But the creature’s yellow eyes snapped open, and it let out another screech, lifting its wings into an arc above its head. It scrambled onto its feet and spun on its claw to face me, its eyes burning with anger as it stared me down.
Then it charged.
I hurried away from Becca, and a few balls of fire whizzed past me, so close that I could feel the heat on my face. Someone yelled my name seconds before the mass of feathers collided with my body. The force of the creature’s weight pushed me backwards, towards the cliff I’d noticed earlier, and the ground disappeared beneath my feet. I reached blindly for something to hold onto, and a scream that I vaguely recognized as my own echoed through the cavern.
Then my head collided with the ground, and everything went dark.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
My skull felt like it had shattered, the tiny pieces lodged into the crevices of my brain. I managed to open my eyes, but the world spun so quickly that I had to shut them again to stop myself from being sick. The pounding in my head was a deafening beat in my mind. It was like someone had taken a gong, placed it next to my ear, and was hitting it as hard as they could with the heaviest mallet they could find.
I lifted my arm to try to quiet the noise, but a sharp pain shot up from my elbow to my shoulder, so excruciating that it traveled through my entire body. The arm flopped uselessly to the ground. The impact sent another jolt of pain through my spine. My hair felt matted with something warm and sticky, and even though I couldn’t move to touch it, I knew it was blood. I felt it dripping down my neck.
An ear-splitting scream echoed from above, and someone shouted my name. It was a muffled noise hidden behind the pounding that consumed my thoughts. I tried to open my eyes again, but I couldn’t. Instead, yellow eyes burned in my mind, followed by a rush of red. Red, all around me. So much that I was drowning in it.
Then I thought about another color—white. White would make the pain end.
If only the pounding in my head would stop, so I could focus.
Another muffled scream echoed from above, followed by a thump as something crashed to the ground. The scream sounded like Kate, but I couldn’t be sure.
Focus, I told myself, squeezing my eyes together as if it could make the pain disappear. I can heal myself. I’ve done it before.
But just because I could fix cuts and scratches didn’t mean I could repair the damage from a fall off a cliff—especially given how much I’d already used my power today. What if I depleted my energy? I could die.
The thought terrified me. I knew that what we were going into today could be dangerous, but I didn’t realize I might not survive it. Now, I was bleeding out at the bottom of a cliff. My friends were in danger, and it was very possible that they wouldn’t be able to get to me in time. Even if they did, they couldn’t do anything to help me, and we were still deep down in this cavern with no easy escape.
But if I didn’t heal myself, I would definitely die. So despite the possibility of depleting my energy, I had to at least try.
I cleared my head as much as possible and closed my eyes, grasping for the energy around me. At first it didn’t come. But I reached farther—so much that my head felt like it was about to explode from the effort—until finding it. It filled the cave like electricity, bouncing off the walls from every direction. I pulled it towards me, refusing to let it go until the streams of white entered my palms.
It hummed all around me, surrounding me in a cocoon of pure, crackling energy, soaking through my skin like water on a sponge. It was everywhere at once—inside and outside my body, leaving no part of me untouched. My surroundings melted around me until I had no idea where I was anymore. It was like floating inside a warm, white cloud that I could bend to my will.
Then the energy disappeared, the pain leaving with it. I could feel the ground beneath me again. I lifted my arm, anticipating another jolt of agonizing pain, but it moved normally, as though never injured to begin with. I touched the back of my head where I’d felt the blood earlier, and while the blood was still there, I couldn’t find a wound.
I’d done it. My entire body had been broken, and I’d healed it all.
I opened my eyes, and the stalagmites and stalactites sharpened into focus, no longer a dizzying blur of shapes. The top of the cliff wasn’t even that far away—maybe a six-foot drop.
I glanced around, trying to come up with a plan. Because when I made it back up the cliff, I would need to defend myself. But a cave didn’t have as many possibilities for fighting materials as a playground. There were only the walls, the ground, and … the stalactites and stalagmites.
If I could dislodge one, it would make a perfect stake.
I pulled at the one closest to me, but it didn’t budge. I wasn’t strong enough. I needed Kate and her earth power to pull a stalagmite from the ground. And judging by what I’d heard from the fight up there, she was in no position to help me.
Then a particularly sharp stalagmite caught my eye—it was thin and about the same length as a sword. I crawled over to it as silently as possible, trying to ignore the fire, rushes of water, gusts of wind, and screaming from above. All I could do was focus on what I could do to help, and that was in dislodging a stalagmite that was permanently attached to the ground. It was an impossible task, but I could do impossible things.
I just had to figure out how.
Then I remembered what I’d done in homeroom with the glass—when I’d made it explode by touching it with orange energy. If I could do the same thing with the stalagmite, maybe it could come loose. I would have to focus the energy on the exact right spot at the bottom of the stalagmite, to disconnect it without blowing the whole thing up. There was so much chaos up above that they wouldn’t even hear it if I managed to succeed.
