Hexa Melodies of Peace: First Melody

17. Lance's Foolish Deal

Selena was so happy. Lance was back. He had returned. Even if he hadn’t showed her his powers and defeated a zodiac like a child’s play, she would’ve known just by the way he hugged her. 

‘How is your body?’ she asked, taking a step back and looking at him, ‘how did you survive the Nether Flux? How did your memories and power return?’

‘One question at a time,’ said Lance. Selena took a deep breath.

‘How did you survive the blast?’

‘It hit me,’ said Lance, ‘and the moment it connected, my powers returned. I think it was because of seeing Capricorn. Well my powers returned with a force and the aura negated the Nether Flux.’

‘I was so worried,’ Selena said.

‘Come,’ said Lance, ‘let go to everyone else.’

Together they started walking. Selena was so happy that she couldn’t stop smiling. She was holding his hand.

‘So,’ she said, ‘Angela was correct. Your powers have increased a lot after staying locked up.’

‘You have no idea how much,’ said Lance, ‘it is very difficult to contain it.’

After a moment in silence, everything came to Selena; everything that had happened in this night. Lance’s return had taken her mind of it but now it came back and Selena felt as shocked and hurt as she had the first time. She knew that it was true. Everything she had heard and found out in the last moments stung her.

‘Lance,’ she said, ‘did Seth really betray us?’

‘Of course not,’ said Lance, ‘didn’t you hear what I was saying back then.’

‘I am not a fool Lance,’ said Selena, ‘that story couldn’t be more fake.’

Lance sighed.

‘Why?’ she asked, ‘why would he do that? Seth was our friend.’

‘Is,’ Lance corrected her, ‘he is our friend.’

‘We think that,’ said Selena, ‘he obviously doesn’t.’

‘How can you say that? After all Seth has done for us, for you alone, you think he isn’t our friend?’

‘Lance, he was acting,’ Selena argued, ‘pretending. He was fooling us? Did you hear the atrocities he committed?’

Lance nodded.

‘He was always waiting for a chance,’ said Selena, ‘he was waiting for us to get the Journal so that he can steal and deliver it to Ar’Kaleeth. He was planning all along. These five Dark Bloods were following us the whole time. Seth planned with them. Rain it seems was the biggest obstacle in his path.’

‘Of course,’ said Lance, ‘no matter what Seth plans or how strong he becomes, he will never pick a fight with Rain and would never try to do what he was planning under his nose.’

‘So he tried to have him killed,’ said Selena. Discussing it with Lance made it all the more real, and even more disturbing, ‘with Rain out of his way, no one was strong enough to stop him.’

‘But he miscalculated,’ said Lance, ‘there was another one who could stop him.’

‘He probably thought you wouldn’t get your memories back…’ started Selena.

‘No,’ Lance interrupted, ‘I meant you.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes,’ said Lance, ‘he wasn’t able to hand them the journal because you were there. You stopped him.’