by Ava Hardy
“Gaia gave it to me. She said to only use it when it was really needed. Well...Blake needs it.” I stepped away from the bag and moved towards Blake, who was still unconscious against the tree. I opened his hand and rested the disk in his palm. Holding my breath, I hit the green button and moved my hand back quickly. A second later, a light colored dome formed over Blake. It looked like he was in the middle of a bubble that some kid just blew out of one of those brightly colored wands.
“She said it was called the ring of protection,” I said as I stood by Chris, our eyes glued to our friend. “She said it was similar to the thing the Elder has around his house. We were permitted to enter but the only way anything could enter now is if Blake wakes up and turns it off.”
Chris didn’t say anything. I turned my head to look at him, wondering if he was upset that I didn’t tell him about it.
“I wasn’t allowed to say anything about it,” I stated, trying to explain.
He nodded and glanced at me with a little smile. “I understand. Gaia is big on secrets like that. It can be frustrating at times, but you just have to trust that she has a reason for it all. Let me put this bag with the other one and then we can try to find the element, yeah?”
It was my turn to nod and as soon as I did, Chris jogged back to where he had put the bag. Some fallen fern fronds were placed back on top before he rejoined me near Blake. I let out a deep breath as I looked at the dark-haired man, wishing he would wake up.
“He’ll be alright,” Chris reassured me, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He placed a kiss against my head and then rested his nose against my hair. “Ready to go kick some Defender ass?”
I turned my head to look into his eyes, admiring him in the darkness for a second. “You better believe it,” I answered wholeheartedly.
His hand took mine, our fingers lacing together, and we headed back down the path towards the large fallen tree. Right before we stepped into the clearing, Chris gave me a kiss. It might be the last one we’d ever share. There was a heaviness weighing in my heart that none of us would come out of this alive, but that didn’t mean we were going down easy.
My eyes stayed on Chris’s face and my heart fluttered. I wanted to express how I felt about him. I wanted him to know that I loved him, just in case something happened. I hesitated. He was pulling me out to the clearing, telling me to get ready. He let go of my hand and turned to survey the area and I knew the moment was gone.
I prayed that we made it out of there alive.
Chapter 17
The thumping in my ears was getting louder. I had to remind myself to breathe. There were screeches in the distance that caused goosebumps to rise all over my skin. Every now and then, the ferns would rustle but I couldn’t see anything.
Chris kept turning his head, surveying the area. His eyes focused, his posture set. He was ready to battle.
The anticipation was wearing on me. I could feel the tension building in my shoulders. It caused an ache that screamed for a massage but it would have to wait. Everything had to wait. Waiting for what? I wasn’t sure. Something was going to happen soon though, I could feel it.
For a moment, I thought about turning my head to say something to Chris. Just as I began to take my eyes off of the bushes in front of me, trees started to snap with a loud crash as they were forced to the ground. Ferns, bushes and anything else in the way of this invisible wall were flattened. All Chris and I could do was step back as quickly as possible. We were pushed to the tree line behind us. The clearing now in front of us remained empty.
Letting out the breath I was holding, I brought my hands up and prepared for whatever was in the trees. Something massive had just paved a road for themselves and I was scared to find out exactly what it was. If I had to guess, the big guy. The one that we needed to kill. My eyes shifted around, staring into the darkness. My nerves were on edge and I thought about shouting to the trees. I wanted him to show his face, get this over with. It would be an idiotic move. Who knew what Chris would do and it most likely would sign our death warrant. That was if the Dark Defender understood English. Maybe he would pick up on my tone and react.
Before my imagination got too far away from me, the deepest rumble I ever felt shook the ground under my feet. I reached out to grab Chris’s arm, afraid that I might fall over. The rumbling was followed by an even deeper sound. It wasn’t coming from the ground. It was coming from something. Something buried deep within the woods in front of us. We both stared into it, waiting.
Sweat was dripping down the side of my face and my feet started to feel numb from the vibrations in the ground. I was reaching the point where I thought about going down the trail to try and find solid ground. Before I could move, the rumbling stopped. The deep groan-like roar sound continued for another minute and then the air was silent. Eerily so. No bugs were buzzing around, no screeches in the distance. Nothing.
I shifted my eyes from side to side. All five senses were at full alert. Thump, thump, thump. My heart returned to filling my ears, and I took a deep breath to try and calm down. I took a chance and closed my eyes for a second as I tried to find a way to focus. As I slowly opened my eyes, the ground started to rumble again but this time it was different. A thousand or more things were hitting the dirt. It was a stampede of feet, hoofs, and claws. Suddenly the darkness before us was filled with hundreds of snarling teeth, the glow of Defenders’ eyes trained on us and I wanted to scream.
“We got this!” Chris reminded me, shouting over the sound. All I could do was nod.
