Spirit's Wrath (Book 2 of Spirit's Calling)

Candle

Lloyd wanted to curl up in forget everything from the past day.

If he didn't think too hard, he may have believed everything was normal. He could see clearly, move, feel — but he wasn't the one controlling his body.

He wished desperately to have one ounce of control, to be able to call to his friends, to do anything. He moved around and spoke, but it wasn't him doing it, and his voice sounded weird. Every time he saw himself attacking his friends he wanted to scream.

Sometimes he wrestled control back for a few seconds, preventing Morro from hurting his family any more than they already were. He knew they saw him resisting and called out to him. He wanted to reply so badly, but before he could, Morro slammed him away and gave him a massive headache.

His family...

Y/n kept attacking him no matter how many times Morro beat her back. He saw her meet his eyes and see past Morro to his desperate gaze. She kept coming back no matter how hurt she was.

Lloyd could only watch his own hands injure his sister. He could tell she was in pain, yet no matter what, she kept fighting. He loved her for it, but he wanted to yell at her to stay away. Morro was vicious and unrelenting, unlike anything they'd seen. Though he guessed maybe she had, back on Chen's island. The idea was not a pleasant one.

And every moment he felt like he was on fire.

Fire. Kai's element. He dizzily remembered when he was in the volcano, wide eyes nervously watching the lava creep closer, desperately calling to Kai to save him. Then the Fire Ninja, his brother, had leaped across the stones to carry him to safety.

Kai's fire was nice. It wasn't burning or painful, but soft and soothing. After that, Lloyd never feared fire. In fact, his element was a combination of the Elements of Creation, and fire was a huge part of his energy. Now? He worried he would panic if he even felt the heat of a flame.

Morro didn't help. Whenever he wasn't in battle, the ghost prodded Lloyd's memories like going through paperwork. He saw all of Lloyd's past battles and training. He knew how to fight the Ninja because Lloyd knew how to fight them. During his training, he picked up on their habits and weaknesses, and Morro used that to easily defeat them while the Ninja had no idea how to fight the ghost.

Only one good thing came out of that. Lloyd hadn't trained with Y/n enough to figure out her weak spots or her strengths, thus preventing Morro from finding out as well. His sister had gotten through Morro's defenses several times, her training from Chen vastly different from what Morro was prepared for. Lloyd wished he could cheer her on, but he was voiceless in the void.

Now, all Lloyd could do was try and suppress the pain as it crawled over his body. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a shuddering breath as he sensed Morro laughing at him.

What had he done to deserve this? As far as he could tell, Morro's attack on him was unprovoked and unnecessary. Sure, he could feel the ghost's rage at him being the Green Ninja, followed by taunts of his weakness and how much he didn't deserve the green gi while Morro did. But he'd simply been trying to help stop a robbery at a museum, even if the crime was a trap to lure him in.

You know, Morro's voice sneered at him. The Ninja only want to save you because you're their beloved Green Ninja.

That's not true! Lloyd cried as Morro flew on his dragon, away from the massive crash of the Bounty. He desperately wished his friends weren't too badly hurt after that.

You can't deny it, Morro laughed. They only want your powers, not you. You're worthless.

That's not true, Lloyd protested weakly. But...what if Morro was right? Why would his friends want him, when all he did was bring trouble and pain?