“Don, what is this?”
“Want to ask her that?” Donal tilted his head as he tossed the artifact and caught it, then held it out to Zorn to show him.
Zorn's eyes widened at the sight of it. It was beautiful and luminous, but also smaller than he expected. It seemed to be made of silver and white gold, a circular object framed with wings. The center was adorned with a luminous white and blue gem where the light seemed to swirl together inside the stone. Within it, a dramatic symbol shone in tiny sparkles: the planetary glyph of Mercury.
Zorn tilted his head with curiosity.
Mercury? In a lunar relic? What does this mean?
Zorn stepped forward and looked down at Sabrina sitting in the chair, her usual personality gone. Fear of losing her autonomy had taken over her expression.
“Sabrina, why?” Zorn asked with a tinge of hurt.
“That's what happens when you're careless and give anyone you meet your real name,” Khor said as he strode up to them, handing Zorn a glass of water. He folded his arms, glaring down at Sabrina. “And when you cross a Sidhe.”
Sabrina’s eyes widened at the revelation of Donal's race.
That sneaky bastard! Now his ‘charming’ personality makes sense!
Her eyes shot toward Zorn, expecting to see a smug look on his face, but instead, she was met with a look that surprised her: sadness.
“I didn't want to believe it. That the Relic Guard chased you because you stole from the dragon king? It's… true. Your position really doesn't favor mine. Don was… right about you,” Zorn said as his voice turned into a murmur, his shoulders sinking.
“You are quite bad with girls,” Khor teased.
Zorn shot him a glare. “Lira was not my fault. This one I can take as mine, though,” he huffed. “I was too ignorant to give her the benefit of the doubt.”
Donal gripped the artifact in his hand, keeping the gem hidden from Sabrina's eyes.
“Let's get talking, shall we?” He grinned and snapped his fingers. “Why do the Red Saints want this artifact?”
The truth felt compulsive, desperate to come out of her chest. “To create reinforcements against the Seven Magi,” she replied.
Khor's eyes narrowed. Donal's grin widened, almost intrigued.
“Really?” he said with amusement.
“The Planetary Mages?” Zorn asked.
“Yes,” Khor replied.
Zorn looked at Sabrina with disgust. “Sabrina, are you stupid? Do you know what this artifact entails after taking it—”
“Let them find out. We call this strategy FAFO,” Donal chuckled. “Hope your High Order enjoys watching Solar eclipses.”
“S-Solar eclipse? Are you referring to Brennan?!” Sabrina asked shakily.
Khor placed his hands on his hips, ignoring her question. “What do we do with her? She knows too much now. She found Zorn out and will surely snitch to the High Order.”
“No, she won't," Donal said curtly, his expression blank as he stared down at Sabrina.
Zorn and Khor looked at Donal with curious expressions. Sabrina gripped the chair, terrified.
“You broke one of the vows as a convert to the Eternal Flame. Exposing the High Order's plans is a great offense of its own,” he said.
Zorn's eyes widened. “What will happen to her?”
Donal slipped the artifact into his pocket and turned away. He snapped his fingers, releasing her from his control. Sabrina got up from the chair and started to plead on her knees, crying.
“Forgive me! Please! No! Forgive me! I was tricked! Forced against my will! Please!”
Zorn looked at the begging before him with horror. Khor held him back as he watched Donal leave through the door, his cloak flowing ominously behind him in the dark, not wanting to see Sabrina's fate.
The room began to vibrate. Khor and Zorn struggled to keep their balance. As the air buzzed, the space between them began to crack.
“Zorn! Get behind me!” Khor yelled as he jumped in front of him, holding him close to shield him.
Light began to slip through the cracks in fragmented rays before the rift split open, spilling heavenly light into the room. Zorn and Khor covered their eyes from the blinding light, steadying themselves against the harsh winds that blew through the room.
This crack in space! This light! This… wind! Zorn noted.
He was immediately transported back to the memory of chasing Lira before being pulled into the same rift.
“Lira?!” Zorn shouted.
Before he could run toward the rift, Khor snagged Zorn by his shirt and swung him to the floor, pinning him.
“THAT IS NOT LIRA! DO NOT BE A FOOL!”
Suddenly, the same eye Zorn witnessed before his fall into the inverted world appeared before Sabrina. Its size and light were imposing on everyone in the room. The feathers swept the air in heavy gales, blowing the frames off the walls and tossing their hair everywhere. Khor covered Zorn with his body, hiding him from the godly eye.
Sabrina gasped at the sight. The eye illuminated the dark room before her.
“You have broken one of the main three principles, Sabrina,” the eye bellowed in a deep voice.
Sabrina shook her head. Tears streamed down her face. Her hands clasped tightly together over her chest. “No! It's not like that! I promise! It… I… a fairy! I was manipulated and swayed by a fairy! He forced me to answer him!”
“This is your greatest mistake. We gave you a Convert name for a reason, and it was to avoid this. Why did you ever give your real name and not your Convert one in the first place?” the eye questioned, its tone irritated and disappointed.
Sabrina began to stutter. Then, she suddenly flashed back to when she first met Zorn on the beach, leaning on that rock. His energy had naturally kept her unguarded. She thought of the glyph she saw on his wrist. Her eyes widened as she gasped.
It… reveals secrets!
She looked up at the eye and held her hands up to it, beckoning for forgiveness. “A star curse! Scorpio! The boy! It brings the hidden to the light! Z…Z…—” She gasped as her eyes widened.
