Three Trials (The Dark Side Book 2)(20)

I hear the sounds of fighting going on at large just outside of the cave, and Jude staggers away from me like he’s a little exhausted or on a high—not sure which.

Ezekiel staggers just as quickly, and we look out over the battlefield that is insane. Those racing colors of war rush over their skin as they kill each other, fighting to the death, as though a civil war has just erupted for no apparent reason.

“What’s going on?”

“Chaos,” Ezekiel says, swallowing thickly. “I’ve never created it on this scale before, and not without physical contact.”

That’s not chaos at all. This is two sides at war with the intent to kill each other.

“And Jude just killed beings who can’t be killed without a certain damning weapon, and he never touched them. The decay hit harder and more fiercely than ever,” Kai states as though to himself.

He touches me, beginning to lift his hand like he’s about to use me as a conduit as well, just as the rain ceases to fall.

“Don’t. We don’t know what it does to take from her just to amplify our powers,” Gage says, causing Kai to blink and release me as we remain forgotten to the fierce battle just outside.

“We can study all that later. With their attention fractured, we should be able to fight our way out now,” Jude says without looking at me as he grabs two spears from the ground.

The others spring into action, collecting more abandoned spears. We race out of the cave, rushing out right into the thick of the madness.

Ezekiel slams the spear into one man’s throat, as Kai breaks off a hunk of the wood from the spear, and just uses the onyx point as a blade. He slices through ten men without even slowing down.

I’m in phantom form again for obvious reasons. I have no idea how to work a spear, and I decide the learning curve is just too large to deal with right at this particularly fatal moment.

I’m racing behind Jude as he uses his two spears like dual bo staffs, spinning them before slamming them into the hordes of men fighting a battle they don’t even understand.

Most of them are still warring with each other, leaving only the stragglers we run into as an issue.

Just as a spear very nearly slams into Jude’s back, I launch myself in front of it, turning whole.

My hands slam together on each side of the angular blade, stopping it inches from my stomach.

“I’m totally a badass,” I say on a shaky breath, questioning the bladder issue in whole form at this very terrifying second.

Looking up, I see the tribesmen up close as one bumps into me, acting like he doesn’t see me at all. Ha! I’ll tell them my new pun when we’re not in peril—should that day ever come.

I quickly spin and jab the spear into his back in one fluid motion like I’m a battle overlord or some shit.

“I really am a badass!” I shout louder.

He drops like a pile of rubble, and I smirk while dusting my hands off. Then end up squealing like a lunatic girl when I’m knocked to the ground.

Another one of the eyeless men trips over me.

I know I just made the tacky blind tribesmen pun about them not being able to see me, but it’s like they don’t realize I’m here at all, yet have no problem targeting the guys.

“It’s wearing off, I think,” Jude gripes, slamming his hand into one’s chest.

It decays rapidly, proving they certainly can die by means other than the spear.

I grab a spear and stab the one that is wallowing around beside me, still tangled up on my legs.

“How do you beat an army who need cool signatures to single you out amongst the heat of hell?” I shout.

No answer comes until I’m about to unleash the biggest spark of that mysterious acid I’ve ever felt.

“You set the forest on fire to block out your cold signatures,” Kai says on a breath, then turns and adds. “Run!”

Just as the tribesmen all seem to snap out of their disorientation and turn to face the retreating backs of the guys, I smirk.

My fingers snap together, and a spark of that burning acid slams to the very base of the tree beside me.

That’s all it takes.

A whoosh of fire ignites, spreading like a wall of flame, and the blind tribesmen scream when they try to leap through it. I’ve already seen them heal before, so I know it doesn’t kill them. But it becomes obvious they can’t see beyond the quickly growing wall of heat the guys are racing in front of.

“Burn!” I shout, fist-pumping the air.

I’m not sure why my guys insist on groaning at my jokes so much. It’s sad they have no appreciation for obvious humor.

I snap back to phantom and zap myself to the guys, gauging the distance between them and my fire.

They’re a lot faster than I remember, and I actually have to strain a little to keep up, even in my weightless form.

The fire starts getting swallowed up by the forest, and the tribesmen are nowhere to be seen. We don’t slow down enough to be certain.

After a few hours of solid running, they start losing a little steam, and I decide to voice a question that’s been bothering me, now that the immediate threat of death is over—at the moment.

“Why do these trials have so many physical elements? Climbing is unnecessary when you can siphon,” I tell them.

“Physical and mental endurance is one of the overall studies in the trials,” Jude answers, panting for air as he bends over and rests for a second.