StarLight

Chapter 54: Illusions And A Deal With the Devil

~~~~~~~~~
Skylar
~~~~~~~~~

I sighed, heading into the basement before school began.
Draal was gone for the time, so I quickly moved over to the boxes.
I may hate Strickler, but it was obvious that it was time to move on.
I pulled out the music box, the one thing my father left to me.
I sighed, shoving it into my bag before heading back upstairs and grabbing my skateboard.

School was boring, everyone talking about the upcoming dance.
Steve suddenly ran past me, freaking out about he was Steve.
The only Steve.
Arya and I exchanged a look before shrugging it off.
He probably finally lost his marbles.
"S.A.Ts." Arya suggested, causing me to shrug.
We then went our separate ways for classes.
That's when I felt something fly into my ear.
"You're not the Trollhunter." Something whispered out to me.
"Pretender." Another voice spoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Arya
~~~~~~~~~~

I walked down the hall, it being surprisingly empty.
Where was everyone.
"Arya." A voice whispered.
I paused, looking around.
"Hello?" I called out, looking around.
"You left me." I recognized that voice.
Where was it from?
"Don't you remember me?" His voice spoke.
"Dalius?" I asked, seeing him turn around the corner.
"Dalius!" I exclaimed, running towards him.
However, I only stopped as the world around us changed to the cave I lost him in.
"How could you do this to me?" He asked, walking towards me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

~~~~~~~~~~
Skylar
~~~~~~~~~~

I looked around.
"This isn't real." I muttered, hearing a door open.
I looked towards to noise, raising a brow.
"Angor Rot?" I guessed, dawning my armor.
His laugh echoed around me.
My wings flared as I tried to pinpoint the source.
"You're not good enough." A voice spoke, causing Angor's laugh to become distorted.
"What are you waiting for, Angor?" I asked, turning slowly as I tried to figure out where he was exactly.
"You know nothing of waiting. I've waited for centuries to reclaim what is mine...." He replied, trailing of as the voices grew louder.
"Your brother is the true trollhunter."
"You're weak."
"Never good enough."
"What I lost." Angor's voice broke through.
I swung my blade, feeling it meet a force.
I jumped away, flaring my wings to catch myself.
I was suddenly knocked forward, a force meeting my back.
I hit the ground, everything returning to normal.
I was in the Gym.
I flipped myself over, getting to my feet quickly as I stared Angor down.

~~~~~~~~~
Arya
~~~~~~~~~

I began running through the halls, Dalius chasing after me, hell bent on getting revenge for what I did.
I ran through a small opening, the sound of a door opening.
I looked around, it becoming dark as night around me as I breathed heavily.
"Look at you. So afraid. what happened to you?" Dalius asked.
"Dalius... Please." I whispered, stepping back in fear.
Suddenly arms grasped around me, lifting me off my feet as I screamed.
"Get off me! I'm sorry!" I shouted.
"Arya!" A voice broke through.
"You're friends can't save you. You're nothing." Dalius spoke, blood spewing from his mouth.
"I suffocated to death. Slowly. Choking on my own blood. The blood we share." He went on as hot tears fell down my cheeks.
"Dalius. I'm sorry. Please stop." I whispered, my gaze bluring.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Skylar
~~~~~~~~~~~

I stared at Angor as he held his sword to Arya's throat.
She was crying, apologizing to someone named Dalius.
"What do you want?" I asked, glaring at Angor as he held her securely.
"I want you to get my ring. We share a common enemy." He replied, tightening his grip on Arya as she struggled.
My gaze fell to her.
She was in no state to fight back.
"I didn't want to leave you." She whispered, her knees buckling.
"We share a common enemy." Angor added.
"Strickler." I spat out, eyeing the troll in front of me.
"He wears the Inferna Copula. You will steal it for me." He spoke.
"Why can't you get it yourself?" I asked, raising a brow.
"In return, I shall help you by severing the connection between your mother and Strickler. We will both be free." Angor stated, causing me to narrow my eyes.
"If I do this, you'll not only sever the connection, but you'll leave Arcadia." I spoke.
"You do not make the demands." He growled, narrowing his gaze on me as he tightened his grip on Arya.
"Then get the ring yourself." I spoke.
He was silent before nodding, pushing Arya towards me.
I held her close to me as Angor stalked off before stopping and looking back at me.
"The next time our paths cross, Trollhunter. It'll either be the end of Strickler, or you." He spoke before disappearing.
I then turned to Arya, sucking in a breath before slapping her across the face.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Arya
~~~~~~~~~~~

My head snapped to the side, everything becoming normal.
I frowned as a little gold pixie flew in front of me.
Skylar grabbed it, squishing it in her hand as she deactivated her armor.
She met my gaze, before our attention turned to the doors opening.
Claire, Toby, and Jim ran inside.
"Are you okay?" Jim asked, looking to Skylar.
"Fine." She replied before telling us what happened.
That's when the school began to be evacuated.
We watched silently as Strickler walked up to the school, everyone talking about how bad their experiences were without saying just what they had gone through.
"I came as soon as I got word. Please tell me no one was hurt." Strickler began, causing us all to exchange looks.
"They're all accounted for. Looks like some kind of chemical leak in your science lab. That stuff can make you go pretty loopy. You're lucky no one was hurt." The officer spoke.
Strickler then looked over at us.
"You listening in?" Claire asked, causing me to nod.
"Gotta love that you're an Elf." Toby stated, causing me to shush him.
"Very lucky indeed." Strickler spoke as I relayed the conversation.
Blinky then ran up to us.
"By Deya's grace!" He exclaimed, panting.
"You're alive!" He added on as Jim rubbed the back of his neck.
"You called him, didn't you?" Skylar asked.
"It was instinct." He replied, causing her to roll her eyes.
"For someone that knows what happens, you suck at telling us what to expect." I stated, causing him to give a nervous smile.
"How did you survive Angor Rot?" Blinky then asked, looking to Skylar.
"I'll tell you all everything when we get to Trollmarket." Skylar replied with a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair.
Skylar's gaze then moved over to Strickler.
"Have you heard of the Inferna Copula?" She then asked, causing me to tense.
I haven't heard that name in years.
"Indeed, I have." Blinky replied lowly.
"Let's get going. We have a lot to go over." Skylar spoke, leading the way.