Feel the Burn

by MacDonald, Nicole

  ‘We thought we’d walk to the ships,’ Rumal explained when everyone turned back. ‘Any survivors will likely need healing and the girls can do that.’

  He looked expectantly at Alek for approval, as their leader, and Alek nodded.

  ‘Sounds good.’

  Kassie squeezed Rumal’s hand while they walked and he stroked the back of hers with his thumb. She twisted, flicking a glance Tomiar’s way but had to look ahead again, her throat tight.

  It didn’t seem real yet, or even possible. But glancing back to see the lock of black hair fluttering like a ribbon in the breeze against the griffon’s back made it horribly so. Sabyn walked with Alek, beside Tomiar, and both men looked solemn but the expression of absolute loss in Sabyn’s eyes caused tears to flow silently down her cheeks. Rumal’s hand squeezed hers when she sniffed and he tugged her closer. Kassie wrapped an arm around his back, eyes unseeing where they walked, while she relived that awful moment in Jenviet’s castle.

  That sound and the sensation. Kassie shuddered and closed her eyes but it stayed there in her mind, replaying the moment when the darkness enveloped Loi’s green light and obliterated the link between the four of them.

  Going back without her, it’s just wrong! The tears fell faster when she tried, even for a moment, to imagine life without Loi in it.

  A sudden swell in the air and a shout of alarm from Alek made the two drop hands and run to Loushka’s side, as Sabyn and Alek yanked the ties loose on Cat. Alek threw the shrieking, but still unconscious girl, over a shoulder and raced away from the group with Kassie running after him. She flicked a shield around Cat when Alek lay her down and backed away.

  A weird dark energy crackled out from Cat again, quite different to Cat’s normal brilliant red. This energy looked harsh and just wrong! Kassie waited while it built in strength and cringed when Cat’s back arched and she gave another awful pain-filled shriek before an energy wave snapped out, reverberating off the sides of the shield Kassie held in place. After the outburst Cat calmed, appearing to sleep. Alek gathered her into his arms, his face pale. The distraught look in his eyes when he met Kassie’s, made her swallow hard. After seeing Cat tied back on Loushka, Kassie walked to where Rumal and Kerak waited and the group continued.

  Any improvement? Sian thought to Kassie, concerned at her friend’s expression.

  Not yet. It’s not good, Sianny.

  I know.

  Neither of them spoke but their link flickered with images of Loi and Cat, sorrow and fear tinting the images gray.

  We can’t lose them both.

  Sian’s stomach ached at Kassie’s despair.

  We just need to keep her strong enough to get to Elena. At least we can heal her body.

  But it does nothing! It’s the inside that’s kill—

  Don’t think it! We’ll get her back. Somehow.

  Sian cut the conversation off there, refusing to entertain the awful possibility and focused on the path. Navigating the course Loi created when she collapsed the valley challenged them all and only made Sian think more of her dark haired friend. She squeezed her eyes shut for a minute, willing the tears away.

  It’s never going to be the same without you, Loi.

  A distraction in the form of two injured goblins and a centaur provided some relief from the grief, for her, Kassie, and for Alek, the man insisting on boosting their energy. Sian didn’t need a boost to her energy now, the sheer strength of it still overwhelmed her, but Alek’s golden light did sooth and it gave an instant of pure joy when it synced with her energy. The allies looked astonished to see Alek, gaping at him the whole time Sian and Kassie worked at healing them. The group continued on, settling down when it grew dark and Sian slept in Daron’s arms, between Sito and Nesha.

  The pattering of rain on Loushka’s wing lightened and Cat whimpered. In the dark Alek rolled onto his side, leaning over her and brushed a hand gently across her forehead and hair. Any sound she made wrenched him out of sleep, no matter how deep, and exhaustion combined with worry kept trying to drag him back down. He could feel she still burned hot and he tried again, letting his gold energy smooth over her while gently stroking her hair.

  ‘Kitten, love, can you hear me?’

  She made no obvious response, just the restless smacking of lips and he reached for the damp rag, keeping his energy bright enough to see to wet her lips. She murmured at the touch of the cloth, her closed eyes twitching.

