45 Cat and Mouse (2)

373 froze when she heard the words leave the Magno Deorum's mouth. The elite guards in silver clothing lunged towards her, each sending unrelenting attack spells. The girl braced herself for the incoming attacks. The words the Phoenix had left her were swirling in her head. And as she stared at the group of men that were moving towards her, she remembered the day she had accidentally allowed Leon to feel her feelings, how she had broken into Michael Caelum's memories to pry out his secrets, and how she had spoken to Zain Amina during her final moments in the crisscrossing cobblestone lanes that were laced with bright red blooms.

An idea formed in her head. With a single thought, the female child relinquished her control over her Talent.

The little girl had learned to control her Talent – to change the thousand voices in her head that raged like a waterfall into a silent trickle of water from a small tap. Once she released the dam holding back her Talent, the silence in her head was quickly replaced with a flood of emotions and thoughts that were not her own. But the small female didn't stop moving. 373 dodged the attacks aimed at her and wove through the men that were trying to capture her. She maneuvered through the men until she was standing roughly in the middle. The moment her feet hit the ground, the girl with obsidian eyes felt time stop.

She recalled the faces of the children of Elisium that had met their end in the wide hall she now stood in. The pain and torture that the children her age had gone through, the unspeakable and inhumane torment the researchers had subject each youth that had visited these halls – 373 had seen it all and had even tasted it herself in the last two days she had stayed in Elisium's cells.

373's skin tingled as she recalled each sensation. With a sigh, she closed her eyes.

Her world turned quiet. No sound remained.

But something inside her had clicked into place.

All the images, sensations – each ounce of pain and torture, flowed out of her body and into the raging waters of her Talent until they overflowed and formed a flood that threatened to drown all the people within the area of her Talent. 373's once quiet world became filled with screams of pain and horror. But those voices no longer belonged to the children of Elisium.

Around her, the adult men clutched at their ears and slowly fell to their knees one by one. The once proud team of men were reduced to nothing but a disorganized lump of worms that were writhing in pain on the floor. Their mouths foamed. Their armored bodies convulsed.

Among the adults in the room only Silas Fidi remained standing, his mouth hanging open while the rest of his face was contorted in shock. His turned his head to the small girl with brown hair. His complexion turned a few shades darker.

"What… did you just do?"

The girl slowly opened her eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear in a graceful movement. Her demeanor had changed – like she had turned into a completely different person. Black orbs studied the bodies calmly that were lying limply on the floor, almost like she had expected this outcome. But as soon as she blinked, the calm in her eyes was replaced with surprise.

373 stared at the scene before her, unsure about what had just transpired.

What did she just do?

***

Silas Fidi leapt from his perch, his eyes never leaving the figure of the small girl who was now slowly inching away from him. His orange orbs scrutinized her obsidian eyes that were now filled with vigilance. The look of calm and maturity on her face had lasted for a single breath. But the Great Apothecary had seen it clearly.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder," the man muttered under his breath, his gaze boring holes at the little female's figure. Yet unlike other individuals with DID whose other personalities were dissociated from the main personality, the fragment Silas Fidi had seen appeared to be keenly aware of everything that had happened to 373.

The gleam in the girl's dark eyes were knowing – intelligent. It was almost as if the girl had predicted the outcome. Yet once the small girl had reverted to her primary personality, the awareness had disappeared. The child's black orbs reflected a confusion and cluelessness which pointed out she had no idea about what had occurred.

The secondary personality who only made a minute appearance showed full consciousness. On the other hand, the primary personality's memories seemed to have been suppressed by her alternate ego.

At first glance, the case in front of the Great Apothecary looked like Dissociative Identity Disorder. But after mulling it over, Silas Fidi knew that there was something hiding behind the girl's calm and knowing gaze. And somehow, his instincts told him the pair of dark orbs belonging to the little child was something important.

Something he shouldn't forget.

A cold glint flashed in his bright orange eyes. The corners of the Magno Deorum's lips quirked up. "Interesting."

