Something huge barreled into him, knocking the air and anger out of him. Claws dug into his shoulders and they dived towards the rocky ground.
Oemaru tried to break free, but the manticore was exponentially stronger. It released him just before impact. Oemaru willed himself to fly, but managed to reduce his velocity enough to, instead of making his own crater in the ground, dive into backwards somersaults, until he rolled to a stop. A fur-clad ally helped him to his feet, then pushed him away. Oemaru stumbled towards the empty space, then coiled into a fighting stance as the manticore landed before him with a ground-vibrating thud. Oemaru tore off his helmet and chucked it aside. Despite the beast’s sheer strength and size, he could take it on. He had more weapons than his beloved craft.
* * *
“Wait! Why do you have to kill me if I fail?” Roxie said, eyes warm with a yellow glow. “I know this is dangerous, but isn’t that a little extreme?”
Aerigo looked at her with blue-glowing eyes. “If I were fully powered, this wouldn’t be an issue. We can’t afford to wait until I can.” The glow in his eyes glistened and his grip around her wrist tightened. “This is one of those terrible decisions that must be made for the greater good. Should you fail to control your power, I will have to kill you so you and your power can’t inadvertently kill me while it rages uncontrolled. After that, I will be forced to wait and recharge enough power so I can release Frava. Who knows how many people will die in the meantime? And then I will face Nexus alone and do what needs to be done so his prophecy can’t give him what he wants. The loss of your life will save so many billions in the mortal realm.” He tightened his grip on his dagger, and his pain-filled, glowing gaze begged her to not put him through that.
To Roxie’s surprise, the fact that Aerigo would kill her for the greater good deepened her respect for him. She understood the logic behind it, despite how devastating that act would be for him and the few people who knew her. His dedication to the greater good strengthened her resolve to control her own power and master wielding it. She removed her hand from the sandwich and touched Aerigo’s dagger-wielding hand. “You won’t need that,” she said with a shake of her head.
The blue glow faded from his eyes as he studied her. The faintest of smiles touched one corner of his mouth. He nodded once, then chucked his dagger next to their packs, took her free wrist and she his, and they clenched their elbows to their sides.
“Alright,” he said, confidence softening his deep voice, “Controlling this power is all about strength of will. All the power wants is to be released, so it will fight your will. Give your power a focus or intention, like when I shaped it to look like me on Phailon. You don’t have to shape it into anything. You can just hold it in place and imagine a container you want it to stay in while I pull what I need into myself. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident that you can maintain control. Got that much so far?”
Roxie nodded. “My intention is to help you.”
Aerigo gave her wrists a gentle squeeze. “Thanks, but you have to give your power an intention as well. Focus on your power; not on me. Okay?”
“Ah. I get it, now.” She’d settle on a container.
“Good. You might not feel anything when I siphon off your power, or it might feel like I’m draining you, or something else. Prepare yourself to anticipate it so you don’t get startled and lose concentration.”
Roxie nodded again. The sensation of growing had startled her the first couple of times. She tried to remember what that was like and filed the sensation near the forefront of her thoughts so she’d remember to expect discomfort.
“Can you relocate your power?”
Roxie brought her awareness to her stomach and felt the power. Her body vibrated and heated in response. She took note of the sensations then pulled her awareness away from it. It felt like, if she focused on it too long, she’d start drawing it out before she was ready. The location of the power reminded her of chi, a well of energy the Asians said all people had. It was no more difficult to locate the power than it was to focus any part of her body and pay attention to how it felt. Tense, relaxed, in pain, hot, cold, etcetera. Her power was there, and there was a lot of it.
“You got it. I felt you vibrate in my hands. Now let me explain one last thing. Drawing the power out and pulling it back in is essentially a tough mental pull-and-push exercise. You have to really pull the power out to release it, but once it’s released, it’s going to explode out. You won’t have to keep pulling. Prepare yourself for that. Expect it. It’s going to be frightening. It still scares me.” He eyed his abandoned dagger, then met her gaze again. “Now, when you pull it back into yourself, you can’t stop pulling until it’s all back inside, or else it’ll keep trying to explode out. You’ll know when you’re done. If you have any doubt, just keep pulling the power back into you. And that’s it.”
