by T Ariyanna
“Mother?” Arion whispered, stepping away. “What…”
“I made him, Arion,” his mother whispered. “Before I had you, before I even met Kole. I was lonely, I wanted a child. I created him. Life-bearing. You saw that section in your book, didn't you? You've been using it on all those sweet owls I met, haven't you?”
“You're not his mother. He's just some…some doll! Some toy you made! You're my mother!” Arion shrieked, his hands curling into fists. His eyes were brimming with tears, but he didn't try to stop them.
“He's just as real as you are, Arion. I put as much energy and time into making him as I did making you, just a different process, is all. You both have a piece of me, the only pieces I can give. You are both my children.” Cy watched with wide eyes as Theresa rambled on, her voice fading more and more with each word.
“But when I met your father, and when I found out I was pregnant, I panicked. I locked my dear Cyllorian away in the music box the day you were born. I was only worried about you; about the world I was bringing you into. What I did to you, to both of you, was wrong. But I have no regrets. I would leave you both again if I needed to, without question. You need to understand that…”
“No. You need to understand. You abandoned me! You left me with that monster you called a husband! He beat me and tormented me! He tried to kill me I don't know how many times!” Arion cried.
“He was a troubled man, putting all of his heart into one thing. I had hoped that his dedication to me would transfer to you. I'm truly sorry, Arion, but I thought he would be safer for you.”
“You thought wrong. And I paid for your mistakes. Now it's your turn!”
“Leave her alone, kid!” Cy screamed, wrenching Arion's attention away.
“You knew. You knew, but you never told me,” Arion growled.
Cy shrunk away from his glare, but spoke anyway. “I wanted you dead, kid. Since the day I got locked up, I was plotting it. You took everything I had away from me. You were the reason I was in that damned box! But I didn't get the chance. Instead, I had to watch as you destroyed yourself, and I just couldn't anymore.”
“Couldn't what?”
“Couldn't blame you. Couldn't kill you. Couldn't hate you, take your pick!”
“You were trapped together for a long time,” Theresa said. “Arion, you took Cy's hate and anger, and in return, you gave him back his heart.”
“What should I care? You're both going to die here anyway, so what does it matter?” Lightning enveloped Arion’s left hand, and he scrubbed the tears away with his right, the sadistic smile plastered on his face yet again. He stepped forward, but his legs shook as he did so. Cy stared him down, not allowing him to look away.
“Arion?” a squeak sounded behind them. The color drained from his face at the small gasp.
“Mind if we join the party?” a low growl said.
Arion turned slowly, to find Kraven standing at the foot of the stairs, one hand holding Kaitlyn's arm, the other grasping the spear he had left behind.
“How'd you get here?” Arion hissed.
“Hmm. How did we get here? You wanna answer that one, sweetie.” Kraven shook Kaitlyn, and tears spilled from her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't say anything around the sobs.
“Kaitlyn? What's going on? Kait? Talk to me!” Arion screamed, pain flooding his voice and cracking his words.
“I'm sorry, Arion! I'm so sorry, they made me! Please, you have to help!” She lurched away from a confused Kraven, arms reaching for Arion. But Arion pushed her aside, and she tumbled to the ground. They stared at each other for a long moment. Arion took her in. The bruises on her arms and neck. The desperation in her eyes. The ring that glimmered on her finger.
“To hell with this!” Kraven shouted, lunging forward. He jabbed at Arion over and over, and it was all he could do to dodge the attacks, his muscles sluggish in their movements. The spear sliced through his coat, ripping skin. Arion weaved and bobbed desperately, legs shaking beneath him.
He caught an attack from below and shoved the head of the spear upwards, trying to make Kraven lose his grip. He twirled it in his hand, gripping a new place to hold for more control. Another blade flung out of the spear, turning it into a trident. Kraven stabbed at Arion again, pushing the weapon to the floor. Kraven wrung his hands around the handle, grinding his teeth. Sword blades lined the sides, and he slashed at Arion. Arion spun and ducked around the blades, his energy quickly running out. The room was filled with screams and yells.
