That was good enough for now.
The basilisk, seemingly annoyed that it couldn’t kill us with a single glance, lunged. Braelynn shot fire at it while I pushed my Fire Wielding towards its face. It screeched, spitting poison at us. Both Braelynn and I ducked out of the way, separating enough that I was fearful my Spirit Wielding wouldn’t be able to help her. I moved closer, shaking the earth beneath my feet. The basilisk’s massive body shuddered, and I was grateful that my Wielding was finally back.
I threw Fire at the snake as Braelynn opened her mouth and shot flames, as well. The basilisk hissed and tried to come at us again, but it couldn’t make it through the wall of fire. Soon, the acrid scent of burnt flesh filled my nostrils, and I almost gagged. The basilisk fell to the ground with such force that the rocks and soil shook beneath our feet.
“Hell,” I whispered and made my way to Braelynn. “I can’t believe that worked. Are you okay?”
My best friend turned to me with pain-filled eyes before shifting back to her much smaller cat form. I went to my knees, my body aching, my soul damaged, and held out my arms.
“I think…I think I can try to heal this.” I let out a breath. “It’ll take my Water and Spirit Wielding, but Ridley taught me a few things. I’m not a natural-born healer, but I might be able to work with this.” I was almost out of my power reserves, but Braelynn was hurting, and I had to try.
Besides, the Spirit Wielding within me wouldn’t let me do anything less.
I had to heal my best friend.
Braelynn settled her head in my palm, lying her body across my lap as I looked down at the damage. She had a massive cut on her side and possible bruising, but I couldn’t tell with her dark fur. I closed my eyes and tugged on my Wielding. Warmth and pinpricks of sensation slid over me as I did.
I didn’t know if this would work, but I had to try. I pushed everything I had into Braelynn, imagining her flesh repairing itself, and her body becoming whole again. Ridley had mentioned that was how he did it, and though he couldn’t tell me everything, I had to hope this would be enough.
Time passed, and I grew weaker, but I didn’t care. Braelynn needed to be whole. After everything that had happened already, she needed to be okay.
When she licked my palm, I slowly opened my heavy-lidded eyes. My mouth was dry, but I felt a smile form on my face.
“Braelynn,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “You’re okay.”
She leaned into me, and I held her close, praying that we’d get home soon.
I didn’t think either of us could face another beast, but the road to our new home was long and full of terrible things. If we didn’t find an answer soon, this could be it for us.
I couldn’t let myself dwell on that. Instead, I let out a breath and pulled away from Braelynn, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was.
It was time to get going again, no matter that we were running on empty.
Braelynn turned back into her dragon form, and I reached for her. I hated that she had to shoulder the responsibility, but I knew I was too tired to walk very far.
But then the world turned gray, and I screamed.
Chapter Six
Lyric
“The Spirit Priestess will come of five, yet of none at all.
She will be strength of light, of darkness, and choice.
You will lose what you had.
You will lose what you want.
You will lose what you will.
You will lose what you sow.
Then you will find the will.
Find the fortune.
And then you will make a choice.
A choice above all.
A sacrifice above will.
A fate left denied.
And a loss meant to soothe.
You will make the choice. You will fight your fate.
And once you find the one you choose, you will have more to lose.
When the crystals fall, the end is near.
When the crystals shatter, you will fear.
Then you will fade, you will choose, and the crystal will shine.
Though the world cries, and the one you love is in shadow,
The world will burn.
The world will live.
And you will know the end.
The end of all, the end of nowhere.
But the end.”
The others finished speaking the prophecy, and I did my best to come back to the present.
To feel. To breathe. To be.
Fire coasted over my skin, Water dousing the flames before it could burn. Air whirled in my hair, and the ground beneath me shook. My body warmed, the Spirit within me reaching out to whatever souls it could.
I pushed at my Wielding, forced myself to control it. I wasn’t strong enough yet to do it all, but I was learning. I wasn’t the girl I had been before. The one who hadn’t been ready. The one who hadn’t known.
I hadn’t been that girl for a long time.
If I faced her now, the teen with the long, blond hair, wide eyes, and a penchant for wonderment, I wasn’t sure I’d recognize her.
Although, I should.
I wished I could. Perhaps then I would be able to fully face what was in front of me, rather than retreating to my mind so I could catch up.
“Lyric, we’re sorry to bring you here as we did. We know the journey can be quite jolting.”
I looked up at the sound of Seven’s voice and let out a harsh breath.
“I don’t remember it always being this painful,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. As I regained control of my Wielding, I looked around me. Panic washed over me, and I shook.
“Where’s Braelynn?” I asked, my Fire in my palms, ready to fight. “Where is she?”
“It would have been hard on her after her healing to bring her here,” Seven said, and I finally got a look at my surroundings.
I was in the center of the circle like I had been in my dreams from long ago.
There were different elements and seasons all around me. Spring on one side, winter on the other. Fall and summer fighting each other on the other cardinal directions.
The place seemed to be something out of my fantasies rather than somewhere real, but I could never be sure when it came to the Spirit Wielders. They had been forced into this captivity, into this plane of existence that didn’t make much sense.
This place felt as if it had always been part of my life, yet I didn’t understand it.
And because I was at the center of the four seasons, the middle of those five elements, I also felt like I was at the nexus of a clock, with each of the numbers along the outside replaced by a Spirit Wielder.
Sometimes, I could see their faces. Most of the time, I couldn’t.
I thought I had met one of these Spirit Wielders in person, though I wasn’t quite sure if I had.
But Seven was the female voice that whispered in my head and seemed to be the closest to me. She judged me, sure, but she’d also saved me.
Or maybe she had just given me reasons to save myself.
I didn’t know anymore. I was so tired. So over all of this.
“I want to go home,” I whispered, not realizing that I was going to say the words aloud until they were already out.
I turned to Seven, who tilted her head and studied me, a maternal look on her face that I hadn’t seen from her before.
It made me miss my mom. Pain clutched at my heart, and my stomach clenched. I held back tears. It hurt so much that Mom wasn’t here. That she never would be. When my Spirit Wielding unlocked, exploding out of me with such intensity that I thought I would die, I had reached out to try and take her soul, and my father’s...to bring them to my side and back to their bodies. To do something to save them.