Page 43 of The Last Aether

I swallowed hard, glancing around for something, anything that might help. A large stick? A rock? Hell, a baseball bat would come in real handy right about now. “I don’t think you want that. Pretty sure people will be coming soon, and you don’t want to be caught on campus when they do.”

The man’s mouth thinned, the first sign of any sort of feeling. He raised another fireball in his hand.

“Aura, watch out!” Kerry yelled.

But the fireball was already sailing through the air. I tried to dodge it, but it skimmed my shoulder. I cried out as white-hot pain flared to life.

It sent me hurtling back to the past. To the hospital where the only thing that existed was agony. I tried to blink away the memories. To bring myself back to the here and now.

More fire blasted in my direction. I threw up my hands on instinct, and a wall of water erupted in front of me, stopping the flames.

My chest heaved from the energy it took to keep it up. I jerked my head in Kerry’s direction. “Run. Find the guys.”

“I’m not leaving you!”

“It’s our only chance. Go!”

She scrambled to her feet and took off through the woods.

The assassin tossed a fireball in her direction, but his aim was off, and it landed harmlessly amongst the magically protected trees. But it was enough to shake my focus and my wall of water fell.

The man didn’t miss his opportunity. More fire came at me. I knocked it away with a burst of air, sending it flying back in his direction.

He sidestepped it and glared in my direction. “Maybe they’re wrong to kill you. You could be useful for our cause.”

My stomach churned at his words. I couldn’t imagine the torture I’d be subjected to if I ended up in The Network’s hands. “What is your cause?”

Time. I needed time for Kerry to get help. If I could get the assassin talking, maybe I could buy that time.

He tossed a fireball back and forth between his hands. “Only the strong should survive. Forced harmony makes us weak. Battle makes us strong.”

Battles that centuries ago had ravaged the elemental lands so badly, many had been forced to take refuge in the human realm. Battles that had decimated families and ended more lives than anyone could count. That was what The Network wanted to return to?

I tried to choose my words carefully. “If you fight that much, no one will be left for the world you want to create.”

A muscle in the man’s jaw ticked. “The strong will populate our world.”

My eyes narrowed as I studied him, understanding washing over me. It wasn’t that The Network simply wanted the strong to survive. They wanted absolute power. Whether that came from controlling the aethers or killing them, they didn’t care.

A grin stretched across the assassin’s face, the scar pulling at the flesh of his cheek. “Come with us, Little Aether.”

A chill skated over my skin even as hot rage pulsed through my veins. “I think I’m gonna take a pass on that.”

He shrugged. “Your loss.”

A stream of fire shot in my direction. This wasn’t a fireball that I could dodge, this was an inferno. I threw up my hands, upending a mountain of dirt to burrow behind. But I could feel the heat pulsing behind my shield. It wouldn’t hold for long.

Sparks flew in the dirt, embedding in my skin. I bit my lips to keep from crying out in pain.

I tried to conjure water along with dirt, but I couldn’t seem to pull more than one element at once. But trying made my hold on the dirt slip. My protective wall shook and then fell to the ground.

The man grinned, yellowed teeth sneering at me. “Bye-bye, Little Aether.”

I ducked behind a large pine as the fire raged around me. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak. My skin burned with the heat of the flames even without it touching me. I tried to find the water within me, to protect myself with its cooling force, but I couldn’t seem to pull it from the world around me.

“Aura!”

The fire hiccupped at the sound of Riven’s voice. I’d never been so happy to hear that smooth timbre. Even if it was frayed around the edges just now.