He looked torn, “I don’t know if we can fight them all.”
“We don’t really have a choice. We have to come up with something.”
“Hilail, you can take one on by yourself, right?” Tider asked.
“Yeah, but there are four.”
“Abby can stay here so she can heal us, and the rest of us can keep them distracted until you get yours down. Then you can come help whoever looks like they are having the most trouble and so on.”
“That could work. You will have to be very careful though. These elementals are probably trained in combat and won’t be trying to keep you alive.”
“Let’s do it,” Adam said.
“Wait, one more thing,” I reached into my bag and pulled out the black vials Mr. Connor had given me. “These are the bomb potions. Only use them if you have to. Mr. Connor said they affect about a five-foot radius, so make sure it’s clear before you throw it.” Everyone nodded, and I handed them out to Adam, Tider, and Richard. I kept one for myself too. “Be careful,” I whispered.
We looked back around the corner, and before I could say anything, Hilail slipped out into the cavern. He went to the right, so we went to the left, keeping our footfalls silent. Before we made it to the first elemental Hilail launched his attack. I saw Adam and Tider turn to the nearest elemental and start attacking.
Richard turned as another elemental came running towards us and shot a blast of air at him. The elemental wasn’t expecting it and tumbled backward but got up immediately and headed toward Richard. I was about to help him when I saw the last elemental sneaking up on Hilail.
Hilail had no idea he was there, so I called on the water in the lake to grab the elemental and trap him in place. It worked for a few seconds, but he broke free and started towards me. I pulled more water from the lake, trying to stop him. I pushed the water at him, and he stopped advancing. He moved into one of the forms that Hilail had been showing us, and I jumped to the side right before an icicle would have impaled me.
I made an ice shield around myself and held it there while icicles of all sizes hit it. I took a minute to look at everyone else. Richard was using air to keep the elemental’s attacks from hitting him. He flew above the elemental and used the wind to pick up rocks to throw.
Tider and Adam weren’t doing too bad either. Adam was attacking with fireballs. The elemental kept using water to put the fire out, but it was distracting him enough that Tider was able to hit him with jagged pieces of ice. I turned to Hilail. I watched as he called water from the lake to swallow up the elemental he was fighting. The water swirled around and lifted the elemental, trapping him in a bubble of water. The elemental could breathe, but Hilail had made long ropes of water to tie his hands and legs.
My shield made a loud groaning noise and was starting to crack when the barrage of icicles stopped. I quickly fired my own icicles at the elemental, but he dodged them easily. He was definitely trained in combat. He was too fast for me to hit, but maybe I could outthink him.
Before I got the chance, Hilail was at my side, “Are you ok?” he asked, panting.
“So far, but this guy is fast,” I said as I dodged another icicle.
Hilail started throwing magic at the elemental. I stood in awe for a minute, forgetting we were in a fight. Hilail and the other elemental fought with raw power. Hilail used water on the ground to throw the elemental twenty feet in the air. I went to look away, not wanting to see him land, when the elemental finally got enough control to pull water up from the lake to cushion his fall.
A large explosion behind me caused me to turn my head. It was Richard. He used his potion, but he still looked like he was having a lot of trouble, so I ran to him and joined the fight.
“What do we do?”
“Try to hit him with a stream of water until he hits that pillar. Then I can use air to keep him there.”
I did as Richard asked and pushed a stream of water at the elemental. I kept at it until he was finally up tight to the pillar. Richard pulled air to gather around the elemental. It swirled faster and faster, forming a small tornado. The elemental was trapped against the pillar as long as Richard could hold the magic there.
“Go,” he said to me, “help the others. I can keep him here for a while.”
I ran over to Tider and Adam and saw that they had everything under control. Their elemental was already weakening from having to continually put out Adam’s fire and fight Tider’s water magic.
“Good job, guys,” I yelled as I ran for the staff. As I got closer to the lake, I froze an area to walk across to the chest. I was opening it when an explosion rocked the cavern. A hole opened directly above me, and the princess jumped down. She used water to slow her fall and landed only a few feet from me.
“What are you doing?” she screeched. “You are ruining everything. I will kill you for this.” She threw a blast of water at me that swept me off my feet. The water tried to drag me under, but I pushed it away with my magic and looked at the princess.
“Why would you want your dad dead?” I shouted at her and dove to the side as she tried to hit me again.
“He is weak. We need to rise to the top again. We should be the rulers,” she yelled, trying to blast me apart.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to reason with her, so I put all of my energy into the fight. While she continued trying to hit me with water and ice, I slowly started making the ground a couple of inches beneath her sink. The ground was steady enough for her to stand on, but I kept working at it, making a deep pit for her to fall into. Once I thought it was deep enough, I let the last few inches crumble. She tried to jump out of the way, but I used water to push her down.
As soon as she fell in, I started closing the hole up around her. I left her head free so she could still breathe, but the rest of her was covered entirely. I made sure to pack the earth in tightly so she wouldn’t be able to get out. She was still able to use her magic though, and tried to hit me with a massive wave of water. I jumped out of the way, but she had sent the wave as a distraction. Right behind it was a piece of jagged ice that ripped through my shoulder.
