Emblems

Chapter 16: Traumatized

Chapter 16: Traumatized

"SEE, GIRL," DAX SAID. "Formally, you’re not an Emblem, since we can’t confirm anything yet, but right now the four of you are our only hope. 'Cause of that, you have a very important job. You got people like Sol depending on you, so you have to work hard. Here." He handed her her dagger. "Try and run your hands over the blade. There are places where the metal has been folded over and over again when the smiths were making it. You won't be able to feel them with your hands, but try anyway." 

As she took them, she asked, "The depletion of the power stream or something, it doesn't affect you?"

He shrugged. "When it comes to Beasts, it's some more than others. I can't lift that anymore though." He went to the racks and pointed at a giant broadsword, even bigger than Robert's. "Or my axes - my weapons." For a moment a pained look crossed the goblin's face as he caressed the wooden handles of the pair of battle axes, the steel edges gleaming dully. 

Deciding not to respond, Amber rubbed awkwardly at the metal. "All elemental magic is the same. What you do for one should apply to another," Sol advised. Staring down at the knife in her hands, she tried to see the metal like she'd seen the air. Time passed in silence and a headache started to pound just behind her eyes. 

She sighed and set the dagger down. "It's not working. I'm sorry."

Dax hummed as if to himself. "It's okay, I didn't expect much anyway. Till now, there was no such thing as a Metal Adept, so I have no idea how to train you to even unlock your powers. They only put me here because in the closest thing they've got to a Metal Adept - me being a goblin after all." He turned away and she was left standing there. 

"Mr. Dax!" The panicked tone of Sol’s voice was the only warning she got before the goblin was whirling around and hurling things at her. She dropped to the ground with her arms crossed over her head and the air rose up at a twitch of her fingers – the magic coming easier now that she was actually in danger – to knock the throwing knives out of the air. Rolling up into a crouch, she whipped around and glared. He was a Beast. Delegate or not and regardless of what Daniel said, trusting him had been a mistake. 

There was a soft shinggg and Dax took several steps back. He's an enemy; he should be afraid. Fear is good. 

"Miss Starling, please calm down. You have snuffed out the lights. It is completely dark now." Dark? She could see the Ethereal's cloth billowing, stark white against the grayness of the room. It wasn't dark. 

"Oi, girl, that's the Demon doing things, not you. Snap out of it!" She froze and lowered her head, licking at her canines. They were sharper, her tongue rougher, her body parallel to the ground. In this form, she'd take him down. A threat, he was a threat. Snarling, she drew her back legs in and leapt onto the goblin to snap her jaws in his face. 

Her teeth were a hair's breadth away from tearing his throat out when something changed. Something made her ears twitch against her scalp. She went to move towards the door but found that she couldn't even shift a limb. The door snicked open and light flooded in, blinding her. The figure in the doorway raised its hands, placating, and yet its voice was commanding and firm: "Amber. Change back. Now."