Sunlight (On Hold)

Chapter 27: Surprise! Tension!

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Arya
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We were all heading back from the rock museum after somehow defeating the gruesome...
At the cost of our grades.
Although, somehow Tobi's was going to be just fine.
We have no idea how it had happened, but it was a miracle.
"Hey, we're back." I called out, entering Skylar's house.
A thump was heard before a bang, causing us all to look towards the basement door as an "Ow, shit!" echoed from downstairs before footsteps bags running up the stairs.
"Okay nobody freak out." Skylar spoke, throwing her hands out to the side before adding, "And refrain from going downstairs for a moment."
I raised a questioning brow.
"Number one, Alden is a souleater, meaning he feeds off magic." She began.
"Whaaaaaat?" Toby questioned, drawing out the word as Claire widened her eyes, lips parting.
"Second, I was able to save Jim." She added, said human entering the kitchen.
"Jim!" Both Toby and Claire shouted, tackling before he could even wave.
"And thirdly, Arya... Dalius..." Skylar spoke slowly.
This caught my attention, dread beginning to sit in my gut.
I glanced to my brother, seeing that his face steeled over.
My gaze moved back to Skylar.
"Someone is in the basement with the others along with this magic user named Blythe and turns out he was mind controlled by Alden and that's why he went after you two in the first place. That someone being Bular." She spoke quickly, hands moving faster than her words.
She took in a deep breath, waiting for a response from us.
I stayed silent, moving past her to see the black troll sitting across the room next to a girl seemingly around our age.
I took the last step and paused, my brother not far behind me.
"Stop moving you blockhead. He cut you pretty deep." The girl spoke in response to the large trolls fidgeting.
"Stop fussing over me." He growled lightly, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah sure, then you'll start complaining that it hurts and ask why I didn't do anything to help you." She spoke, seemingly slightly playful.
"When have I ever done such a thing?" Bular asked incredulously.
"I can't recall at this very moment, but I'm positive it happened a few times when we were younger." She stated offhandedly.
She must have really cared for him, despite everything he's done.
Before he could say anything in response to her newest comment, her gaze snapped over to me and a smile spread across her lips.
"Hi! My name is Blythe. What's your name?" She questioned.
She seemed genuine enough.
I glanced at my brother seeing his steeled gaze, so unlike him.
"You said you were under Alden's control?" Iquestioned, NY violet gaze moving back to the large troll.
"For a time." Bular replied gruffly, red eyes meeting mine briefly before focusing back on Blythe's movements.
"Totally beauty and the beast moment, right?" Skylar suddenly asked, gesturing to Blythe and Bular.
I stayed silent for a moment, studying how the two interacted.
"You were friends before all this. Weren't you?" I questioned, causing Blythe to pause in her movements.
She turned her gaze up to meet Bular's eyes before looking to me.
"A long time ago. We actually tried to show people that humans and beings of magic could get along and live peacefully... but then Alden the Devourer took over Bular's mind. I was able to get the dark magic out of his system though." She spoke slowly, as if every word hurt her.
"How did you bring him back?" Skylar then asked, gesturing to the old scar along Bular's chest.
"It was difficult. First I had to find all the pieces and then preserve them within a magical barrier so the life force within them would stay, despite how faded it already was. Then I had to find a rare and powerful object called the lifeorium orb, after multiple attempts with other items." She stated with a slight chuckle.
Suddenly, a bird swooped in from the window, landing on Blythe's shoulder.
"Xena, where were you off to?" She questioned, a slight smile on her face as she stroked the raven's feathers.
"Could you bring my father back?" Draal asked, speaking for the first time since we arrived.
I noticed Bular wince slightly at his question as Blythe frowned.
"How long has he been deceased?" She asked, frown deepening.
"A few months. He was a trollhunter as well." Draal replied softly, which was out of character.
"I'm sorry, once a trollhunter dies, their life force almost immediately returns to the void to rest with the predecessors. That's the way Merlin created the amulet." Blythe stated, a look of sorrow shadowing her features.
I turned to Skylar.
"What do you I make of all this?" I asked, gesturing to the two.
"I believe them. Bular did horrible things, but if he was under the control of someone else, can we really hold it against him?" Skylar spoke in turn.
"I believe we should discuss this upstairs Lady Skylar. Less we allow a potential enemy to overhear what we do not wish them to, especially with what is happening." Blinky spoke, Arrrgh grunting in agreement.
"Do you both mind waiting down here for a moment while we talk this through?" Skylar asked, her gaze pinned on the two outsiders.
"Not at all, take all the time you need." Blythe replied, giving her a smile although Bular seemed to disagree with the idea.
Skylar nodded and gestured for us to follow her.
It didn't feel right to leave them down there alone, especially since they could escape quite easily if they so wished.
"Do you actually trust them?" Jim asked first once Skylar closed the door to the basement.
"Think of it this way, if they weren't telling the truth, why would they risk their lives to tell us this information when they could have just stayed away. Better yet, they could have just stood by while I fought Alden, but they helped instead. Bular got hurt in the process of doing so. Besides, if they betray us, or if there's even a hint that anything they told us is a lie, I'll kill them both myself. I say we give them a chance." She stated, shrugging.
"And what of Gunmar? What do we do if Bular finds out his father is out of the darklands?" I questioned, crossing my arms.
"From what Bular and Blythe told us, it appears Bular only stood by his father while under the control of Alden. If we can somehow convince the both of them to fight with us, I'd say we have an upper hand for once." Skylar stated, mirroring my pose with a look of calmness.
Why did everyone appear to be so out of character?
"I believe they're telling the truth." Dalius spoke, his features relaxing slightly.
This made me tense slightly.
"He almost killed us." I reminded.
"He was under someone else's control. If we are to blame anyone, we blame the one that is truly at fault, don't we?" Dalius asked, raising a brow at me.
I hated that he was right.
I hated how this all became so complicated in a matter of minutes.
Just when I began to think Miracles truly did exist.
Skylar suddenly, tensed up.
"Draal, what did you do with my bag of flour?" She questioned.
Draal's eyes widened slightly before looking to the Blinky and Arrrgh.
"I believe it was left downstairs." B.inky stated nervously as Arrrgh nodded.
"My grades are in danger!" She shouted, opening the basement door and taking off down the stairs.
If I was honest, I'm sure she jumped over the entirety of them instead of running down.
We suddenly heard a loud crash and a faint 'ow' before an 'ahaha!' was shouted.
"My grades will forever be A's!" She shouted, no doubt holding her flour bag in the air.
"And a B!" Jim shouted out.
"And a B..." Skylar replied just as loudly as before but with less enthusiasm.
I let out a sigh.
"How did you defeat me?" We heard Bular after a moment as Draal started down the stairs.