Blaine realized as well and darted up the stairs, vanishing in the space between them.
“We have to follow him,” Cali yelled.
Hand in hand, the group climbed the steps. The space between them, unseen from the outside, expanded around them in an impossibly large room. Blaine stood, breathing heavily, surrounded by his clones. A lightning storm raged around him. In the center of the room was the portal. The portal that could make them human, or break them into new Essences.
Walk into the portal. Alexia pleaded. Just disperse yourself and be at peace.
Alexia conjured up a storm that blew rain like a tornado around them. Her storm connected with what was left of Blaine’s tempest. They joined in force and she took control of it all. The five of them were safe in the middle from the pelting wind and water. Outside the small circle, the rain turned to frigid ice coated the dark wooden walls and immobilized several copies.
Blaine paused while Alexia’s thoughts sunk in. He was tired; she thought maybe he was actually going to listen and disperse himself. He shuddered violently, using fire to try to push the ice away. It was weaker than Alexia’s weather ability and she was able to quickly push back at him and blow out his flames. She pulled lightning from the sky, glad the room had no ceiling, and watched as Blaine and his copies tried, mostly successfully, to dart away from the bolts. However, it was still working; her powers were breaking his circle of clones.
Disperse yourself! Alexia’s thoughts screamed as wind whipped around her.
Blaine, again, ignored her but this time, several clones did not. Several clones froze mid-attack, and seven turned away from the fighting and ran to the portal. Jumping through the opaque, orange surface. Once the first one breached the disc, the swirling clouds vanished. It no longer looked like a soap bubble on the verge of popping. The color lightened and the texture changed until it looked like heavy cream.
Alexia opened her mouth to ask what was happening when someone stepped out of the other side of the portal. Her breath hitched in her throat as six others followed. Seven clones went in, seven came out. But they were no clones of Blaine’s. Their expressions were light, a slight smile touching each one. Two women, five men. Different hair, skin, eyes, and builds, but their faces all held the same blank expression. With their emergence, Blaine cried out in pain.
“How did you do it?” Leland asked.
Alexia didn’t look at him, she instead focused on her waning storm. “I told Blaine to go in and his copies listened instead of him.”
“Keep doing it. When Cali teleports the clones, she’s only hiding his power on different planes. It drains him, but if the clones return, he gets the energy back. When you disperse them, you steal that power from him permanently.”
Cali picked the Blaine replicas off as soon as they were away from the group, whisking them into different dimensions and through time.
Alexia cast a wide net with her thoughts, catching as many as she could and watching them walk into the creamy portal.
Leland used his powers to push Blaine farther away. He wasn’t strong enough to push the copies into different dimensions, convince them to disperse themselves or strike lightning down on them, but he could move them around and keep them a safe distance from himself and his friends. Alexia noticed with delight that he’d dipped into his powers borrowed from Blaine to erase, confuse, and destroy whatever copies he could.
Blaine realized what was happening and dissolved into the yellow cloud. Lightning crashed at their feet, pushing them out of the room and back down the steps. Dustin tripped, but his hands never lost their grip and the line didn’t break.
“Stop with the lightning!” Alexia simultaneously yelled and pushed the thought to Blaine.
And it worked. The lightning stopped and they regrouped and went back on the offensive.
Leland and Dustin directed the others at whichever copy was the biggest threat. Though their powers were different, they were able to use them for a similar outcome. Leland stood with his eyes closed, apparently watching the battle play out in a million different ways and advising Alexia or Cali on their next move. None of Blaine’s clones got close to Alexia. Dustin stayed close, and he’d tell her when something was coming for someone in the group and Alexia would push the knowledge into that person’s brain.
Gregory was amazing at hand to hand fighting, but for the time being, had to settle on taking down the copies and taunting Blaine with his words. Blaine couldn’t let a single insult go by without some kind of rebuttal and the distraction gave everyone else an edge.
