Broken Spirit: The Next Avatar

Chapter Twenty: Serefina

My vision is filled with heavy disks of earth flying towards me. I bend back as far as I can, but my flexibility has its limits. The lowest rock scrapes the side of my face, taking a layer of skin with it.

I curse loudly and tenderly touch my cheek. Strong gusts of wind blast out of my fists, slamming the earthbender onto the ground. I hope Nadia and Levi are doing better than we are.

I wish I could go back in time to this morning, before it all went to hell.

I was leaning against the thick trunk of a tree, standing precariously close to the cliff's edge, watching the sun rise above the horizon. Rays of light seemed to pierce through me, warming my entire body with a fire that no one could ever take from me. The sun has always calmed me when nothing else could, but not even its searing heat could relax me today.

"Are you ready?" Nadia asked.

The breeze off the sea gently stroked my skin and I felt connected to every living thing that ever breathed. I turned to her with the faintest smile. "Not really."

Nadia and Levi went back to the city first, because they had to arrive at their respective portals before midday, when the Red Lotus were supposed to launch their attack. Then Drake, Terra and I rode on Mizuchi to the Spirit Portal in Republic City, landing feet from the glowing entrance. The White Lotus had already left, but residents of the city and its nearby towns were here, anxiously milling about.

"Don't be nervous," Drake told me.

I gave him an incredulous look. "I'm fine." I wasn't, but he didn't have to know that. "I think I should be telling you that. How is your brother going to react when he finds out what you did?"

"I wish I could say he'll realize the error of his ways," he said slowly. "But I honestly have no idea. It won't be pretty though. You should leave him to me."

"He might not even come to this Portal," I said hopefully.

"No, he will. I've reviewed the plans a million times. Trust me, he'll be here. And if he wasn't, I'd be at one of the Poles. No one else should have to face him."

"I've never actually seen him fight. Like really fight," I realized. "Is he good?"

"He always lets other fight for him because he says bending is more efficient, but really I just think he feels insecure about not being able to bend. Not like it makes any difference. He's good when he wants to be."

"Perfect," I muttered.

I spotted Terra through the crowd. She was talking to some of the earthbenders that were staying with her family. The guy that called himself the Boulder was chatting amiably with her, apparently at ease with the fact that he might die today.

My smile froze when I heard someone call my name. I spun around, and there she was.

"Bridgette?" I shouted.

She started running, so I did too. I've never been happier to see anyone. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her until that moment. We hugged tightly; I was laughing a little, and my eyes even welled up slightly. I blinked away the moisture before she could notice.

"Where've you been?" she asked. "Your letter said almost nothing, not like that's a surprise. Are you really the Avatar?" She said this last part quietly, like it was a secret.

"Yeah," I laughed. "I am. But Nadia is the other half. She went to the North Pole, or I'd introduce you."

I kept her at arm's length to soak her in. I haven't been gone that long, but it felt like an eternity. Her smile was still so infectious that I found myself smiling too. "I've missed you," I said quietly.