Those two were always on the same page.
My well inside continued to cycle the elemental energy between all of us. The power from the six girls swirled in arcs and fed the storm cell. I should know what to do to help them manage this merged power. I was the conduit. It was kind of my damn job to keep us together and in control. In a desperate move I started to suck some of the energy into my well, hoping to lessen our output. Within moments my well was filled, so then I moved to filling the filing cabinet.
“What are you doing, Abby?” Sapha asked.
Her voice was partially lost in the mess of winds and shadow, but I heard her. I also noted the genuine curiosity in her voice. She was more inquisitive than the others; I think because her world was so far removed from what all of us had grown up with.
I raised my voice to be heard. “I have this place inside where I can store energy. Like a battery cell that sits there until I’m ready to use it.” Yeah, she was totally not going to know what a battery was. “Like I’ve got a box of power inside, and can tap into that energy whenever I’m feeling low.”
I heard a brief “Okay” in reply.
I noticed then that the storm had stopped its massive spread. Was I actually helping them control their powers?
I concentrated again on moving the energy around in equal amounts between the girls and the sacred animals, while still storing large chunks within my compartment.
The fire which had been a plume skyrocketing above us tapered back to a nice arc of flame. Fury’s blue fire was equal parts mesmerizing and deadly. I was grateful that half-Walkers seemed to be immune from the burn.
I smiled at the Crais half. “You controlling your flames now, Fury?”
Her return grin was all sparkling teeth. She was pleased with herself. “Hell, yes, I can feel that control is back with me.” Her flames swirled and danced in the air. “I think I could use it as a weapon again.”
She had had some elemental training. Grantham in particular had helped her a lot. He was a master at controlling his earth power. Though, this was the first time she’d ever controlled the flames while we were all together and so much power fueled us.
The storm was less intense.
I could feel that the other girls were also starting to control their elements. I was just about to suggest we start experimenting with our power storm, when a large crack appeared in the ground.
My breath caught as I waited for the next obstacle to appear.
“Is this from anyone here?” Delane asked. “Or is the Mother of All messing with us?”
That was a very good question.
Our focus remained locked on the large hole. It started to widen even further, before a sudden mass of greenery shot up from below. It was a veritable wall of vines, thorny brambles, shrubs and small trees. Ria threw back her head, mahogany hair flying in the breeze, ivy vines twirling around, dancing to the energy.
Her warning came sharp and fast. “This is not friendly greenery and cannot be controlled. We need to destroy it.”
She blinked rapidly and, I’ll admit it, I was surprised. Ria never wanted to destroy her beloved plants. She protected them at all costs.
Everyone was on alert now, but before any of us could react three of the sacred animals stepped forward – Cerberus, Apollo and Lina. Because we were still connected to them, I had a sense of what was going on – it kind of felt like they were gathering energy.
Cerberus moved first, blurring away. He was soon joined by Apollo on one side and Lina on the other. The three of them stayed close right up until they neared the start of this jungle.
Then they split off from each other.
The flora’s first line of defense was a bramble filled with thorns the size of my forearm. Thick, dark and very pointy-like; thorns that size could easily impale a person or animal and cause untold damage.
“They’re going to be okay, right?” Talina’s large brown eyes widened even further, a shine emerging as her protective lenses slipped up and down. A sight which still on occasion had my stomach rolling.
Crete – who was in his prehistoric panther-size – shifted his head, fluffy black mane swaying in our storm. He stood beside Fury and growled. Every single one of us could tell he was scoffing at Talina.
“Pretty sure Crete is spending too much time with Fury,” I said. “The attitude is starting to rub off.”
I received twin scowls before everyone turned back to the battle scene. The sacred animals were stalking around, trying to find a weakness. Which was difficult as the mystery foliage was acting like it had sentient thought. As the three guides moved, the large thorns followed their path.