Emblems

Chapter 35: Compromise

Chapter 35: Compromise

THERE WAS A BOOM AND the Adepts went flying out of the stairwell, shoved out of danger by an unseen force, their clothes singed and soot covering their faces and limbs. Daniel sprinted forward. “Kurt!” She dashed after him, in case he tried to go back into the stairwell. Both of them got close enough to see the two figures left in the exit, silhouetted from behind by the roaring flames. One of them had its arm stretched out, pushing at something invisible. Telekinesis. “Christopher!” Daniel kept going, but then she sensed the whirlwind underneath them give one last burst of speed, an implosion of magic set to obliterate and destroy. Reaching out, she got hold of Daniel's arm and dragged him backwards, snaking her arms around his chest and keeping him there. 

"No!" He strained against her hold, but she gritted her teeth and held on till the fire devoured the exit of Camp and the figures of the twins disappeared in the red and yellow flourish. Her skin burned and her hair felt singed. Below her, Daniel's face and arms had turned red from the heat. Any closer and both of us would've been killed. 

She left Daniel sprawled on the ground so he could get his act back together, standing to face the remaining Vortex members. Some of them had their hands on the ground, presumably keeping the explosion contained so the ground didn't collapse underneath them. The structures of the rides around them rattled, but held. Leone had a slight frown on her lips, speaking first, "That was disappointing, I have to say. I had hoped that this generation's Adepts would've been able to contribute to the power stream as well." The Adepts in question shifted and the older ones pushed their juniors behind them, faces no longer confused, but set in defiance. Calida glanced at them, made a subtle shooing motion that only Amber caught, and the Camp Adepts hesitated, before the older ones grabbed their juniors and escaped out of the amusement park.

"We wanted to wait till all four of you fulfilled your potential," Leone continued, spreading her hands as if she hadn’t seen the Adepts leave, "but this confrontation has put a wrench in our plans. We hope you won't mind if we bumped up the deadline a little." Amber kept her mouth shut, fixing her with a baleful glare instead. "According to criterion number seven, all of you must do this willingly, as in, simply say that you agree to going through with this."

"And what makes you think that we'd do that?" she asked, feeling out the air around Vortex, taking care to not alert the Air Adept they had. She didn't have much magic left - the stunts she'd pulled in the battle, added on to what was left of the drugs they'd given her in the med bay, plus the effects of the Demon attack, all that didn't leave much for what was to come.  She could take one last shot though, while Leone stalled, not allowing her cronies to attack. 

But there was something just behind Leone. She could feel the outline of a figure in the air. Leone smiled when her face probably betrayed her confusion. "There is the non-violent way, of course," she told her, stepping aside and allowing a group of Adepts to push something forward. Her eyes narrowed. "Say hello, dear. I'm sure your friends are delighted to see you."

On his knees, he didn't respond, letting his pale hair – the exact colour of Leone's – shadow his face. Calida started forward, jaw tight as Robert held her back. Even Daniel rose to his feet, looking shaken. "Nicholas?"

"Emblems don't ever really die, huh?" The boy's familiar wry tone almost made her smile. He lifted his head and Calida gasped. Bruises had rendered the area around his eyes a deep purple. Blood trickled from his nose with every breath he took. When he smirked at them his bottom lip split – it didn't look like the first time that had happened – and he winced and coughed and spat. Red spattered the ground at the Adepts' feet.