From the other two cages, the same type of animal emerges. Rainey makes a tiny sound of distress and I look over my shoulder at her with a glare, giving a shake of my head.
The message is clear. Right now, they don’t know we’re here so be quiet.
I look back to the animals. The first one lifts its head and starts to sniff the air. I don’t feel a breeze at all, and I hope to god our scent is stifled.
But, of course, we wouldn’t be that lucky.
The animal catches a whiff of something and throws its head back, letting out a horrendous howl that sounds like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to clap my hands over my ears.
My blood runs cold when the other two animals start howling, too, and then as if they were synced into perfect unison, all three of their heads turn our way and lock onto me. Lips peel back and they snarl as they start prowling slowly toward us.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter under my breath.
My first instinct is to yell to Carrick for help, and I hate myself for it. I am a strong, accomplished woman who is deadly with a whip and six other types of weapons. I don’t have those weapons now, but I haven’t lost my spirit or ingenuity.
The first creature starts moving a little faster until it’s into a trot, the other two following suit.
Think, Finley.
Think.
The monsters get closer, loping now with confidence. Rainey squeaks in terror behind me.
Instinctually, I feel the power of what I know will be a solid bubble shield welling up within me. I think it will be big enough to cover Rainey and me both, but I’m not sure about that damn pole she’s tied to and I don’t know how long it will last against three attacking monsters.
It doesn’t take much thinking to figure out that Deandra put me into a situation where I can’t use my defenses.
Or at least I can’t use them with confidence as I don’t know they’ll protect Rainey.
I have no choice.
I am absolutely without choice.
I have to attack.
The realization of what I have to do—as well as what will happen if I don’t do it—flows through me with confidence. I remember Sarvel telling me that as long as I believe in my powers, they are mine to use as I want.
I do believe in my powers, but Deandra was right about one thing.
I’ve been afraid to use them before in all the other times I’ve tried to develop them.
Afraid of failure.
That’s just not an option right now because Rainey’s life is on the line.
A zap of warmth moves along my extremities and I feel a tingling sensation in the palms of my hands. I don’t question what it is or what I should do with it.
Instinctively, I throw my hands outward toward the advancing creatures—looking just like Elsa slinging ice and snow—and a bright light erupts from my palms.
It streams out in a white beacon tinged with blue and strikes the first creature in the face. It hits with such force, it’s blasted backward where it hits the ground and tumbles several times before stopping on its side.
It doesn’t move while the other two slide to a stop, now understanding its prey isn’t going to be easy to take down.
I prepare to blast the other two, but the first creature stirs. It rolls to its feet, shakes its entire body as if throwing off the effects of my blast, and then turns its head slowly my way. Its lips rise, revealing teeth intent on tearing into me, and it snarls so viciously I almost pee my pants. Its two cohorts do the same, and then they start yipping at each other. I recognize it for what it is—they’re communicating. This is confirmed as the animals spread out and start to circle Rainey and me.
They’re going to surround us, then attack from different angles. I’m not going to have time to blast them all, despite the fact I still feel the power tingling in my hands.
It’s not enough to knock them backward.
It’s not going to be enough to hurt them.
There are too many to keep at bay.
I draw my elbows to my ribs, as if summoning my power to curl inward. I feel it coalesce and gather behind my breastbone, burning, but not in a painful way.
In a powerful way.
I throw my hands out toward the first animal again before it can even advance another step. The light that radiates from my palms is much brighter. Within the stream of energy or magic or whatever it is, I can feel that it contains death. It’s a distinctly sharp, focused feeling, and I know when it hits, that it will kill whatever it touches.
The blast hits the first creature, but it isn’t thrown back like before.
It’s obliterated into a burst of white sparks that zing outward and leave trails of sparkling dust in its wake. I vaguely hear a cheer of excitement from Deandra, but I ignore it.
Instead, I face the next creature, who just stares at me warily. The other one starts to back up. I don’t underestimate their intentions or their abilities, throwing one hand at one creature, and the other hand at the other. Two streams of death rays simultaneously blow them into a million sparkling fragments, which float to the ground and eventually disappear.
The excitement of my accomplishment is too much to contain. I jump in the air, punching a fist up in victory and yelling out to the creatures who are nothing but a memory. “And that is how you do it!”
Whirling to Rainey, giddy with excitement to have shared this important milestone with my bestie, my smile slides off my face when I see the pole and Rainey are gone.
I waste no time, not even bothering to turn back to Deandra and Carrick in the stands. I pull them toward me in my mind, bend distance, and step right into Deandra with fury. “Where’s Rainey? What did you do with her?”
Deandra laughs and waves a hand. “You’re silly. She was never here. That was just a magical image of her.”
I should be relieved that she never put Rainey in danger, but instead, I’m pissed at her audacity. She preyed upon my fears and with the hum of power still burning in my chest, I throw my hands out.
A white light doesn’t emerge, but I didn’t intend it to. I only intend to knock her on her ass. An invisible wall punches into her, tossing her back a good fifteen feet where she bounces off one of the marble benches before falling to the floor.
She’s not hurt but her ego is bruised. Deandra jumps up, one high heel she’d been wearing missing, and circles her hands, muttering some language I don’t understand.
I do realize that she’s calling forth magic, so I ready a shield to protect myself.
“Enough,” Carrick roars, and it’s not just a regular roar. It sounds like it’s broadcast over loudspeakers and it booms around the entire arena, stopping Deandra’s motions and causing me to warily move a few feet away from him. He lowers his voice to a normal tone. “Enough.”
“That bitch put me in a horrible situation and used Rainey against me,” I complain, and I know I sound pathetic.
“How dare you call me a bitch, you bitch,” Deandra snarls back. “And besides… it worked, didn’t it?”
“When I was terrified that my friend might die,” I point out. “That was a very specific scenario.”
“And yet you called forth an attacking power you’ve never been able to do before.” Deandra crosses her arms over her chest smugly. She manages to look stylish and haughty, even missing one heel. “Try it again without the fear.”