Scarlett Hayes's Arc

Chapter 9 of 9

The boy's eyes glowed in the dark past the bridge. Scarlett held the purple sword and felt the winged beast at her back. The creature had bowed to her love. But a bow was not loyalty. She needed a guardian strong enough to guard the party she still dreamed of throwing, the gathering that would steal the heart of Atlantis. The beast would follow her heart. It would not follow a stranger's orders. She had to earn it before it ever left this cave. Azumi drifted up beside her. "He came back for the sword," she whispered. "His head's screaming. He wants it and he's scared of it." The boy crept onto the timber. He reached for the blade in Scarlett's hands. "Give it to me," he said. "It's mine." Behind Scarlett, the winged creature rose. It was an aardwolf shape with dark bat wings and cold blue eyes. It watched the boy with the flat stare of a judge. Arachne climbed down the far post and settled on her eight legs. "It will not go with him," she said. "It knows what he carried and what he dropped." Scarlett understood. The beast tested hearts. It had already read the boy's and found only fear. She looked at the sword, then at the creature. "I'm not giving you this," she told the boy. "You ran from it. I carried it up the whole mountain." The boy lunged. Azumi shoved him back with both hands. He stumbled against the post. The winged beast stepped between them and bared its teeth. The boy froze, then backed toward the shadows and fled. Scarlett turned to the creature. It could still leave. It followed love, not commands. She knelt on the cold timber and laid the sword flat before it. "I'm not asking you to obey me," she said. "I want to build something. A place where people gather without being afraid. I need someone to keep them safe. Will you stay?" The beast lowered its head. It sniffed the blade, then her open hands. Its blue eyes searched her face. Scarlett held still and let it read everything, the love she'd spoken, the party she wanted, the fear she'd finally beaten. The creature pressed its warm muzzle into her palm. Arachne let out a low breath. "It has chosen you," she said. "Not the sword. You." Azumi laughed and threw her arms around Scarlett's neck. Nearby, a small campfire flickered to life among the runes, its flame throwing soft light and gentle warmth across the ledge. The winged beast folded its wings and settled beside the fire, close to Scarlett's knee. Scarlett rested her hand on its striped back. She had a guardian now. She had Azumi. She had the sword. What she didn't have was a way home, or any idea what the boy would tell the others waiting below.