StarLight

Chapter 67: Feelings Against Promises

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Skylar
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This is getting fucking ridiculous.
Strickler wasn't even doing anything, yet he was getting on my nerves.
Jim looked as pale as a ghost.
Vendel wouldn't stop checking my head wound.
Blinky and Arrrgh were just standing around.
And there was no word from the three amigos running around!
Not to mention that I wasn't even allowed to do anything.
I was stuck here, sitting on my hands.
I was itching to get out there, make things right.
How dare Strickler bring a troll assassin here.
How dare Angor Rot do this.
And the voice echoing in my head, nothing but a mere whisper egging me on.
I recognized the voice from before...
I just wish I knew who exactly it was.
So then I could scream at them to shut up instead of just sit here, watching my mom slowly become weaker.
I hated just waiting for others to do what I could do faster.
I'm the one with the sword of daylight.
I'm the one that has the power of fire, electricity, and now light.
I shook my head.
No.
That's the voice getting to me.
I trusted them to do what needed to be done.
I was injured, my mother was hurt.
If I was to be anywhere, it should be here.
Next to her.
I would never forgive myself if something happened and I wasn't here to help.
"I'm fine." I snapped as Blinky reached to see if I was gaining a fever.
I moved my gaze back over to my mother's form.
She wasn't moving, the only sound being her pained breaths and grunts.
I wasn't fine.
But I wasn't about to tell them that I was suddenly hearing voices.
That would only complicate things.
Besides, they couldn't be distracted as long as my mother was laying on that table.
Something suddenly whizzed past me, causing me to look at the staff that was now in the wall.
I blinked, my eyes slowly widening as I processed the situation.
I was off my game.
I stumbled off the table, Blinky taking the piece of paper from the staff.
"The incantation!" He exclaimed.
"Where are they?" I asked, looking between everyone gathered here.
"We must prepare the conjuration at once." Vendel stated, taking the paper from Blinky and reading over it.
"We need to help them." I spoke, looking to Blinky and Arrrgh.
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do." Blinky stated.
"Nothing they can do, but we can do anything. I can help you... If you let me."
"Go Away." I thought angrily, my fist clenching.
"It seems there is another problem." Vendel spoke, my glare shifting over to Strickler.
He was listening, but his gaze was stuck on my mother's pained expression.
I wanted him to hurt.
He was the cause of all this.
How can he be a good person as Jim says?
"It's not fair, is it? If you let me help you, I can show you your true power. The power that belongs to you. You don't have to do this alone again."
I wanted the voice to stop.
I grit my teeth as I walked over, grabbing the paper from Vendel.
"She won't remember anything." I stated bitterly before looking over at her.
"It appears that way." Vendel stated stiffly.
"What are you saying? I'm gonna... I'm gonna forget Trollmarket?" Mom asked.
"That Skylar's the trollhunter? The nightwatcher?" She then asked.
"I'll leave you three alone with a moment of privacy." Vendel stated, ushering Strickler, Blinky, and Arrrgh out with him.
"Then we should enact the conjuration." Vendel added, voice growing distant.
Mom met my gaze.
"Listen to me." She began.
"Promise me we'll talk about all this again."
"Mom-"
"Promise me, Skylar." She interrupted.
"I'll try." I whispered weakly.
"Jim." Mom then stated, catching his attention.
"No matter what, let her tell me. This needs to come from her." Mom stated.
"No, I've gone through this twice now. You can't... What if she doesn't tell you?" Jim asked, glancing at me.
"Promise me, Jim. This has to come from her. Not from you." She stated.
I didn't understand why she thought it had to come from me.
But even so, I don't think I'd be able to tell her any of this.
I had no intention of dragging her into this again.
I usually kept the promises I made, but...
I think I have to break this one.
She then looked back to me.
"It took all of this just for you to tell me about..." She trailed off with a wince.
"Your other life." She finished.
I stayed silent, causing her to continue.
"I am worried. And scared for you. But you listen to me." Mom spoke, never taking her eyes off me.
"It is my job as your mother to be worried. It is not your job to protect me or your brother, and I know you have done so all these years. You didn't ever need to take that role and I'm sorry for making you feel like you did. I'm supposed to protect you." She stated.
"She underestimates you..."
"I want you to know something... Even before all this, before you got your wings..." She trailed off with a weak laugh.
"You were always my angel..." She stated before looking to Jim, grabbing his hand.
"And no matter what, Jim, you will always be my hero." She added on.
Vendel then walked back in.
"The time has come." He stated simply, walking up to mom.
"Place your hands upon the crystal." Vendel then ordered, speaking to mom and Strickler.
"Barbara, I-"
"Don't talk to me. You're the one thing I'm looking forward to forgetting." Mom stated, cutting him off.
She looked towards us as Strickler sighed, the pain evident on his features.
Vendel began to chant as their hands touched the crystal.
"Promise me." Mom spoke again.
I avoided her gaze, looking to the ground.
The words were caught in my throat.
"After this is all over, don't keep this a secret from me anymore." She pleaded softly.
I couldn't say the words she wanted to hear.
Strickler screamed from the pain, Mom wincing as the spell began to take affect.
"Promise me, Skylar." She pleaded one last time before falling unconscious.
"Let me help you... Dear one."

