Chaos & Order

Chapter 13

Aliyah was still holding onto Siel tightly as he carried her through the dungeon. She buried her face into him as he kept a stream of "don't worry" and "you'll be fine".

"Siel, I-I'm sorry." Aliyah said, weakly, "I let my guard down..."

"No, this was set up. Planned ahead of time." Siel replied.

"How do you know...?" Aliyah asked.

"Simple observation."

Aliyah tightened her grip on him as she saw her wounds. And the disappearance of her rod only worried her further. Especially since it was no mere weapon, it was beyond magical. An ancient weapon that had been connected to her since she was little and had fallen ill. Its life was hers, its pain was hers, its soul was hers. And it was called Artemis.

"Siel, I'm not healing...ARTEMIS! Where is...?" She asked in a panic.

A hand suddenly popped out of the darkness, forcing Siel to come screeching to a halt. He saw the midnight-blue skin.

"You were wondering about this, right?" Boogeyman's voice asked as he held out the rod.

Aliyah looked up, seeing the rod in Boogeyman's hand. With a trembling and bloody hand, she reached out for it.

"By the way, the rod causes injuries to HER if it's damaged." Boogeyman said, "Seems like a recipe for disaster, but eh, if that's their cup of tea..."

"I...already knew this." Aliyah said quietly as she took the rod and hugged it close.

"I was talking to the angel." Boogeyman said, "Seriously, it's a weapon, it's GOING to get SOME damage at some point. Transferring damage to its owner seems like a guaranteed mortality rate."

"It's connected to me." Aliyah said, "If it wasn't...I would have...much sooner."

"Fine...but still, if I were you, I'd file a complaint with customer service." Boogeyman said, his shadow quickly disappearing.

"He's a strange, aggravating person." Siel muttered.

Aliyah looked down at Artemis in relief. Just having it close made her feel that much better. Then she saw the damages done to the wooden rod, "No wonder I haven't healed yet. Artemis needs to be mended. Aunt Lilith usually does it, but..."

Aliyah laid her head on Siel's shoulder, starting to feel weak from the wounds she shared with her weapon.

"Actually, I did encounter her." Siel said, trying to keep her talking.

"You did?" Aliyah asked, surprised.

"Recently, yes." Siel said, "Seems decent, but a strange sort. I suppose most witches are."

"I thought...I heard her voice...but I thought I was imagining things..." Aliyah's eyes were becoming heavy and her grip on Siel was loosening.

"Not now. Not now. NOT. NOW." Siel snarled. He wasn't sure why, but he shouted, at the top of his lungs, "LILITH! COME OUT!"

"No need to yell." Lilith's voice said. In a puff of crimson smoke, the familiar form of the court witch appeared, looking irritated, "So, what did you-"

"Artemis. Fix it. NOW." Siel shouted, thrusting Aliyah's rod at her.

"Relax, Angel boy." Lilith said as she took the rod from Aliyah's loose grip, "As long as it's not destroyed, she won't die."

While she ran her hand over the damaged weapon, Lilith muttered a spell. Soon after, the rod started to glow and, very slowly, the cracks began to mend. As they did, Aliyah began to heal as well. She was still unconscious, but was healing quite nicely.