One voice rang out over them all. Kaitlyn pounced on Arion, tackling him away from another vicious swing of the weapon. She cried out in pain, going limp on top of his body. She was shaking, and blood ran off of her onto him.
“NO!” he yelled, his scream echoed by Cy's. He stared up at Kraven, the point of the spear resting against his throat. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move. A scream caught in his throat as Kraven reared back for the finishing blow.
A flash of light came from the cell, and Theresa yelled, “HELP HIM!” Arion's mind was filled again, and his limbs began to move, though he couldn't remember telling them to do so. He couldn't even remember wanting them to.
He rolled out of the way, clutching Kaitlyn to him as he reached the cell bars, Theresa grabbing for the girl. He handed his friend to her, watching for any sign of life. Her chest was trembling with the effort to breathe.
“Arion, focus! We have to work together!” Cy shouted in his head. They whirled around just in time to catch the weapon, the blades on the side cutting into his palms. Arion cried out as his magic scar was sliced through.
“I've got big plans for you, freak!” Kraven hissed. Arion opened his eyes and stared into the madness that was Kraven's. They shone with bloodlust, and there was no color left in them. They were pitch black.
“There's something wrong with him. This isn't right!” Cy growled.
“Can we just focus?” Arion hissed, his grip on the weapon slipping. His blood made his hands slick, and the blade only cut deeper when he tried to tighten his hold.
Kraven whipped the weapon out of Arion's grip, and pointed it at his heart. “I'll be taking that now.”
The weapon plunged down toward Arion. He twisted away, but wasn't fast enough. The spear stuck through his shoulder, pinning him in place. Arion lashed out with his magic, blood mixing with the green burst of light.
It caught dead center in Kraven's chest, blowing him backwards. Arion, with the help of Cy's remaining strength, tore the spear from his skin, screaming. He watched in horror as Kraven stood up, seemingly unphased.
Smoke rose from Kraven’s body in several places, his clothes nearly gone. His heart showed through holes in his chest, which was oozing a white substance, and his skin was charred black. He moved as though he had taken no damage. He pulled his long, jagged hunting knife from a sheath on his hip, aimed for Arion.
“We have to end this soon, kid. We can't take much more of this. Come on, get up. One more spell. I know you have one more in you. You can do this. We can do this, together.”
“No,” Arion whispered. “There's no ending this. Not in a good way. But I can try.”
“I know that voice you're using, kid. You won't let me see what you're thinking, but I'm not letting you do it, whatever it is.”
“Thank you, Cyllorian.” Arion smiled sadly.
“For what?” he asked cautiously.
“For being my friend,” he answered simply. When there was no response from Cy, he said, “Do you really want me to go back to that thing I was earlier? Because I don't, but I don't know how to stop myself. I finally feel right again. Don't make me give that up again. Please, Cy, don't.”
“I won't, kid. I promise.”
“Good.” Arion lowered his head, hiding his tears. “Now, GET OUT!”
Arion pushed with all the strength he had left to send Cy out of his mind. He heard nothing but torturous screams, and Cy held on for dear life, but it was no use. Arion had made up his mind, a
nd there was no changing it. No going back. Arion felt him leave, and disappear deep into the castle.
Arion got to his feet shakily, squaring his shoulders. A cold sweat broke out on his face, and he felt like he was going to be sick, but he held his ground.
“Are we going to do this, or not?” he spat, staring Kraven down.
The other boy smirked, his black eyes shining. With a roar, he charged for Arion, and he braced himself. He raised his hands to block the attack and…
The knife plunged into Arion’s chest. The cold of it made him skip a breath and he grabbed onto Kraven's arm with one hand, his left placed neatly over the other boy’s heart. They were frozen like that for a long moment, wondering when the other would make their move.
A small shriek split the air, and Arion looked at Kaitlyn through the corner of his eye. She was bawling in a tortured way he’d never seen before. Theresa was holding her up, her face completely blank.
