Athene
I can't recall what happened… Although, I am pretty quite sure that the huge gray bird almost got me… But, somehow I was stuck in a fleeting sensation. My senses were supposed to be numb but the blinding blue light and the searing pain from my wound forced me to utter a word in the language that made me feel that I was so comfortable.
"Intereo…"
The giant bird hybrid stiffened and slowly dropped its huge wings and covered me from an unseen enemy. It froze from where it stood while I was still stuck underneath its huge talons which damned my flesh. My blood danced with its black blood and formed a bigger and darker pool. I tried to stand up and shove the heavy carcass aside but it seems that whatever magic I got, also drained my strength.
The adrenaline rush was gone and all that's left is me being suffocated by the foul yellow liquid stench which oozed from the dead monster. I tried to steady my breathing but the foul smell of the dead bird only made it worse. I'm not going to die because of unseen threats; I'm going to die because of suffocation.
Until I heard a voice, it was soft at first almost pleading and it made my head hurt. My mind might be in chaos but I know that voice isn't mine.
Athene…
I tried to push the dead monster with my remaining strength until I ran out of breath and cursed. I know that voice belonged to someone, but I couldn't recall who. My head continued to ache until I felt that somebody lifted the weight on top of me.
A pair of lilac-colored eyes stared at me. His eyes were filled with fear but he's relieved that he found me.
Athene, Athene… Can you hear me? Athene…
I smiled weakly at Neo but he didn't notice it as he touched my wrist gently. He touched my hand and slowly lifted it and something sparkled in his eyes. Neo smiled slowly and stood up and muttered something I couldn't understand. Neo suddenly transformed into a golden griffin. He gingerly picked me up using his talon. I winced as we lifted from the ground and Neo must've felt that I was hurt.
Athene, hang in there.
I realize that Neo is actually talking inside my head. I haven't seen him fight and I'm always curious what his powers are or if he even has one.
I'm okay… But, I can't say the same thing with the people down there.
He looked down at the city below us and let out a powerful roar.
Well, well, your powers are partially awake.
I squeezed his talons gently and I heard him purr softly.
Don't be scared. You can easily unravel this mess, I have faith in you.
I rolled my eyes when I swear I heard him chuckle inside my head.
Easy for you to say, you can easily transform into a griffin.
Neo became silent as we landed on the roof of Myrtle's apartment. He transformed back to his original form while his strong arms were on my weak body. I stared at his pointy ears and touched them out of curiosity, even though my mind says no.
"Oh dear, it looks like you really need extra attention," He said as we slowly descended the rooftop.
"What are you?" I whispered hoarsely for the sake of curiosity.
Neo looked at me and warmth suddenly crept on my cheeks when I realize that he wasn't wearing any clothes. His strong muscled chest felt warm against my pale flesh. I let the awkwardness swallow me while I kept on praying that he better hurry up because this is really weird.
"I'm thankful you froze time, it would be weird if anyone finds us in this awkward state,"
I guess it's something that we can both agree on in the meantime. I heard a door closed and open along with the sound of quick lady-like strides and another door opening.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Use the armor that Lucan created to make your shape-shifting easier,"
I can hear Myrtle's frustrated breathing and her ice-blue eyes stared at mine.
"Placed her on the bed and grab something to cover yourself,"
His chest vibrated when I heard him chuckle while he gently placed me on Myrtle's bed.
"Bhean, take care of her,"
I slowly turned my head and saw Myrtle push Neo out the door and quickly returned to check my wounds. Her gentle hands hovered above my body until they stopped on top of my wound. She slowly pulled out a small velvet pouch from her pocket and took out two oval-shaped pills.
"These seeds will help you heal, but you need to endure the pain,"
She popped one seed inside my wound and tried my best to ignore the pain but then I saw her giggle and smiled.
"It's a prank," She said.
I don't know if I should be mad at her but the seed helped and I felt something weird crawling inside my wound. Thin green vines waved angrily at me. Myrtle slowly grabbed my arm and caressed it gently.
"Don't scream okay? It's only temporary,"
I smiled nervously when I felt that Myrtle is serious this time.
"Esseresco,"
The vines quickly crawled deeper into my wound; I wanted to scream then I remembered what Myrtle said, it's only temporary. I breathed as the pain gradually disappeared along with my wound. I moved my arm before I jumped off the bed, which is a huge mistake. My arm might be healed but my strength hasn't returned. My bum landed on the floor and Myrtle began to roll her eyes.
"Honey, we're not yet done, okay?"
She sat on the floor and placed the remaining oval-shaped pill in my hand.
"Drink it, you will need your strength to unravel the spell you cast,"
Myrtle helped me stand up before we went out to check on Lulu who was still asleep on Myrtle's couch.
"Athene, how are you?"
I smiled shyly at Neo who was wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans, a big relief from the awkward situation a while ago.
"I'm good,"
He patted my head slowly and proudly showed his white teeth and two sharp fangs which formed a grin.
"It seems that we have our work cut out for us,"
Myrtle move and pulled out a book from the leather satchel. The pages lit up and began to move as the letter slowly flew out of it and twirl in the air.
"It's too early for her to awaken it," Myrtle muttered as the pages continued to move rapidly.
"Athene, what triggered you to use your powers?"
She finally asked and closed her book. I couldn't remember anything, except for one thing…
"I was scared that Lulu might get hurt,"
They both exchanged glances and Neo nodded slightly to Myrtle.
"Okay, that's acceptable. Now, listen carefully,"
I watched her finger as she slowly traced the mysterious contents of the book before stopping it halfway.
"Darling, close your eyes and breathe slowly,"
She muttered before closing her book.
"You need to concentrate on this one, or else the marfach time will be ruined,"
I slowly closed my eyes and breathe just like Myrtle told me.
"You'll be hearing a voice darling," she cooed as I felt my pulse began to quicken.
"But don't fight it, listen to it,"
She whispered… Wait, did Myrtle say something? She seemed so far away, maybe she disappeared? Or gave me some space, but I was wrong. When I opened my eyes, I was floating in huge, wait no, it wasn't huge it was an endless lake of stars and comets. Am I flying?
No, you're not…
It wasn't Neo's voice; someone must've communicated through my head again. It's odd though because my head didn't ache this time.
"What am I going to do now?"
Pick a star…
"That's odd? Why would I even pick one?"
Just do it… You already know the answer to your question…
I stared at the stars above me and watched them twinkle and glow in different colors. Some were bright angry ones; others reminded me of a warm summer day when Pa took me to a field of sunflowers when I was a kid. A blue light continued to hover above my head, as I extended my hand to reach it, the tiny blue light landed on my palm. It was warm and bright, which reminded me of a memory that wasn't mine… It's strange though because I felt like I've done it before.
"I can't…"
Yes, you can…
I closed my eyes once again and breathed. The warmth from the tiny blue light began to spread throughout my body. As I opened my eyes again, I muttered an incantation, which I felt like I've said before.
"Laxo aevum,"
The light from my palm began to glow even brighter and warmer before it exploded and filled the starry abyss.
"Athene…"
His lilac eyes sparkled with happiness as he gently placed me on an empty couch in front of Lulu.
"Did I fix the mess I made?"
He smiled and started to gently caress my head.
"You're pretty good at fixing things," He muttered.
My body is weak again from the spell I performed; I guess this is what it feels like to use magic. My hands instantly touched his ears once again I felt something warm fell on my cheek.
"Caidil gu math, sleep well…"