Cali kept her arm on Gregory’s shoulder so the circle stayed connected and he could use his hands. Each clone that reached him was incapacitated. Cali would whisk the dead or dying away or Alexia would freeze it. Alexia could tell that even as Gregory fought the copies, he kept his mind on Blaine. He couldn’t change what Blaine thought, but he could stay tuned in and maybe catch bits of his strategy. Blaine was distracted and furious, but he put up a good fight.
Once the weather stabilized and Alexia didn’t have to focus on it anymore, she attacked Blaine again. Get rid of the copies. Fight us yourself. She whispered over and over into his head.
At first, Blaine listened. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was more distracted than he had been at the beginning or if her focus was sharper, but for a brief moment, his copies started to vanish one by one. As if he realized what she was doing, instantly more copies appeared. The more copies there were, the weaker each one was. But there were so many of them.
“To your left, Alexia! Take him out now.” Leland spoke loud enough that Alexia could hear, but Blaine and all his copies outside the storm couldn’t. “Gregory, push that one as far as you can. Focus on him. Cali, that one can be torn apart.” He paused. “Blaine is weakening. Keep it together.”
Gregory pulled out a small blade and fought two clones at once. As the blade slid through their midsections, they turned to ash. Cali opened three portals at once and without a word, Alexia conjured up wind that separated and whisked the piles away.
Alexia wasn’t sure what kind of progress they were making. If he could outlast them, nothing else mattered. They would lose.
Blaine’s laughter echoed around the group, and he didn’t sound weak. It chilled Alexia to her core, but she wouldn’t let it show. She focused harder on Blaine. She tried to get into his mind, but he could still ignore her. She felt his mind fighting her, resisting. She hadn’t experienced anything like it before.
“I’m wearing out. There is too much going on.” Leland spoke through gritted teeth.
“Just focus. Cali take out the one to your right, by that tree. Then take Leland’s away. He needs a break,” Gregory called above the wind.
“Alexia!” Dustin called out. “To your left! Now!”
A bolt of lightning slammed to the ground next to Alexia. “There are too many of them! They come back as fast as we get rid of them,” she cried out, dropping all the thoughts she was sending to Blaine.
“Something is coming. What is it? Leland!” Dustin sounded frantic.
“I don’t see it!” Leland cried.
Alexia had no idea what they were talking about, and she didn’t have time to process.
A tree branch broke from the swirling storm with a flurry of yellow sand and flew at Alexia. She darted out of the way, pulling Dustin and Leland with her. Their hands were still connected as Leland pulled himself to his feet. Alexia and Dustin stood beside him with wide eyes.
“Down! Get down!” she cried as she dropped back to her knees.
The second flying branch missed them, but it distracted Alexia enough that her hands were torn from Dustin and Leland’s. The swirling cloud of ice and rain stopped. All but a few of the copies vanished and Blaine walked toward them. Flicking his wrist, he tossed a ball of fire into the center of the group and a blazing column of flames licked at their backs. Alexia’s rain did nothing to stop the raging inferno. The circle was broken, and the group scattered.
>
“Back together!” Leland shouted. But it was too late.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Once Blaine pulled them apart, he wasted no time. Deep sounds erupted from his mouth as he pointed at Dustin. The words tore through the air toward Dustin in a swirling black cloud. Alexia didn’t understand what he said, but it didn’t matter. The intent was clear. Once the black swirl hit Dustin, Blaine flicked his other hand and Dustin’s feet left the ground. He flew several feet through the air and smashed against a tree with a horrible thud, bouncing off and falling hard to the ground. Blood flowed down his face. He didn’t move.
Cali screamed. She flailed her arm toward Blaine and three ragged portals tore open next to him. They swirled and started sucking in Blaine’s weakest copies. Cali screamed again and another portal gaped open. Alexia summoned a gust of wind, pushing the last few copies into the vortices. One skimmed across the floor, knocking Blaine down and forcing him into whatever dark dimensions Cali had conjured.
It bought them time, but Alexia knew he would be back.
Cali dropped to Dustin’s side. Leland was the next one there; he stood over Cali’s shoulders. Alexia reached him last. To Alexia’s surprise, Dustin was breathing. The pool of blood around him grew at an alarming rate. The fire closed in around them but Alexia focused on Dustin. His forehead had a gash running from his hairline, down his cheek, and across his jaw. His head rested on a rock which must have caused the injury. It was sharp and coated in his blood.
