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Air and Fire
KIA LYNN
I was parched. The last time Leed had brought me water, he had poured most of it over my head. It had been cooling, considering the heat beating down on me all day long, but now my tongue was so dry it was sticking to the top of my mouth, and whatever perspiration I had left was beading across my forehead.
Covyn lifted her head. “How long have I been chained up?” Her eye was swollen like mine, and she had a long gash down her cheek and neck.
My head swam, so I blinked a few times before her words registered. “I was beginning to think you were a figment of my imagination.” I brought my knee up to my nose and used my kneecap to scratch an itch. “It hasn’t been that long. You must have finished fixing the ship. Do you remember anything?”
She glanced my way, then looked toward the ship. As she did, the sun dipped below the horizon, and we both released a sigh of relief.
“When I get my hands on Leed and Beck, I will strangle them both,” Covyn hissed between clenched teeth. She hiccupped, then hung her head again.
“What do you think their plan is for us?” I asked, trying to keep her engaged.
Covyn shook her head. “They need you, but me...”
She didn’t need to finish the sentence. Beck had no reason to keep her around if the ship was running, unless it was to imprison her for future maintenance. The cloaking mechanism was up and working again. The only indication there was a ship was the open bay door.
From the other side of the ship, Antoine limped toward it, held up by another male guard.
“They found Antoine,” I told Covyn, pushing at her with my foot. “He must have wandered off after the crash.”
“Fantastic,” Covyn grumbled, not even bothering to look up.
From behind me I heard shuffling. Someone was back there, but I had seen all of Beck’s crew enter the ship already. I strained my neck to see behind me, but there just wasn’t enough light to see far out.
“Kia Lynn,” a familiar voice hissed.
My ears perked up, and I twisted as much as I could. “Zoe Dawn, is that you?” I asked as quietly as possible.
“Yes, sister,” she replied. “I have come to rescue you.”
I could hear the pride in her voice, and it brought a smile to my face. Zoe Dawn would always be my favorite person.
Covyn’s head twitched, and she turned it slightly to look at me. “Did you hear that?”
I nodded as a heat swelled around my wrists, then the restraints shattered and fell to the ground. My arms trembled as I eased them forward. Almost all the feeling had left them. I shook them as I watched Covyn’s restraints redden and shatter as well.
“Come on,” Zoe Dawn whispered.
I turned around to see her beautiful face. Her bronze eyes stared back at me with an intensity of fear I had never seen from her before. She waved her hand from her hiding spot behind a large patch of vegetation.
I stumbled as I pulled myself to my feet. My legs quivered from my weight, and a dizzy spell had me leaning against the ancients’ metal pole Leed had secured me to. I held up a finger at Zoe Dawn. Once I got my footing, I leaned down and heaved Covyn up from the ground. She swayed but then stood still, holding her arm tight against her side with the fractured rib.
“We need to get to Zoe Dawn,” I whispered to her, pushing her spiked hair from her face. “Do you see her?”
Covyn’s face tilted toward Zoe Dawn. She squinted, then nodded.
“Follow me,” I said, taking her hand and creeping forward.
The earth swayed underneath my feet. That one felt less like me and more like the actual ground moving. My gaze drifted up to meet Zoe Dawn’s, and her stunned expression solidified that thought.
“Where do you two think you are going?” Jako yelled.
I lurched forward, stumbled through the brush and flowers, and finally landed next to Zoe Dawn. I glanced back. Covyn was lying on the ground with Jako and Leed standing above her. Leed had his weapon pointed at her head as Jako yanked her to her feet.
Covyn squealed out in pain. Her hand pressed into her side as she bit down on her trembling lip.
Jako’s eyes snapped over to Zoe Dawn and me.
“Well, look at that,” Beck said, sauntering behind the others. “Now we just need to find Alex, and we will have all three.”
Zoe Dawn handed me a canister of water. I chugged it and handed it back to her.
“Are these the keefies who hurt you?” she asked, running her finger over my swollen eye.
