Aera-Kerr: Dusk of Desolation (Act 1 - free sample)

Chapter 4: Aria Hale

On his way back to his family's suite, Tyrell happened to notice someone observing him from the end of the hallway. Standing against the wall, staring at him with her arms folded, was the same girl he saw on the elevator. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Tyrell asked.

"Hm, nothing in particular," the girl said. "Why?"

"Well," Tyrell began, "it just seems like you've been suspicious of me, what with the way you were looking at me back on the elevator."

"And what reason would I have to be suspicious about you?" The girl asked. "I don't believe we know each other. We haven't even been properly introduced."

What was with all of these people who suddenly wanted to become acquainted with Tyrell? There was definitely something very strange going on, but he was going to take the chance to figure out just what it was.

"Well, my name . . ." Tyrell began, hesitant, ". . . is Tyrell Wolf."

"I'm Aria," the girl responded, "Aria Hale."

"So, Aria Hale," Tyrell began, his eyes narrow, "would you, perhaps, like to come in for a visit, hm? Want me to fix you a cup of tea? Maybe a massage, too?"

Aria laughed. "Are you serious? You sure are quite the sassy one. I get you don't trust me. We only just met, after all."

"Sorry," Tyrell said, "it's just that . . . me, my friends, and my family have been through quite a lot. We only got here last night, after months of traveling."

Aria tilted her head as her eyes went narrow. "But then, how could you have stood a chance against the Daemons if you were out there for that long?"

Tyrell dropped the room keycard. "You know about the Xerian Daemons?"

Aria's eyes went wide. "Yeah. It's because I'm actually a member of the Church. I've studied about them ever since I was in my early teen years. So, how do you know about them?"

"Well, it's complicated," Tyrell said. "Maybe I could show you what I found that led to me knowing about them?"

He escorted Aria into the hotel room, opened his satchel, and pulled out the piece of the Prominence Crystal he had. The moment her eyes met the glowing-cyan Crystal, her jaw dropped.

"Is that . . . what I think it is? Wh-where did you get that from?" Aria asked, completely rigid with her gaze fixed on the Crystal.

Tyrell chuckled at her surprise. "Well, see, I simply happened to have found because—"

"High Prince Zane Azrael placed it where he knew that one of his future incarnations would be the first to find it." Aria finished.

Once again, Tyrell was both amazed and confused by the spectrum of her knowledge.

"Yeah," he responded. "You know about Azrael, too?"

Aria nodded. "I know that he was the final heir to the Atlantean throne, and the one who saved the world from the Xerians a long time ago during the Penultimate Calamity. I heard about the prophecy that one of his incarnates would discover the location of the first shard of the Prominence Crystal. But I never imagined that someone like you would have been the one to find it. So, does that mean . . . ?"

Slowly, Tyrell nodded. "Yes, it's true. I am Zane Azrael. And along with the Crystal, I also discovered this."

He pulled the Dragon Vein whip from his satchel.

"Th-that whip! Th-the legendary whip . . . Dragon Vein!" Aria uttered, putting her fingertips to her lips. "S-so, you really are the current incarnation of Azrael!"

"That's right," Tyrell said. "I had pretty much the same reaction as you when I found out the truth behind my birthright."

"But wait," Aria said, taking deep breaths to counter her initial surprise, "let me just comprehend one thing at a time. Okay, first of all . . . how is it that you managed to find these two things, which have not been seen for thousands of years?"

As Tyrell was about to answer the question, the door to the room opened, and his father entered.

"Hey Tyrell, so Claire's gonna have to—". he said, stopping as he saw Aria. "Oh, who's this?"

"My name is Aria," Aria introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, sir."

"Hello," Tyrell's father weakly spoke before glancing toward his son. "Uh, Tyrell, did you just happen to let her in?"

"Well . . ." Tyrell uttered.

He was not sure how to explain why he let a stranger in their room, and he did not want to let his father in on the fact that she knew about the Xerians just yet.

"You're hoping on getting a date, huh son?" Tyrell's father said.

"Wh-what?" Tyrell responded, feeling the heat rise in his face. "What ever gave you that idea?"

His father chuckled. "You know, I think this will be healthy for you, son. You're growing up, and it's time for you to take that next step in life."

"What? But, Dad . . . I-I . . ." Tyrell struggled to untangle his words, ". . . a date? I've never even met her! We're hardly even acquaintances!"

Surprisingly, Aria seemed indifferent about the fiasco.

"I'll do it," She said, shrugging.

"Good, it's settled!" Tyrell's father said. "He'll be ready for you by six! Is that okay with you?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah, that works just fine. I've got nothing else to do, anyhow."

Tyrell hung his head and closed his eyes. "You can't be serious."

Instant dates were not Tyrell's cup of tea, let alone being hooked up with a girl by someone else. Besides, he did not know much about dating in the first place, which only made him feel like he was going to mess this whole thing up. But more importantly, he wondered why, of all times, it had to be in their current situation, in a city far from his home, after an apocalypse, and with this random, mysterious girl he had not known any longer than five minutes.

But Aria did seem to know what was going on. Maybe if she were to join the convoy, her assistance could be prudent to finding the remaining shards of the Prominence Crystal much quicker.

"Fine," Tyrell finally responded, "one date."

"Good," His father remarked, "glad you could agree to it."

"Okay, I'll be back here later tonight!" Aria said, before she went off on her way.

Tyrell looked at his father with narrow eyes and pursed lips.

"Hey, let's not forget you agreed to this," His father said, smirking.

"Only out of external pressure," Tyrell said.

His father laughed. "Hey, it's just gonna be one little night with her. That's all I want from you; I want to see my son go on a date."

If he had ever wanted to go on a first date, Tyrell would have gone with . . . never mind. Bringing up Kira would only cause him more heartache, which he was not in the mood for.

In spite of everything that happened, Tyrell also still had his mind on Marek Blackwell, since he also seemed to know quite a bit about magic, and could aid in the quest as well. Still, having all of these random people show up out of nowhere asking if they can provide support seemed very out of the ordinary. So of course, Tyrell would have to keep his guard up.