Thrace whipped his daggers out. “She has a point. Let’s show them what we can do.” He charged across the bridge following them.
Kry looked at Whisper. Whisper’s green eyes spoke to him as if understanding what had to be done.
“Together,” said Whisper. He expanded his barrier and projected his mind to the others. “I have your backs.” Whisper directed his energy in the shape of large stones to deflect the tide of fireballs and lightning bolts that were coming toward his teammates.
Kry focused his energy and targeted the Chinese with attacks of his own, unleashing fireballs and ice shards across the bridge.
As Eclipse, Akira, and Thrace met the Chinese, a rain of elemental energy clashed above them negating the effects of each side. Eclipse was the first to act as she blinked between two Chinese, striking their barriers and forcing them backward. Kuro was alight with energy as it danced in her hand, creating a vibration of tremors which weakened the Chinese barriers.
Wei Long blinked past Eclipse and spun around in a dance of knives throwing dozens of them from her wrists.
“Her knives are infused with dark matter!” shouted Thrace.
“What does that mean?” said Eclipse, deflecting another attack as she fought two at the same time.
Thrace was unable to reply as one of the knives exploded against his barrier.
“Thrace!” said Akira.
A cloud of smoke came from the explosion, and it was impossible to see what had happened. The smoke then suddenly blew apart, and Thrace was standing inside his barrier with one knee on the ground. He was visibly shaken, but he forced himself to stand as another Chinese student blinked toward him. Akira tried to help him, but he was blocked by another and was forced to defend himself as he tried to counter his attacks.
With everyone occupied, Wei Long continued across the bridge, directing her attention toward Kry.
“She’s coming for us!” said Whisper.
Kry fired blasts of ice and created ripples of energy to force her back, but she jumped high up in the air avoiding his attacks and within seconds landed in front of them. The impact of Wei Long’s landing created a vortex of dust which made Whisper almost lose his balance in the whirlwind of energy.
“Go and help the others!” shouted Kry.
Whisper wasted no time and left Kry to face off against Wei Long. Whisper ran across the bridge creating sharp pellets of hard rock to force the Chinese away from his teammates. The numbers were now even as each of them fought against another.
“Kry Ensis,” said Wei Long, brandishing her knives which glowed with energy.
They walked around the top of the mountain, their eyes locked on one another.
“Wei Long,” said Kry.
She blinked into the air and came crashing down on his barrier before he could react. Her knife touched his barrier and exploded, throwing him backward and down the trail of the mountain. Kry used his hands to stop the fall and turned his single barrier into two. Wei Long was already on her next attack as she pushed him further away from his teammates. She was vicious with her movements and did not allow a single opportunity for him to retaliate.
Kry tried to expand his barrier, large enough to push her back, but she jumped into the air again and landed on his barrier with several knives, exploding as they made contact.
A flash of blinding light made him lose his vision, and when he could see again, a great cloud of smoke was around him. He was trapped in a mist. Wei Long struck from every angle, attempting to penetrate his barrier.
Kry clasped his hands and with great energy created a shockwave of air to blast the mist away. Wei Long spun in the air and landed a little way up the mountain ridge. In the distance, he could see his teammates fighting on the bridge. They seemed evenly matched.
It was time for him to act. He blinked next to Wei Long and turned his hand into stone slamming her barrier. The force was strong enough to knock her backward. She then tried to jump into the air again, but Kry could see it coming and fired a bolt of lightning upward, striking the bottom of her barrier, the weakest part. The bolt struck her, and she was thrown to the ground. He had made sure not to use all his power to bring her down, fearing he would hurt her. Wei Long was not moving. He went to see if she was still breathing as there had been no call from the Cube to eliminate her from the battle. As he looked at her, she opened her eyes and with both hands pulled herself up and over him, throwing him over her. Kry landed hard on the rocks nearby.
Suddenly, there was a gigantic explosion from the bridge, and to Kry’s dismay, the bridge of stone where his friends were fighting crumbled.
Wei Long saw it, too, but she ignored it and came to finish him off. Just witnessing the explosion caused Kry to lose control of himself and of the anger that lay within him. Something came over him, an unnatural feeling of power, and he could see Wei Long’s attack before she even made it. He placed his hand on her barrier and with great energy dispersed it. He then grabbed her wrist as she was about to strike and flipped her over onto the ground. The look on her eyes said enough as she feared for her life with her barrier now down.
The falling rocks from the bridge could be heard all around the mountains. It was impossible for him to see what had happened. He could still sense their presence, but it was faint.
“Do me one favor,” said Wei Long as she looked up at him from the ground.
Kry was about to do the final strike, his hand vibrating with energy.
“Don’t let Sonus win,” she said. Her eyes glowed with a dark hazel as she looked into his soul. “Please.”
His hand vibrated above her. “I won’t.” Instead of throwing another attack he helped her up.
She looked at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“You’re not my enemy,” he replied.
“We’re all enemies in here. It doesn’t matter. I’m out of the tournament. I don’t know what happened on the bridge, but remember what I said.” Wei Long then disappeared as a flash of light shot up into the sky, the Cube understanding her fight was over.
