No guns here.

  Kem gave Katrina a furious look. “You bitch, you lead them here?”

  “I didn’t”

  Before she could finish Kem beheaded her in one fell swoop of his hand. Selene turned away before she could see the full extent of the violent act, but that didn’t disguise the sound of Katrina’s head hitting the concrete floor and then rolling. So much for keeping Katrina around to suppress her powers. At the very least that was one more obstacle out of the way.

  She focused on Rom, instead. There he was, water up to his shins. He wore black slacks and a black chambray shirt open at the top. His silver hair was tied back away from his face and his eyes were pure steel. He clenched a long sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. He strode forward until he was halfway to her. She tried to stand but found that her efforts to escape the chain and the suppressant of the cloak had weakened her. He growled low in his throat when he saw her there. “Kem, I will let all of your followers leave if you free Selene. That is my final offer.”

  “Oh, no leniency for me?”

  The dagger in Rom’s hand began to glow. He ground out, “you’re mine, Kem. Not just for Sorcha’s murder, but for the atrocity committed against Selene, my fated in this life.”

  Tears streaked down Selene’s cheeks. “Rom” she whimpered.

  He loved her. He loved her as Selene. And he had come for her!

  But the water kept rising and was now just above her own shins. She began pulling at the chain again. Seeing her distress, Romulus growled, “last chance, Kem.” When the other man refused to budge, Rom let out a battle cry and the people behind him swarmed forward. They charged the bubble and a woman threw out her hands. The protective barrier dissolved, and the grey cloaks were suddenly exposed to water and war. Chaos ensued and the sounds of metal clashing and grunts filled the dom.

  Rom jogged towards Selene, his eyes fierce and his body language aggressive. But before he could get to her Kem appeared in front of Selene and shook his head. “Sorry, son. I can’t let you interfere with Ms. Selene’s fate. She’s got to die again so you won’t be reunited to annoy me in the next life”

  Roaring, Rom brought his great sword down in an overhead arch. A sabre appeared in Kem’s hand and he deflected Rom’s hit. Kem taunted, “wasn’t it your turn to make the ultimate sacrifice? Selfish of you, Rom. You won’t be reunited with her again if she dies before you.” The two engaged in a battle around her and no one dared to interfere. To be with Sorcha he had to make the sacrifice this time, and Selene was still human. Either way, he’d die before he let harm come to her.

  Trusting Rom to handle that situation, Selene returned her efforts to the chain and tried to break her ankle out of the cuff. She wasn’t sure if it was enchanted, but the cuff would not budge. The water was up to her waist now.

  Joan called out “Selene!” and tried to rush forward to help. But a barrier formed around Selene. It must have been Kem. Joan beat against the invisible barrier, screaming in frustration. Cullum rushed to Joan’s side and began feeling around the invisible wall for a crack of any sort. When he had spanned the width of it he shook his head at Joan. Joan leveled a powerful burst of energy at the barrier, but it merely shimmered and absorbed the shock.

  “Go help Rom!” Selene yelled. She pointed towards the duel with Kem and shouted again. “Don’t worry about me! Go help Rom!” Joan looked torn, but in the end she and Cullum waded through the waist high water towards the two men. Selene groaned in frustration when grey cloaks blocked their advance and engaged Joan and Cullum in combat. As far as she could tell, Rom’s forces were winning.

  But can they overcome the grey cloaks before I’m up to my neck in water?

  The water was rising exponentially, and the weight of the cloak crushed her. But still, she pulled at the chain. Taking a deep breath, she dove under the water and attacked the cuff at her ankle. She repeated the process of jumping to the surface for air and diving under the water until she saw stars. Any minute now it would be her birthday and she’d be under water.

  Flashes filled the dome as fighters were dispatched. The frequency of the flashes told her that the battle would probably be over soon. But the water was at her chin now, and she wasn’t making any progress with the chain. She did her best to tip her head back, but her entire body felt so...heavy.

  She glanced towards Kem and Rom. Kem had slashed at Rom’s head and caught his cheek. Blood dripped down Rom’s chiseled chin and he stumbled back from the blow. He was considerably taller than Selene, so the water was almost at his chest. He let out a great bellow when he saw how close to the waterline she was and with one great pulse let out a ball of power so strong that Kem instantly exploded into a flash of light.

  He was breathing heavily as he watched ashes fall into the water. Looking around, he yelled, “everyone leave! Portal out now!”

  But then he was striding towards her, his powerful body making waves in the water. As soon as Kem was killed his followers disappeared in flashes of light as well.

  Thank god the Order won.

  Rom’s steely eyes drew her in. He shot his hands forward in an effort to form a protective bubble of oxygen around her, but the water must
have been enchanted. None of his magic worked on the water itself. He roared, “Selene! Hold on!” and it was the last thing she heard before the water closed over her.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life.

  – Richard Bach

  The water was at Romulus’s shoulder when Selene went under. He dove under water immediately to retrieve her. Now underwater, his grey hair floated around him. Selene’s face was as pale as the gown she had been forced to wear, her black hair floating around her. He tried to break the chain anchoring her to the ground but it held steadfast. Selene tugged at the gown she wore. Realizing that it might be enchanted, he grabbed her around the waist and ripped the fabric in half. Immediately, Selene’s energy seemed to return and she began tugging at the chain.

  Not wanting her to use all her energy, Romulus held up his hand.

  She couldn’t have much breath left.

  Rom was always calm in battle and in emergencies, but now, here with Selene, he felt fear as he never had before. He pulled at the chain and cursed himself for not being able to break it. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. It was Selene. She was gesturing at him to stop. She made a circle with her hands.

  Portal out of here? She wants me to portal out?

  He shook his head vigorously and examined the cuff around her ankle. He could feel his lungs burning and knew that Selene would be feeling that and much worse.

  Selene cradled his face in her hands. She took his face and brought it to her own. She held him with all the strength she had and kissed him. A sweet, gentle kiss. Air bubbles from her last breath floated upwards. Selene’s eyes closed and she floated down to the bottom of the dome. He screamed underwater and used the chain to lever himself to the bottom. He cradled her and tried desperately to portal them out, but was unable to do so.

  Just as his lungs began to scream there was a great glow from Selene’s body. His supernatural hearing enabled him to hear her heart stutter and beat for the last time. One absent heartbeat later, and a wave of power crashed outwards from her body. The power passed through him and accelerated through the water, until it blew the dome apart. Like a bubble bursting, the water drained suddenly from the dome. The walls pulled away and crashed down with a grand explosion.