I nodded, my attention never leaving Beck.
“You touched my sister!” she yelled at the three men, cracking her knuckles on both hands. She then pressed me behind her. “I will make them wish they had never met you.”
A flame burst from her open palm, and the three men jumped back, dragging Covyn with them. A smirk rose on Beck’s lips, and all kinds of violent acts flashed through my mind that would wipe it permanently from his face. Zoe Dawn stepped forward, holding out her other palm. That one lit up as well.
I inhaled a long, deep breath. The water was already helping me gather my wits, and watching Zoe Dawn frighten the imbeciles was waking up my senses as well.
I held out my hands and pressed the air at the three men’s faces. Jako swatted at the pressure while Leed and Beck ducked, trying to escape it. As they moved, I shifted the air pressure with them. Then I pushed the air away from them, creating a bubble of no atmosphere around the three. Covyn dropped to her knees and shuffled away as the men each tried to suck in a lungful of air.
Zoe Dawn pushed her fire closer to the men, just as Antoine and the female guard came running toward them. Covyn continued to shuffle on her knees, but she was heading in the wrong direction. The female guard sprinted to her and dragged her back to her feet, just as Antoine yanked Beck out of the void of air, followed by the other two.
“What happened?” Antoine yelled at them, as I twirled the wind around their heads. The shorter man grabbed at his long hair and held it away from his face.
“They have been activated,” Beck shouted back, pushing everyone away from us.
“You already knew the redhead had been activated,” Leed yelled over the roar of my wind, shoving Beck from behind.
I grinned, and Zoe Dawn exchanged a delighted look with me.
Beck shook his head and raced for the ship, grabbing Covyn by the arm, but Zoe Dawn’s flames danced up his legs. I almost laughed as he leapt to one side, then the other and released Covyn when he fell onto his back. From out of nowhere, a short man sprinted full speed at Jako and tackled the larger man to the dirt. They tumbled across the ground, then the tiny man jumped to his feet and kicked Jako in the ribs.
“Randall.” Zoe Dawn breathed his name, relief washing over her face.
Covyn took off at a clumsy run and flew past all the men, not stopping until she reached us. Jako rolled away from Randall, and the rest of their group sprinted toward Beck, who was patting his legs to smother the fire.
Randall raced toward us, with another woman I had never seen before sprinting right behind him.
“Thank you, Randall,” Zoe Dawn said, hugging him tightly. She turned to the woman. “Anna Rain, I am so sorry. I had to save Kia Lynn and I knew you would try to stop me.”
Anna Rain leaned in and embraced Zoe Dawn with her one free arm. “I am just grateful you are all safe. We need to return to the sanctuary now. The other’s machine has broken through the barrier.”
Color drained from Zoe Dawn’s cheeks, but she simply nodded in response. I did not understand who “the others” were, but we did not have time for explanations.
As we turned to leave, the dirt swirled and danced to the side of their ship. I pointed. There was another anaman ship hovering near Beck, with its weapons pointed directly at the group. Antoine and Leed held up their hands and backed away. Beck cursed and rolled toward the bay door of his ship. They fired and barely missed Beck but struck the entryway, leaving a gaping hole.
Jako took one look at the hole and tore off in the opposite direction, with the female guard hot on his heels. They would not be repairing that hole anytime soon.
The ship landed as the other three men ran off as well. A familiar male anaman waved at us from bay door. I squinted at him. It had to be Alex’s father. I recognized him from the day Zoe Dawn stole their device.
“She sent help,” I cried, jumping up and down with joy. I threw my arms around Zoe Dawn and squeezed her. “And you saved us. Thank you, sister. Thank you for never giving up on me.”
“I love you, Kia Lynn,” Zoe Dawn whispered in my ear. “Now let’s get out of this place.”
I wrapped my arm around Covyn’s waist as Alex’s father raced toward us. He scooped Covyn into his arms, and we followed him back to the ship.
Maybe the anamans weren’t so bad after all.
