Page 48 of Wind and Water
“It’s a fire demon.” He grips his sword in his right hand and one of those golden energy balls in his left. “You need to stay back, Birdie.”
“I’m already going.” Momma rushes around the centaurs and stands beside Wellon.
“How do we defeat it?” It’s still too far away to see exactly what it is, other than it appears to be made of fire or lava. It glows bright orange and moves steadily toward us. “Can we outrun it?”
He shakes his head. “It’s moving faster than you think. By the time we reached the river, we’d be exhausted, and it would have caught up. We must make our stand here.”
Finally, the shape of the demon becomes clear. A round body, with spindly legs like a giant spider. “I hate spiders.”
“Can you push it with the water?” Liam sends his magic across the lost lands, and as it hits the demon, it explodes.
Pausing, the demon rears up on several legs before continuing toward us. If the magic had any effect, I’d say the spider got bigger.
I’m about to say so when Liam fires off another round. This one grows with centaur magic, and the explosion sends water and sand flying in every direction.
Adhar screeches above us. Her warning is also too late.
The Kron is double its original size.
“Stop. It’s feeding off the energy.” I grip Liam’s arm and push past the barrier he put up to block my thoughts.You cannot defeat it this way.
The muscles in his arm ease as he looks at me. For a moment, he looks as if he may argue with me, but then his eyes soften. “What do we do?”
You’ve gotten yourself into shit now, Wren. “I don’t know.” I look from him to the demon barreling toward us with flames bursting from its center and steam rising from the water. I push down the sense of utter panic rising inside me. I’m just a jewelry maker. But that’s not true. I’m more than that now. Maybe I’ve always been more than what I believed. Everything in my new reality seems like a dream-slash-nightmare that I should be waking up from.
The centaurs continue with a barrage of arrows that barely slow the demon.
I slip my hand into Liam’s. He is solid and strong. He’s the most generous, wonderful man I’ve ever known, and he needs me.
Letting the tingle of magic rise inside of me, I pray that water will douse the fire within the demon. I close my eyesand imagine the shallow water drawing toward the spiderlike creature from this world’s hell. When I open my eyes, I thrust my hands forward.
The lost lands shimmer. The damp wetlands beneath our feet crackle as the moisture seeps away.
At least ten feet tall now, the demon’s legs were easily managing the two feet of water, but now that level is at least five feet, and it’s slowing the monster down.
“Yes, Wren. You’ve got the idea.” Liam squeezes my hand, and his bold magic flows through me, adding to mine.
My heart pounds, and a bead of sweat rolls along my hairline. I imagine the water rising higher and enveloping the beast.
Foot by foot, the waters of the lost lands rise around it. When its legs can no longer keep its body above the growing waves, it flounders.
The centaurs stop their assault and cheer my accomplishment.
“How do I kill it?” A sharp jolt of doubt rushes through me. “Will it drown?”
Liam transfers my hand from his right to his left. He steps behind me so that his front is firmly against my back. He puts his right hand under my arm, where I’m directing my energy toward the water. “Somehow, you are the key to this, my love,” he says softly in my ear. “Inside you is the knowledge of how to defeat this demon. Pray for the result you want. I will go with you wherever your magic takes us. I am with you. Don’t be afraid.”
And there he is. His mind, at the edge of mine, making me see my potential, lending me strength without forcing my hand.
No demon or witch is going to take him away from me. I’ll die first. With the water still rising, the monster is slowed, but not stopped. I can’t hold it like this forever. It will make its way ashore and burn everything in its path. Eventually reaching us or some other innocent beings.
Lifting my hand an inch higher, I pull Liam’s hand to my heart and tighten my grip. “We can do this.” Unleashing all the growing magic within me, I see the waves crashing over the demon before it actually happens.
Liam gives me his magic and a stream of blue light, just like that of his missiles, pours from my outstretched fingertips. The magic light cuts through the water and slices the drowning monster in two.
Rather than sink or even bleed, the demon reforms into two smaller spiders that glow under the wave.
Heart sinking, we stop the flow of light magic. I push aside my disappointment and think of how I must protect these centaurs, my mother, and Liam. If I don’t stop this, no one will.
