Chapter 20: King Solomon

"You will kneel in the presence of King Solomon you pathetic worm." Danta says knocking my knees out with a wooden board.

"Danta, what have I told you about calling me that. My name Sol, and that is what I will go by, not your stupid nickname."

Sol's voice was calm as he was talking, yet it had a definitely edge sharp enough to make Danta step back a hair.

"Come friend, please stand." This was directed towards me in gold waves, though not the brilliant gold of the sun, but one tarnished by time. I wearily stand, the pain from the board making my knees ache.

"I must ask you what you were doing it Phoenix territory. It is typically seen as a sign of aggression to enter the territory of another gang. In fact, if it weren't for my daughter accompanying you, you and your friend here would be dead."

"Clair!? Where is she?" I ask starting forward.

"Now, now, she is right here beside me. We are aware of your situation regarding your eyesight and the demons. We have a proposition for you."

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" I ask.

"It's alright Seth, I'm right here." Clair voice lights up in my mind, but it is dimmer than normal, the weight of all those deaths taking their toll. I duck my own head, thinking about all those screams, it makes me want to be sick. Instead I focus on Sol's tired words.

"What do you want from us?" I ask him.

"I want you to join the Phoenix gang. You would be joining Phoenix himself on the roof at nightfall, as our watch. In return, we will spare your lives."

"Father! You promised me you wouldn't hurt them." I am shocked to hear Aqua's voice call out. My mind instantly starts jumping to different conclusions. Was she there to watch us all along? Was she ever really our friend? But all these questions are put to rest by Sol.

"Of course they won't be harmed, oh traitorous daughter of mine. If they help us all three of you will be safe under the roof of phoenix."

"Three of us?" She questions him.

"Of course." His steely voice replies. "After all, we can't have traitors running around here as they please."

I recoil from the venom in his words. If Aqua was indeed this man's daughter, then there was something seriously wrong with him. I knew we couldn't trust him to keep his word, but currently, we were trapped.

"May I have some time to decide?" I ask him.

"Hmm... I think not." he says. "You may decide now."

I hold back the panic that I feel building up inside of me. This kind of thing shouldn't scare me, not after the confidence I gained from fighting the dragon. Only the Ethereals bothered me now, so why was I feeling anxious. Was it because our heads were on the line? Though it was probably Clair and Aqua I was more anxious for. Surely that must be it.

Then I hear it. Faint at first but growing louder with every moment. A buzz like summer heat in the cold fall air. The horror that is sure to follow haunts my mind, but it may be our only chance.

"Well, hurry up boy make your decision." Sol calls over to me. I drag my feet as I walk towards him, my head bent. As I stand before him, I fall into a kneel.

"I choose to run." I say and quickly reach for Clair, managing to grab her arm and pull her towards me.

"Don't just stand there you dolts, shoot..."

Crash

The world shatters around me, yellow shards of glass cascading over screaming silhouettes, crunching under the feet of amber Ethereals. There is so much noise, but I hear none of it. All I can think is to run without letting go of Clair, the last person I had in this world.

"This way Seth!" I am blinded by a white light, shining like the sun. An escape from the everlasting darkness. I change directions and make my way towards it, gripping Clair's arm all the tighter.

I stumble as I hit the base of the stairs, leading up into the unseen.

"Seth! We can't go that way," Clair says, tugging me back, "We'll be trapped."

I pause on the steps. Clair was being reasonable. If we went up into the balcony, we would be cornered like animals in a cage, but every part of me was telling me to follow the girl made of light.

"Please, just trust me."

I can feel her hesitating. Any logical person would run, but after seeing what the Ethereals did to people I could hardly say I was still sane.

I am relieved when I feel her start to follow me up the stairs. We make our way quickly and quietly so as not to attract Ethereal attention, but the sounds of gunfire easily drown out any noise we may have made.

As I hit the top of the stairs, I bash into a heavy metal frame.

"Seth, it's the rooftop door. There's a lock on it." Clair says, uncertainty filling her voice. "We should go back."

But neither of us move, we had both seen our fair share of torture; friends lost in an instant.

I heard a click ahead of me and look up to see the white girl slip through the dark framed doorway.

"Come on Clair, it's open." I say, and before she can protest, I push against it and feel a cool rain against my face.

"But how?" Clair asks.

"That girl opened it." I say, pointing to where I just saw the light; but there is nothing there.

"Seth? Are you alright?" Clair asks concern growing in her voice. I am at a loss for words, I race out to where the girl had stood not a moment before, but there was no sign of her.

What I saw instead was much worse.

Surrounding us from all sides were Ethereals. Not a single inch of the ground below wasn't teaming with glowing amber.

Author's Note

Finally, Chapter 20! I can honestly say I have never written this muck of anything, thanks to everyone reading, I can't wait to show you what comes next.

Reviews

[Lucy Morningstar &heart..]

SO MUCH SUSPENCE!!! Can I just...can I have the next chapter...please...just...chapter...lol Anyhoo, now that I'm done being a silly fangirl, this was awesome! The story is progressing in a really nice way and its really pulling me in...I really cant wait to find out what happens with Sol and Aqua and stuff now that Seth and Clair know she is Sol's daughter.

The only thing I would change is the last sentence, just because its a bit muddled...'Every inch of the ground was teaming with glowing amber'...something to that effect. Anyhoo, again, this chapter was an AMAZEBALLS addition to the story ^_^

100/100

[Silent Wolf]

Interesting. I wonder why that girl took them there. It seems like a trap, but I want to see where it goes from there. It's been so long, I forgot who Clair was. Mind a quick recap?