Soul Slam, Soul Warriors Book 1

Chapter Fourteen A

My gut churned like the ocean below. My ears clanged. Air rushed by, cooling my skin. Spray stung my arms and legs as I flew into a spread eagle position. I tasted salt on my lips. Like a slow motion video, my fall lasted forever though I had been positioned only a few feet above the water.

In a last desperate attempt to stop myself from tumbling, I reached out and grabbed for the Nilometer. Maybe the pole could stop my forward momentum. My hand grasped the wood taking the full force of my body. The top of the pole broke off and hung from the side.

Breath whooshed out of my chest. I continued to fall forward. I saw the beige and brown sand at the bottom of the turquoise green water. Saw green seaweed and tiny plankton floating with the current. Saw the jagged rocks I needed to avoid.

Right before contact, I closed my mouth and held my breath. My body hit with a large splash. The water sizzled. Steam rose all around engulfing me in a cloud. It was like entering a deep fog that enshrouded the coast in the early spring.

Face down, I laid on a wet, but steaming sand patch. Dazed, I gently rolled over and looked up. Heavy white vapor surrounded me. I didn't see the nearby rocks or Xander on the stairs. I didn't feel the water. My clothes weren't even wet. "Super-sarcophagus."

I twisted the cotton of my shirt between my fingers. Not even damp. I patted my black jeans, which should've been soaked and uncomfortable, but only felt rough material on my fingertips. I'd fallen into the ocean. Knew my body hit a wave. Heard the splash.

"Olivia!" Xander's voice sounded like a foghorn in the middle of a dark night. Like he was reaching out to me. Like he cared—about me.

A wave retreated around me clearing some of the fog and mist. The water avoided my body like stripes should avoid plaid. The water circled as if I stood in the middle of an air vortex. My head spun. The dizziness spiraled down my throat and into my stomach. I gagged.

"Here." I waved with a limp arm.

The after-effect from the fall, the water's reaction, and visualizing what I could do to the ocean made me weak. I should have drowned. Except, with water shunning me drowning would be impossible. Guess learning to swim was a big waste of time.

Xander waded into the water getting the bottom of his borrowed pants wet. "You okay?"

"I think so." I checked my arms and legs for broken bones or scratches. Nothing seemed damaged.

I struggled to my feet, wiping the dry sand off my hands. I needed to get out of the ocean before I lowered the water depth. I didn't want to help the Society's cause and prove their blackmail accurate.

He trudged closer to me, the knee-length depth of the water slowing him down. "You broke it." He moved in front of the pole and reached for the hanging piece of the wood at the same time I did.

Our hands touched.

We both stared at each other holding the wooden piece in our hands. Together. At the same time.

Skin-to-skin.

I snatched my hand back and held my breath waiting for Xander to fall. To be dehydrated. To become limp with weakness.

He didn't.

My body tensed. My skin tightened. My heart dropped with a sonic boom. "Why weren't you zapped?"

"I don't know." His green gaze questioned what we'd both observed. His head tilted at an angle. He touched his chest and abs as if testing its strength.

Another wave rushed going up to Xander's thigh and avoiding me completely.

At least I hadn't sucked the ocean dry. Maybe I wasn't as powerful as we'd thought. Maybe I'd used up all of Tut's power. "Did I lose the power?"

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