CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO : DISCORD

Darryl walked to the back of the orphanage where he fought Erebus. Roger being controlled by Eris followed behind him. Darryl stopped in the middle of the training grounds, "This should be good. So..." Darryl looked at the shining golden apple that Eris held in her left hand. "A golden apple. I'm not good with history but it is familiar. Who are you?"

Eris smiled twisting the apple in her hand, "To the fairest." Was inscribed on its side. "I am Eris goddess of discord and strife. A daughter of Erebus.... and who are you... really?" She asked in a sing-song voice.

"If you mean my partner it's Vulcan," Darryl said popping his knuckles, "So are you ready to start?"

"Vulcan?" Eris cackled, "A smith thinks he can defeat a goddess? What a joke." Eris snapped Roger's fingers causing three more golden apples to appear out of thin air. "But sure I will show you what I got."

Darryl shrugged his shoulders and put his hand out blue lightning crackled and snapped in front of him. A metallic clanging could be heard as three metallic drakes formed in front of him. They screeched loudly as they in perfect unison rushed toward Eris at the same time.

"That's... different," Eris muttered quietly not expecting this kind of attack from the smithing god. She gently tossed an apple forward it slowly floated forward the charging drakes. The apple began to glow bright. Brighter and brighter the golden apple shined until the Drakes drew near the the shining apple. With a sound that sounded like a sword being drawn the apple exploded leaving the drakes frozen a golden transparent bubble.

Darryl smiled and threw his arms out toward the sky. Two large birds that shimmered in a metallic silver appeared in a flash of crackleing blue lightning. They had red eyes with razor sharp wings.. Darryl lowered his arms swiftly, causing the birds to divebomb down toward Eris.

Another apple exploded around Eris in a flash of brilliant golden light. Eris giggled lightly as she watched the birds descend toward the golden bubble around her. On contact the birds froze and fell to the ground. She looked at Darryl and smiled widely, "You have some interesting tricks. The Vulcan I knew would never of been able to attack like this. He was quite boring," Eris walked forward over the lifeless bodies of the metallic birds. She walked past the drakes in stasis rubbing her hand against the creature's back as she walked swaying Roger's hips as she did.

Darryl chuckled to himself, "Quite impressive." Darryl watched as Eris drew nearer to him, "So I think I seen enough. Should we stop now or do you want to keep going?" Darryl asked sitting on a metallic chair that appeared with a wave of his hand.

"An interesting question." Eris said continuing her approach, "I haven't shown you the true power of the goddess of discord yet."

"But you shown that you are truly a Tomefinder that's all I'm here to check." Darryl said cracking his knuckles again standing up from the chair. "But I can keep going."

"Glad to hear it." Eris said with a smirk stopping in her tracks a few steps away from Darryl. She grabbed the last apple that was floating around her and lifted it up to her mouth, "Discord," She whispered into it. The golden apple began to morph and change into a long slender spear with discord carved into the blade on the end of the spear.

"So Discord is a weapon." Darryl said with a smile, "Interesting."

Eris with blinding speed rushed forward toward Darryl upending the grass and ground as she flew forward. She lunged the spear forward right toward Darryl's chest.

Darryl didn't have much time to respond but it was enough. With a deep breath, a gargantuan shield appeared in Darryl's arm to block the attack. When the spear struck the shield he watched in shock as the spear disintegrated into golden dust. Darryl jumped back throwing his arms up causing multiple robotic tentacles to rise up out of the ground wrapping themselves around Eris.

"This... won't hold me," Eris whispered struggling to break out of the tentacles that held her down,

"Let's just say this fight's over," Darryl said with a sigh watching the spear dubbed Discord fall to the ground out of Eris' grasp. "You can give... hmm... what was his name again? Heck just give the kid's body back you made your point."

"I will kill you! You second class god." Eris spat at Darryl. He simply shrugged his shoulders and watched as more robotic tentacles rose up out of the ground wrapping her tighter, "Look you don't want your host's body to die this soon, do you? Just let him have his body back and I'll let him go."

Eris could feel her bones creaking in the tight embrace of the metal squeezing all around her. "Fine." She muttered letting her mental hold on Roger's body go. The golden glow in his eyes dissipated. Darryl true to his word let all the machinery disappear in a cloud of white smoke and black ash.

Roger fell to his knees gasping for breath, "I can't believe she couldn't beat you... Did Terry lose to you too?"

"No Terry actually beat me and Phoenix." Darryl said with a laugh, "but don't worry about that it was a fluke and you'll end up getting stronger and better at controlling your body than she can. Her powers are definitely interesting. She didn't even bother casting spells."

Roger slowly stood up off the ground and looked at Darryl with hatred in his eyes, "Neither did you. You just made a bunch of monsters appear out of thin air. Not really normal spell casting if you ask me."

Darryl laughed and walked past Roger, "Don't worry about that. What matters is that you are very strong and will definitely surpass me one day. Once we get you doing tasks for us in the circle and let you train a bit. You'll be a monster just like Terry."

"Where is he?" Roger questioned his face suddenly turned red, "Oh... yeah..."

"Yeah, I think Eris flustered him a little bit." Darryl laughed, "He's in the chariot waiting."

"I can't believe she did that." Roger's face grew a bit redder as he followed Darryl to the chariot that was waiting for them.

Terry, on the other hand, sat in the chariot his heart racing his face still blood red. "What's wrong with me?"

'You like him." Erebus spoke bluntly in Terry's head.

Terry shook his head stubbornly, "no, he's a bully I can't like anyone like that."

"Well, your body does. Your heart rate is elevated. Your face is red and hot. Sweat is dripping down your forehead. You act like a boy who just seen his crush.

"Shut up!" Terry yelled as the door to the chariot opened up.

"Am I interrupting something?" Darryl laughed getting into the chariot with Roger following behind him.

Terry quietly looked down toward the ground not speaking his face still flushed and red.

Darryl looked over at Roger, "Were you wanting to say goodbye to your Matron?" He questioned.

Roger shook his head, "I already did. I don't really like goodbyes anyway." Roger sat down on the opposite seat from Terry and looked to the ground as well.

Darryl laughed, "Well... guess this will be a quiet ride. He reached over Roger and closed the door behind him. With a gesture from his hand, the chariot started moving back toward the Circle.

Maya sighed and watched as the chariot pulled off, "All alone once more." She muttered to herself, "No matter. This is how I lived my life before taking in Terry and opening the orphanage. I can continue life like this."

'Maya.' Artemis spoke quietly in Maya's mind, 'You know you don't want to live alone.'

"I don't have much of a choice now Artie," Maya stood up from the porch to go back inside the now empty orphanage building.

"Why not consider going to the circle. As a worker or as a task giver you would be much appreciated. There would be a countless number of young mages that you would get to take care of. You wouldn't have to worry about giving them homes or anything. You'd just support them. The thing I know that brings you joy."

Maya walked into the kitchen past the empty tables. Through the empty mess hall, that used to be full of laughing hopeful kids. Some of them she had condemned to death. Maya sighed and walked upstairs to her room and sat down at her desk. She looked into a mirror and sighed again deeply, "I'll... think about it."