  He kept dreaming of when she found him in the dark; the joy and terror at seeing her there. The weeks of torture, of being Jenviet’s plaything while she experimented with various ways to extract his energy, it all seemed worth it when Cat arrived. He could hear her voice broken with tears and that kiss, her gorgeous energy calling his up. The feel of her in his arms had been a constant fantasy during the long cold nights.

  ‘There’s so many things I want to show you, kitten,’ he whispered to her but again received no response. A tense, desperate sensation built in the pit of his gut but Alek kept it in check. Kissing Cat’s forehead he lay down beside her, an arm wrapped over her so their fingers touched, and tried to doze off. Morning seemed to take forever to come and he blinked in surprise at the light when Loushka stood up. The griffon nuzzled at his head and then Cat’s.

  ‘Morning, Al.’

  ‘Morning, Loushka,’ he thought and sat up, reaching to rub her beak. The griffon’s eyes regarded him warmly and she gently rubbed her beak against his head again.

  ‘So glad we found you, Al.’

  Cat whimpered and they both looked to her. She looked flushed but when she whimpered the color vanished for a moment before flushing back. Alek stared while his stomach clenched and he groaned quietly, scrubbing both hands over his face. Loushka watched Cat, tail flicking back and forth while the griffon studied her. The rest of the group started to get up and Loushka lay down when Alek scooped Cat into his arms. Strapping her carefully to the saddle, he pulled away and glanced at Loushka.

  ‘She’ll pull through, Al,’ Loushka thought confidently.

  He attempted a smile through the looming despair.

  ‘I hope so.’

  *~*~*

  Chapter Forty One

  Phroma and Gredel led the group along one of the narrower earth bridges that remained. They’d found another twenty five allies and it wasn’t yet midday. Movement in a dip ahead caught Phroma’s eye and she stiffened, Gredel freezing too.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Not sure,’ the griffon replied and they edged closer. A mass of rocks blocked the path ahead and Phroma rose up on her hind legs to peek over.

  ‘DUCK!’

  The griffon flattened herself while uttering a shrill warning cry and all those behind them moved into defensive positions when a number of urothos and elgrids charged over the rocks. Gredel wrenched his sword from its sheath and let loose a yell while running forward. He caught an elgrid in the shoulder and brought it to its knees before finishing it off with a quick thrust. Alek and Sabyn flashed past and he paused to watch with a grin, the cousins working together as a team to dispatch several more creatures.

  Phroma barely blinked when a roaring urotho charged at her with a battle axe. The griffon casually snapped a wing out and sent the troll hurtling off the earth bridge with a shocked shriek. Those at the back of their group didn’t even get a chance to fight, leaving a couple of the goblins complaining bitterly while Rumal and Daron laughed. Alek and Sabyn walked back, both looking a little less tense.

  ‘A skirmish always lightens the mood,’ Phroma thought in a hopeful tone.

  Gredel nodded and they continued leading the group along.

  ‘True.’

  They hadn’t got far when Cat started to scream again and the bizarre routine began. The scramble by Alek and whoever happened to be close to get Cat off Loushka, then Alek raced past with Sian hot on his heels, arms glowing blue and she threw a shield up around the screaming girl.

  It sickened him to watch and he turned away when the scre
ams grew higher while Cat’s body contorted in agony. The pasty faces of those behind him, still watching, looked ill and Gredel swallowed, tasting bile. No one openly acknowledged just how wrong this was. No fever or sickness Gredel had ever seen before did this, like something tortured Cat from the inside out. He heard the muffled pop, Sian concealing the explosion and after a minute or so Alek walked past, Cat floppy and pale in his arms her eyes fluttering and lips working. Any release of tension for Alek looked long gone, the man’s face taut with despair, echoing Sabyn’s now permanent expression.

  The tension amongst the group made Gredel’s skin prickle and he waited for Alek to get Cat strapped in again before leading the group forward. Phroma walked beside him, making a soft sound of distress and he reached to pat her neck.

  By the third evening it got worse. Alek flinched when Cat’s voice broke into his mind for the umpteenth time that day.

  Help, please HELP!

  Her voice vanished just as quickly and a shudder ran through his shoulders. The link between them didn’t open—her voice just somehow got into his mind then, ‘poof’, disappeared.