Kry ran back to the top of the mountain ridge. When he reached the top, he saw the devastation before him. The bridge was no more, and there was no one left.
****
Her head was still ringing from the explosion. She had not expected another group to attack them, and the blast had only just missed her as she jumped out of the way. All that she remembered was that she saw several flashes of light shoot up into the sky. She prayed that they were not from her group.
Eclipse picked up Kuro and looked around her. Rubbles of rock and bridge fragments were everywhere. Ilya had come out of nowhere, and his team had blasted the bridge from down below the ridge. She quickly scrambled across the rocks to find anyone left from the battle. As she searched, she heard a faint coughing. She could feel the presence, but it was very faint.
Eclipse used her mind to move the rocks away and saw Akira’s katana within the rubble. She moved more rocks away from the blade and saw his hand still firmly holding the hilt. With a great force of energy, she blew apart the rubble around him and pulled him out with all her strength.
“What happened?” asked Akira, coughing intermittingly. He was covered in dust, and his face was bleeding.
Eclipse held him steady. “The Russians.”
Akira held his blade and used it to hold his balance. “What about the others?”
Eclipse gave him a concerned look. “You’re the first one I found. Kry was fighting Wei Long, and the last thing I saw was the bridge collapsing beneath my feet.”
Akira touched his blade against hers. “My strength is slowly returning. Let’s go find the others.”
Eclipse pointed to the giant wall of rock which was blocking their path. “It looks like the remains of the bridge. We have to go back the other way.”
As soon as she spoke, the ground beneath them began to vibrate, and the mountains descended into the ground.
“The Cube is shifting!” said Akira.
T
owering, green trees began to rise from the ground, and they soon found themselves in a dense forest. Suddenly, there was an explosion in the distance. A shockwave followed accompanied by a wave of dust and debris. Eclipse and Akira stood firmly as the shockwave vibrated against their barriers and waited as the dust passed over them.
“Another team?” said Akira, turning to her.
Eclipse was not sure. “If the others are still in the Cube, we have to find them before anyone else. Let’s hope that they can survive until we reach them.”
They gripped their blades and ran toward the source of the explosion.
****
The sound of flowing water was hypnotic, and each ripple was like a beautiful melody. A river bank was to their right, and trees were all around them.
“I can’t believe we survived that,” said Thrace.
Whisper turned around to see Thrace drawing something on the soil with a stick. Everything transpired so quickly. When the explosion hit, he and Thrace had joined together to form a stronger barrier. “What happened?”
Thrace rubbed away the image. “The Russians. Ilya and his gang blew the bridge up. I saw them just before the blast hit. The Cube shifting from the mountainous terrain to this forest probably was in our favor.”
Whisper’s body was still aching from the fall. He stretched his muscles and massaged his neck. “Do you think the others made it?”
Thrace looked unsure. “I hope so.”
Whisper was not proficient enough to sense a User presence and could only hope that the others were safe. “Do you have any idea which way we should go?”
Thrace formed his barrier. “No idea, but I’ve heard several sounds of fighting not far from here. If any other group finds us while we are separated, then we’re going to be at a disadvantage.”
Whisper concurred. Two against five were not favorable odds. He followed Thrace’s lead and formed his barrier. “Kry wasn’t on the bridge when it exploded so he must be alone,” he said with worry.
Thrace tried to be optimistic. “He’s resourceful. He’ll probably find us before we find him.”
Thrace’s words made him more confident. He knew Kry was strong, and this was his time to prove he was as well.
“When I recovered, there was a wall of rubble blocking the path. I heard faint sounds of movement on the other side, and I’m pretty sure that was Akira and Eclipse,” said Thrace.
“What about the rest of Wei Long’s group?” asked Whisper.
“I didn’t see them, but they took the brunt of the blast. I think the majority of them are out of the tournament,” said Thrace.
“At least that’s one group out of the way,” said Whisper.
Thrace suddenly grabbed Whisper and pulled him behind the tree.
“What are you doing?” asked Whisper.
Thrace placed his finger to his own lips.
It was then that Whisper heard people speaking. Their accents were clear enough to recognize them as the Russians.
“Ilya, signs of people were here a moment ago. The grass is trampled.”
Whisper froze in fear and tried not to make a sound.
“We can’t allow them to regroup!”
Whisper recognized the voice of Ilya. Thrace was deadly still. Their voices then suddenly vanished, and the Russians seemed to have left. Whisper was relieved and took a deep breath. It was then that the tree they stood behind exploded and threw them both into the air.
“You can’t hide from us!” boomed Ilya. “I smell the fear you give!”
Whisper and Thrace managed to return to their feet, ready to defend themselves.
The entire Russian team stood by the bank, and all of them looked ready to murder. Whisper knew there was no running away from this. It was Thrace and him against five. It looked like it was going to be an early exit from the tournament.
“Look what we have here.”
Whisper turned, and his heart was pounding. Thrace scowled.
Hendrix laughed. “Seems you’re in a bit of a pickle, eh, Thrace?”