“No!” Alexia felt the anger burst out of her and an explosion of wind suffocated the fire and stopped the dripping rain simultaneously.
Dustin’s arm was broken, and at least one leg. A bone stuck out near his right knee. His ankle on the same side was twisted the wrong way. His clothes were torn and soaked in blood. Leland rolled him so his head was propped up and his body was untangled. Dustin groaned and opened his eyes. The joy Alexia momentarily felt at Dustin being alive quickly faded when they saw the vacant look in his stare. He looked at each one with a slight tilt to his head. His enlarged pupils covered most of his iris. Only a tiny blue outline remained. The whites of his eyes were blood red. He looked up toward the sky with his mouth wide and let out a strange laugh that gurgled with his own blood.
“Dustin?” Cali called to him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Dustin?” She grabbed his face, making him look at her. He pursed his lips and let out a grunt, but he didn’t seem to take much notice of her. Blood flowed freely from the gash on his face and his skin became ashen.
“What did he do?” Leland whispered.
“He could have just disoriented him.” Gregory made it sound like a question. “But these injuries… ”
“How do we help him?” Alexia asked without taking her eyes off of Dustin.
“You can’t keep me away!” The group, save for Dustin, jumped at the sound of Blaine’s voice as it crackled through the sky. “You can’t stop me.” Blaine’s laughter danced around them. “He will never remember your face.” He hummed in a theatrical way. “Should I still kill him?” Blaine sounded like he was struggling but still managed to let out a laugh. Alexia wondered how close he was. “Killing him might take all the fun out of watching you suffer, though. And you will suffer.”
He went on with hissing laugher, sounding more forced than genuine. Even so, Alexia knew he was drawing nearer.
“Is that what he did to my mind? Is that how he made me forget?” Alexia whispered, horrified.
“I have learned since you.” A swirling yellow cloud dropped from the sky and as soon as it touched the ground, Blaine stood in front of them. “And you!” He pointed at Leland. “I had you, and you stopped me. You turned my protection against me. I couldn’t figure it out. I made the same mistake with Alexia’s Ether. But I know I can kill you now.” The sky changed colors as Blaine spoke and he closed the space between them.
“No!” Cali cried.
She ripped a portal open between her and Blaine, but he saw it just in time and stopped. Alexia took his moment of distraction to freeze him in an ice block.
“Dustin?” Cali’s voice cracked, but Dustin gave no response.
“Cali.” Leland drew her attention away from Dustin, who looked oblivious to everything around him. His voice was a harsh whisper, like leaves rustling in a fall breeze. “Get him out of here! He isn’t safe here. Go. Go now. Put him back into his body. He will die right here if you stay.”
“Will he remember me when he is back in his body?” Tears welled in Cali’s eyes.
“I don’t know,” Leland said slowly.
“Will he die there?” Cali looked up with a tortured expression.
Gregory and Leland’s gazes both shifted away as if on cue. There was a crack and the sound of ice crumbling to the ground. The swirling particles of yellow sand rose from the pile.
A bolt of lightning crashed, and they all fell. Cali hit her head on the ground with a crack.
“Cali!” Alexia cried.
She slid across the ground toward Cali. Leland and Gregory righted themselves and charged towards Blaine. Alexia laid next to Cali and put her hand on her face. Cali’s eyes didn’t focus, but they looked her way.
“Cali listen to me. You have to go now.”
Cali blinked a few times and then nodded once. She reached out and grabbed Dustin’s arm. She took in a deep breath and they were gone.
“There is no point in fighting me. I’m winning. If you give up, I’ll make sure everything else is painless.” Blaine’s voice boomed but Alexia couldn’t see him. The sky was turning yellow and the trees leaned away from the group.
Alexia was pissed and she shook in anger. Lightning streaked through the sky. Her hair whipped around her and her shirt was torn and dirty. Torn from the knee down, her left pant leg flapped against her leg. The soft fabric was wet and filthy, as was the rest of her. Her knees ached from falling to the ground and her head was starting to throb.
