Call Spirits in Your Past **Book Two**

Chapter 33 (Thursday)

Teremki hunted around for a weapon, Ryn's forcefield shrinking around them. But, nothing lay in sight except dirt and pebbles, and chucking fistfuls of that wouldn't accomplish much against their opponents.

Sparks of flame, deep scarlet, hammered Ryn's bubble, thrown by Jade. From what Xander explained, Jade broke down chemical bonds and stored the energy to fuel other people. But this...Jade was releasing tons of energy on his own, barraging Ryn's forcefield with it.

Ana yelped in his mind and he jumped.

Ana, are you okay?

Utterly and completely, she replied sarcastically. Just hanging out with Ella and trying to avoid shadow bludgeons.

Teremki sent her an image of the scene in front of him. Any ideas?

I mean, I'm kind of busy at the moment--Teremki got a glimpse of an illusion-Ana getting smashed by one of Amo's shadows--but why don't you ask Ryn for a forcefield staff?

Ooh. Good idea. Do you know how Niko and Chamrik are doing? he hesitated, but still asked, and Dragonfly?

The last I saw of Chamrik was lizard-boy coughing on green sand. I think he and Niko are still together. Dragonfly's stuck with Mateo.

Teremki winced. Mateo was barely seven.

Sorry, Amo's cornered us, Ana sent. Talk to you after we crush her.

Teremki smiled, bouncing on his toes. "Drop it!" he called to Ryn. "And make us some weapons!"

Ryn glanced at him, but nodded, hands curled into fists. The slowly shrinking bubble protecting them disappeared and two clubs formed on the ground in front of him; a single, larger one in front of Ryn. He snagged the weapons and bolted from a flash of fireworks, but Sarah charged at them.

Ryn tried tripping the younger girl with the club, but Sarah launched herself above it using the ground like a springboard. She landed next to Teremki, grinning slyly, and the ground began shaking.

He tried jumping away, but the ground absorbed all of his efforts. That didn't surprise him, though. He'd known it would happen.

He knocked Sarah to the ground with his first club, and raised the second to block Jade's explosion. It bloomed inside Ryn's forcefield weapon, puffing away to nothing. Sarah gaped at him. "How'd you do that?"

"My power is seeing--feeling--the future through art," he said. "I'm practicing at being a better dancer."

He didn't really care if she understood. He ran after Ryn, who was busily trapping red explosions in bubbles moments after they appeared. Jade stood a few feet from her, his fists and jaw clenched tightly. So he didn't see Teremki coming, grabbing his arm--all the power exploded out of Jade and into Teremki.

***

Jade screamed. A rush of power ripped Teremki away, tossing him like a leaf in a whirlpool. Teremki's present was only a moment. An eyelash width of time. The whirlpool was every other moment from the time he existed to the moment he did not. From end to beginning. He could fly, when before, after, he could barely jump from the ground.

Jade screamed. Teremki knew every breath Jade screams. He shied away, from the anger, the pain, the laughter, the whirlpool swirling, shredding the leaf in an eyeblink that lasted forever. The ocean whirlpool died, the blue rippled calm, still, Teremki lost touch of the leaf.

He gasped. Jade was lying on the ground, Ryn rubbing her fist. "Thanks for distracting him," she said. "What'd you do, pinch him really hard?"

Teremki shook his head, hunting around for the forcefield clubs he'd dropped--wait, Ryn must've unmade them. He knew that from the whirlpool...