The Anima [completed]

40.

(Quick recap: The Duchess killed Lyras parents and has Virgo hostage. Lyra had to kill The Anima, which she did, and has now absorbed all her powers). 

40. 

Finding our way back to the throne room was easy, like we had collected memories of the hallways in our minds. In some ways, we had. With each step closer out into the world, my mind opened and with it the new powers of The Anima. Every organism in this Plane was connected, curling over one another like vines. They glowed with knowledge and a raw intensity that sent warm shivers down my spine. My whole body tingled, alive with the minds and thoughts of the people. I knew now that no knowledge could be hidden from me. The door between the earth and myself had opened completely and it would not shut until I died.

Something scratched at the back of my mind, a voice amongst the vines reaching out to me. I snapped my attention to it, eyes widening as it was brought into focus.

"Beast?" I said aloud, "What is it?"

My vision came into focus, draining from the maze of voices in my mind into the real world. The stone hallways came back into view. Beast trotted uneasily beside me, his wings dragging uncomfortably on the ground. Our connection had only grown. Each time his feathers swept across the floor, I felt the vibrations as they were sent up his wing. It tickled him; a sensation he felt was rather unpleasant.

"It was hard to reach you. I was getting worried."He spoke softly, brushing his big body against my leg.

I passed my fingers through the fur on his back as we continued walking.

"Sorry, I must have gotten lost for a moment. What were you saying?"

I felt his unease increase. If he wanted to, he could search my mind for the answers. But, I had the feeling the idea made him uncomfortable. The blood stone was throbbing in my chest, frozen in its place atop my heart. The muscle beat evenly, unfazed.

"We need a plan. How are we going to get your sister back without her getting hurt?"The genuine worry in his voice was interesting; it seemed our connection had grown to value family connections as well. "We have no proof that you killed the Anima. And I don't think The Duchess will take kindly to that."

"We have all the proof we need, Beast."

I outstretched my palm and the vines walls around us convulsed. The vines shuddered and hitched, breathing a deep sigh as I released them from the wall. They stretched outwards, desperately reaching for my body as if I was their life force. In every way, I guess I was.

"This world will listen to me now, Beast. To us." My voice was low, almost inaudible, but I knew he heard me.

"To you, Lyra. You are the new Anima." His spine shifted uncomfortably under my fingers as we paced closer to the throne room.

"Yes," I stated simply, unaffected by the weight of his words, "and you are a part of me. That means it also answers to you."

I reached out and touched one of the vines. It burst into a million colours, flowers erupting down its length with the silent will of my mind. I smiled and looked to Beast. He remained painfully unsure, unwilling to test his new strengths.

"We can analyse what this means for us later, Beast. What we need now is a show of power, and we've got it."

I dismissed the vines with a flick of my hand, returning them to the constraints of the palace walls. Something still lingered in Beasts mind; a question. If we killed The Duchess, would that make us the new rulers of this Plane? Beyond that, with the Shadows settling into their new home, would it make us the rulers of the Shadows too?