Reaching Retribution(108)

“So how long are we talking about here? Five, ten minutes? An hour tops?”

“Only you know that,” Claire says.

“Well, do you think we can get a pizza delivered here? Thirty minutes sounds reasonable. I’m starving. I’ve been fighting all day.” I try to keep a serious expression on my face, but seeing everyone’s smiles lifts my spirits a little bit.

I can do this.

But the actual question is, can my body?

“So what’ll happen to you guys?” I ask moving my eyes between all of them. They’re…dead. They don’t have another chance. I’ve been given too many chances. Why don’t they get one too?

“After this, we move on,” Claire says. “We’re here to help you. Once your body chooses, our time is done. We get to move on. I finally get to move on.” I can see the small smile on her face.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. I feel responsible for their deaths. Claire died during an explosion that was meant to kill me. My mom died in a car crash that was meant to kill me. Jedrek, Kyril, and Vincent all died in a battle that they were a part of because of me. I’m the common factor in all of their deaths.

“Ryanne, do not blame yourself for our deaths,” Vincent says. “Phillip killed me. Not you.”

“I chose to correct the car,” my mom tells me.

“Cawtel killed me,” Jedrek says, “but my death was long overdue.”

“Fallon stabbed me,” Kyril states.

“I chose my death,” Claire cryptically says. At my confused look, she continues. “You’ll understand someday. Check the books.” The books? Claire winks at me, but refuses to explain further.

“Claire, what were Colton’s parents names?” I remember him telling me their story, but for the life of me, no pun intended, I can’t remember their names.

“Scott and Lynelle,” she answers. “Why?” I knew it. They are the ones that carved their initials into the tree. Colton’s parents helped me tonight. They played a part in helping me overcome Zahtri…and I may never get to tell Colton that.

Choosing to ignore her question, I ask, “So what now?” I cross my legs and lean back, closing my eyes and basking in the sunlight. That’s one thing I love about this place. It’s never too hot. It’s never too cold. There’s a light breeze and a nice amount of sunlight. It’s not blinding, but it feels good as it hits the skin.

“We wait,” my mom answers.

I hate waiting.





Colton


The fighting around us has basically stopped. Ryanne’s magic isn’t just concentrated on the opposite side of the platform anymore; it’s moving around us as well. She has Zahtri fully enclosed in a vortex of magic. She pulled this same move on Colin during a training session we had back at his house.

I push my invisibility back and look at Liam, who’s staring at Ryanne with a worried expression on his face. Even though he’s not her protector now, I know he still wants to be fighting beside her. “Something’s wrong,” he whispers.

I look back over at Ryanne as she falls to her knees on the ground. The vortex has folded in on itself, creating a cocoon around Zahtri. There’s no way for him to escape now. Ryanne is still pushing out magic. Too much magic. “What is she doing?” She needs to stop.

“She’s ending this,” Liam answers. At the same time, we both start to head in her direction.

The wind begins to pick up. Increasing in intensity, it pushes against our bodies making it impossible to move forward. Voices and soft whispers fill the air. Ryanne leans forward and places her hands on the grass to remain upright. Thunder cracks above. She’s still pushing out magic.

Ryanne, stop. Stop. STOP! I repeat this over and over, hoping that she’ll hear me.

Lighting strikes the middle of the vortex as Ryanne shoots a large ball of magic at it. Everything around us stops as we watch it make its way to the tornado. No one is fighting anymore. Everyone is watching and waiting to see what happens next.

When the magic connects, the vortex begins to glow. Its luminance increases in intensity until it literally hurts to look at it. A couple seconds later, it explodes and the brightness shoots out across the clearing, blinding everything. My body is thrown backward and I feel myself free-falling through the air. I don’t know how long I am like this, but it feels like an eternity. I can’t hear anything around me. I can’t see anything. I’m all alone in my quiet little universe.

Slamming into a hard surface, I’m brought out of my bubble and back into the real world. Hearing a slight ringing in my ears, I open my eyes and see pieces of wood. Leaves are floating to the ground from the trees that exploded.