Arion opened his mouth to say goodbye, to apologize, to say something that would hopefully take the pained expression from Kaitlyn. Kraven twisted the knife in his opportunity, and Arion lost his breath. The curved point of the blade dug into his heart. Blood gurgled into his mouth, dribbling out of his lips.
There was no light that filled his vision, and his life didn't flash before his eyes, to his relief. All there was in his dying moments were Kaitlyn's screams.
I did it. I got rid of the monster.
Where am I? Cy thought. His eyes opened reluctantly, but it did no good. The room was pitch black, save for a small light beneath him. He looked down, and found a mechanical body, glowing from within with green strands of magic that pulsed like veins. He could feel himself, though he couldn't explain it. He raised his arms, bent his legs, and he felt it.
“What is this?” an odd voice said. It startled him, but he realized it had to be his own. His voice sounded like gears turning perfectly in sync, like mechanics whirring and humming. It sounded like magic crackling.
He touched his fingers to his face, and found that he had features. He had a mouth that was agape in awe. He could feel every line, every bump that made up his face. He found points in the mouth, like teeth, and curly, pointed ears on the sides of his head.
He pulled his hand away and flexed his fingers. There was an extra layer over the tips, and he picked at it. Talons flew out, sharp and curved, just how he liked them. He shifted his weight in approval, and fell from the perch he had been on.
“Ow,” he said in surprise, holding his head. He pulled his hand away, half expecting blood, but was more shocked by what he saw. A lightning bolt was etched into the metal, and it gave off a faint green glow. The realization of Arion's actions, of his sacrifice, hit him, and Cy jolted into action.
He had given his magic to bind Cy to this body, to bring the metal to life in a way that shouldn’t have been possible. The body was nearly human, though lacked the restrictions. He breathed automatically, pulling air into his empty ribcage and huffing it out again with no purpose. The chill of the stale air on the bare back of his neck was relayed to his essence, nestled within his chest. He felt the cold, but there was no sense of worry with it, no need to protect himself from it. The metal was alive with his essence, Arion’s magic serving as the life force, the blood.
Cy had found scraps of thoughts of this in Arion’s head when he wasn’t being careful, but didn’t care to look into it. His mind had been completely unpredictable in the past few months that Cy hadn’t put stock into any of the worrying ideas that fluttered about, unless he put them into action. He had been planning this for months, and Cy had never caught on.
“Arion,” he gasped, and jumped to his feet. He ran through the castle as fast he could, trying to find his way. They had been here enough times when Arion dragged them there, but he had never thought anything of it. He had always assumed Arion was just letting himself go wild to relieve his stress.
“That sneaky little punk, going behind my back like this,” he growled as he barreled through the halls. “What the hell was that kid thinking, sending me away at a time like this? A fight to the death is not the most opportune time for show and tell!”
He came across a group of villagers wielding torches. He hadn't realized his size until then, figuring he must be almost six and a half feet tall. He towered over the humans, and sent two of them flying with one swing of his arm. The others turned tail and ran without a second of hesitation. The path was eerily clear from then on.
He crept down the stairs of the dungeon slowly, unsure of what he would find. He leaned around the corner, and clenched his fist over his stomach. Arion was lying in a pool of blood, a large hole in his chest. Kraven had Kaitlyn pinned against the wall to the side of the cell, and Theresa was desperately trying to grab at him through her cell. A bloodied knife was tucked into Kraven's belt, and he held something in his red hand, though Cy couldn't make out what it was.
“This what you want? Eh, my sweet fiancé! Is it?” He was shoving whatever he had into her lips, and her face was turning green. She slapped his hand away, and the item was sent flying to the ground.
It was Arion's heart.
Cy felt the magic in him boiling, and he marched his way behind Kraven. Kraven was too busy taunting Kaitlyn to notice, but it seemed the great metal body was all she could see.
Cy circled his fingers around Kraven's throat and wrenched him around to face him. He dropped Kaitlyn to the floor, where she shriveled up and whimpered. Cy grabbed the boy by the throat again, and lifted him so they were eye level, nearly a foot off the ground. His black eyes were wide. The lower half of his face was bloodstained, along with his teeth.