Silas Fidi raked his blood red hair with his bony hands and walked towards 373 with unhurried steps. Each step he took extinguished the flames around him reducing the bright red tongues into wisps that faded out of sight. The girl's head turned left and then right, as if looking for something, before bolting towards a section of the room where a part of the hall's wall had been destroyed. He kept his slow pace even as the girl ran to hide behind the debris which had formed a small maze in Elisium's once-immaculate operating room.

Waves of flame lurched out suddenly from the floor where the Great Apothecary as on. Orange orbs narrowed. Without blinking, Silas Fidi waved a frail looking hand in front of him and the fire dispersed before they could touch him. He stared at the edges of his dark blue slacks which were now slightly charred and clicked his tongue. His facial muscles twitched minutely. The smell of burnt fabric wafted up his nose. He scowled.

The boy with the Talent of Salamander was also in the room. And as long as he was alive, the flames inside Elisium's operating theater would continue to rage and ravage everything inside. Silas Fidi calmly tracked two energy signatures in the room. The petite female did not leave the room. Instead of chasing after the girl that Jeorge Marcus Grin had gifted with his energy, the Great Apothecary turned on his heel.

A cold and crooked smile formed on his lips and trudged towards the boy who held the Talent over flames. Pillars of fire that out to greet him and Silas Fidi accepted the greeting with a flick of his finger. A harsh high-pitched noise rang at his small action. But with a single wave of his finger, the air around him compressed and met with the red-hot flames. The collision resulted to a strong explosion reminiscent of a sonic boom which shook the whole room.

Silas Fidi ignored the shockwaves caused by his attack and steadily advanced towards the young boy with blonde hair. The flames continued to assault him yet the smile on his face never once left the Magno Deorum's pallid lips. With a wave of his hand, the sea of fire parted and he walked towards the boy who glared at him with wild electrifying blue orbs.

The Great Apothecary extended his hand. The air around him stirred and moved at his command. A vortex of air swirled around the boy with honey-colored hair, lifting the boy's small form off his feet. A primal scream escaped the boy's mouth. His small hands were clawing at his neck. The boy's breaths were getting shorter with each passing second he spent in the vortex Silas Fidi had created.

The adult with upturned eyes remained on the boy's form. He slowly closed the palm of his outstretched hand. The vortex of wind turned more vicious. The corners of his lips climbed even higher until a girl's voice boomed in the room.

"Let go of him!"

Silas Fidi's eyes shifted in their sockets and his gaze fell on the figure of the little girl who had hair the color of earth and orbs that were as eye catching as black opal. The grown man turned to face her, the twisted grin still plastered on his face.

"Oh, so you really were staying here because of this boy?"

The girl's black eyes narrowed and said nothing. She lifted her chin up and wore a frosty look on her face. However, the child couldn't hide her shaking fingers from the Great Apothecary's eagle-like gaze. The minor fluctuations of her energy betrayed the defiant facade she was trying to project. Silas Fidi had his answer.

373 was afraid. And her fear was going to make her deliver herself into the Magno Deorum's hands willingly.

"You… destroyed my laboratory and my life's research. Both you and this brat deserve a fate that's worse than death," Silas Fidi said in a tone that was coated with poison. "But since you've managed to defeat the fools here in Elisium, I might as well grant you a swift end."

The girl visibly stiffened. The grin on his face twisted. Silas Fidi tried to soften his expression although the effect wasn't any less horrifying. He cleared his throat and extended his other hand towards the little girl. "Come here. If you do, I might consider sparing Salamander at the cost of your life."

Black orbs darted from him to the boy with blonde hair. She took a few steps towards him before stopping just right outside Silas Fidi's grasp.

"Come on," he coaxed. He maintained his smile on his face while his sharp upturned eyes screamed nothing but murder.

373 didn't move. Silas Fidi narrowed his eyes and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently. The smile fell from his face. He slowly squeezed the fingers in his outstretched hand that was controlling the vortex, increasing the strength of the winds that were restraining the boy with the power over flames.

"Hurry up." The Great Apothecary's neck creaked as he tilted his head to the side. "Or do you want this boy to suffocate to death? Choose wisely, child."