Reborn

22: Frozen

Breaks:

[L1,2 or 3] represents the beginning of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives. There is more than one past life, which is why I have put up the numbers. Though, these memories are usually told as she sleeps and Elena herself cannot remember them.

[/L1,2 or 3] represents the end of a flashback to one of Elena's past lives.

[P] represents the beginning of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

[/P] represents the end of a retelling of a memory in Elena's current life.

~3~ is just a time skip

AN: More action everyone! And some of my personal lore! Enjoy the chapter! xD

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Dread coiled up in my stomach when I heard those words ring across the air. There was a twisted, unhinged, note to the voice that reminded me uncomfortably of Saul.

On my right Yugo had tensed. Hands curled up into tight fists that left his knuckles white under the strain. Azure eyes focused straight ahead with a sort of disquiet that was reflected in the way that his shoulders had gone stiff and his jaw was set.

To my left Adamai wasn't much better. He'd gritted his teeth hard. Eyes narrowed in a glare. A low threatening sort of growl spilled past his tongue. Even his tail had gone still with anticipation of a confrontation.

Just under my palms I could feel Grougaloragran's magic stir. For a second I thought I'd felt something like a protective edge that seemed to be threaded through it. Then it was gone, left to gather deeper within Grougal's being. 

A sharp crack split the air, not unlike lightning tearing through a storm. My head jerked up just in time to catch the flare of pale light just in front of the ticking monstrosity. It hadn't been blinding, not like the sun on the sea, but it left an afterimage etched against my vision all the same—brief, sharp, and unnatural.

The light condensed into a figure, somehow suspended hundreds of feet in the air. It was a human- or something wearing the shape of one. His frame was thin, almost fragile, draped in strange clothes that gleamed faintly in the sunlight. His face was hidden behind a mask, not a wooden one like that the villagers wore, but one that was smooth, angular, and had round eyes that glowed with the blue of magic. The same blue magic that threaded through his ticking beast. 

That... was Nox?

He seemed so small in comparison to the ticking monster behind him, but the air bent heavy under his presence. As though in warning. 

Yugo's breath caught sharp beside me. Adamai's growl deepened, low and furious, like it had been pulled straight from his chest without his permission.

"I apologize for the delay, your little veil of invisibility to mask the island wasn't bad after all." Nox lifted his hands out to the sides, empty, and tipped his head down a little. I wasn't sure if it was meant to be polite or not, but something about the action made that unease in my stomach churn like sour milk. It didn't feel like kindness. Just beneath it there was this... sharp edge to it that I couldn't quite name. 

When his head lifted back up again, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. The blue eyes of his mask had narrowed and now seemed to stare straight into me. "Thanks to the help of these pathetic creatures..." a slow, eerie sort of laugh left Nox. A mocking laugh, as though he'd already won at whatever it was he wanted to achieve. "I've now found you all the same." 

"Pathetic?!" Dally's voice cut across the stillness almost instantly. I wanted to glance back to see but didn't dare take my eyes off our floating foe. There was the distinct sound of Rubilax changing shape and I imagined that Dally had thrust the sword forward in challenge. "Just who do you think you're calling pathetic, you clockwork fiend?! We're gonna pulverize you!"