SEVEN
I focused on Perdition.
It felt like trying to grasp liquid mercury…with tweezers. Calisto just stood there observing me as I tried to get a grip on the power that coursed through me. Her sword illuminated the area around her with brilliant white light, taunting my inability to form my sword.
The blue energy that raced up and down her blade would occasionally make contact with the stone floor, leaving small scorch marks which reminded me Calisto was no slouch. She held real power. Earth-shattering power.
“Do you plan on drawing your weapon?” Calisto asked while narrowing her eyes. “Or are you suffering gastrointestinal distress? I can’t tell which, but from the expression on your face, I’m leaning toward the latter.”
“You’re not helping,” I said. “The sword feels completely different now.”
“It should,” Calisto said. “It’s not the same sword you’re accustomed to. By adding the Jade Demon to it, and you, Fuma changed it and—”
“And me,” I finished. “Adding the Jade Demon means he changed me.”
“Yes,” she said after a short pause. “I’d like to think for the better. The Jade Demon, like your sword, is a tool. Its nature depends on who wields it.”
“Was that supposed to make me feel better?” I asked. “My sword is called Perdition, also defined as eternal damnation or utter loss—a dark blade. My birthright is named the Jade Demon, not the Jade Teddy Bear.”
“Your point?”
“That both my sword and birthright have a leaning toward darkness. Let’s not sugarcoat it, or try to call it what it isn’t. I’m meant to be dark, to wield darkness.”
“Wield it, yes,” Calisto answered. “To be it? That’s entirely your choice. Your mother was the best Hunter in the ranks of the Order. She was hard and dangerous, but she wasn’t dark. In any case, it doesn’t seem like you’re in danger of wielding any imminent darkness.”
“What are you talking about?”
“At the rate you’re going, you’re not going to wield anything but a headache,” Calisto said. “If you are going to do this, can we speed the process up? I’m not getting any younger.”
“You’re about as funny as Gan,” I said as I tried focusing on my blade. “This isn’t as easy as I make it look.”
“I’m certain,” Calisto said with a nod. “I’m sure you could explain the difficulty to the Greater Behemoth outside that wants to rip your arms off. You could share how hard it is to manifest your sword as it beats you to death.”
“You’re not making this any easier.”
“Oh? Easier is what you seek?” Calisto mocked. “Should I come back later? When would it be convenient?”
“You’re worse than Gan,” I said through clenched teeth as I felt the sweat form on my brow. “I can do this.”
“Why don’t you make your way back to bed before you hurt yourself?” Calisto asked. “It’s evident you can’t do this. If I were an enemy, you would be dead several times over at this point.”
“I can…do this.”
“No, Sepia, you can’t…not yet,” Calisto answered almost gently. “If you continue, you will do real harm to your body. You’re not ready…You need more time.”
“We…don’t have…more time.”
Pain and liquid warmth flooded my right arm. I looked down to see if I had burst a vessel and was currently bleeding out. Silver-green liquid raced around my arm, coalescing at my hand.
“Sepia…” Calisto started. “It’s too soon.”
“You said it yourself; I have the Unholy, powerful Unholy coming for me,” I managed through clenched teeth as I flexed my arm, contracting every muscle. “Time…time is not a luxury I can afford.”
Another sharp stab of pain raced through my body, stealing my breath in the process. I looked at Calisto, who was staring at me in mild shock.
“You’re not supposed to be able to do that,” Calisto said, looking at my arm. “You’re not ready. Your body is not ready.”
“Do you know how many times I’ve heard that in my life?”
My ink flared with heat as a subtle green glow covered me. The anchors on my wrists were covered in more of the same silver-green liquid. I raised an arm, expecting to fight the heaviness, and nearly smacked myself in the face when I realized it was gone.
The weight that had pulled on my body moments earlier was gone. The anchors were still around my wrists, but I barely felt them. I focused harder and more pain embraced me. I wiped the sweat away from my lips and my hand came away bloody.
That can’t be good.
“Sepia, you need to stop this…now,” Calisto said, clearly concerned. “Your eyes…You’re bleeding. Mercy, you need to see this, now!”
“No!” I yelled, holding up a hand. “I can…I need to do this…please.”
“I’m not going to let you kill yourself just so you can prove how dangerous you are to me,” Calisto said quickly, absorbing her sword. “This has gone on long enough. When Mercy gets here, she will deal with whatever damage you’ve caused to yourself.”
“Not proving it…not for you,” I managed as the pain whipsawed through my body. “This…this is for me.”
The pain subsided long enough for me to catch my breath. I refocused my thoughts and grabbed hold of the energy within. It felt like dipping my brain in a vat of electrified water. A jolt seized me and Perdition formed in my hand…only it wasn’t the Perdition I remembered.
“Your sword,” Calisto said as Mercy silently appeared behind her, but remained outside the room. “That’s Perdition?”
“The power is too much for her body to contain,” Mercy said. “You need to stop this.”
“No, I need to control this,” I said. “Hunters are dying and the Unholy are coming. I need to stop them.”
“The Order—” Mercy began.
“Will die trying,” I said. “I need to do this. This is what I’m meant to do.”
The sword had transformed from the last time I held it. Glowing green wards and symbols ran down the length of the blade, and black wispy smoke wafted from its surface as it vibrated gently in my hand.
It felt alive, beckoning me.
“The Jade Demon has changed it,” Calisto
