TWENTY-NINE
Avery heard a whistle and the dragons carrying her and Hannah changed directions. They flew toward a human and were unceremoniously dropped at the person’s feet. Avery had felt this person before. It was the same hate and anger that came from the person who caused the avalanche.
The person threw her hood back and laughed. Okay, Avery thought, either the female was clearly insane, or homicidal. Maybe both.
Avery helped Hannah to her feet, brushing snow from their coats and pants. Avery took a step back, holding on to Hannah’s hand.
“Not so fast, little humans,” the witch said. “I’m here specifically to get you.”
“Us?” Avery said, trying quickly to get away.
“Stop!” the witch yelled, “or I’ll have to restrain you. Would you like to be lashed to a tree, naked for the world to see?”
The girls froze in their tracks. That idea didn’t appeal to Avery that much. Suddenly a hand was on her shoulder, sending a jolt of pain through her body, taking her to her knees. Hannah experienced the same.
“Now, you annoying pathetic empaths, stay right here and watch your mates die.” She laughed. “It will be most entertaining.”
Horribly entertaining, Avery thought. She watched as dragon after dragon bit, clawed, breathed fire, and beat the one she loved. Red slowly leached into the white snow around him, growing wider every minute. She could feel Jae’s agony, his spirit was giving up.
She wanted to yell at him to not give up. Even if he thought she was dead, he needed to push on.
Then from over the trees, a huge dragon appeared. Was this Tor? Yes, somehow, she knew it was him. His timing couldn’t have been better. Tor flew toward his brothers to help, but another black dragon blindsided Tor. They twirled in the air, falling toward the ground at incredible speed.
The two fighting beasts bit and clawed at each other as they plunged through the air, occasionally breaking apart to gain altitude, only to lunge at each other again. Avery felt uneasy as the fighting duo got closer and closer to her and Hannah. Almost directly overhead, Tor whipped his head around the other dragon and bit a chunk out of his neck. The other dragon pushed away and tried to fly, but his wings didn’t fully open. He fell like a stone in a lake.
Screaming, she and Hannah scrambled different directions as the behemoth slammed into the ground, knocking the women off their feet. The witch held her hands toward Avery.
Avery tried to scramble away, but there was no place to hide except the trees which were too far away. She prepared herself for a painful strike of power. Then a white ball of snow slapped the witch in the face. She screeched and Avery heard Hannah laughing.
Her friend had taken up a spot next to the unconscious dragon and started bombing the witch with snowballs. Like before at the baseball throwing game, her aim was dead on. With Hannah behind the massive dragon, the witch didn’t see her. Until the witch decided to make a close-up and personal attack on Hannah.
Avery jumped up and ran toward Hannah. The witch would likely kill Hannah for her intrusion on trying to kill her. All this death. Couldn’t everyone just go home and enjoy the weekend? Maybe get laid?
Avery was really close to Hannah when she realized the witch was coming for her friend. Hannah saw the woman coming for her and hightailed it around the downed creature, trying to stay out of a direct sight line.
Avery chose that moment to keep the witch away from Hannah. Her first thought was to tackle the witch. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but Sylvana was clearly not expecting it. She was busy eyeing Hannah.
Launching forward, Avery slapped her hands on the woman’s back and knocked her down. Avery’s unexpected tackle sent the witch rolling down the hill. She’d be back soon.
Sylvana disappeared down the hill, only to reappear several yards away from Avery and Hannah, a massively pissed off look on her face. Avery had made things worse.
“Avery?”
She glanced around, until she realized he was talking to her in her mind. “Jae?”
“The witch. She’s got us cornered.”
“Honey, you have to block her attacks.”
“How the hell?” Then she thought a second. “And how are you talking to me in my head?”
“Trust me. It’s good. Just block her attacks,” he repeated. “Think of a big glass dome over you.”
Lightning bolts formed in the witch’s hands, coming right for them, but they hit thin air and never got to them.
“What the fuck just happened?” Hannah asked.
“Jae said we have to mentally block her from hurting us. To imagine glass domes keeping her out and us safe.”
“I’ll try that, too,” Hannah said.
Another attack and nothing happened to either of them.
“What do we do now?”
“You girls need to center your power. Focus, both of you.”
“Who is this?” Avery asked in her mind.
“Do as she says,” Jae urged her.
“Oh my god,” Hannah screeched. “Someone’s talking in my head. Sounds like a woman.”
“Are you hearing the same thing I am?” Avery asked.
“Center your power and focus?”
“Yeah. That’s the one.” Avery frowned, her mind split between the dome keeping the witch’s massive attacks out, and the words from the woman. “How are we supposed to center our power?”
“Children. It’s a good thing I came when I did. Hold hands, both of you,” the woman said.
Avery and Hannah did as they were told.
“Now what?”
“Now, focus on the energy running through you. That bright white light you know lives inside you. That which gives you the abilities you have. Turn that energy into a big ball. Feel it grow massive inside you. Until it’s so big you can’t contain it.”
Avery’s temperature rose the more she did as the woman said. “Now find your target.”
They turned to look at the witch. She was angry, red fire burned in her eyes and continued attacked grew on the dome. She’d come closer to them, trying to break down their safe zone.
The dome wasn’t as steady as it had been. It wobbled with every hit it took from the witch.
“Once you have her in sights, feel your balls of energy shoot out and straight to your target. Send them hurling to her in your mind. See the energy hit her dead center of her chest.”
Avery and Hannah did as the woman said and watched, in awe, as white light shot from both of them like missiles, stabbing straight to the witch’s heart. She screamed as light came out of her eyes, mouth, and ears in bright waves, until she seemed to explode from the pressure of the light inside her. In a blink, she was gone.
“That’s how you do an energy counter attack,” said the woman in her head.
Before Avery could rationalize what took place, a shadow covered her. She looked over her shoulder to see a huge dragon she didn’t recognize scoop up Hannah then her in its claws. They were trapped and at the mercy of the beast wherever it chose to go.
To her surprise, the dragon nearly crash landed with them and rolled into a ball, its wings wrapped forward, covering the vulnerable underbelly and the claws they were held captive in.
A big number of Noir flew away in a rush, running from something. Something major was going on from what she could sense. The air around her heated, but didn’t last very long. Suddenly, something amazingly surreal happened. Then, the ones that were left disappeared, as if they were incinerated and turned to ash to float away on the breeze. And the fight just stopped. It was one of those what the fuck just happened moments.
“Avery. Avery!” It was Jae.
“I’m trapped in the claws of a dragon. I can’t get out.” The prison she was in suddenly went away and she scrambled out, toward where Jae fell to his knees in human form. He looked worn out and tired, but he was alive and that’s all she cared about. And the fact he was completely naked.