TWENTY-EIGHT

As soon as Lark spoke the words, a barrage of questions hit his cerebellum and he winced at the noise level. He’d known this would be the reaction when he told his Order. Although, if he were being honest, he hadn’t really intended to tell them – especially Ryker. Max had known of course. It was what she had been referring to that morning on the beach all those weeks ago. She’d seemed very sure that Ryker wouldn’t care but that clearly wasn’t the case if his colourful language was anything to go by.

‘You’re a fucking potentate? And you never said anything? What the fuck, Lark!’

Lark swallowed, hearing the anger but also the underlying hurt in his Captain’s voice. The vibe coming through the Order link told him the others were feeling the same, ‘I’m sorry. But can we talk about this later?’

He knew he sounded desperate because that is exactly how he felt – bone wrenchingly desperate. The eight chades in front of him and Ivy were no longer standing still but advancing on them with slow, deliberate movements. There was definitely something off with them. More than off, he realised. Evil. They felt evil. The earth beneath him was practically screaming in horror at the betrayal from its guardians.

He felt the moment Max and his Order registered the advancing chades. Shock, disgust, concern. They obviously sensed what he did, that they weren’t your average empty chades, because the overriding emotion coming through the link? Fear.

‘No time,’ Max sounded anxious, ‘Ryker? Hold onto the others and keep the vitality coming. Lark? Hold onto yourself. Remember who you are.’

He was about to ask her what she meant by that when he felt power burst to life inside of him like a supernova. He arched his back, cracked his neck and flexed his biceps. Huffing, he eyed the inferior beings in front of him; they were nothing. They were ants and he was a god playing with a magnifying glass. He was invincible. He had the power to do anything and everything he wanted. He –

‘Lark! Lark! Focus, dammit!’

It took a moment to comprehend what the annoying buzz in his head was; a voice. There was something familiar about the voice but he just couldn’t put his finger on it. He also had the feeling that there was something he was supposed to be doing. But the colours and the connections everywhere he looked were astounding! Everything had an aura. Everything had a spirit. And everything was connected to something else. He could see colourful threads connecting trees and rocks and disappearing off into the distance. Some were strong and tangible, others looked like he could break them with a whisper. There were so many colours, he couldn’t even name them. But there was one that held him spellbound. It was strong and vital and pulsed like a heartbeat. It was green like the earth but sparkled like an emerald. It was coming from somewhere to his left and arching strongly but surely to …

‘Lark! Fucking snap out of it! You’re letting the power control you. You need to control the power!’

That annoying buzz sounded in his head again but this time, the sounds of them registered as words and he felt his stomach drop as his brain clicked back in with reality. Looking around him, he saw he and Ivy were completely surrounded by chades. She was at his left side and currently fighting off three of them while he was standing there rhapsodising over his prowess and the pretty colours! He wasted another precious second wondering if this was how Max felt all the time before launching himself into the battle. One swipe of his scythe and the chade in front of him disintegrated into nothing. Holding it up he wondered what the hell it had been imbued with, only to realise it was him which had been imbued – with Max. He was positively saturated in her power.

‘Don’t bother with your blade. Just look at them,’ Max’s voice boomed in his head this time.

He did as he was instructed and watched a bright, white light surge from his body and literally annihilate everything in its path. The chades simply vanished as if they had never existed and the poor, innocent earth scorched and blackened. He was about to turn to Ivy when the power left him in a rush and he fell in a boneless heap. Gasping a little, he turned his head … and felt his heart stop when he saw Ivy’s lifeless form on the now barren earth.

“Ivy,” he croaked, “Max!” But the connection was gone – all but burnt out. And even as a potentate, he couldn’t re-establish the link.

Snapping twigs had him reaching for his scythe as he tried to crawl to Ivy. A heavy but gentle hand stayed the weapon and he looked up into the grey eyes of Knox. “Ivy …” he rasped.

Knox nodded, briskly sitting down next to her and placing two fingers against her neck. Lark felt the world crawl to a standstill as he waited for Knox to look back up. When he did, he finally allowed himself to breathe again. The other man was nodding. Feeling weaker than a day-old kitten, he managed to drag himself next to her and was horrified to see three huge gashes on her right forearm. The blackening around the edges indicated she had been clawed by one of the chades. That wasn’t good. Their sharpened nails contained a poison that was often deadly.

Knox quickly and proficiently fastened a tourniquet around Ivy’s bicep, blocking the blood flow to the rest of her body and hopefully slowing the spread of the toxin. “Peroxide?” he questioned.

“In the car,” Lark answered, running shaking fingers over the cool, smoothness of Ivy’s cheek.

Knox was back in seconds and pouring the liquid directly over Ivy’s wound. Even in her passed-out state, a cry of pain left her lips and her back arched sharply off the ground. Lark gritted his teeth and held her still as Knox upended the entire bottle of peroxide into the open gashes. The wound hissed and bubbled obnoxiously, emitting a sour smell but Lark knew that was a good thing. The peroxide neutralised the poison and as long as it hadn’t spread in her system, she should be fine.

Would be fine, he corrected. He wouldn’t settle for anything less.