Delta [Epsilon #2]

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Iciness ran through my veins and guttered my flame, leaving me chilled and vulnerable. Smoke furled off my fur as I stared into those eyes, at the building light in his throat. Its high-pitched screech was awful, making me sick with a type of fear I'd never felt before -- the fear of death. It was then that I realized just how vulnerable I was, how exposed. Without my magic to protect me, whatever attack he would launch now could kill me. 

It seemed he realized it, too, for every bit of fury in his eyes died, replaced instead with white horror. I collapsed to my side, fear clawing at my throat as that white light continued to build exponentially, consuming my vision. The Delta didn't move. He began thrashing against his own power, as though to stop himself, and I closed my eyes as I awaited the worst to greet me. 

A deafening crack. A blinding white light. I opened my eyes, certain this was the end. 

It wasn't. The deadly bundle of electricity wasn't heading for me. The Delta had turned his head away at the last moment. I watched in slow-motion as the bold headed straight for a blonde-haired girl, her green eyes wide with fear. 

I barely made to stand. No!

Too late. A sickening crash sounded as the lightning clipped Raina's side. For a moment, her body simply seized, her eyes wide with shock. Then, she fell forward, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

"Raina!" I screamed, taking off running. I hadn't even realized I'd reverted to human form until my black cloak stuck against my sweat-licked skin, and I came crashing down beside her. I stared at her white face. Her lips looked blue.

Azure came crashing down beside me, sobbing. "What happened? What happened!" She screamed.

I looked to the Delta to find him in human form as well, staring at me with a white face. His eyes looked struck with both horror and guilt, the latter seeming to overpower him as he looked towards my injured friend. 

Quickly, I put my ear to her chest, and what I heard made my heart sink. Silence. Complete, utter silence, and not one beat of a heart.

"Her heart's stopped!" I cried, the panic taking over my mind and freezing my blood. I stared at her ashen face. I bit back a sob of panic. Nonononon.

I was frozen; completely, utterly frozen. I may have never been able to move again, if it weren't for Azure's hysterical voice next to me. "Kyra!" she begged. I jolted at the anguish in her voice, at the begging of me to do something, anything, as time slipped by.

Within a few minutes, she'd be dead for sure; gone. Gone. Nononono--

Think, damn it!

But my mind was blank. Time seemed both too fast and too slow as Azure sobbed next to me, as I remained suspended in my world of terror and helplessness.

Think. Think!

Then it came to me. With shaking hands, I placed them over the centre of her chest and pressed down. Again. And again. I did it several times and stopped only when I put my lips to her, forcing air into her tired lungs. 

"What are you doing?" Azure cried. 

"CPR," I gasped, returning to the chest compressions. My arms felt weak and tired, but I had to do this. "It's how we keep the dead alive. It's our only shot at restarting her heart."

I could feel Azure's dumbfounded stare, and it occurred to me that maybe this wasn't common knowledge in the werewolf world. For once in my damn life, I was glad to have been born a human. I continued to push my palms down. Her skin bruised. Her ribs cracked. I didn't care. I had to keep her heart moving. I had to wait for the miracle moment where it would restart.