“Show yourself, you coward,” Alexia growled.
The air beside them ripped open and Blaine was there. His long hair whipped in the wind. His clear blue eyes were blazing. “I’m no coward.”
Power coursed through Alexia’s hands as she took hold of Leland’s and Gregory’s. Blaine spoke the low frightening words and flicked his hand at Alexia, as he had done to Dustin, but she’d seen it coming. She threw a block of ice at him.
The sky tore open and hail fell, pelting Blaine and knocking him to the ground. Alexia spoke into his mind telling him to stay down. That he couldn’t fight the whole group.
Alexia took in a sharp breath as she felt strength rushing out of her. Blaine looked triumphant as he rose from the ground.
Alexia tried to freeze him in a block of ice again but he expected it. He was ready with his fire ability and was free almost immediately. She refroze him, over and over to give the other three a chance to regroup and rest.
Cali appeared beside Alexia with hate in her eyes.
“I feel better,” she said. Her voice was flat, subdued, but Alexia could hear the rage buried there.
Blaine was frozen momentarily in the ice. Cali stripped away what energy she could from him and sent it away. It took him longer to melt the ice. Cali had done definite damage with very little effort.
Alexia froze him again. Teamed up with Cali, it was easier. With a flick of Alexia’s finger, a shimmery ball of slightly yellow dust peeled away. Cali opened a portal and it was gone. Blaine’s cries of agony from behind the ice made Alexia smile. It was like Blaine’s powers created a layered shell of protection around him and Cali could peel away thin strips. Once he was free of the ice, fire exploded all around him.
He threw a fireball at Leland and knocked him down.
“Leland?” Alexia called.
“I’m good,” he called from somewhere behind her.
Blaine roared with laughter and Gregory charged him. Blaine’s eyes widened with surprise as the other man sank a knife into his chest. For a moment, Blaine looked hurt. The w
ind paused as he stared at the blade. Then he pushed Gregory away with awesome force, a shock wave following him as he smashed into a tree and fell limp to the ground. A branch fell from the tree and landed on top of him, crushing his right arm and leg with a sickening crunch.
“Shit, shit, shit,” Alexia said under her breath as she watched Blaine pull the knife from his own chest.
He took it out slowly, watching her as he did. There was a theatrical glint in his eyes. He didn’t wince. He didn’t look at the wound. He wasn’t in pain. The hole closed almost immediately, though the tear and blood stayed on his shirt.
He raised his eyebrow and threw the knife at her. His throw was horribly aimed and Alexia heard it skid across the ground.
Leland rushed toward Gregory and Alexia grabbed Cali’s hand. The two of them started backing up, but Blaine focused on them. She watched him point at Cali and she crumpled to Alexia had a second to react.
“Cali!”
Leland was still with Gregory far away. She risked a glance at Cali and though blood trickled from her nose, she looked otherwise unharmed. Her chest was still rising and falling with regular breathing.
Alexia had to do something or Blaine would finish them off. As if he had read her mind, he pushed a tree over and it fell her way. Alexia rolled clear of it, summoning wind to stop it from falling on Cali. She only managed to push it a couple of inches. The trunk didn’t land on Cali, but some thick and heavy branches did. She would be hurt, but she hadn’t been crushed.
Something sparked in Alexia. She wasn’t sure where it came from. The thought just floated into her head. Weakness. Simple weakness. His stolen abilities made Blaine powerful, but not strong. He was not physically powerful. He could heal, sure, but he couldn’t physically overpower her.
Lightning sparked down all around her and she had to dance out of its way. She’d used a similar trick earlier, and it annoyed her that Blaine had powers like hers. She tried to move closer to Leland, and from the corner of her eye, she could see he was trying to move to her. Blaine walked backward up the stairs and, once again, entered the dark space between the trees. Alexia followed him with Leland close on her heels. Alexia dropped a hailstorm on Blaine and he winced when the first stones hit his head, but whipped up some wind that blocked the rest from falling on him.
Last Time She Died Page 24