Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 20 - A Secret Kept

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Chapter 20 - A Secret Kept

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Shift held his breath as Athira’s eyes cleared, the grey irises reclaiming their usual place in her gaze. Her face was still set with hard, edged lines of fury as she glanced up, finally noticing how Indigo was staring at her.

Her eyes flicked to Zoe. To Raph. To Talia, passing over Kione.

Finally, they came to rest on Shift.

For the first time since meeting her at the collapsing ruins of Starpoint Tower, Shift was truly nervous in the wake of her deadpan stare. Not of her colour, that abyssal black maw that seemed limitless, but of Athira herself.

For the first time, he understood why villains everywhere feared and respected the Owl.

Shift hid the revelation behind the same face he used when a stranger came up to him and started firing questions he didn’t know how to answer. Half smile, raised eyebrow, mildly curious yet careful at the same time as he tried to shut down the thoughts rampaging through his mind.

It didn’t fool Athira for a second. Regret flashed across her face before she wiped it off and closed her eyes. She lowered her hand and backed up against the wall, drawing in long draughts of air. Her cloak hung limp around her shoulders.

Shift felt his own shoulders sag in relief. She’s back from... whatever that was.

No one else in the room seemed to know how to react to her sudden outburst. Everyone was frozen. Staring. Tense. The buzz of their colours lurked just below their skin, driving Shift’s own into an expectant hum. With the way it was surging through him, he was surprised no one else could feel it.  

Shift shook his hand to clear it, images of how this situation was going to play out running through his mind. After a minute passed and Raph started glaring at him, Shift decided to take the bullet.

He kept his guard up as he moved towards Athira, going for the first thing that came to mind.

 “Didn’t think it suited Zoe’s complexion?” he asked, his words slow and deliberate.

Another breath, stirring the edges of her raven hair. “The Elites are using the Sleeper’s energy.”

“What?” said Talia. The sharp word snapped the cord holding everything tentatively together. “Just because we’re throwing around theories here, it doesn’t mean--“

Raph shut Talia up with a gesture that Shift read as something like ‘if you don’t stop talking right now, you’re doing paperwork for the next fortnight’.

Talia’s upturned lip made her seem a lot less happy about the silent order than Shift was. Everyone glanced to Athira uncertainly, but other than the sound of grinding teeth, Athira didn’t reply.

Raph threw a quick glance at Shift, who gave him a nod of encouragement. “Why do you say that, Athira?” he asked.

“The thing on the monorail,” said Athira slowly. Nothing moved but her lips. “The disturbances. The things infesting Will’s mindscape. They all have the same energy that was coming from Zoe’s arm band. If it’s not the Sleeper, then it’s something else. But whatever it is, the Elites have figured out how to use it.”

“It could be tied in with the project the Elites are working on,” said Kione from Zoe’s side. He was crouched beside her, her wrist in his hand. He dropped it and moved back to his computers. “It’d make sense if they put some of the energy into the armband, see how Zoe reacts to it.”