Xylia

Twenty Four

Whenever I was in Cyra, I had a saying: fake it till you make it.

It's what got me through most of my childhood. It gave me strength when I was weak, energy when I was drained, happiness when I was sad. Ultimately, I had cracked the code to life when I was like seven. What can I say, I was an ambitious kid.

Unfortunately, something happened in my late teens because the 'fake it till you make it' motto was not working out.

At all.

Minutes into our battle I find myself with not one but two stab wounds. I'm an overachiever like that. I thought to myself "Hey they don't know you don't have Bellum to help you so 'fake it till ya make it'." It seemed like it would work.

But I had become so dependent on the backstabber's power, that I could not fake anything.

I'm going to spare you the details, but the main point is that I got my ass handed to me. To be fair, I believe the guy that took me out had trained in martial arts while he was in the womb, so I was doomed from the start.

"Xylia I need you to get off your ass and suck less!" Drea always knew what to say.

"Drea be more sensitive, she just had all of her spirit powers drained from her." Volkan practically screamed as he disarmed one of Navin's goons, but not after apologizing to the unconscious soldier.

I stumbled to my feet, wanting to prove them wrong, bravely armed with a discarded stick.

"I can literally hear everything you're saying!"

Swing. Miss. Dodge. That was the cadence I followed as I weaved my way back into the battle. My arms felt like lead and I desperately wished to have Bellum's strength.

Speaking of Bellum, he is now in the host of a new body. One who is now a limp worm crawling on the floor. It brought me a twinge of satisfaction to see how miserable he looked, considering how I thought we were actual friends and not just a "parasite and host" relationship. It was pretty odd seeing him mope across the floor, chanting "not worthy" as he squirmed on the ground.

And Drea thought I was pathetic.

"Xylia watch out!"

Sharp pain exploded in my chest as a foot cozied up all the way in my sternum. On the bright side, I could barely feel my two stab wounds as I hit the ground.

Volkan- no Navin's ugly face invaded my spotty vision.

"Seems like you've lost this one, but I can't say I'm surprised."

Ugh he's a gloater too.

"Mmmmm." Was my brilliant response.

And then the most beautiful thing happened.

A large hand pummeled the side of Navin's temple and a less ugly, fully bearded face of Black Beard came into my sight. His large hands hoisted me up, and I couldn't help but feel happy to see those yellowed teeth.

"We don't have time to lay 'round, lass."

I rolled my eyes, picking up my stick.
"Aye aye captain."

"What are we gonna do about him?" Navin remained motionless in the dirt.

Black Beard's eyes twinkled. "Oh just take him back to the den and give him a nice Cyran welcome."

I didn't ask what that would entail.

"Xylia!" Everest hollered, his tall form sprinting towards me.

"Don't worry I'm okay."

But that didn't ease the panic in his eyes. "It's Bellum, they've taken him."

My eyes darted around the enclosure, and sure enough, there was no trace of his host's limp form.

"That traitorous worm."

Then, I promptly passed out.