Reaching Retribution(72)

“I see them,” I tell Liam. Liam reaches forward and punches a man in the jaw. His body goes slack as he falls to the ground in pain. Liam kicks him in the chest and moves onto the next Gadramick.

She’s just going to let them do all the dirty work, I see. Simultaneously, I turn around and push my magic out, sending a group of about ten Gadramicks flying into the bases of large oak trees.

“I’m going to try and push my way through everyone. Can you two handle yourself here?” I ask.

“I’m coming with you Ryanne,” Liam announces. I’ve already moved a couple steps forward, before I turn around and face him. I throw a shield up around us again. I knew Liam would make this difficult and pull the protector card.

I look at him for a moment and then realize how much time I’m wasting just standing here. “Fine, but keep up,” I smile at him as I turn around and the drop the shield. I casually walk forward into the large crowd.

That girl is crazy, I hear Liam think behind me. I shoot a smile at him over my shoulder and wink, but continue moving. With each step I take, I channel all the anger from everyone into me. Anger fuels my magic, making it more aggressive—stronger.

When someone attempts to run toward me, I point my arm out and shoot my magic toward him. My liquid lightning cascades from my palm and hits the man in the chest. Without thinking about it, I move on. I hit two more men before I think better of this idea. I stop moving and wait for everyone to come to me.

“Ryanne, what are you doing?” Liam shouts at me while fighting off another man.

“Don’t worry about me, Liam,” I shout back. “Just watch my back.”

I bring my arms above my head all the while calling my magic to me. I don’t know if this is going to work, but it’s worth a shot. I can hear Liam fighting behind me, but that doesn’t faze me. I know that he’s fully capable of defending himself and protecting me. I trust my protector with my life.

I close my eyes and envision the scene in front of me freezing—all the Gadramicks stopping mid-motion, frozen in time, while the mages remain as they are. I need to talk to everyone for a moment and this is the only way I can think of accomplishing that feat. Still hearing the fighting around me, I push more magic out, imagining it coating each individual; lining their bodies and slowing their movements until they stop moving all together. The sound slowly decrescendos until all I hear is the breathing of those around me.

“Did you do that?” Liam asks me. Hearing the awe in his voice, I open my eyes. Everyone has frozen mid-action like someone pushed pause on a movie. It’s just like I imagined.

I ignore his question and slowly weave my way through all the unmoving bodies. I don’t know how long this is going to last, so I need to get to Logan fast. I can hear some people shuffling around me, but I hope they are the mages. I think some of the mages froze during the process, so I apparently wasn’t as specific as I thought I was.

“Logan?” I call out. They were standing close to this area last time I saw them. I accidently bump into a Gadramick. His body teeters, but he doesn’t come unfrozen. Huh, Weebles do wobble, but they don’t fall down. I can’t help the tiny giggle that escapes. Adam and Liam step up behind me and give me a questioning look.

“This is so cool,” Adam says as he waves his hand in front of the man’s face. Obviously, he doesn’t respond.

“Ryanne?” I hear Logan call back to me. I turn to my left and pick up my speed. I know his voice came from this direction.

“I can see him. Keep heading forward. They’re about twenty feet in front of us.”

“It’d nice if I was just a little taller,” I mumble as I duck under someone’s outstretch arm. “Then, I’d be able to see them for myself.”

Liam laughs at me, but doesn’t say anything. I maneuver around all the frozen bodies. This reminds of when I was little and we’d all play freeze tag in the middle of the street—except for the fact that we never actually froze. There’s not a single kid who can remain still for that long.

“So, Zahtri is actually Ezra?” I ask Liam as I duck under an extended arm.

“Apparently. I’d recognize him anywhere. He looks older now, but it’s him.”

“I saw that scar on him earlier and thought of the story you told me, but you didn’t mention specifically where you cut him, so I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know for sure though until I read your thoughts. You were basically screaming them at me.”

“I’m sorry about that. It just took me by surprise. All of my anger just came rushing back the second I saw him. It all makes sense though. I knew there was a reason why Valdus was working with the Gadramicks. He wouldn’t just help them for no reason.”