Jaden let the light of the endobraces shine freely, allowing him to find passages that he had not seen on his way in. He jumped down staircases, sprinted through hallways and found his way through large dining halls before coming to two stairways leading to either side, a double iron door thrice his height at the bottom. Jaden jumped on the railing and slid down it, winding around a half circle before hopping off at the bottom. He ran to the doors, knowing the beasts were right behind him, and attempted to open them.
They were stuck, jammed shut. He tried to use all of his force, pushing and then pulling, but it was no use. The endobraces lit up as he used as much energy as he had left on the doors, but he was losing strength, and no matter which or how much energy he used, nothing made the doors budge.
The beasts entered the room slowly, stalking down the stairways. Jaden turned, the endobraces alight, and watched them come forward. He counted eight in total, all gradually easing forward. They knew he was trapped. But they did not seem to think him at all powerful.
With all of his fear, he managed to ignite and sustain a wall of energy that glowed like fire. He pushed it outward, forcing the beasts back. They retreated as he had planned, but they did not leave the room. He was losing concentration as quickly as he was losing energy, and with a final burst, he unleashed a wave of energy that passed over the beasts, burning some as others ran out of the room. He fell to one knee and needed to rest his hand on the floor to stay upright. He struggled to breathe. His lungs seemed to burn with the energy, as if the endobraces no longer gave any protection and the energy had come back at him. He looked up as he heard the beasts coming forward again, but then closed his eyes, knowing that anything he tried to do now would be pointless. He could perhaps hinder them for a few more moments, but it was only delaying the inevitability of his death. All there was left to do now was accept his fate.
He thought of the irony, laughing madly to himself at how his death would come when he had finally found purpose again. It was not long ago that he would have embraced this chance for escape. But as he thought of Alyssa, it only made him want to fight, to show the beasts his rage and to make them know that he was not one that they could simply devour. He would either make them meet their own deaths or fatally wound them so that they would die later.
He kept his eyes shut tight, gathering his concentration again, but then suddenly the beasts became silent. The sound of their steps had gone along with their low growls. White light was shining as if he were no longer inside the palace, as if daylight was hitting his eyelids from the sun at noon. There was a strange humming sound in the chamber, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that translucent white shields were holding the beasts at bay. The beasts were confused, one trying to break through the shield before being repelled quickly and slamming into the wall. It fell unconscious to the ground, and when the others had decided the risk not worth the feast, they left the chamber.
Jaden looked at the one responsible for their departure.
‘Raquel,’ he whispered, noticing the woman standing between him and where the beasts had been. One of her arms was raised and still seemingly maintaining a single shield around the fallen beast.
Raquel turned to him and offered him her free hand. He took it and stood.
‘How are you doing that?’ he asked, checking again to make sure there were no endobraces on her arms.
‘There is power here,’ she said.
‘I don’t understand.’
Raquel turned to him, her expression stern. ‘It’s what keeps them alive without food.’ She turned back to the beast and began to move it toward them, making it float through the air. The beast struggled in her levitating field, but could not break free. ‘More surfaces each day.’
‘What power?’ asked Jaden.
‘The power,’ said Raquel, as if expecting Jaden to now understand.
Jaden shook his head. ‘What are they?’ he asked, pointing to the beast.
‘Hybrids of a war long passed,’ said Raquel.
‘The Forgotten Years,’ offered Jaden.
Raquel nodded.
‘How are they still here?’
‘They have been brought back.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘For wealth, there are those that would return us to those years. They don’t understand what they are doing.’
‘Who?’
‘Those in Waikor,’ said Raquel, allowing the beast to drop and then pushing it away gently with soft bursts of energy.
‘What did they do?’
‘The Medatassai lived here in peace centuries ago. They had little to call their own. Their wealth was in their land, their resources. Then the Waikorians came and took it away.’