I screamed in pain, and she laughed. She threw another icicle at me. I tried to dodge but couldn’t get out of the way, and it tore open my arm. I was barely able to stand from the pain. I was losing my hold on the magic that kept her down too. She was using water to help pull the dirt away from her. I tried to stop her, but I fell to my knees and couldn’t get up. I heard a yell and looked up. The princess was unconscious. Richard had run up and hit her on the head with a rock.
He ran to me, “Sally, are you ok?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I tried to say, but it was very weak.
“Abby, come here. Sally needs you.”
Abby came running and dropped to her knees next to me.
“What happened?” she looked at Richard. “I don’t think I can heal her,” she had tears in her eyes. “I just finished healing Tider. He was hit pretty badly too.”
“You have to try,” Richard said.
“Potion,” I whispered to them, “give me the potion.”
“I forgot,” Richard said. He rolled me over a little and reached into my bag, grabbing the red vial. He held it up for me to see and helped me drink it. Within minutes my bones and muscles started to knit back together. I was still woozy but already felt a lot better. I stood up and looked around the cavern. All the elementals we had been fighting were tied up.
“Will that hold them?” I asked Hilail, pointing to the rope.
“Yes, it’s a special rope made to contain elementals. Once it is on, it nullifies your powers. They won’t be going anywhere. I just need to tie up the princess.”
We waited while he tied up the princess and then walked over to the chest. I opened it and looked inside. The staff was on top of a pile of other things that looked valuable. I reached in and grabbed the staff. A fission of power snaked up my arm, and the staff started to glow the same bright blue color as the king.
“Ho
w did you do that?” asked Hilail. “Only the king should be able to use it.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I can use it since he gave me some of his power.”
“We don’t have to walk back to the palace. We can go there right now,” he said.
“How?”
“Think about where you want to go and who you want to go with you. The staff will do the rest.”
I looked at the staff doubtfully.
“It will work,” Hilail said. “Come on, we have no choice, we don’t know what condition the king is in. This gives us the chance to make it back quickly.”
Hilail was right. We needed to hurry, or else the king might not make it.
“Fine, let’s go. What do we do with all of them?”
“Picture them coming with us. The staff should transport us all.”
“Everybody grab hands just in case. I don’t want anyone getting left behind. Hilail grab the princess. She needs to make it back so the king will release Adam.”
We all grabbed hands, and Hilail threw the princess over his shoulder. I looked at the staff and then thought about all of us going to the palace. I pictured us standing in the throne room, and the next thing I knew, I felt woozy, and we were back at the palace.
I heard a small shriek and realized one of the servants had run out of the room. I looked around and realized we were not a pretty sight. We were bruised and bloody. And we were carrying the princess. It didn’t look good.
The king came striding in. “What do you think you are doing? You are making a mess of my palace. What did you do to my daughter?” he roared, making us all flinch.
“She is fine, sir, just unconscious,” I tried to calm him.
“You will all rot in cells for the rest of your lives. Guards,” he called.
I closed my eyes and saw that the curse had almost completely overtaken him. He needed to hold his staff.
“You sent us to get your staff, remember?”
“I don’t need or want the staff,” he yelled. “That staff is a curse. It makes us weak when we need to be strong.” I could hear the guards getting closer.
“Good,” I said, “because we couldn’t find it.” My friends looked around confused. I had put a shield of invisibility around it as soon as the king started yelling. I had a feeling he wouldn’t want it if the curse was too strong.
He looked surprised, “You didn’t find it?”
“No, we found the princess fighting with an elemental that did this to her. She wasn’t the one to blame, but the guy said he was going to use the staff and get rid of you and her.”
“Who was this?” the king yelled.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?” he screamed in a rage.
“It’s one of your guards. I don’t want him to know that I told you. He might run, and then he could cause you trouble.”
“Why are you helping me? I told you that you were going to rot in a cell,” he looked at me suspiciously.
“I like your daughter. She doesn’t deserve somebody beating her up to get to you.” I was making things up, trying to get him to believe I wasn’t a threat.
“Fine, come here and tell me who did this.”
I took a small step forward, and the staff almost became visible. I couldn’t let him see it. I concentrated on keeping the staff invisible and took another step. Then another. I was sweating by the time I made it to him. “I’m sorry, sir. I was hurt pretty badly, and it is still hard to move.”
He looked at my clothes and nodded, “Now tell me.”
He leaned in. So did I, but then I started to fall. He grabbed me to keep me from falling into him, but instead of grabbing my arm, I thrust out the staff, and his hand closed around it. His whole body bent backward, and I was thrown from him. I landed in a heap next to the column I had been thrown into. I could barely breathe, and I struggled to stand. Everyone else had been thrown back too, even the guards who had been entering the throne room. I looked at the king and watched as magic swirled around his body.
