Bane of the Elements

22

Keithia held onto the side of the row boat, struggling to keep balance. The waves rocked hard against them and a light mist fell from the sky. The four goddesses were crammed into a small boat, heading towards shore.

"The waves are harder to control, than I thought." Rio said as she struggled against the current.

"Two night ago you could summon enough water to land you and Keithia on a ship, now you can't move our boat?" Nasima posed it more as a question but it was definitely a dig.

Rio snapped back at her, "I'm doing by best!"

Nasima huffed, "Keithia, jump into the ocean again. Maybe it'll knock some urgency into her."

Keithia laughed, "I doubt that had anything to do with it. Maybe it was just her focus."

"Yes, and my focus would be much better if it weren't for you all pestering me."

"Right, of course we'll be quiet." Adara said, silencing the rest of them.

Keithia watched as Rio took in a deep breath and tried to focus. Her eyes fluttered around, refusing to close and forcing themselves to watch the horizon. They went in and out of focus. She had it, Keithia knew it, she knew Rio could do this.

And she did.

The boat began fighting against the waves, heading towards shore. They were a few miles out, as close as captain dared to go, but would make it in no time with Rio's powers. They nearly floated above the water, gliding across it with ease. Nasima helped, using the wind to push them closer to shore.

Keithia and Adara were helpless in this situation. They could do nothing but be there in support. She was feeling weak and she knew Adara was feeling the same. It was a similar feeling to when she was still human and would forgo water for too long. Now, though, it was land she had forgon for too long. For Adara it was fire. While Rio and Nasima were surrounded by their elements, Keithia and Adara had not seen theirs in days, and it was clearly taking a toll on them now.

The land came closer into view and the once blurred creature figures, were now clearer than ever. Keithia swallowed the lump in her throat as she took it all in. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, of creatures swimming in the ports and flying through the town. They had two hind legs the size of a human and two wings that came down in the front with a fist to the ground. They had two pointed teeth that grew from their jaws and reached to their cheeks, bound to kill anybody they sliced into. They were almost bat-like but their sheer size stopped whatever relation they could have had.

"Oh shit." Keithia muttered subconsciously.

"Oh shit is right," Rio said, stopping the boat. "We need a game plan before we go in."

"I thought you said you had a plan?" Nasima said.

"The plan was to get us there. It had nothing to do after our actual arrival." Rio said as though it was obvious.

The goddesses turned towards her, "What do you mean there is no plan after our arrival!" Nasima snapped first.

Rio snapped back, "What, am I supposed to plan everything?"

"You are the general!" Keithia cut in.

She shrugged, "It's not my fault the rest of you are week."

Nasima was more angry than the rest, "You Bitch!" She snapped, "We are not weak. In fact, our only weakness was relying on you."

Keithia's eyes widened. She was annoyed, yes, but not anywhere near as livid as Nasima. They continued fighting until Adara, the peacemaker, finally spoke up. "Ok, that's enough guys!" She snapped. It was a tone that sent everyone into silence with its unfarmiliarity. "It's fine, we don't have a plan but we can still make one. That is, if we stop fighting and use the few hours of night we have left properly." Adara looked to Keithia, sending her a message with her flaming eyes.