Opposites: The Staff of Light [Book One]

33. I Knock on a Blacksmith's Door

Annabeth

So there I was—inside a dim-lit barn in front of a dying horse that I had accidentally set on fire by thinking of some magnificent memories. I took my hands back immediately. My heart began hammering inside my chest despite my shivering which I couldn't say if it were caused by fear or the cold outside. The horse kept neighing, as it burned. I closed my eyes, nearly crying. I-I killed it... I killed it... I'll never forgive myself over this... About five seconds of holding back tears, I opened my eyes to witness the horse's ghost—or at least that was what I thought the creature was.

Before me stood a brown horse on its four legs with its long brown hair on the back of its neck as beautiful as I thought. I gasped, willing myself to stand up. Once I did, the creature clopped over to me. I shut my eyes and looked away, my arms spread out in front of me to block any attacks, afraid that the horse would kick me off the surface of the earth, yelling, "THANKS A LOT FOR BURNING ME ALIVE!"

But only the horse didn't.

I felt soft fur against both my palms. I turned to face the horse. There it was, brushing its muzzle on my hands. "Is that a thank you?" I suddenly blurted out aloud this time. I placed my hand over my neck. My voice... i-it's back... The horse neighed enthusiastically. I realized that curing the horse made the creature's power heal me. But how the heck did the horse did it? It was going to die! And the horse doesn't talk—which might explain why I hadn't passed out yet. Combust made me faint. Why didn't I with this? The four-legged animal tilted its head at me, as if asking if I were okay. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking."

More thoughts flooded into my head. The horse couldn't even talk to me, not in words, not in tap code. I knew it used a lot of energy to understand animals with real words. I hated the way horses were different from owls. Horses were way too big, and way too diverse from my feathered friend. "I'm calling you Fervor," I announced, "as in fever from hay fever. Is that okay?" The horse whinnied. "I'll take that as a yes. Do you have an owner to return to?" It shook its head, its brown tail swishing from its behind. "I'll take that as a no." I scratched the front of his muzzle. "I like you. And you'll never be a pet to me. You're a friend."

I yawned. "It's getting late. Would you mind if I crashed in for the night?" The horse brayed in agreement, and I threw myself on the pile of hay beside us. Everything fell into darkness.

Colton

I couldn't believe I threw Alex in the first place.

There was a whole bunch of nothing when Combust, perched on my shoulder, and I jumped into the well. Every vein inside me popped, I couldn't at all breathe, even with I tried to summon winds to cover us both. Somehow the well strained us of our powers. Combust let go of my shoulder, perhaps feeling that horrid reaction inside his body as well, and despite my own pain, I reached out a hand, caught him, and hugged him tight against my chest. His eyes were wide in alarm, but he couldn't tell me what he wanted to say.

Unfortunately, owls don't hoot underwater. How stupid was I to not know that?

We kept falling downwards, and the circular rippling light from above slowly turning smaller as we descended. I was running out of oxygen in a few seconds. I wanted to swim up the surface to breathe. But in the state that I was, I wasn't sure if I could. I glanced at Combust—the poor owl—and thought, I should have asked her out when I had the time. Now I'm gonna die. Annabeth, I'm sorry for being such a lunatic. Finally, I ran out completely of air, my powers deprived from me, and my eyes closed shut. There—I died, inside a well I told everyone else of my friends to jump into.