My body stands its feet out of my control. "What's going on?! Who is this!?" I panic, unable to stop whatever's happening. I can't move my body, I don't even feel my own limbs. It's as if I'm just a floating head.
"Relax, darling. My name is Helen." Her words echo in my mind. "I'll be in control for a little while."
"Control?! What-"
"Fire and light, I've never seen this combination." My hand turns over, revealing the fire seal etched into my skin. Although I don't feel my stomach, I feel something sink. "What is this? Why are you in control of my body?!"
"You seem to have the ability to absorb magic," She says, ignoring me once more. "Not only magic but seals completely. Fascinating. This is what your sister meant when she said you negated her aura. You absorbing a portion of her aura in that moment allowed me to reach you easier."
"What the hell are you...and why are you in my head?!"
"I'm just a soul for the moment, and as for the why…let's save that for later. I've been behind your eyes for sixteen years. Allow me to stretch a little." She glances back down at my palm. "I'm eager to see what this does."
My body turns away from Ethan who's been slowly backing away this entire time with a look of sheer terror on his face. She turns to face David who's still fighting a ways ahead. I feel my aura being channeled, and for a moment I can feel my limbs through the energy flowing through them. My light seal glows white, then black. Followed by the fire seal doing the same. Suddenly both seals glow simultaneously and a white flame with golden embers ignites in my palm, floating about two inches above my skin.
"This can't be…" I hear Helen's thoughts echo in my head. My eyes shift to the dirt clone and hand that David's fighting. I notice Lauriel running over to help him, and Thomas now fighting Katherine with Brianna. Their armor is scorched and they look battered. The explosion earlier must've knocked them pretty far away. Helen snaps my fingers, and both the dirt clone and hand are engulfed in white flames. The golden embers intensify as both of the dirt clones disintegrate until there's nothing left. Some fire gets a little too close to David, he tries to stomp it out but it won't extinguish. Even with the help of his seal as he tries to bury the flames, they rise back to the top.
"Holy fire?" I hear another thought. Lauriel and David both look over in confusion. Helen turns away to face Ethan. When our eyes meet, he slightly jumps. He's so startled that he trips and falls on his behind. "Give it back!" He screams. He aims his palm at the ground and motions his arm as if he's picking something up. A large chunk of dirt rips up from the ground. He motions a throw and the piece of dirt hurls through the air toward us.
"Move!" I shout, feeling a brief second of having ghost limbs as I try to jump out of the way. To no avail, my body remains planted and still. Is she out of her mind?! The large piece of dirt comes within a foot of us.
My arm casually raises out in front of my body with an open palm facing the rock. "Divine Enchantment: Athena's Shield." My mouth opens to form her words. Our voices overlap each other as the words flow from my lips. A translucent golden barrier appears in front of my body, the chunk of dirt breaks down into soil when it hits the barrier. Did I just do magic?! Oh…
Large explosions go off in the distance. The fight between Brianna, Thomas, and Katherine is escalating. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Lauriel and David running over toward Ethan and us. Helen ignores them, instead walking toward Ethan.
"No! He's just a little boy," I try to plead.
"I just want information," she says. Ethan trembles as he's too tired and slow to keep backing away.
"You have nice aura control for a boy. But in the end, if you overdo it you'll feel the effects heavily," she says, our voices overlapping once again. "Earlier you mentioned the Hazels. Are they the ones who trained you?" She asks bending down. He doesn't respond, his eyes drift over to where Katherine is.
"She's dead either way, darling. Either they'll kill her, or I will."
"You're a demon! Stay away!" Ethan cries.
"Aw, no. I'm no demon, darling. What happened to all of your bark though? You're just a little puppy without that power. Tell me why you're here or things will get worse."
"We're clearing a path!" He blurts out. "The Hazel army and other twelve witches and warlocks shouldn't be too far behind us. It's an invasion," he says. An invasion?! We have to get back to the Uboni and alert Father. This mission was doomed from the beginning.
"Alyssa…?" I hear David's voice from behind us. Helen sighs deeply. She turns around and standing next to him is Lauriel.
Helen takes one look at David, I hear a quiet 'hm,' remark from her in my mind as if she's puzzled by him. "Helen," She says bluntly.
"Her voice…" Lauriel whispers. David glances over to Lauriel and back to me, he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath in, and exhales slowly.
"David, what's going on?" Lauriel asks.
"This mission has been compromised more than you all realize," He says clapping his hands together and holding them to his chest. "Sealing Incantation: Bandages of Ra."
"A warlock?" Helen's thought says.
Suddenly what looks to be mummy wrappings shoot up from the ground and launch themselves at us. Using my right hand, Helen pans my arm from left to right. Swiping the air with white flames dragging behind. When the fire burns all of the wrappings, David stomps the ground and we're instantly enclosed in a rock dome. It's pitch black until Helen makes a flame.