Cyllorian shook any thoughts that came to his mind upon seeing him, not wanting to think about why his face was covered in blood, and whose it was. His grip on the boy's neck tightened. Kraven’s face paled, struggling to breathe.
All the air rushed out of Cy as something was run through his chest, losing his voice with the sudden pain. His chest was burning with the pain, but there was no panic in his mind, no desperate reaction from his body. Cy swayed to the side instinctually, and caught his balance. But his body felt no weaker than it had before the attack, and the pain had already begun to subside, though he could still feel something penetrating his chest.
He looked down to find Arion's monstrosity of a weapon sticking out of his chest, and piercing Kraven's. White and red blood rose up in the boy's mouth and spilled over, splattering to the ground with the blood from his wound. His body went limp, and Cy pried it from the weapon. He threw Kraven towards the stairs and turned his head slowly.
Kaitlyn had crawled away from the two and snatched up the weapon, driving it through them both. Her hands were trembling on the hilt of the spear, her face flooded with tears. “What are you?” she gasped.
He gave her a sad smile and turned his head toward Arion's body. “The kid's spine,” he whispered. He snapped the weapon off at his chest, and pushed it all the way through. The magic in him had a sense of self-preservation, and the metal was replaced out of thin air. Of course it has self-defense. It's Arion's magic, after all.
He walked around a stunned Kaitlyn, and headed to the cell. Using the magic inside of him, and what was left of Arion's, he unlocked the door. Theresa stared up at him, and then crawled out. He held a hand out to her and helped her to her feet.
“We're getting him back,” Cy stated simply. Theresa glanced at the body and nodded. Kaitlyn was now standing over Arion, her tears falling onto his chest.
“You in?”
“What?” Kaitlyn gasped, wiping her face. He cringed at how soaked her small jacket had gotten, and at the blood drying on her skin. “Get him back? He's dead!” Her voice cracked on the word, and she collapsed to her knees, throwing herself over Arion's chest.
Cy went to kneel on the other side of Arion. He rested a hand on her shoulder. She flinched under his touch, but didn't pull away. He looked back to Theresa, as indifferent as ever. “This is my third bod
y, unless you count all the temporary ones around the castle. This can't just be the end for the kid.”
He watched Theresa's face closely for any sign that she cared. She ran a shaky hand through her hair. “This complicates things. The job must be done, but…maybe if I…” she trailed off, lost in her own thoughts once again.
“Damn it woman, he's your son! Can't you at least pretend to have a heart?”
Her head whirled to Cy, eyes full of guilt. She blinked it away, her expression as clear as ever, and waved her hand dismissively
“There's no time for that. We have to figure out what must be done now. There might be a way,” she said slowly. Closing her eyes, she muttered to herself, ignoring everything else. “If we can…”
“Whatever it takes. I got him into this mess, I'm going to get him out. Stubborn kid.”
“It can be done, but I'm not sure at what cost. Cyllorian, you can't risk yourself on a small chance!”
“I don't care. I'm the only one that gets to kill this kid, and he went and died on me! I'm getting him back.”
There was no more said on the subject, and nobody moved for a long time.
Once Kaitlyn's tears had dried, she peeled herself away from Arion's chest. She watched Cy's face curiously. “I want to help, too.”
Cy nodded, and they both turned to Theresa. The Mage nodded. “Then let’s not waste any more time.” Theresa clapped her hands and rubbed them together, green static jumping from them.
Afterward
“Hey, look! I think he's finally waking up.”
The boy began to open his eyes, but the pain kept him from succeeding in this small task. His arm was on fire as something sliced along the length of it, cutting the skin and flesh.
His eyes shot open once the pain was gone. He searched the room around him, looking for anything familiar in the darkness. He was in a small room made completely of metal, a door made of thick bars in the wall across from him. He guessed he was in some sort of cell. The floor was slanted toward the middle, where a small grate was fitted into the metal. A thin trail of light reached from the door, and a figure stood in it, though he couldn't make out any features.