Dryads of the Stars

Chapter 8 : Return To Prison

Back to the Sky realm.

Eris was struggling to catch his breath. The atmosphere in that room was now too unbearable.

"Mother and me had a secret. My little brother's name, only me and her knew it. We came up with it together. I promised her that I would protect him forever. I promised that I would protect Noa as his older brother, but I failed horribly. "

Miriam broke out in tears. He seemed unstable. He could not deny that the one in front of him was his brother. He seemed to resemble their father.

"You look a lot like him. I should have known. Who gave you that name? Did our parents not name you?"

"It was aunt Mary, she is the one who raised me you know. But what I wanted to tell you is..."

A loud howling noise interrupted them while they were talking. An earthquake perhaps? The mansion started trembling, the walls seemed as if they were ready to shatter and the floor became unstable. The glass on the windows shattered into thousands of tiny little pieces. Suddenly everything just stopped. Eris and Miriam had fallen on the floor unable to hold their balance. Miriam looked behind him almost instinctively, as if he had felt something. Kalithea who had come in the room unnoticed, was down on her knees, her head touching the ground. She was doing a full bow, but to whom? Miriam turned back around, only to see a frozen Eris bowing deeply as well. And in front of them was an overwhelming presence that made his head unable to stay held high. Everyone was on the ground, even the other two men that were unconscious before had now awoken. Who was that being you ask?

"DO NOT LIFT YOUR HEADS, HUMANS. YOU WILL ONLY HARM YOUR EYES IF YOU DO."

"Oh Great King of the Sky and Ruler of the Ignis, what may you need from this humble mansion?"

Kalithea seamed terrified, she was trembling.

"LEAVE THIS ROOM, YOU ARE OF NO NEED TO ME, SERVANT. GO BACK TO YOUR WORTHLESS MASTER."

Kalithea disappeared almost immediately.

"HUMANS AND MIRIAM, PREPARE FOR YOU ARE  TO DESCEND BACK TO EARTH RIGHT THIS MOMENT. YOUR TIME TO DILLY DALLY IS UP. I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE, YOU WILL TALK AFTER YOU ARRIVE. NOW GOOD LUCK."

He said that and before they even managed to blink they were midair, falling from the sky right down to earth. It seems that their lives were not taken into consideration for their sudden exit. And so they found themselves in complete and utter shock, but since they had achieved their purpose they were partially relieved. It was not for long though, since they kept descending further and further, closer to getting their entire bodies squashed on the ground like eggs. 

"HOW USELESS. BUT SINCE HE SAID UNHARMED I CANNOT DISOBEY. ALTERA, HELP ME DELIVER THEM."

"Yes my Lord."

Two Ignis appeared and grabbed the four men that were hopelessly falling to their deaths. There was one problem though. They had fallen quite far away from where they were supposed to, so the flight was going to be a long one. One that would only serve to prolong the fear that had gathered in Lumius's mind.

The Sun was rising. The atmosphere was cold and humid. A storm was coming.

Lumius was no longer laying on the sofa. He had woken up right before sunrise. The house was cold and dark once again, since the stove and the lights had gone out a few hours ago. Lumius seemed to hold a dark, tired expression to his face as if he had not slept for days. A knock was heard from the front door. He was standing in the kitchen in front of a worn down portrait of a woman. It took him some time to get to the door. Behind the old wooden door, stood a woman in her late twenties with an odd expression on her face. Was she angry, or concerned? I could not tell. She was the commander that was left behind by Eris to take care of the remaining soldiers. She walked inside.