Lightning Strikes

15

Some dramatic events in this chapter, and definitely some theatrics. Waterworks are welcome (but generally don't happen when someone's reading my writing). Also, if you're wondering why my update schedule has gone to the dogs, I can't really answer that (okay, I can, but it's best if I don't). I'll be posting a new story sometime in the next couple of days, so be on the lookout for that!

Aru usually loved being right. And when she had four (five, actually) sisters, times like this were rare. Incredibly rare, actually. Aru couldn't remember the last time that she had won an argument so definitively.

Even rarer was the fact that Aru wasn't happy about it.

"They're attacking! Gather the legion!" Hazel yelled. "Aru, Piper, stay back!"

"I can take care of myself!" Aru called. "Just tell me where to go!"

The wall started cracking under the force of the attack. Yellow light seeped through the cracks in the wall, and Aru just about did a double take. The magic was so close to Kara's light powers that she was stunned.

Those thoughts were quickly put to bed when she saw literal fire bursting through the wall. Aru reached into her pocket and found an unfamiliar rock in there.

She realized that the "rock" was Kartikeya's vel. Well, it was hers now, and it was the only one she had. She guessed that this was as good of a time as any to break the spear in.

"Right there, Aru!" Hazel pointed at the fire. "Can you hold them off?"

Aru nodded and broke away from the legion, a few soldiers following her. Piper was one of them. "What's your name?" Aru asked one of them.

"Lavinia," she responded promptly.

"And you?"

"Bruce."

"Lucius."

"Quintus."

"Okay, you five are going to have to cover your asses for a sec, got it?"

The four soldiers and Piper nodded. Aru breathed in hard and then concentrated on the clouds in the sky. She brought on the rain as hard as she could, but Aru was rusty, not having used her powers in a while. Lightning struck the approaching army, and while this killed some people, it also didn't help the fire situation.

An abandoned horse came racing to Aru's side. Aru saw the opportunity and took it, leaping onto the horse's saddle. She saw the others following her, and waved for them to slow down. Either they didn't understand or they didn't care, because they kept chasing over her.

With the golden spear in one hand and the reins in the other, Aru looked like someone straight from a mythology serial. Except this really was a matter of life and death, and she definitely wasn't getting paid enough for it.

Aru raced towards the fire, trying to summon a strong storm. She found that the closer that she got to the fire, the harder it was to use her powers. But the worst part was that the fire didn't go out!

"Greek fire!" Piper yelled. "Or just some kind of waterproof magic. It won't go out from the water, it'll just get stronger!"

"Good to know!" Aru yelled, and stopped the storm. The lightning wasn't all that effective, anyway. Most of the approaching army was covered in some sort of a blue shield that absorbed her powers.

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way," Aru muttered. She smirked.

She whipped the reins and found a spot in the fire that was easy to jump over. She pulled back on the reins and made the horse leap over the enchanted flames, feeling the heat near her skin.