Moving together, Chris and I met with the Defenders in the middle of the clearing. Their snarls were louder than the screeches of the last batch. I ignored them, thought about Blake. I thought about Chris. I thought about spending time with them after this was over. Nothing was going to stop me from spending time with them and experience what it was like to make love. No way was I going to let some creepy shadows keep that from me.
I put up both hands and let out a growl of my own as light traveled from all of my fingers. I kept it going, screaming in frustration, and moving my hands to take out the whole row in front of me. At least fifty Defenders exploded in the air, their dark pieces vanishing quickly.
Chris looked over at me and grinned. “That was incredible, Kiera!”
He took a moment to lean over and kiss my lips before we went back to work. Together, we were able to finish off most of the Defenders that remained. There were only a few left when we heard that deep rumble resonate from the earth again, followed by the low growl. I stopped fighting and glanced up when I saw movement. Stepping back with wide eyes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The dark shadow stood as tall as the trees; its head caused the tops to sway. The ground sank a few inches under its feet and branches snapped as its arms moved as it came closer to us. Swallowing hard, my mind struggled to come up with ideas on how we were going to take on this monster.
Chris was back at my side. His eyes stayed on the Dark Defender as he spoke. “You need to use both of your hands again. Go up and down him, over and over for as long as you can. I have an idea but he has to stay where he is. No matter what, do not take your focus off of him. Okay?”
My eyes were also on the tall creature and I nodded. Somehow, I was going to keep him from coming towards us or shifting from side to side. This should be simple. I kept telling myself that but I didn’t know how true it was. Positive thinking. That was turning out to be my mantra for this journey.
I rolled my head around, getting a few kinks out of my neck as I watched the Dark Defender take another step towards us. It was getting closer and I could feel the dead air that surrounded it. A chill swept over me and a shiver went down my spine. Along with the dead air, there was a smell of death that seemed to roll off of the beast. However long it had been defending the element, wherever it had been hiding, it seemed to come off of him in layers. I tried to breathe through my nose, trying to keep the scent away from me for as long as possible.
“Kiera!” Chr
is’s shouts pulled my attention to him and I watched as he stood close to the tree line. He was in the direct path of the Dark Defender. What the hell was he doing?
“Now!” His command brought my hands up and I sent two steams of white energy at the Dark Defender. A loud roar filled the forest when the large shadow was hit and it stumbled back a little but then pushed forward with anger. I concentrated on going up and down the creature as Chris instructed, wishing I could look away. I wanted to see what Chris was doing.
In my peripheral vision, I could see things moving. Dirt was rising up from the ground; I felt it brush against my cheeks. I could smell it all around me. I struggled with keeping my focus, but I bit my lower lip and brought my hands down to bring the energy across his chest. Each second that passed that I was sending energy towards the creature’s body, the less I had for myself. I had never noticed it before but after several minutes of straight shooting, I could tell that I was starting to lag. Gritting my teeth, I focused even harder and demanded that my body keep going.
I found myself in a trancelike state, so focused and in tune to what was going on I no longer noticed the dirt as it swirled around. A large creaking sound snapped me out of my daze and I noticed a deep crack in the center of the clearing. It jetted towards the Dark Defender like a lightning bolt. My eyes went to Chris, seeing him on his knees with his arms out. His back was arched and it looked like he was yelling but I didn’t hear anything.
For a moment, I was lost in watching Chris. A thump shook the ground and the Defender had managed to take a step towards Chris. I put my hands back up, fearing that I had just cost him his life. The energy left my fingertips and pushed the shadow backwards. I wanted to feel relief, but I knew it was too soon. We weren’t done yet.
The crack got larger a few minutes later and I could hear Chris. He was saying something that I couldn’t make out, the Dark Defender’s roars were deafening. The dirt continued to swirl around and once again, the crack in the earth opened up. I had sweat dripping down my forehead, near my eyes but I couldn’t wipe it away. My arms were burning. I didn’t dare move them. I had to keep the creature in place. I had to keep Chris safe. It would be over soon, I kept telling myself.
We worked together for twenty minutes before the ground opened up a little more and I noticed the Defender wobble a little. My breathing was becoming erratic as I used all of my energy to conjure up the right emotions. I didn’t know how much longer I would be able to keep this up, and yet I couldn’t think of anything else to do. Pulling my hands down a little, I let the energy drag over the lower abdomen and it made the shadow wobble a little more. Feeling hopeful, I shot my hands up and sent the energy to the creature’s shoulders. The quick shift made it wobble even more so I pulled down again. Over and over, I kept moving my hands up and down. I closed my eyes, exhaustion threatening to take over and force me to sleep. Somehow, I managed to open my eyes just enough to see what I was doing and with one more pass of my hands, the Dark Defender lost its balance. It screamed as it started to fall backwards and between the crack in the earth.
Chris dropped his hands and fell back as the Dark Defender disappeared. As soon as Chris’s back hit the dirt in the clearing, the crack disappeared and the forest returned to normal. Birds chirped, bugs buzzed, and I collapsed to the ground. My eyes closed as soon as my head landed on a patch of moss.
