Water {Elements of Power 2}

Chapter 25: Roxy

I stopped running once dawn broke and started hiking at a more manageable pace.

My feet, still bare, were black from the mud and streaked with red from cuts I had amassed while running across such unforgiving terrain.

I hadn't paused all night. I had no idea what direction I had been going, or even if I had managed to travel in a straight line. I just needed to put as much distance between myself and the Sephans as possible.

Now, with the sky pink from the rising sun, I was being more careful; I had slowed my pace and was taking care to cover my tracks, doubling back every now and again. I had even waded through a few streams so that anyone tracking me would lose my scent.

The only flaw in my plan was that I wasn't one hundred percent sure where I was going. The Arcan Realm was to the northwest of the Sephan Realm. In theory, if I headed in roughly that direction, I would eventually find the shore closest to the Realm. It was bound to have some kind of port along it somewhere. All I had to do then was steal a boat and sail across the water to get to Brae. Simple.

Of course, everything would be easier if I could use my powers again. Now that I had slowed down, I had a solution for that one too. With a sharp enough rock, I didn't see why I couldn't crack the manacles. By night I could be toasty and warm.

Once I felt confident that my route could not be followed, I started looking for something sharp enough to get through the manacles. I kept moving, just in case the Sephans had been able to continue tracking me, but focused my eyes on the floor as I went.

I caught sight of a particularly jagged shard and picked it up at once, jubilant. Scoring it against the tough metal of the cuffs, I was overjoyed to see it leave a long, silver scratch. A few more of those and I would be free in no time.

It turned out cutting through metal wasn't that simple though.

I hit, I bashed, I scored, I scratched.

I made a pretty mess, but the cuffs were no closer to coming off than at the start of my trek.

I needed something stronger. I was unlikely to find any proper tools while walking through the wilds of the Sephan Realm though.

I threw the stone down in disgust and kept going; I had lost time trying to get the manacles off—time that could have been made up if I had my powers. Without them, the effort was entirely wasted.

I carried on, hiking through the day until my legs refused to move any more.

I had seen no signs of life so far; no hint that they had followed me, or that I was about to come upon another village. It was getting cold as well. I suppose it had always been colder in the Sephan Realm; the many campfires they kept burning had just made it tolerable. Alone, out in the open, I was freezing.

So I decided to risk starting a fire. No one was going to catch up with me for a bit. I might as well be comfortable while I rested.

Even without my powers, starting a fire was easy. It was one of the skills they drilled into us as kids, before our powers kicked in. I built up a huge stack of small branches, of which there was no shortage in the Sephan Realm, then lit them with a spark from two stones. Before long, the fire was roaring. I huddled as close to the flames as I dared, letting the warmth wash over me.

When I was sixteen, not long after my powers first appeared, I had climbed inside a bonfire for a dare. It had been glorious, feeling the flames all around me. The warmth. The power. I wanted nothing more than to do the same now, even though I knew that with these stupid cuffs on, it would be suicide.

I looked down at them in distaste, watching them glint in the light of the fire. They had looked the same when Cinaer had trailed fire up and down my arms, taunting me, burning me.

He had never moved his flames over the cuffs themselves though. He had never touched fire to metal. Surely heating them up would have been an even better form of torture... So why hadn't he?

Maybe...

Maybe they weren't fireproof.

Maybe the metal would melt.

I laughed, the irony not escaping me: the cuffs that prevented me from creating fire, from being invulnerable to burns, might themselves not be fireproof.

So if I put them into the flames...

It would hurt.

Worse than anything I had ever felt before. And if it didn't work I would be stuck with scolding hot metal attached to my wrists. They could even melt into my skin...

I shuddered.

But... if I melted them enough to break them, the flames wouldn't burn. I wouldn't be in any pain. And I would have my powers back.

It had to be worth the risk. It had to.

I decided I might as well do both at once; there would be no point enduring the pain twice and two hands would hurt every bit as much as one. I took a deep breath and thrust my hands out in front of me, into the heart of the flames.

And I screamed.

The pain was so immediate, so intense, that I almost jerked them straight back out again.

But I forced myself to endure it, biting down on my bottom lip so hard that I could taste blood in my mouth.

The metal was heating up rapidly, scalding my skin. But it was also beginning to move, to become more fluid.

It was melting!

All of a sudden, the pain stopped. The screams died in my throat and I rejoiced in the sensation of the flames curling round my wrists.

Either it had worked, or I was in so much pain that I could no longer feel it. There was only one way to know for sure...

I tugged my hands out of the flames and marvelled at the sight.

The metal was dripping from my wrists in a gold mess, pooling on the floor at my feet.

I felt for the tingle, alive with hope for the first time in weeks, and flames sprung up in the palms of my hands.

I punched the air, screaming again, this time for joy. I was up on my feet, practically dancing round the campfire, sending balls of flames off into the woods around me.

Roxanne LeMarc was back.

Then I heard the growl.

I spun round to find a lykos facing me. It was monstrous, with large, black eyes and ragged, exposed teeth. It growled again, low and menacing. The flames must have attracted it. Perhaps I had upset its den when I shot into the undergrowth. But I wasn't afraid. With my flames back it didn't pose a threat. I grinned as I readied another ball of fire.

I heard a chuckle behind me and an all too familiar voice rang out.

"There's no need for that, Roxy, my pet won't hurt you—if you do exactly as I say."

{Roxy is back in action! But who do you think the voice belongs to? Please comment with your thoughts and vote if you enjoyed the chapter.}