The staff let out a vibrant blue light that grabbed the curse and smothered it. Soon only the bright blue light surrounded the king. I blinked and looked at the king again. I could see the light without closing my eyes. I looked around and saw everyone’s magical signature.
“Sally,” the king walked over to me, “how bad are you hurt?”
“Fine,” I managed to say.
“Healers,” the king called for them to help me.
The healers arrived quickly. I could feel them using their magic to heal my body.
As soon as I felt better, I opened my eyes and tried to stand up. One of the healers pushed me back down. “You need to rest for a little bit,” she told me.
“But I need to talk to the king.”
“You will have plenty of time for that.”
I tried arguing, but Abby leaned over me, “Sally, you need to do what they say. You could have died today. Twice. I think your body deserves a bit of rest.”
“Make sure the king knows it wasn’t Adam.”
“Don’t worry, Hilail is giving him the whole story.”
I laid my head back down and fell asleep.
It was dark when I woke up. I didn’t hear any noise, so I quietly got up and threw some clothes on. Someone had changed me and taken all my bloody clothing away. They replaced it with the same style clothes as before. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep any longer, so I headed out into the hallway. I didn’t want to wake my friends. I walked towards the throne room hoping to find the kitchen along the way. I was starving and needed something to eat. I hadn’t had a good meal in a couple of days.
I walked into a room and was shocked to see a servant up already.
“What can I get for you?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. I was hungry and thought I would try to find the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.”
“I can make you whatever you would like.”
“Glorian makes a wonderful breakfast,” the king said from behind me.
“That would be great,” I told him.
“We will be in my dining quarters,” the king said to the elemental.
“I will bring it to you when it’s ready.”
“Come,” said the king, “we have much to discuss.” I followed him back to his dining hall, and we sat down while we waited for food.
“I figured you would be up early and hungry enough to search out food. I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.”
“What happened after I fell asleep?” I asked.
“The healers brought you up here and let you rest.”
“What about my friends, and Adam and Hilail? And what about your daughter?”
“Your friends told me what happened. I spoke with each one of them, granting them something special for helping break the curse. Adam was also given a gift. He is free to leave. Hilail is either sleeping or more likely back at work. As for my daughter, she is locked up. I will have to choose a different successor. I would like you to tell your side of the events,” he said.
I told him exactly what happened, not leaving anything out. At some point, someone brought me food, and I ate while I talked. I figured the king could forgive my manners. When I finished talking, I looked down and continued eating my breakfast.
“Sally, you did a good job. I have a gift for you when you are finished eating.”
“Wait, you need to take your magic back,” I told him. “Thanks for letting me use it. I never would have found the staff without it.”
“I will not be taking the magic back. It is yours now.”
“What? Oh no, I can’t take that,” I tried to tell him.
“You need to. This whole thing has shown me that we need someone else to have the power of the staff. It can’t be a water elemental. They are all connected to me, so anything that happens to me happens to them. I need an outsider that we can trust. You are perfect for it. If anything ever happens to me, you will know and you can help us again. Besides, it helps you with
your magic. I’m sure you noticed a few changes?”
“I guess.” I wasn’t sure what to think about all of this, but I was glad the king trusted me. And I had noticed changes. Like being able to see magical auras without my eyes closed for starters.
“Now that that’s settled let’s move on. For helping me, I want to give you a gift. Name what you want, and if it’s in my power, I will do it for you. Take a few minutes to think about it,” he said.
“Can you help Abby’s dad? He is under a curse that the Pulhu…” I trailed off as he shook his head.
“Don’t worry about Abby’s dad. She asked for the same thing. I gave her a potion to help him ward off this curse. We know of it and it is extremely cruel. These Pulhu need to be stopped. If they are willing to use a curse like that, then there is probably nothing they won’t do, including killing innocent people.”
“I don’t know how to stop them,” I told him.
“If you are who everyone thinks, then the darkness is coming, and you will have to defeat it. When you win, these Pulhu will be finished too. I am guessing that the returning darkness is what has made them act the way they do. Some people are so filled with greed and lust for power that it only takes the smallest push for them to jump into black magic. I’m sure the darkness has reached out to find those weak enough for it to control.”
“There is nothing else I can do?”
“Don’t let them get you. And we will be there when you need us most. Use my power to call to me when the darkness arrives. My elementals will come to help.”
“Thank you.”
The king reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black, velvety box.
“I thought you might have trouble coming up with something. I had a spell put on this last night for you.” He handed me the box and I slowly opened it. Nestled on a cream-colored silk cushion was a luminescent pearl. It was the biggest pearl I had ever seen and the color was amazing.
“It’s beautiful,” I told the king.
“Yes, but that’s not what makes it special. I have had it enchanted to give you your reward when you are ready. All you have to do is hold the pearl in your palm and say what you want out loud. If it is possible, the pearl will light up and break into a million pieces, leaving you with your gift. These are very hard to make, so please don’t lose it.”
Lost Tides: Elemental Seekers Series Page 25