I inched closer to the stalagmite, crawling on my hands and knees, the world spinning with each movement. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath, but finally I made it. Now I had to focus on the energy. But when I tried, it was like I’d run into a wall. A rush of dizziness passed through my head, so intense that I had to lean back on my hands to steady myself. It was like I hadn’t slept in days. It was tempting to lie on the ground and shut my eyes for a few minutes, but I listened to the screaming above, forced my eyes to stay open, and focused.
The energy continued to resist my pull. I was too exhausted. I couldn’t do it. I closed my eyes, but then another shriek echoed through the cavern—Becca. Hearing her terror jolted me awake. My friends could defend themselves against the creature, but Becca was helpless. She shouldn’t have been dragged into this.
I had to save her.
I focused on harnessing the energy, picturing orange around me until it surrounded every inch of my skin. I called on it on until my body felt so full of light that I couldn’t collect any more. Then I touched the base of the stalagmite, narrowed my eyes, and sent the energy outwards in a single stream.
The stalagmite exploded with a giant crack.
Dust rose up, and I feared that I’d shattered it. But once it settled, I saw the stalagmite on the ground, fully intact. I reached for it, hoping it wouldn’t crumble, relieved when it stayed in one piece. I wrapped my hand around it to get a firmer grip, and simply holding it made me feel more focused and awake.
I could do this.
But first I needed to get out of this ditch. I examined my surroundings to figure out how. The cliff wasn’t a straight drop—there were places where rocks were piled beneath it. If I could get my footing and gather enough strength, I could hoist myself up. And so, I crawled to the largest rock and pulled myself on top of it, peering over the ledge to see what was happening above.
Blake and Danielle were attacking the bird-creature full-force with fire and scalding water, although their powers were weakening. The bird screeched in pain, although it continued moving towards them. Their only option was to back away, allowing it to corner them until they were trapped. Chris was guarding Becca, who was still tied to the chair, and Kate was nowh
ere to be seen.
It was now or never.
Gripping the stalagmite, I gathered enough energy to lift myself onto the ledge. But it took a lot of out me, and the dizziness hit me again. I took a few deep breaths to center myself. In this condition, there was no way I could aim as well as I’d done on the playground when I’d flung the monkey bar at the hound. And I only had one chance, since the creature’s back was toward me. If I threw the stalagmite and missed, it would know I’d survived, and I would lose the element of surprise. I had to do this on the first shot.
So I held out the stalagmite and sprinted towards the creature, staking its back and sinking the weapon deep into its skin.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The creature arched its neck and stumbled backward, shrieking and raising its wings in the air. I let go of the stalagmite, my eyes glued to the place where it was lodged between its wings.
I must have missed its heart, because it spun around and snarled. “You,” it said, its throaty voice barely louder than a whisper. “That fall should have killed you. How did you get back up here?” It lifted one claw and took a small step towards me, its yellow eyes flashing in pain. Its face muscles tightened as it dragged the other claw forward to join the first. Grunting from the effort, the creature reached an arm around its back to find the stalagmite. It gripped it with its talons and yanked it out.
It opened its beak and let out an agonizing screech, dropping the weapon onto the ground. Scarlet blood dripped from the wound, collecting in a puddle below.
Chris didn’t waste a second before blowing a gust of wind in the creature’s direction. The force of it toppled the creature to the side, crushing one of its wings beneath its weight. Its head cracked when it hit the ground. I shuddered at the sound. But it forced opened its eyes, their yellow glow dimmed significantly, and kept its gaze locked on mine.
I stared it down, bending my knees in preparation to bolt if it got back up. “The fall didn’t kill me,” I finally answered its question. “I used my element to heal myself.”
“You’re stronger than I realized.” Its words came out slowly, each syllable strained with effort. “But this is only the beginning. There are others trapped in Kerberos who are many times more powerful than me, and it won’t be long until the portal weakens enough so they can break free, too. You’ll have tough luck beating them based on what you showed me tonight.” The creature paused, its labored breaths gurgling as it struggled to speak again. “Even the gods won’t be able to save you once Typhon escapes and returns to his true form. I’ll see you in Hades, my little demigod. And once Typhon rises, I’ll be sure he gives you a one-way ticket to Tartarus.”
It let out another strangled laugh, its breathing labored. Then, struck with a crazy idea, I stepped forward, pressing my palm to its chest. If I could heal with a touch, maybe I could do the opposite, too. Kill.
When I healed, I needed white energy. So when I destroyed, it made sense to use the opposite.
Black energy.
Except I didn’t know how to channel black energy. I only knew about its existence—I’d never asked how to use it.
So I did the only thing that felt natural—I thought about hate. I hated this creature. It had kidnapped my sister. It was attacking my friends. It tried to kill me. It pushed me off that cliff and left me to die. If I hadn’t healed myself and climbed back up here, it would have killed my friends. My sister, too.
The black energy swirled inside me, like pools of ink streaming through my veins, until there was so much of it that I couldn’t contain it any longer. But I couldn’t risk losing control of this dark energy and having it fill the cave. Who knew what would happen then? It was now or never.
So I stared into the creature’s huge eyes and shot the darkness straight into its heart.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
The creature let out a whoosh of breath, then it flickered and disappeared into the darkness. The only evidence that it had been there at all was the puddle of blood on the ground and the stained stalagmite lying next to it.
