Page 23 of Fate

“What do you want from me?!” My voice races across the surface of the water, ripples forming in the wake of its passing. Frustration and anger rise, a volcano ready to spew magma as impotent as I am. Lunos’s words echo once more in my mind.

What is power?

What a damned question. I can’t help but sigh all of my seething emotions out, stepping back on the sandy beach, trying to unlock my power. Or what I believe is my power.

Wait, that’s it! Lunos said I was on the right path when I said power exists in what you believe. What if it’s that simple?

Resolute, I face the lake once more and close my eyes, focusing inward. One breath in. One breath out. Listen to the sound of the water lapping at the edge of the lake. Feel the packed wet sand. If it is truly belief, I can’t second guess; it must be real to me. Make it my reality.

Eyes still closed, I take a step into the water. Then another. It’s warm as always; not hot like the mythical springs of legends, but inviting. In my mind’s eye, a ball of blue energy forms at my core, perfectly spherical, a well of power ready to be tapped, swirling in anticipation. Was it always there? Just waiting at the edges of my consciousness? Or did I will it into being; a mental construct to channel my power.

Before I get lost in my own thoughts, I step, believing that my feet can stay on top of the water. Then I take another. One more. I crack one eye open, anxious for an answer, nervous to know it.

My feet sit gently on top of the lake, a few inches above the sand. Laughter bursts forth uncontrolled; unabated. I did it! I run to the center of the lake, leaping and skipping, the water buoying my every step. I spin in place, soaking in the discovery. After some revelry, I whirl in place basking the glory of my newfound power.

The energy that had been rushing through my body reduces to a trickle, pressure building behind my eyes. The cost of true power. Closing my eyes, I release my focus, and the blue sphere of power in my mind's eye blinks into nothingness.

Immediately, water rushes up to meet me, bubbles swirling in my wake. The moonlit surface edges farther and farther into the distance above me, as I drift blissfully into full sleep.

***

A rough jostling wakes me, my dagger immediately in hand. An iron hand grips my wrist and slams it against the ground above me, blade rendered impotent. Blinking, I try to make out my attacker as I struggle vainly against their encompassing strength. Nia, god of the night, still cast their blanket across the sky and the dim light from the campfire too distant to help. The attacker’s bulk blocks the stars, their body easily dwarfing mine, one knee between my legs.

“Skion! Easy! It’s me. It’s me.” The calm in her voice relaxes every muscle I have; Helia. A flash of teeth pierces the shadows, glad that I recognized her. Our closeness hits like a boulder tumbling down a mountainside. Her leg neatly placed between my thighs, dangerously close, her hand pinning me to the ground. There’s enough darkness to hide ourselves from the others, though anyone nearby would hear everything. Heat flushes my body, fueling the pulse that thrums through my mark. Helia must have realized as her shrouded smile turns into a knowing smirk.

“Are you going to let me go?” I say cheekily, a large part of me wanting the exact opposite. Helia leans down, her breath along my neck, causing me to squirm.

“After seeing you like this, I don’t want to.” Before I can do anything, her free hand cups the back of my neck and pulls me into a kiss, still pinning my hand, grip tightening slightly. My body arches into hers, a moan muffled by her generous mouth. Helia gently pushes her knee forward, putting just the right amount of pressure between my legs. Urgency propels my hips into her leg, bringing a wide smile to Helia’s face as she pulls abruptly away.

“As much as I want this, it isn’t the time.” The heat of the moment fades from her now visible green eyes as she continues. “I woke you because you were making a lot of noise in your sleep. Are you okay?” Concern is strewn across her face, like grass along a hillside. Our bedrolls are not close so either I was making a lot of noise or she had been on watch nearby.

“I’m okay. I had no idea I was being loud. I’ve figured out a way to control my power; at least I was able to in my dreams. I’ll need to try when I’m awake at some point.”

Helia nods, more nonplussed than I would have expected. “How do you want to do that?”

I ruffle my hair a bit, still getting used to the new length. I hadn’t cut it since I left Athos and I had never grown it out before. It feels…right. Though I wish it was long enough to put into a braid. I feel, rather than see, Helia’s eyes on me, watching me play with a lock of hair.

“I think I should try to do what I did before. Well, maybe not fully.” The idea of accidentally killing everyone nearby feels like too high of a risk. “Maybe a sparring match and if we make camp where I can find some seclusion, I can try a few things by myself.”

Helia hums, a slight bob to her shoulders.

“This is what I was hoping for. When we reach a good spot, we can have a training session to focus on using your power while awake. And fighting.” Helia stands and brushes dirt off of her armored skirt. As she makes to leave, satisfied that I am safe, she turns with a sly smile with one hand resting on her hip. “Try to get some more sleep before we break camp; if you can.”

I watch her confidently step away, toned calves catching the dim firelight, heat rushing back to my face. I lay back down, the feeling of Helia pinning me seared into my bones. Struggling to fall back asleep, a snicker weaves its way over to me, tickling my ear. Olena lies close enough to have heard everything and the way her body shakes in mirth only stokes the heat in my face.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE NEXT SEVERAL days were exhausting and routine. Constant marching with meals on the go and training from setting camp to sundown and often well into the night. Andra continued to show her sadistic tendencies running me ragged and nicking my hands constantly during our dagger sparring. Though, that’s more due to my clumsiness with a blade. A spear flows elegantly; a blade slices like a butcher.

Training with Bellius had become fascinating. Training the spear was infinitely more enjoyable than daggers or workouts, but it was the strategy and philosophy that captured me. Philosophy of the mind, but also of civilizations. Different governments, other civilizations beyond Thetan, opening my mind to a world of possibility that I could never have conceived of in Athos. One night, I got Bellius on a particularly relevant one for me; power.

“But you see Skion, power is slow. It’s a precarious, tempestuous mistress. One prone to twist in whichever way the wind blows. A government or an Archon holds power over those being ruled because of what? Laws? The military? Sure, those are true; particularly the last one. But that is only true because it was built that way, over time. Stone by stone, a system of power was constructed by the people; a defensive wall against the savagery of life and humanity. But it is a jail of our own design.”

There are few topics that get Bellius riled up, and power is one. While I had already unlocked the riddle Lunos set for me, it had set me down a road of curiosity. And of course, Bellius didn’t stop there.

“Don’t get me wrong, despite being slow, that power they wield is real; that belief is real. And being true power, means it will eventually become corrupt. All power ends that way; it is the natural cycle. Don’t give me that look! Even our commander will become corrupted…eventually. The key, is community. Checks and balances; people to hold you true and accountable. Friends, family, neighbors. All power corrupts the individual; a community has a chance.”

That night, I wished Bellius knew I was the Conduit of Lunos. He knew I was something, but not much more. If his proposed axiom was true, Lunos and all the divine beings of the upper and lower pantheons would all be corrupt. If the gods were all corrupt, then what hope do I have? What hope do any of us have?