Chapter 14 #2
I cackle like a madwoman and turn towards two more Warriors, who don’t seem to know what to do. They swerve out of my way, creating an opening for Xandra to spirit her sword away, and sidestep towards us.
‘Now, Ellie,’ Mace says. ‘Drop it.’ His frown is grim – he’s extremely focused.
I decide to trust him fully on this and make my shield vanish just as Xandra rolls towards me.
Two Warriors try to take their chance and swing their swords at us.
But they’re a second too late, and as soon as Xandra is in range, I lift my shield again.
They strike it full force and they get blown back by twenty feet.
‘On Allen,’ Jon says, having regained his footing. ‘Everyone on Allen.’
No, no, no. Allen must be a few dozen feet behind us by now. I look to Mace, desperate for a cue, but he just grins.
‘Idiots,’ he says. ‘Ellie, drop the shield.’
I hesitate, unsure if I’ve heard him right, because it makes no sense.
‘Ellie, drop it,’ Mace says in a tone that brooks no argument. ‘Now. And flit to Allen. Protect the golden flag.’
Who the fuck cares about the flag, I think, but I do as Mace says. I need a second to look back to where Allen has fallen, and the three Warriors rushing towards him.
But during our run here, I learned how to trust my magic and its forward pull when it tries to transport me.
I blink, and I’m already next to Allen and that fucking flag.
I lift my hands and the shield shapes up around us a fraction of a moment before the rival Warriors reach us.
They don’t waste any time trying to attack us now and turn back on their heels to where the bulk of their teams are.
Where I was standing a moment before, complete chaos has broken out.
My brain needs a second to catch up on the fact that Julian has attacked from behind, probably at the same time as I teleported to Allen and put a defensive shield around him – while Mace and Xandra have seized the opportunity to try to push the other teams back.
One minute, Mace told me.
I can say many things about Mace, but not that he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
I finally feel like I can breathe, and properly look at Allen.
My heart nearly breaks. He lies curled around the flag in a pool of his own blood. His breathing is shallow and his is face pinched with pain, but he gives me a small smile. Glad to see you.
My magic teeters at the sight and I nearly drop my shield. ‘Allen,’ I breathe. ‘What happened?’
There’s so much blood, that I can’t even see where he’s hurt. I want to drop everything and find my Pocket Healer and care for his wound. I need?—
‘Ellie, keep the shield up,’ he pants. ‘As soon as you drop it, the others will come for us. You simply need to stand your ground. We have to protect the flag.’
‘Who cares about the flag?’ I hiss.
‘It’s the mission we’ve been assigned. We need to protect the flag. We’ll lose points if we don’t. This is our chance to secure the lead in the rankings.’
I cannot believe what I’m hearing. Allen is bleeding for a fucking flag? How did we land in this shitstorm?
Wait, I think I know.
‘Did Stella send those two teams here on purpose?’ I ask. ‘While you couldn’t see their moves?’
‘Or Central Command did that,’ Allen says.
In this moment, I loathe them with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. And Stella didn’t warn us? Instead, she sent Julian and me as far from here as possible.
My mind is a storm of rage and bitter disappointment. Is this what our lives are worth, and while I don’t mean much to Central Command, how about their most brilliant, promising Warriors?
‘Hold up the shield, Ellie,’ Allen says.
I hate this. I absolutely hate this. Having to stand and do nothing, while Allen suffers, and the others?—
I snap my gaze up. One of the rival Warriors is on the ground, bleeding profusely from a wound on his leg.
A red band is tied around his wrist, which mean that somehow my team has captured him.
But Julian is battling hard with Jon. Xandra, meanwhile, is contending with two Warriors from Team Bronze while Mace is surrounded by four Warriors – one of the wounded ones re-joined the fray.
Mace fights like a storm, landing hard blows that force them back, one by one, but there are too many of them. ‘Team, get on the attack. We need to push them back,’ he shouts.
We won’t get out of this, unless by some miracle my team manages to defeat the seven Warriors around them. That at least is something I understand about battling, though not much more.
But the numbers are against Team Gold. Two Warriors from Team Silver start a concerted attack on Mace, and I can’t help but wonder at the speed with which he reacts.
He dodges a blow, lands a stab while he’s still swivelling away.
But he’s tired, and they’re out for blood.
How long until he makes a mistake, how long until?—
Fight.
I need to do something. I simply can’t be a bystander anymore. I’ve been that all my life. I need to get a fucking grip on myself and think.
My power is roaring inside of me, itching to be set free.