****
Kry’s ears were still ringing from the explosion as he moved quickly through the forest. He had yet to spot anyone since the bridge collapsed. His concern for his friends was growing as he moved even faster toward their presence. When the terrain had changed, it almost crushed him, but he had made it off the mountain just at the last moment before the trees suddenly appeared all around him.
At first, he had no idea which way to go, but he had practiced sensing his team’s individual presences and had located his friends. Unfortunately, they were separated and in opposite directions. Eclipse and Akira’s presence were to the north of him, while Whisper and Thrace were to the south. He could not reach them both at the same time, but knowing Eclipse was stronger than the others, he decided to go first after Whisper and Thrace. He hoped he had made the right decision.
****
By the time Eclipse and Akira made it toward the explosion, they did not expect to see what they did. The Japanese were in a head-on clash with the Europeans. Swords and elemental energy were everywhere as they tried to stay out of the fight. Members of both teams had taken losses as only Yuri and Ren were left still fighting three of the Europeans, including their leader Gustav. Yuri and Gustav battled in a trade of elemental blows, neither one backing away from the other.
Eclipse held Akira back. “We wait. Let them finish each other off.”
Ren was holding his own as he defended against two of Gustav’s group. He wielded his blade with deadly accuracy and deflected their attacks with ease.
Akira watched Ren intently, gripping his katana and thinking of his dead sister. Ren then jumped into the air and launched himself off a tree branch, landing on top of one of the Europeans. The landing was so powerful that it destroyed the European’s barrier and exploded, throwing him across the floor. A flash of light shot up into the sky, and Ren looked triumphant. He was unaware that the other European was about to strike him from behind. Just as the blow was about to connect, the European flew back and slammed into a tree, knocking her unconscious. Another flash of light shot up into the sky.
Ren turned in surprise.
“You will fight me,” said Akira, his hand glowing with energy.
Eclipse had seen Akira intervene at the last moment and said nothing. He had his own vendetta to resolve. Instead, she waited patiently for Yuri and Gustav to finish their fight so that she could fight the winner.
Yuri and Gustav were equal in strength and ability, but it seemed Yuri’s viciousness was greater and her endurance to keep up the pressure seemed too much for Gustav to handle. Gustav directed blasts of ice at Yuri, but Yuri spun in a circle creating a whirlwind of energy which deflected the ice back toward Gustav, destroying his barrier. Yuri pounced on him and struck him violently with one last blow. Instantly, there was a flash of light, and Gustav was out of the tournament.
Eclipse swung her blade ready to face Yuri once more, but as Yuri wiped her forehead of sweat and turned to her, she was thrown into the air, spun around, and thrown back down to the ground. A glimmering sword then struck Yuri’s barrier which exploded on impact.
Eclipse recognized the sword. It was Svana’s.
Svana and the Iron Maidens dropped from out of the trees. All five were still together, and Svana kicked Yuri down while regaining her sword. A flash of light followed and then Yuri was gone.
“We have a rematch to settle,” snarled Svana.
****
“Hendrix, you never were one to fight fair,” said Thrace. He looked back and forth between Hendrix and Ilya.
Whisper tried to think of a way to get out of this mess.
Suddenly, Ilya shouted. “Hendrix!” The Russians blinked behind them and were fighting the American team, completely ignoring Thrace and Whisper.
They moved out of the way as the Russians gave everything they had against Hendrix and his team.
“We should get out of here,” said Whisper.
Th
race agreed and led them away from the fighting but stopped in surprise.
“What is it?” asked Whisper.
Thrace touched the air in front of him, and it looked as if something was blocking his path. “There’s a barrier here,” said Thrace as he tried to get through, but the barrier was too strong.
Whisper tried to get past, but it was no good. “The Cube?”
“No,” said Thrace. “This is something else. Someone doesn’t want us to get out.” He tried moving around the barrier, but the edge of the barrier circled them completely. They were trapped inside with two other teams.
Whisper was confused. “I don’t understand. Who did this?”
Thrace looked around the forest, but it was empty, and the only sounds they heard were coming from the fighting between the Russians and the Americans. “I can’t sense anyone else.”
It seemed as if the two factions had no idea that they were trapped inside and instead were focused on each other, knowing whoever won could finish Thrace and Whisper.
Thrace then saw a small glowing light moving toward them. It shimmered across the floor.
Whisper saw it, too. “Dark matter?”
Thrace looked afraid and pointed. Whisper turned and saw there was not just one glowing light, but several all coming from different directions. Small balls of dark matter were rolling toward them, and they had no way to get out. Hendrix and Ilya had no idea of the impending attack.
“We have to warn them,” said Whisper.
Thrace grabbed him. “We can’t. They’re fighting with everything they have, and getting in the way will only make things worse. We can only prepare ourselves for the attack, whoever it is. Make your barrier as strong as possible and hold my hand. Perhaps together we can still make it out.”
The glowing dark matter had almost reached them. Hendrix and his team battled against the Russian Users, their furious fighting taking their full attention away from the secret attack that was about to be unleashed.
Whisper focused his barrier and held Thrace’s hand. The dark matter touched the outer rim of their barrier, and there was a loud bang as the ground beneath them split apart.
Rise of the Young: Warriors are not made; they are forged (The Ascended Book 2) Page 28