I can't say his name! The words! They are leaving me!
The eye stared down at Sabrina's defeated, fear-stricken face, waiting for the name to be revealed.
Zorn looked over his shoulder from the floor, confused. Khor remained over him, keeping him hidden. His face looked as if he knew what was happening. Zorn suddenly felt Khor inside his head again.
[Donal took the ability of speech away from her. He's still using his magic.]
[—He can do that?!] Zorn replied internally.
[Yes.]
Zorn looked at Sabrina with pity. It was like looking at Lira being sucked away all over again. There was no use in fighting Khor off him; the demon was stronger. Tears made their escape, dripping down his face as he was forced to witness the inevitable.
The eye grew impatient. “Withholding information from the High Order after committing such a transgression?”
Sabrina shook her head with wide eyes. She was choking on her tears, gasping. The hope drained from her eyes. Her head lowered as her hair fell over her face. She began to sob, knowing what misfortune was coming her way.
“I'm sorry…” she cried as she glanced at Zorn.
Zorn's eyes widened, quickly flashing back to Lira apologizing to him before being ripped away.
Suddenly, a bright golden light lit up the room. It was hot and blinding. It shook the structure and made the winds roar louder than a freight train. Khor lowered his head over Zorn's to block the sight of Sabrina's incineration.
Zorn's eyes closed tightly as tears leaked through his lids, forcing himself to stay quiet. Khor felt Zorn's body tremble beneath him as the boy sobbed. Khor sighed as he closed his eyes with what seemed like understanding.
They waited there until the light dimmed back into the moonlit darkness of the bedroom. Khor could hear Zorn's sniffling break the silence. He slowly removed himself from Zorn.
Zorn placed his hands over his face, gripping his skin as the tears flowed. Khor could only look on with pity.
“Khor, tell me…” Zorn choked. Khor's eyes shifted back down to him. “Is Don usually this cold?”
Khor remained silent for a moment to think of what to say. He breathed for a moment and answered.
“No, he's not. What you witnessed was not him being cold. He protected both you and me. He walked away because he cannot bear the pain of witnessing fates like this. He has learned the hard way that he cannot intervene and save everyone.”
Zorn lay there for a moment on his back, trying to compose himself. He sat up and wiped his eyes with his arm.
“That eye… that's the same eye that took Lira,” Zorn whispered. “What was a person like Sabrina doing associating with that eye? Is Lira…” his eyes widened as he looked up at Khor with despair, “Is Lira one of them?!”
Khor stood there with a sad look in his eyes and sighed. “I don't know, Zorn. You seem to really care about this Herald of Light. I would hope she is not. For your sake, at least.”
He held his hand out to Zorn to help him up. Zorn took his hand and stood. He looked back at the spot where Sabrina had been. The two stared at the same spot in silence.
“You say that was the same eye that took Lira?” Khor asked.
Zorn nodded with a hum.
Khor sighed as his eyes softened. He truly felt sorry for Zorn, having to witness this type of thing for a second time.
“I know this is bad timing, but remember when Don said I fell from the sky as well?” Khor said softly.
Zorn's eyes widened for a brief moment and he looked at Khor, but Khor kept staring at Sabrina's previous spot.
“My mother sent me through a door-like portal herself. That same eye you witnessed was behind her. I have no idea why or what happened after that. Beyond the door, the water was over my head, and the earth was below me. It made no sense until I began to fall and the inverted landscape changed. A giant plush flora saved my life by catching me,” he sighed as his shoulders sank. “I ruined Don's meal that day. Scared the daylights out of him. He was shocked by my dark ironed outfit. Called it ‘too edgy’.” He tilted his head to Zorn. “It pointed from the ends of the shoulders; that is why. He had this outfit I'm wearing now tailored for me to suit me better.”
Zorn's eyes were wide as he listened. Khor's eyes were sad and reminiscent at the same time. He had never seen him like this before.
He, too, has encountered this eye?! Zorn stared at Sabrina's spot.
Khor continued. “I hate the nickname so much. ‘Plush’ makes me wish I never landed in that flower, but at the same time, it's a sense of familiarity from him.” He looked at Zorn and crossed his arms. “I refuse to allow a convert like Sabrina or that damn, godless eye with wings utter that innocent name through their tarnished mouths.” His tone hardened.
Zorn looked back at the spot where Sabrina had been. “So… she said you were a demon. Is that true? Or was it more of her brainwashed ways?”
“I am a demon, but I am also a star soul from the 3rd Realm,” he said as he lifted his headband to reveal a shimmering silver Cancer glyph on the left side of his temple and four black diamonds lined across his forehead.
Zorn's eyes widened as he gasped, pointing at the diamonds. “What are those?”
Khor quickly covered the marks back up with his headband and growled. “A bad reminder. Don't want to get into it.”
Zorn raised his hands as a sign he was backing off. “Okay, I won't pry.”
The two stared at Sabrina's former spot for another moment. Khor began to walk forward, stepping on the blackened spot where Sabrina once was.
“She made her bed and now she lies in it. I'm going to check on Don.”
Zorn winced at the sight of Sabrina's spot being walked over. He sighed and walked over to her spot, remembering her tearful eyes as she apologized to him.
Why does this hurt so much? Why can't I have tough skin like Khor? We are both demons after all. Is Khor just numb? Or am I just too soft?
Zorn sat at the edge of his bed, planting his head into his hands.
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