Mythic (NaNoWriMo14)

Chapter 8 - Audience Requested

Picture of Rena on the side by @phoenixfantasyfox

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Chapter 8 - Audience Requested 

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Rena woke to what felt like an axe imbedded in her skull.

She lifted a hand to the source and tried to sit up to a spinning world. A gentle hand on her shoulder laid her back and continued to stroke her head, soothing her in a soft voice as Rena's thoughts continued to be chiselled away by every beat of her blood. 

"Shh, little one," crooned the voice. "Be still. Take your time."

Rena blinked to dispel the double images her eyes were trying to convince her of.

She found a face staring down at her, taking in her every movement. One of the female angels, the one with the hair of woven sunlight if she wasn't just dreaming. The angel's lips tilted in a small smile as her fingers continued to brush against Rena's skin. 

"We're glad that you're awake. You were the last to do so."

Rena was about to reply when another wave of discomfort surged through her brain. She clenched her eyes, gritting her teeth against it. 

"I'm sorry I can't do more," said the angel, like it was entirely her fault that Rena was in pain. "But our powers appeared to be suppressed in this room. Healing escapes me at the moment." 

Try as she might, Rena couldn't remember the angel's name. Her throat felt raw as she spoke. "You're... Leoliri, right?"

The angel laughed. "Leoralai," she corrected. "But when the archangel is not around, you may call me Leora." 

"That I can remember," said Rena. She drew in a deep breath through her nose. "Could you help me sit up, Leora?"

Leora placed tender hands under Rena's back and neck, ensuring support the entire way up. Rena felt like a newborn in her care and became determined to regain her independence as soon as possible. She bent her legs beneath her, using them as support she could lean on to steady herself and gave Leora a confident nod to withdraw her hands. 

Rena leant forward, spreading her weight across her arms and haunches, happy that she could stay upright alone. The last thing she wanted was to appear weak before the rest of them, the unknown once more failing to reach their level. She quickly found that if she stiffened her neck, the world didn't seem to move so much. 

She seemed to be sitting in some kind of jail. The grey stones that covered the floor and the wall behind her spread out beyond the metal bars and into the hallway that touched every one of the other cages. It was then that Rena realised just how low the roof was. If she were to stand, there wouldn't be much space between her head and the--

Rena bit down on her lip, taking a deep breath and swallowing the edging panic down. This was not the place to fall into it again. She could move, she could stretch with her arms. It was enough, she tried to tell herself, though only part of her was listening. 

Aside from her own cell, the Mythics seemed to be isolated. They all sat on the floor of their respective cages, heads turned towards the only activity that Rena's awakening happened to be providing. 

The six angels, Leora included, had been seperated, a different Mythic occupying the cages between them. Rena couldn't tell at first glance what the other five huddling figures were, but she figured at least two of them were special enough to earn themselves a ley guard, as Nazine had in Cayden. 

Her heart twitched. Cayden. 

"Where is the archangel, for that matter?" asked Rena, before realising someone else was absent and that her priorities were possibly a little mixed up. "Where's Nazine?"