Jim decided to stay at the hospital with Mom until she woke.
I volunteered to clean up at the house.
I entered Jim's room, finding Draal stuck in the trap we set for Angor.
I walked over, deactivating it.
He stumbled a bit and I reached up, fixing his arm.
A heavy breath escaped me as I lifted my gaze to meet his.
"Mind helping me get all the evidence out of here?" I asked, causing him to grunt.
"All you have to do is get the axes and stuff back to Trollmarket. I'll handle the actual cleaning." I bargained with a short laugh.
He chuffed, causing me to give him a weak smile.
He followed me downstairs.
Once reaching the bottom, I looked around at all the damage.
"Did you happen to eat the lightbulbs that were in the basement?" I asked, tilting my head at the troll.
"No." He stated simply, causing me to nod.
"Even if that's the case, I probably have to buy more anyways. He broke a lot." I muttered before sighing again and getting to work.
"Are you... Alright?" He asked cautiously, taking the axe out of the door.
I froze in lifting the table, staring blankly at a wall.
"I... Don't know." I stated honestly.
"Just hear me out... I can promise you that it will be worth it."
"I'm just... Trying to process everything that's been happening." I stated softly.
"I haven't accomplished a single mission myself like a trollhunter should and when I tried to do so, I almost got my mom killed. I have got to be the worst trollhunter in history. Sure, I may not have gotten torn apart on my first night, but... I feel so useless." I muttered before meeting his gaze.
Through everything, after everything, Draal was the only person I trusted with any of these feelings.
Even so... I couldn't bring myself to tell him about the voice.
"The blame is not on you..." Draal stated, moving a bit closer to me.
"But if I had just let Jim tell us what was going to happen... I put him through what would be his second time. I should've done something different." I muttered.
"You did what you could. It was smart not to allow the changeling to know. Your mother did not die, you broke the bond between her and the impure. Everyone is safe for now. That in itself is a victory. Do not downplay your success however small." Draal spoke, the words seeming to come to him easily.
"He's still out there." I whispered.
Draal pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me.
"We may have failed to capture Angor Rot today, but he will meet his end." He stated, the rumble in his voice, causing his chest to vibrate.
"Thank you." I whispered softly, hesitantly hugging him back.
Despite being made of stone, he gave off a comforting heat.
Suddenly, I was hit with a wave of exhaustion and I pulled away.
"C'mon, let's finish cleaning. I'm getting tired." I stated, offering a small smile before getting back to work.
Draal did the same.
"Let me help you... Please."
"Okay."