Easier said than done. At least that’s what it sounded like. Just one tough mental exercise, using her imagination and focusing her will on telling a lot of power what to do. This was what everyone needed her to be able to do so she could protect the mortal realm. It scared her, but she was determined to succeed. “Let’s do this.”
Aerigo sunk into his horse stance so he was almost eye level with her. “Take your time releasing the power if you can. Just be ready to seize it once it’s free. It helps to close your eyes. And fair warning: it’s just as hard to unlock the power as it is to control it. Be patient. This power is meant only for emergencies when you have no other alternative. And never forget: depleting yourself of that power will leave you vulnerable and defenseless for at least a day.”
“Right.” Aerigo had passed out within minutes of releasing all his power.
“Ready when you are, Rox.”
“Do I need to visualize or concentrate on anything special to help you siphon off the power?”
“I don’t know. We’ll find out when we get that far.”
“Okay.”
“Go.”
Heart racing, Roxie closed her eyes. She couldn’t think of anything else to say so she could stall doing this. She wanted to better brace herself for the danger she was about to put the both of them in, but Aerigo looked ready to stop letting the anticipation build and just get this done. She bowed her head slightly, feeling like angling her gaze towards her stomach would better help her concentrate. Touching her awareness to the power made her stomach heat up and her body vibrate, but it gave her no clue as to where the door unlocking it lay. Her Mana felt like it had been compressed into the space of a softball, when it wanted to take up the space of a large city. No wonder it would explosively release. Now how was she supposed to find its door?
She felt around the power for any clues, but sensed nothing, other than the fact that the power wanted out it. It wanted out. What did she want to do with it? Help Aerigo, of course. Help him how? Give him the power he needed to unlock the other half. She was going to pull this power out and give it to Aerigo.
Her awareness suddenly slipped deeper into the well of power. It felt like she had been pulled under the surface of a dark lake that had never been disturbed before. She could still breathe, yet the sensation of her awareness being yanked inside the well of power put her on guard. A monster lay at the bottom of its depths. Roxie steeled her nerves and willed herself towards that monstrous power. She felt her eyes warm as if they’d started glowing. Maybe they had, but she let her wondering go. That tidbit of trivia didn’t matter right now.
Roxie sank to the bottom and spotted a metal trapdoor, and felt a fiery heat emanating from the other side. It felt like she was dreaming lucidly. In the waking world, she was bent in a horse stance, holding onto Aerigo’s wrists, but now she wasn’t seeing them or the realm anymore. Wherever her mind was, she stood atop a hot trapdoor as big as a room, and she was surrounded by darkness. It was reminiscent of her nightmare with the dragon.
Roxie crouched and touched her imagined hands to the door’s surface, which vibrated as all the
locks unbolted with metallic thuds. She flinched, then scolded herself for flinching. How was she supposed to control her power if she flinched at the sound of a metal door unlocking? She steeled her nerves again, reminding herself that she was creating danger, to expect the power to fight control, and to anticipate some sort of sensation accompanying Aerigo’s siphoning of her power.
She tried to think of a container she could visualize to control her power and help siphon it into Aerigo. An hourglass came to mind, but glass was way too fragile to contain something explosive. How about a steel one? Maybe focusing on a stronger metal would help even more, but she didn’t know much about metals, so steel it would be. She formed an image of her actual body standing inside one half of the steel hourglass, ready to catch and contain her power, and encompassed Aerigo’s body in the other half, then turned her attention back to the trapdoor.
