Sword and Shield | E. Lehnsherr

25. Diving Deep

Ria's mind is a strange place, to be sure, but Charles acts like he knows where to go.

When Charles had first dragged Erik here, he was enraged. He refuses to admit his own curiosity, allowing it to hide beneath the rage as Charles leads them both through the gates of a destroyed city.

The emerald walls look as if someone had placed an explosive against them, crumbling them with force and strategy. The debris looks random, though they still form significant barriers despite their broken form. The entrance lies in the center of the wall with its gate torn askew and half hanging from its hinges, a shadow standing before the shining light.

Erik hesitates even when Charles marches on ahead, his legs working in this mindscape. It's wrong for him to do this, to walk through her head while she has made it very clear that they will only get the information she wants to give them. It feels like he is taking advantage–like Charles is taking advantage. "This is wrong."

"We don't have any other choice," Charles replies. "Despite our own differences, you want Athena gone too, don't you?"

Athena. Even just the mention of the goddess makes his skin crawl, though he'll bet it is nothing compared to Ria. Every word she spoke was venomous, sinful, even. She poisoned those around her through tricks and strategies that you can't help but overlook, and Erik hates it. It is not just the secrets she spewed but the implications. Everything was just wrong with Athena.

Erik purses his lips and sighs. "I won't invade her privacy, not when I have a war to win."

"Well, then, old friend, you can leave. I'll be going to help Ria." Charles turns around and walks forward.

Baring his teeth, Erik surges after him through the gate, gripping his arm tightly. "It's not our place, so—"

A cool breeze makes him pause. As he looks around, he no longer sees a desolate crystal palace with shattered walls. Instead, a great plain spreads out before him as they stand atop a hillside with an olive tree casting shadows over them. To the side, a small village lies there with humans mulling about, songs lifting into the air.

At first, the peace that washes over him surprises him. Then Erik remembers: this is Ria's mind. Of course, it begins peacefully.

A young girl with fiery hair sits beneath the olive tree and raises her hands. Flames erupt around her in a circle. The girl smiles, but it begins to grow, covering more and more of the surrounding plains. The girl begins to scream in fear, pushing her hands forward, but nothing changes.

It isn't until another young girl, this one possibly a teenager, rushes up the hill with frantic ocean eyes. "Iona!" She shouts as crystal shoots up from the ground around the youngest child, smothering the flames instantly. The crystal, jagged and rough, grows like ivy unlike what Erik has seen before. The young woman scoops up the child as other children rush up behind them of all ages. "What have I told you?" she scolds. "Don't practice alone."