The Scepter of Marahuyo

Chapter 002

I know that this poison gas is deadly. I look in the direction of the dais, Olivia is looking expectant as if she enjoys what she's seeing. Master Suvayan is looking away and I know what it means--the end of Quads. It happened in other nations before, but none ever succeeded as the other nation will always help restore balance.

I look over to Axel, is that why he’s here? Suffering the same fate as I am? I press my palm on the ground and pray to my anito, Anitun Tabu, the source of my magick. I can still feel its presence, so the barrier did not prevent that. I walk over to Axel, passing over the other participants as they call for their anito and use their blessings to survive the effects of the poison. Axel is the only non-mage in the barrier, which means he's the only one who can’t save himself.

Sure enough, as the mages are still standing, Axel is already on the ground, blisters are all over his body and he’s having difficulty breathing.

I kneel before him and touch his forehead, his temperature’s rising. I close my eyes and picture in my mind the potion that can counteract the poison. Once done, I call on my blessing to create and then; the antidote appears on my palm.

I tap Axel’s cheek and say, “Drink this.”

He opens his eyes, regards me, and looks at the liquid on my palm. He opens his mouth and drinks it.

“Breathe as little as possible.”

I feel the poison inside my body. I picture the antidote again and wills my blessing to come to fruition. The liquid starts to form, but it’s too slow. Now, I hate myself for not practicing enough. What did Master Orson always tell me? That my blessing can be explosive if I practice enough, but I didn’t, so here I am. My vision blurs and I am losing connection to my anito.

Then, I hit face-first on the dirt and the antidote flows to the ground, seeping through the dirt. God, I think I’ll die. With the remaining strength I have, I force myself to lie on my back facing the barrier and beyond that, the blue sky. It’s still warm. I can barely hear the people’s panic. I look at the other mages, they are all fallen on the ground like me. No one’s ability can counteract the poison with all their fearsome, fierce magic, the kind that I am envious about, the kind that wins challenges.

I close my eyes. Suddenly, there is a shade, and something touches my mouth. I open my eyes and realize that Axel is transferring some of the antidote into my mouth. I sputter, but he forces me to open my mouth and the antidote goes in. I swallow the antidote that should have saved his life. Half of that antidote is not enough if this poison cloud won’t disperse soon.

Damn it. As an admirer, how could I forget that he’s been hailed a hero? And no hero will let himself be saved in exchange for another human’s life, even if given willingly.

I hear Olivia cackling, which is very uncharacteristic while screaming, “The Quads ends now!”

Axel smiles down at me. “Now, I am not sure how we are going to escape this.”

Still heaving, tears start to fall. What an i***t. My palm presses harder on the ground. Now that some of the antidote is on my system, my connection to my anito is getting stronger. If I never made it happen before, this time I pray to all the gods that I can do it.

I can feel the wind now, then the rain, but I need it to be a storm, but in a small area. Master Orson told me that not only can I transport things in small distances that I can see, I can also do it in huge distances, if only I practice.

“Is this your doing?” Axel asks.

I open my eyes and whisper, “Sorry.”

When I touch his forehead, he vanishes, and I know that wherever he is, he is somewhere safe.

“NO!!”

My arms drop on the ground, at least, I can save one person and I hope that he’d take revenge for us. He might not be able to save me this time, like when I was a little kid, but I am still grateful. If Olivia plans to destroy the Quads, someone like me won’t be much of a help to go against it.

The poison is acting once again. I can feel the blisters all over my body, even on my face. The green cloud disappears, the ditches retracted underground and now it’s clear. I hear steps approaching me. I cough up blood but I feel some parts of my body go numb.

“Where is he? Where did you send him?!” Olivia shouts at me as she looms over, shading me from the heat of the sun.

I did not speak. I can no longer speak so I smile at her instead. She’s about to touch me when Master Suvayan stops her.

“Don’t. You know that the poison is potent. You will get infected if you touch her.”

So she reaches for one of the soldier’s swords and points it at my throat. “Where is he?”

My smile widens as if threatening me with death when I am already dying will do any good. I don’t know what happened to her, but the Olivia I knew will never do this. Someone else might have done this to her.

“Tell me!!”

There is a crazy look about her that the regality of what she's wearing cannot hide. Now, I feel content that their real target, Axel, is somewhere safe.

Warm blood comes out from my mouth and realizes that Olivia runs the sword through my stomach.

“Tell me!!”

Then another, as she pierces my chest. Tears start to fall now. How could she?! I am getting angry. Who did this to you? I pity her. Why did you do this to yourself? But anger can’t do anything anymore, My eyes close and I feel myself getting drenched by my own blood. I feel my consciousness getting deeper and deeper as it starts to get dark.

“Stop. She’s dead now. Her blessing only allows her to transport to places she could see. Axel is close.”

“Search the premises!”

Then voices overlap and as I relax, I hear a hum. Something so familiar that I focus on it. It’s something deeper.

“Holly…” It calls for me and then it hums that familiar tune again.

I can’t see anymore. It is so dark but I can clearly hear it. It’s beautiful, calming, and serene. If this is what death is, the stories did not do it justice.

“Holly…”

It’s getting more and more beautiful. I can’t imagine that music can be as soothing as this.

“It’s time to wake up, Holly.”

To be continued...