The Cost of Power

Chapter 4

I stared at him open mouthed for a moment, then snorted. "What are you, 2? It's literally just a soft patch of sand. Get up."
His eyes grew wider. "No. You don't understand. I am going to die."
I was going to make another smart-alec comeback when he was suddenly yanked downward, and before I knew it, he was down into his thighs in sand. I squeaked in surprise, but he just winced in pain. He had known this was going to happen.
I started to panic. "Caleb? You need to get out of there. Now."
His chocolate eyes flared with irritation. "Yeah, nags the only person that can make it happen!"
I was starting to get inexplicably frustrated with him. "1: I don't nag. 2: You're not a child. You can get out yourself. Now do it!"
He swore under his breath. "You are so ignorant! Do you just blatantly think that I'm lying to you? This is life or death! I am currently stuck thigh deep in the Pit of Demise and only one with the most powerful of magic can drag me out! That's YOU!"
It felt like I was flooding with helplessness. "I'm sorry, Caleb. I don't know how."
He suddenly seemed to understand. "You have to reach inside, Eden. Find your power, and use it. direct it to me. Use it all." He gave me an encouraging nod. "You can do this Eden."
And I did. I closed my eyes in concentration. After several seconds of mind wearing focus, I felt it. Almost as if a door was unlocking a whole new section of myself that i had never felt before. As soon as i felt it, it was unleashed. With the power pumping through my veins, powering my blood to my hands, I had an incredible sense of exhilaration. I could feel the power in myself, and with everything i had, I let go.
With concerning force, he flew from the pit and into the nearby sand dune. I could hear the thump of his landing. I cringed.
That didn't sound too good.
I slipped and slid across the dunes until I finally reached him. He was in the process of getting up when i came to a stop in front of him. Then he did something I would never have expected Caleb to do even if the world depended on it. He charged me and wrapped me into a fierce hug. After a couple seconds of shock, i recovered and hugged him back. "Thank you, Eden." His whisper was muffled, but his words were clearer than anything I'd ever heard. Maybe he's not so bad....... I thought. Okay. Let's be honest. You're crushing hard. 
Shut up. I thought back.
He slowly let go of me and, with difficulty, turned and started onward again.
We walked on.
And on.
And on.
After what felt like years, we finally started to walk onto stable ground, as the sand faded into grass. "What oddly named land have we entered now?"
He looked at me amused. "Welcome to Fangirling Shippers Field, Eden."
I tried and failed to hide my laugh. "Fangirling Shippers? You can't be serious, right?"
He dipped his head back in laughter. "Of course not, little Miss. Gullible. It's called the Field of Stars. Welcome."
And we continued walking. As we did, slowly, a glass semi-sphere risen out of the earth came into view.  "Is that the Great Dome?" Considering it looked like it was only half of a sphere, I was genuinely unsure.
    "It's underground." He explained. "There's a latch on the glass where we enter. Then stairs. Then the Puridan." A determined look crossed his face before he, without warning, started to sprint across the field. "CALEB! What's a Puridan?" I yelled, since he was a good distance away. He slowed, allowing me to catch up.
"It's not a Puridan, it's the Puridan. And it's the ancient gem of Ralentia, an ancient kingdom of Lenatai. It is said that the ancient king of the land contained the essence of magic in this orb, and if destroyed, it will destroy magic as we know it." Probably due to my panicked look, he realized his mistake. "We're not gonna destroy all magic, just the Magic of Sentrigal. Sentrigal is the Lord of the Dalenatai, and is currently attempting, and succeeding, to conquer the Lake of Life. Using this gem, we can absorb the magic of Sentrigal so he can never do anything like this again." Caleb and I reached for the knob of the latch at the same time, and our hands brushed one another. I got extremely irritated with myself when I flushed, hastily snapping my hand back to my side. He yanked the latch upward, and after a few tries, it gave way in a spray of rust. Coughing, he stepped aside. "Ladies first." He grinned.
    I took the stairs 2 at a time until i hit the ground. Darn.
    This Dome thingy was huge.
    And in the center, on a shining golden pedestal, lay the Puridan.
    I knew it was the Puridan the second I saw it. I could feel the power radiating off of it, hitting me in waves. All of the sudden from behind me, Caleb emerged. He approached the pedestal, and with more caution than I think I'd ever seen anyone have or use, lifted the Puridan off the pedestal and cupped it in his hands. He turned back to me, excitement plastered on his face. "We did it, Eden."
    And a split second after he said those words, the ground shook violently. A crack appeared in the previously flawless ceiling. Calebs eyes grew wide with shock......... and understanding dawned on him "It's a trap." He muttered. "IT'S A TRAP!" He said loudly so I could understand him. "GO!" He pointed at the latch. "RUN EDEN!" A look of despair crossed his face. "AND DON'T LOOK BACK!!!"
    He must've thought I was heartless. "I'm not leaving you, Caleb! I would ne-" I was cut off as he shoved me through the latch and out of the way, in the exact same second, the glass roof came down in millions of shards. I watched in horror from the rim of the dome as it collapsed on itself, Caleb inside. But he was strong. Caleb was one of the strongest people I had ever met. He was okay. I knew it.
When the cave in stopped, I ran faster than I ever had into the crater that had formed in the ground when the dome had collapsed.   "CALEB!?" I screamed. "CALEB!?" No answer. I was about to yell his name again, until I looked down to see his empty, unseeing eyes reflecting the light of the stars, twinkling, in the night sky above. I dropped down to him and cradled his head in my lap. "Caleb, can you hear me?" I whispered.
He did not respond.
"No. No! Caleb, please! This isn't happening, you're not dead! YOU'RE NOT DEAD, CALEB!" I screeched.
But all he did was lay there, unmoving, unseeing, and unhearing, as tears spilled down my cheeks, splashing onto his face. In that moment, my suspicions were confirmed.  Caleb, who had had such a life to live, had died, before I had even gotten a chance to tell him about how I felt about him. I had not come back in to save him. Caleb was dead, and it was all my fault.

The End