I stared at the place where it had been in shock. Had I really killed that thing? By just touching it?
“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to heal Kate?” Danielle’s question brought me back to reality.
“Kate?” I asked. “What happened to her? Where is she?”
Danielle glanced at the entrance to the chamber. “Behind you.”
I turned to look, gasping at what I saw. Kate lay crumpled on the ground, with her back against the wall. She was so pale. Her hair draped over her face, partially covering her closed eyes, her arms splayed out beside her.
I hurried towards her, ignoring the fogginess seeping into my head with each step. “Kate?” I said her name softly, gently shaking her shoulder. I prayed that she’d open her eyes or twitch her fingers—something to show that she was alive. But she was completely still.
I reached for her wrist, letting out a long breath when I felt a pulse.
“Nicole?” Blake lowered himself to kneel next to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure you can heal her after all the energy you’ve already used today?”
“No,” I said, the word dry in my throat. “But I have to try.”
“You don’t have enough energy left,” Danielle said. “If you try this, you could kill yourself.”
I swallowed, since it was likely that Danielle was right. “I know,” I said, barely louder than a whisper. “But I can’t let Kate die.”
“We can all help you,” Blake said. “Let us hold one of your hands. Then you can channel our energy and use your other hand to heal Kate.”
“You won’t be putting yourselves in danger?” I fought off another round of dizziness, and wiped a bead of sweat from my brow. “You’ve used a lot of energy today, too.”
“We’ll be fine.” Blake’s strong response made it clear that the offer wasn’t up for debate. “We won’t give you all of our energy. Just enough to help you save Kate.”
“And do I have to … do anything?” I asked. “To make it work?”
“Do what you normally do and pretend we aren’t here.” His eyes darkened, and he leaned so close to me that our faces were inches apart. “But remember that you’re channeling our energy. Don’t try to take it. Promise me you won’t allow that to happen.”
I looked back down at Kate. Her body remained still, her breaths shallow. Her face was growing paler by the second.
“I can do that,” I said. “I promise.”
“If you’re doing this, I guess you could use my help, too,” Danielle reluctantly said from behind me. Her gaze was hard, and despite not seeming thrilled about it, she knelt next to Blake. Chris joined, too, the three of them creating a semi-circle around me.
I held Kate’s hand tighter in mine. It felt so fragile, like if I squeezed too hard all of the bones in it would shatter. Blake, Danielle, and Chris placed their hands on top of my other one, and a warm light rushed through my body. The fuzziness in my head disappeared, like someone had removed cotton balls from inside of my ears. Every sound around me became clearer—feet shuffling, water dripping from somewhere in the distance, and the buzz of energy pulsing through the air.
“Okay,” I whispered, looking down at Kate. “This better work.”
I prepared myself for the exertion it was bound to take after how much I’d already done that day, but calling forth the white energy wasn’t nearly as hard as I’d expected. It clearly had something to do with the other three helping me, but I remembered what Blake had said and didn’t focus on them. Instead, I thought about the white energy flowing through my body, from my head all the way down to my toes. It gathered together, entwined with lines of blue, red, and yellow, and grew outwards to the edges of my skin. When it felt like I could burst from the pressure of it all, I allowed it to stream out of my palms and into Kate’s.
The energy whooshed out of my body as quickly as air coming out of a balloon. Once it was gone, I opened
my eyes and squeezed Kate’s hand tighter, as if doing so would have an impact on whether or not she’d be okay.
She still didn’t move.
Then, just when I thought that what I’d done hadn’t been enough, her eyes fluttered open.
She looked at me first, then at Blake, Danielle, and Chris. Her eyes didn’t shine with the same brightness as usual, but at least she was alive.
“What happened?” Her voice was barely louder than a whisper. “Did you guys kill the harpy?”
“The what?” I asked, sitting back on my heels.
“The harpy.” She shook her head and sat up, resting against the wall. “The thing that looked like a cross-breed between an old woman and a mutated bird. They’re in charge of bringing the unwilling to Tartarus. Some of them supported the Titans in the Second Rebellion, so those harpies were sent to Kerberos.”
Leave it to Kate to give me a history lesson immediately after returning from the brink of death.
Chris took his hand off of mine and scooted closer to Kate. “You bet we killed it,” he said with a laugh. “The three of us injured it pretty badly, and Nicole finished it off with a stalagmite. It was pretty awesome.” He held a pretend stalagmite in the air and jammed it forward to reenact the attack. “Then it disappeared…” he trailed off, his eyes distant. “I don’t know where it went. But it’s gone now.”
I glanced back at the bloody stalagmite. My head spun with the movement, my stomach swirling with nausea. Chris didn’t realize that I’d killed the harpy with a touch. He thought it was because of the stalagmite.
Could that be what they all thought? Maybe I should let them continue believing that, and not tell them the truth. Kate had told me on my first day here that using black energy was illegal. I didn’t know why—I didn’t even know what black energy was typically used for. But I did know that what I’d done could get me in trouble with the Elders … perhaps so much that they would take away my powers.
Elementals: The Prophecy of Shadows Page 17