All Chapters of Aries Ascendant: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

I laugh, without mirth.  "I'm sure it'll make me feel so much better, NOT," I respond.  "I don't think I even can tell you.  My body starts to shut down when I just think of it.""That's natural," said Aperio.  "Some trauma of the heart gets carried in the constitution.  I have a solution.""Oh really," I said without interest.  He didn't notice, or didn't care."Let me into your memories," he said.  "It will be inaccurate in a sense- what you perceive and what is real are not always alike.  However, it will allow me to see what I need.""That is an even less attractive prospect," I flashed at him.  "Like I need you floating around in my head, Fae.""It will help beyond what you believe," Aperio stated.  He's so damned unflappable- it's infuriating.Heru stood, and sat next to me.  "I will be here, too, A," he said.  "If he even starts looking towards anything other than the....even

I'm not thinking about anything except the pain I had just heard in Heru's voice along with my desire to be in his arms.  Resting his hands on my waist, he stops my advance and holds me closely.  He's breathing hard when I finally withdraw to look at him again.He lightly brushes my hair away with his fingertips. "Thank you.  Even if you didn't mean it, thank you for listening to me.""I'm not sure what I mean," I whisper back.  I can't seem to get my heart to stop pounding, and I'm finding it hard to breathe normally.  "I...wanted to do that.""That's more than I hoped for, then," he replied.  "If I don't stop now, I won't be able to, Aries.  You aren't ready for that, are you?" He stared into my eyes, his hand running down my neck to the charmstone I wore."No," I said, quickly.  He blinked at me, probably surprised at how fast I responded.  "I mean, not yet, I guess.  I don't know.  This is sudden.

We walked together for a little ways, but I split from Heru when I caught sight of my first unicorn.I would have thought, with all the realms we had already traveled through, I would have run into a unicorn or some variant thereof, but this was my first time seeing one in person.  Of course, Uxiom's books had spells and potions involving different parts of one, but they were in short supply even in Phantasma.Remembering Orion's words about being respectful in my approach, I wondered what exactly he meant by that.  As in, general respect to a wild beast like a lion or bear, and stay at a distance? Were they capable of speech? Did they demand physical forms of reverence like a bow?I watched the unicorn from a distance at first, waiting to see if it would react to my presence.  It did not appear to, but I did receive a shock.  The unicorn stalked up to a fat rabbit, its hooves making less than a whisper of a sound on the green grass.  Qu

"Any ideas on where our girl is right now?" I ask Heru.He responds with a yawn of his own.  "No, I don't," He snaps his jaw.  "I would have figured she'd tell you.""Who knows, Chrys was always a bit independent.  I'll just do a bond trace."  I yawn again.  "If someone had let me sleep in a little, it wouldn't be too hard to do.""It's not hard to do anyway." He plops down on the grass, never minding the cold dew still sitting on the blades.  The spot he had picked to jump wasn't bad- it was out in the open- all the better for Orion or Aperio to close any Hellmouth that might work its way through here.  It would also be easier for archers or ranged mages to take out any soldiers that were marching on the city, at lower personal risk.  The tree line was fairly distant as well.  All in all, it was as good a spot as we were likely to find.I yawn again. Gods.  What I wouldn't do for a good nap.  Althoug

"You know what you forgot?" Asked Heru, after we had been in the cave for a couple of minutes.  He had a definite and accentuated spring in his step.  He was almost bounding like a puppy through the cavern as it darkened."What?""You forgot to ask Aperio what the location was that you had to be in for the sealing," Heru pointed out.  "You know you have to find the blood of family, that it has to be during a budding of the Celestial Tree-""Universe," I corrected, automatically."Celestial," he continued.  "That you have to use my blood to actually draw the incantation circle.  But where will you be drawing it?"Silence falls between us for a few moments.  "Balls.  You could have pointed it out before," I whined."I forgot too," Heru replied.  "Your memory issues are partially extended to me, you know.  I wish we could find a physician that was able to see if you have a problem.  Well, you're