Tucker hacked through two more guards, but another sliced open his arm. Blood sprayed outward as I lifted my palms, and two thick beams of lightning erupted from them.
Bracing my feet apart, I yelled as the lightning poured out of me in a torrent meant to destroy everyone and everything in its path. The steady stream, the likes of which I’d never unleashed before, cut down all the men and women charging at us.
An endless flow of them poured from the portal, but my lightning felt as endless. I didn’t know how much longer it would last, but I didn’t detect any weakening in the stream.
Cryton screamed as he sliced through more guards. Then one of them caught his blade and grasped it in her hand. Her grip on the blade had to hurt as blood poured from her closed palm, but she succeeded in yanking it away from the poltergeist.
Cryton screeched as he flew at the woman with his fists flailing, but the poltergeists were almost useless without a weapon. His hands did not affect the woman.
Beside me, Tucker yelped and went to one knee. My heart clenched as more of his blood flew into the air.
Not like this! I can’t lose him like this!
We’d been through far too much together. He was more than my best friend; he was the brother I never had, and his loss would devastate me.
Turning, I moved my steady stream of lightning toward the guards crawling over Tucker, but as I shifted my attention, something smashed into the back of my head. Stars exploded before my eyes, my tongue shot out, and I couldn’t bring it back into my mouth as gibberish words blubbered from me.
I had no idea what had happened, but I lost all control of my muscles as I fell to my knees. I shook my head, or at leastI believed I was, but maybe my vision was blurring without movement.
I struggled not to blackout as I knelt on the ground.Am I kneeling?
I couldn’t stop the strange sounds coming from me, and my tongue felt five times too big for my mouth. Seeing wasn’t possible as my vision filled with white light and then blackness before switching back again.
Then I felt something cool against my wrists, and what little lightning I still produced vanished in an instant. The click of the manacles closing barely registered over the fading screams of the dying.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Ellery
I frozein the middle of skinning the deer I’d taken down with my arrow. Blood coated my knife as I lifted it away from the animal and sat on my heels to study the forest.
I didn’t know why, but my heart raced as the compulsion to jump up and run gripped me. But run where?
My mouth went dry as a strange sense of panic descended over me. But I had no idea where the panic came from or why.
Did I hear something I didn’t realize I’d heard?
My gaze flitted around the trees as I returned my dagger to its sheath before placing my hands on the ground. If something burst out of the trees, I’d hit it with a wave of thunder that would send it flying.
The beat of my heart didn’t ease as I waited for something to erupt out of the forest, but the woods remained still. More than that, the birds continued singing like they didn’t have a care in the world, and the others hadn’t noticed my strange reaction as they kept watch while they believed I still worked.
Trying to understand what was happening to me, I rose and turned in a small circle to survey the cluster of trees around us. Despite not seeing signs of anything treacherous lurking nearby, I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that something waswrong.
My hands trembled as I lifted my fingers to my temple and felt my pulse pounding through there. The crisp November air was cool against my exposed skin, but my deerskin cloak was warm. However, it wasn’t warm enough for this overwhelming, heated rush flooding my body.
Then, from deep within my soul, something tugged on my power, drawing it forth to unleash something magnificent, but it didn’t come fromme. A small breath escaped as I tipped my head back to see through the evergreens towering above us.
The trees blocked much of the sun, but I had to see through them. I had toknow. Only one other could have caused such a thing to happen within me…Ryker.
“Are you okay?”
I heard the question and knew it came from Mr. Fletcher, but I didn’t have the words to answer it. Was I okay?
No. No, I wasn’t.
We were safe here, we’d taken down three deer, and though it was cold, it was a beautiful, sunny day. Yet, I was hot, scared, and Ryker was still pulling on the power we shared.
I was safe…hewasn’t. Despite the beauty and tranquility of this day, I knew it with absolute certainty.
