Aspirations

Chapter 29

Fire, Flowers, and a Disturbing Peacefulness

POV: Aspiration #8: Double-Deal (Amonae)

I stepped foot on the wood floor and old memories came flooding back to me. The smell, the feel of the air, the sounds. Ah, our old home.

I walked around the house. It'd been so long since I've been in here. I wonder what our room looks like. Maybe Hryumn remodeled it after I was locked away.

Since I knew the eleven who were looking for me weren't here I decided to get two more out of the way. One and Ten never left the house. They were just common items that couldn't move and weren't sentient. See, the numbers didn't mean power, it just meant how well know they were. And for being a pair of shoes and a book, One and Ten were pretty popular. I knew around here somewhere there was a pedestal where they sat.

I walked around, my feet leaving blood footprints of Six's and I traced my fingers on the wallpaper also leaving a trail. Once I destroyed these two, there would only be five left. And that was only five steps away from my goal.

I rounded a corner and spotted them. One, just a pair of old tattered shoes, and Ten, just a single leather covered book, sat neatly on their pedestals. I wandered over and cocked my head at them.

I had nothing against these two, they weren't even alive! The only reason they were part of the eleven is because of the power they held that people wanted their hands on. One, the most common one of all Aspirations, was known as Fortune and Misfortune. The right shoe could grant you fortune and the left could grant whoever you wanted misfortune. But in order for it to work you had to wear both. That being said which ever foot lead was the one that worked. It was just a gamble whether it worked for or against you. Then there was Ten. I ran my bloodied fingers down it's cover. Anyone or anything, dead or alive or in-between, could be read about in here. All their knowledge, life, even secrets were written in ink on its pages.

I picked them both up and began to walk back down the hall. I walked all the way to the kitchen was and threw them both in the trash. I didn't hold a grudge against them, but they were still part of the eleven. And every single eleven except Hyrumn and I had to go. I snapped my finger and a single red flame sparked. I watched it blank faced with no emotion. The spark began to spread out in my palm and I stuck my hand down in the trash. Immediately, the cover of the book erupted in flames.

I pulled my hand out and shook out the flames on my palm. I glanced around the house one last time with a sigh as the fire began to spill out of the trash can at a pace faster than possible. I was not going to miss this place. If anything, I wanted this place in ashes as a warning. They needed to know I was serious and coming for them next. I wanted them scared. I wanted them at my feet beginning for mercy.

I slowly walked down the halls, humming my tune as the fire crackled and began to swallow everything it touched. It kind of reminded me of Mae's house when we burned it to the ground. That was fun but this was satisfying. I just stepped out the door as I heard something explode in it, windows shattered and showered me with glass. Some Aspirations near by screamed and ran away. I giggled.

"Oh, Eleven!" I sang happily. Another explosion and the house groaned. I grinned more. "Come out and play with me!"

I watched as everyone rushed away in a panic. Oh, this was great! It was just like the reactions I got from Mae's. Everyone's screaming was music to my ears. I was about ready to leave when I spotted someone out of the corner of my eye. I watched with a smile as Four stood there paralyzed. He locked eyes with me unable to move.

"Do you want to play a game with me?" I asked him. He dropped what he was carrying and began to run in the other direction. Before he could take another step I appeared right in front of his face. His eyes widened. "It's called who wants to be my next victim?" I grabbed his shoulders and warped us out of the Seam and to a more discrete location. In here, this dark and doorless room, there was no way to escape. He stumbled away from me and I giggled. "And you, sir, just volunteered to be first."