The door felt curved, smooth, and solid as a one-foot-thick reinforced vault door. She searched for a handle or knob. Indents formed under her hands. She paused, startled by how the power responded to her intentions. No wonder Aerigo didn’t like this power. It was like it had a mind of its own. Her fear of her own power was healthy, though. Using it to sharpen her mental awareness, she dug her fingers into the indents and braced herself for the explosive release as she pulled.
The door didn’t budge and the power didn’t explode out. It pushed against the door, trying to help her release it, but Roxie instinctively knew the power couldn’t release itself without her consent, her intent. She widened her imagined feet and began pulling on the door again. Power, I command you to release. You will be contained within my steel hourglass, and nothing more. The door didn’t budge at first. However, after several seconds of sustained pulling, it lifted an inch with a deep, resonant metallic groan. Roxie didn’t let up on the pulling as she willed her Mana to release. The door inched closer to opening, catching every time she lost her focus. Every time the door moved, it surprised her. Her thoughts swirled between marveling at her drawing closer to wielding the same power as Aerigo, and focusing her will on the power and giving it direction. Somehow she knew pulling the trapdoor open didn’t have to be this hard. It was all a matter of strength of will. Her caution was causing friction. The power just wanted to explode out. Part of her wanted to let it, just to feel it release unhindered. But what she really wanted was control and containment.
The trapdoor inched its way upward until a white light outlined it. Roxie stuck her fingers in the gap and willed the power out as she heaved upward.
The door swung open so fast that it banged against the container with a deep ring. The power surged to the surface of the mental lake, to outside her body, then exploded through her steel hourglass. Roxie’s awareness surged to the forefront of the power. Wind roaring in her ears, her vision shot towards the aurora borealis, and hers and Aerigo’s bodies dwindled in size. She mentally tried reigning in the power with giant hands, but it shot between her fingers without slowing.
She began to panic.
“Control it!” Aerigo yelled over the wind.
The power filled up every cubic inch of her physical body and exploded in every direction. Aerigo staggered, but she pulled him back into his horse stance. The power lashed out at him, giving him a bloody nose.
Don’t you dare hurt Aerigo, she snapped at the energy. Hurting him was strictly forbidden and there was no room for argument. She imagined Aerigo being wrapped in a power-repellant gel that would shield him from harm. A part of her power coated his body protectively as the rest kept exploding outwards. She formed a third arm and hand, and wiped the blood from Aerigo’s face. His blood dyed her power red until it diffused and turned back to white.
Roxie’s skin burned as if she’d been wrapped in an electric blanket. She clenched Aerigo’s wrists as she mentally formed an amorphous sphere around her and the exploding power, which had reached out to the edges of the realm, and she left Aerigo outside the sphere. She pulled the power to her but not into her. It stopped expanding, but refused to take up less space. That had to be good enough for now. “Start taking some any day now!”
Aerigo bowed his head and concentrated, and then a second wind began funneling around him. He reached into her well of power. Roxie braced herself, in case his breach would encourage her power to rush out through it. She gave it permission to recharge him, but not to escape anywhere else. Aerigo’s siphoning felt like someone gently tugging on her hair, but not literally. It was more like a tug on her power, which fought her will and tried to surge into him. Aerigo gasped and arched his back, but maintained concentration, along with his grip on her wrists. Roxie commanded her Mana to slow down. It grudgingly obeyed as it searched for an alternate escape route.
Together, they recharged him while the tornado winds flattened the grass, making it point away from her in all directions, the lake’s surface rippled, and dirt kicked off the mountain into an earthen cloud. The colors of the aurora began to swirl like a whirlpool. She began to feel weaker, diminished. She accepted the feelings as she concentrated.
Aerigo began deflecting the power as he twisted his torso and turned his head. “Pull it back. I’m done!”
Roxie pulled the power to her and closed the breach. Aerigo heaved a sigh and faced her. Her Mana still filled up almost the entire realm. She willed it to funnel back inside its original container as she tried to compress the shield containing it. Her power wouldn’t retract, and her shield wouldn’t shrink. It felt like she was trying to compact a solid steel ball with her bare hands. “Aerigo, I don’t know if this is possible.” She tried again, but her power stayed put. “What do I do?”