“Kiera....Kiera...” Chris’s voice and the pat of his hand on my cheek caused my eyes to open slightly.
“Hmm,” I mumbled groggily, peering up at Chris’s face.
“Wake up, sweetheart. We need to get the element and get out of here.” Chris helped me sit up and then to my feet. “Help me look around for it.”
I stretched out my arms, glancing around as I willed my body to wake up. My eyes went over different bushes and I stopped to lift up some rocks. As happy as I was that we defeated the Dark Defender and the hundreds of other Defenders, it felt like we were searching for a needle in a haystack. The element could be anywhere. I walked across the clearing and searched near another fern. Lifting my eyes, I scanned the area and then noticed the large tree that was still hanging in what seemed like mid-air. That thing should have come down with all the other trees when the Dark Defender came through. Tipping my head to the side, I studied it for a moment. Something was off about it.
“What about this tree? Could the element be inside?” I asked, glancing over at Chris and pointing towards it.
Chris came over, studying the large tree for a moment. He walked away from me and went through the bushes so he was closer to it. I watched him approach the tree before I followed after him. Once I got beside him, I looked up at the massive tree. I had never seen anything in nature so big before. It was breathtaking.
“It should have come down when the D.D. came through,” I pointed out and Chris nodded in agreement. He walked around, examining the tree, and discovered there was no real way to get on top of it or to even touch it.
I moved to lean against another tree, feeling my legs go a little weak. Rubbing my eyes, I let out a little yawn and glanced back up at the tree. “I might be able to hit it with some energy.”
Chris looked over at me. I could see his wheels turning. There was a chance I could destroy the element but at the same time, how else would we get it? “Do you think you have enough energy?”
I nodded and stepped away from the tree I was using to prop myself up. I moved so I was standing a little ways away from the large tree but in the middle. I wanted a direct path. Raising my hand, I took a deep breath and pulled every emotion I needed to the pit of my stomach. Light shot out of my fingertips and the bark flew all over, hitting us in the face. The blast was enough to send me onto my back. I didn’t bother getting up, my body protesting the movement.
Chris rushed to me and I told him I was fine. “I feel like a wet noodle right now,” I complained a bit, managing to sit up. “Did you see if the element was inside?”
He looked at me for a moment. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for injuries or just wanting to look at me, but he finally gave me a soft kiss and then went back to where most of the tree pieces had fallen. He searched for a long time, turning over every piece that he found. I got more tired and scooted over so I could lean against another tree. I closed my eyes for a few minutes when I heard a loud shout of excitement. My eyes slowly opened and I saw Chris holding up a faint green rectangular cube. In a flash, he was rushing towards me and picked me up into his arms. I hugged him back and smiled.
“We did it,” he whispered softly against my ear. “We did it!”
Chris carried me back to the clearing, having me hold tightly onto the element. It was hard, like a piece of wood, but made out of something I had never seen before. Resting my head against his shoulder, I held onto the element as tightly as I could and closed my eyes.
It didn’t take long to get back to where Blake was still sitting. He was just starting to wake up when Chris put me down beside him. The protective bubble was gone, but I saw the disk still in his hand.
It was painful to see him in the state he was in but at least he appeared to be doing a little better. I glanced at Chris, wishing that there was something I could do.
“Do you think you’ve got enough energy to shift?” Chris asked and Blake nodded his head.
Taking a step back, Chris and I gave him some room. He moved onto all fours before his body shifted to take on his wolf form, his tear away clothes falling to the ground. His wounds began to heal with each passing minute and when it was complete, Blake let out a howl.
Chris laughed and shook his head, glancing down at me. I couldn’t help but smile.
Just as quickly as he had shifted, Blake was back to looking like a human. As he got dressed, I kept my eyes on Chris but then felt Blake’s arms wrap around him in a tight hug. I looked at his face happily and he gave me a sweet kiss.
“I was willing to give up the element if it meant you were okay,” I whispered to him, giving him a little extra squee
ze.
“I know,” he whispered back. “But you got it?! Let’s see it.”
I picked up the element from where it was beside me and handed it to Blake. “Chris and I have decided that next time we go against a Dark Defender, you’re taking care of it on your own.”
Chris laughed and shook his head as he went to get the backpacks.
“If you can do that with the earth. I want to see what he does with water,” I shouted to Chris, watching him carrying both bags back to where we were.
“What did he do?” Blake asked curiously, looking between us.
“Tell him on the trail. It’s already midnight. We’re hiking out. Blake, you have Kiera duty,” Chris ordered as he worked on condensing the backpacks as much as possible so he could carry them both easily.
“What is Kiera duty?” Blake asked, frowning a little. He looked at me and I shrugged, having no idea what Chris was talking about.
“She can barely walk. Treat her like you saved her from a fire and let’s go,” Chris smirked. “You’ve been sitting there resting for hours. I know you have fresh legs.”