  ‘Happened again,’ he thought to Loushka.

  The griffon’s head swiveled to look at him, eyes tense.

  ‘Still can’t respond?’

  Alek shook his head, lips pressed flat and shoulders aching with tension. At the front of the group Gredel halted and everyone moved out to set up camp. No longer in the valley, they had more choice for the scant meals put together and Rumal, Daron, Leseach, and others ducked off to hunt food while those remaining created a fire pit. Kassie, with the aid of a Medanga centaur and goblins, gathered soft bushy branches to create bedding. Loushka lowered to the ground and Sian came to help him unbuckle Cat from the saddle.

  ‘Kitty cat,’ she sang in a light voice, the deep frown line marring her forehead betrayed her concern when she leaned over her friend, gently touching a pale cheek before looking up to Alek.

  ‘She’s worse.’

  Alek gave a grim nod and scooped Cat up.

  ‘I know.’

  Sian blew her breath out in a low whistle while following him to where he’d set a bed up. When he lowered Cat to the sleeping mat her voice broke into his mind, so loud he almost dropped her.

  HELP!

  Shaken, Alek sat back on his heels then looked at Sian. The expression of horror on her face made him go still.

  ‘Did you hear that too?’ At her nod he asked, ‘Have you heard it earlier today?’

  Sian frowned.

  ‘No, has she done that before?’

  ‘A few times. Just today.’

  While they discussed it a verbal sound from Cat caught their attention.

  Sian stared in confusion at Cat, who glowed. The color wasn’t like Cat’s normal red, but a dark shade with hints of red and it didn’t trigger Sian’s energy like it should. Cat’s eyes snapped open and Sian leaned forward with Alek then felt her mouth go dry. Cat’s eyes rolled back, only the whites showing, and a vicious smile spread over her lips. Alek reacted in an instant, grabbing Sian by the waist and heaving her back out the way when a black energy pulse snapped out. She hit the ground hard and heard a strangely familiar cackle. Boots pounded past her head and Sian coughed, spitting out the dirt in her mouth. She sat up shaking her head and blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the rubbish in her eyes and looked for Cat. Her eyes watered profusely but she made out Sabyn leaning over Alek, shaking him and calling his name. Kassie stood near Cat, shielding her.

  And the sounds!

  Awful sadistic laughter and shrieks bubbled out from Cat’s mouth, her body jerking while more of those nasty black pulses ripped out from her. Sian’s vision darkened before she realized she hyperventilated, so caught up in the horror of the scene before her.

  Then it stopped.

  Cat’s body flopped to the mat and Sian heard the sound of quiet sobbing. Alek, helped to his feet by Sabyn, lunged to Cat’s side and Sian got to her feet. A hand caught her arm when she tried to move and she looked up in surprise.

  Daron’s brown eyes looked hard while he stared at Cat, then he glanced down.

  ‘Careful, Pix,’ he warned. ‘She’s not what she seems.’

  Kassie released the shield from around the sobbing girl and Alek reached for Cat’s hand, heart pounding while he stared into her bloodshot green eyes.

  ‘Cat?’ he asked tentatively.

  ‘Al,’ she croaked and rolled onto her side toward him, sobs shuddering through her body. ‘You’ve got to help me, I don’t know if I can stop her. She’s killing me.’

  Fear streaked through his bones when right before his eyes she changed again, eyes rolling back to whites and her hand clenched his tight, nails digging in while a nasty sneer spread over her face.

  ‘Little prince,’ mocked Jenviet’s voice. ‘Will you still love her once she’s gone? This body is mine. Your pathetic excuse of a princess won’t last much longer and I will reign this world in her body! Nothing will prev—‘

  The face twisted with a shriek, cutting the possessing witch’s tirade short and Cat’s body jerked up and down, like a puppet on strings before Cat’s angry voice broke through.

  ‘Go to hell you raving bitch!’

  Alek leaned over her, her hand to his chest while he shouted.

  ‘Hold on, Cat! HOLD ON!’

  Cat’s ruby light flashed out, knocking those behind him flat and Alek felt a surge of triumph for an instant before she slumped back down, eyes rolling back. He let out a yell when the nails sunk into his chest.