“I don’t know. Keep trying.”
Panic rose within her once more. If Aerigo didn’t know what to do, how was she supposed to figure this out? Still, she had to. Too many people were depending on her determination to succeed. There had to be a way.
Roxie then noticed that not all of her power had been released from its original container. Maybe, since Aerigo had explained that she couldn’t stop pulling the power back in until she was done, she couldn’t start pulling it back in until it was completely out. She willed the rest of the power out until she felt a pang of pain sock her in the stomach. She gasped.
“Rox?”
Now that all her power was released, she willed it back in. This time, the power resisted, but yielded. Slowly at first, it began trickling back into her abdomen. It felt like taking a satisfying gulp of air after holding her breath longer than comfortable. The power poured back in, faster and faster, pushing her physical body into the ground. It felt like gravity was bearing down on her ten times harder than on Druconica. She sank to her knees, still holding on to Aerigo’s wrists. He tried to pull her back to her feet, but the funneling power proved stronger than his superhuman strength.
Roxie pulled and pulled her Mana back inside, until her mind sank back to the trapdoor, a white light shined through the opening. She lifted the door and slammed it shut with a metallic thud. Her awareness rose to her corporeal body. She slumped forward, but Aerigo’s grip saved her from falling face-first on the grass. She tried to pull herself upright, but could do no more than gasp for breath. “Help me up.”
Aerigo pulled her into a hug.
Roxie leaned against him as she worked on catching her breath. His chest felt so firm and comforting against her cheek and hands, but she didn’t think she could stay like this. Her legs felt like jelly. “Actually, I need to sit down.” Aerigo guided her onto her back and she watched the aurora sky through slitted eyes as she caught her breath, and Aerigo slipped an arm under her head to act as a pillow. Roxie touched his biceps and he placed his hand over hers.
It took maybe a minute for her breathing to slow and heart to stop pounding. Her legs felt more solid, but she didn’t trust them to support her just yet. She took a rejuvenating breath and just lay there, cradled in his arm. He began stroking her hair.
The act of stroking her hair sent pleasant shivers up and dow
n Roxie’s spine. Aerigo gazed at her with open admiration. She twisted her body so they were lying face-to-face, mere inches separating them. Aerigo stroked her cheek and touched his boots to hers. Roxie took his hand in hers and kissed his knuckles.
Time must have stopped for a moment. They lay there for she had no clue how long, she holding his hand, a magnetic gaze locked on each other, and their booted feet snuggling each other.
Aerigo propped himself up on an elbow, slipped one leg between both of hers, and leaned in to kiss her on the lips.
“What in the name of all that is mighty--oh, my.”
Startled, Roxie twisted in place to face the familiar voice. Baku was standing ten feet away, looking quite shocked.
Chapter 29
“Well, this is the last thing I expected to teleport in on. I’d suggest my temple if you’d like more privacy and better accommodations.” Baku gestured to the glowing temple. “The only problem is, you two don’t have that kind of time left. The war’s started.” Worry wrinkled his tanned forehead.
Roxie and Aerigo hurried to their feet and her head swam. Aerigo pulled her back to him.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah. I did just give you half my power. I need a moment to get accustomed to not having it.” She gave his forearms a reassuring squeeze. He hugged her tight. Two hand-shaped bruises colored his wrists in blues and purples. She brushed one with her fingers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was gripping that hard.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m so proud of you, Rox.” He nuzzled her head.
Baku smiled at the both of them. “Aerigo, it’s so good to see you whole again. I never thought this day would come.” He pulled both of them into a hug, then stepped back and faced Roxie. “Thank you for your help, my dear child.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I hadn’t dared hope for these results. I thought it was too much to ask. Now I just wish I could help the both of you unlock Frava.”
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