"Why is David fighting you...me?!" I ask. "It seems like he knows your name."
"He's a warlock. I wouldn't be surprised if he does."
"No, David's a knight!" I yell, it feels strange becoming emotional with no bodily response. "He's been a soldier since he was eight. I don't understand how he knows traditional magic. And why would your name cause such a reaction?"
"You're asking too many questions, darling," she walks closer to the walls and places my hand on the rock. The fire burns through with ease, she creates a hole large enough for us to step through. And when we do, we're met with David's fist, coated in rock to the face.
The force of the punch pushes us back into the dome. Lauriel screams at David, demanding to be told what the hell he's doing. I drown it out, too focused on the fact that I didn't feel any pain from the blow. Helen sits up, wiping my nose with the inside of my right wrist and revealing blood.
"I forgot how much I love to fight," she chuckles.
"He seems to want to kill you and you're laughing! I've had enough of this unhinged behavior. Give me my body back!" I shout, trying my hardest to do anything to gain control. I try imagining that I can feel my limbs, moving my head, even trying to force it with my mind itself. Nothing works. I decide to try and channel my aura, and instantly I'm met with the splitting headache feeling again.
Helen grabs my head, clearly feeling the same sensation. "Don't fight me, darling," she says. Suddenly I feel a rush of aura, alien to mine and I feel my limbs for a moment, still unable to move them. The feeling fades and I get the sense I'm back to square one.
Helen steps through the hole of the dome once again. Lauriel is trying to pull David back, grasping him by the arm. She gets to the point where she finally has had enough and activates her ability, a large lightning arm forms behind her, and takes a swing at David. He dodges, just nearly getting hit by the blade. He traps Lauriel feet in the dirt, causing her to sink. His attention shifts back to us. Helen points to him, activating both seals, his breastplate is engulfed in white flames.
A blue streak comes in from our left, and suddenly we're sent flying about ten yards, my body gaining scratches from sliding in the dirt another five yards. Brianna appears in front of us, her aura glowing through the dust clouds permeating the air.
"Explain yourself," she says gripping the handle of her sword.
Helen smiles as she spits up blood. "A lot of your father in you, huh?" She laughs.
"You're not Alyssa," Brianna's eyes widen in confusion. But her intent to kill seemingly rose. All the aura surrounding her body moves over to her right arm. The aura even coats her blade. She takes the sword and throws it at high speed.
"It's useless," Helen says. A white flame appears in front of us just in time to burn the sword to ashes. As the handle of the blade is being burned, Brianna suddenly appears in front of us. She ducks low, her right arm still coated with aura. She punches us in the stomach, and I feel the pressure of the blow this time. We're pushed back by the impact of the punch, sent flying another couple of yards. Helen throws up more blood, I still feel her smiling.
"Stop fighting! You're going to get me killed!" I plead.
Brianna appears in front of us once again, walking over she grabs my arm and turns my hand over to see both seals. "What is this?!" She says shaking my arm around.
"Magic, darling." Helen smiles. "Gravity Incantation: Mass Pressure." Brianna drops to her knees like a magnet. She drops further, her hands now planted in the dirt. She's trying to keep herself up but the pressure is too much. She falls flat on her stomach with her face in the dirt. "Stay there, darling." Helen says standing up and walking us back down the path we came. My knees buckle and she falls down. "You're already running out of aura?" She sucks her teeth.
"My own sister!" Brianna yells, slightly able to pick her face up to speak. "A witch! And too weak to fight whatever is possessing you!"
Helen chuckles to herself when suddenly a chain with a knife on the end of it comes flying in and pierces my left arm. A flame begins riding up the chain, inching closer and closer to where the knife is pierced. Helen quickly creates a white flame that consumes the approaching fire and melts the chain away. "Seems like the boy was right," she says.
Through the smoke and debris still filling the air, horses can be heard galloping. "Divine Enchantment: Athena's Barrier!" Helen shouts. A translucent orange sphere forms around us.
"Help Brianna too!" I shout. She ignores me and instead is paying attention to the dozen chains coming toward us, all having their knives bounce off the sphere around us. The sphere begins to fade as the fatigue sets in more. Even I'm starting to feel it now, my aura is nearly all gone. The sound of horses galloping completely surrounds us.
They stay far enough to be hidden through the dust clouds. A man riding a horse bursts through the clouds and throws his chain. He's wearing the black and yellow armor of the Hazels. "Gravity Incantation: Reflect," Helen whispers, trying to use whatever ounce of strength I have left. The incoming chain suddenly redirects itself into the soldier's chest, causing him to fall off his horse and tumble through the dirt.
At this moment I realize I just killed someone…Even though I'm not in control of my actions, this is still my body. More soldiers come rushing in. Helen raises my arm and I feel her try to channel more aura but instead, our vision gets blurred. My body falls to the ground and it feels like walls are closing in on me. It's not too long before everything goes black.