  ‘Is that the best you can do, princess?’ hissed Jenviet’s voice, seething with fury. ‘Don’t interrupt you pitiful worm, nothing can stop me!’

  Alek jolted in shock when he realized the other two Elementals stood beside him and scrambled to the other side of Cat, out of their way.

  ‘DeNaga,’ roared a voice like a typhoon and Alek gaped at the Air Elemental, knowing Kassie stood within the swirling mass of energy. ‘You WILL release her.’

  Jenviet’s smoky dark energy swelled out from Cat and that hideous laugh that had haunted him for months cackled at the demand. Alek’s own energy hummed within and he shielded himself, using the gold energy to hold to the ground beside Cat’s body when Jenviet released a wave of harsh dark energy. Those who’d just gathered their feet after being knocked down by Cat’s energy were thrown down again. The Water Elemental hummed an instant before she released a massive torrent at Cat. It took all his strength to stay rooted to the spot by Cat, the weight of the water crushingly strong.

  Al, I need your help. I can’t do this alone.

  Cat’s voice sounded weak in his mind. Then Jenviet cackled out loud when Sian’s attack abated.

  ‘You can’t harm me, I’m one of you now,’ the voice reminded the glowering Elementals. Something happened and the girls suddenly reappeared, their energy vanishing, and they clutched their heads, screaming, and fell to the ground in obvious agony. Rumal and Daron reached their sides an instant later but could do nothing more than hold each girls’ wrists when they raked at their faces and heads with clawed hands, the shrieks hitting ear shattering heights.

  ‘Alek! Do something!’ Rumal roared while he wrestled with Kassie, fighting to keep her hands from her face.

  The terrified faces staring at him, willing him to do something, fanned his energy while a choking sense of frantic desperation rose.

  I don’t know how, Alek thought in despair, staring at Cat’s pale face. How am I meant to fight something inside of her?

  Al, please.

  The whisper in his mind and the glimpse of Cat’s green eyes before they rolled back and the witch possessed her again, spurred him to try the impossible. He heard the sound of revulsion from those watching when he scooped a hand beneath the head that ranted and threatened, shrieking obscenities as the witch appeared to realize his intent. Closing his eyes and shielding against the blows of energy she railed against him, Alek focused, trying to remember exactly what Cat h
ad done to call his energy up when he’d sat there in the castle so close to death. The gold energy rose at his command and shimmered across his skin. Opening his eyes he stared grimly into the witch’s gaze while she screamed, at such a pitch those watching clapped their hands over their ears.

  ‘Hold on, kitten,’ he growled, his energy glowing brighter.

  The body struggled against him when he lifted it and the hands seized his hair, tearing at his scalp while it battled to prevent his next actions. With his lips humming Alek pressed his mouth to Cat’s, forcing the kiss and his energy through the choking dark aura that clutched her tight.

  The caterwauling shriek scraping the insides of her skull vanished and Kassie sat up, swaying at the sudden silence and looked at Alek embracing Cat. The dark haired man’s energy started to resonate in gold waves, his outline shimmering and before Kassie could blink a shockwave exploded out from the couple, flinging her over the rough ground. Her head connected with something solid and it all went black.

  Sometime later Kassie woke.

  Both her body and head rang with pain and she blinked, wincing at the sensation. Both eyelids felt like they’d been sandpapered on the inside. The action of blinking sounded shockingly loud against the thumping of her head and her stomach lurched. Twisting to the side she retched, throwing up the contents of her stomach, then tipped onto her back with a moan, closing both eyes again. Being sick didn’t improve the pain in her head and she cried out quietly when the thumping increased, her skull feeling like it might separate. Reaching within, Kassie discovered her energy scattered throughout her body in odd little ringing chunks of amber and she focused on breathing while coaxing those glowing spots back to the area behind her heart. Once all the pieces merged, the pounding in her skull abated and Kassie pushed up to sitting with a sigh of relief. Blinking, she looked around and saw everyone had been thrown about, though no one else stirred yet. Alek lay awkwardly a few meters from Cat and Kassie made her way to him, discovering blood matting his hair. With a grunt of effort she heaved him over. His eyes fluttered when she patted each cheek gently.