Half the Power

Friends and Enemies

I stumbled back and landed in a wet clump of grass. What was in there? A wolf monster? A baby bear? A hybrid of both?

No. I risked looking back in the bush. Standing at the edge was a small dog, able to fit in my lap. It had long, gray fur and, despite its size, a loud bark. I laughed when I realized what I'd been so afraid of.

Mary was at the dog's side now, rubbing its head. She looked at a tag on its collar. "Will," she read. She addressed the dog. "Hey, Will! Good boy!" He barked happily.

"Wait," I said. "How cone he's friendly to you?"

She ignored my question. "Can we take him with us?"

"What? No! Absolutely not! I hate dogs, and we only have enough food for the two of us!"

She picked him up. "You're coming with my, little guy."

"No, he's not! He's staying right there!"

She turned to me. "Aw, come on. He'll behave."

I threw my arms up in exasperation. "Dogs never behave! All they do is eat, sleep, and pee on my stuff. Put him down or I'm putting him in the nearest house."

"I know what you want," she says knowingly. "You want to make him fly."

"That's it. You've completely lost it."

She rolled her eyes. "I mean the next time we're attacked, not just for fun. Maybe he could help--" she was cut off by a roar of triumph behind us.

We turned to face the monster. This one was half... horse? I realized it wasn't like the monsters we had faced before, in Mary's house. This was a centaur.

Mary pulled her necklace, and in a moment she was holding her deadly weapon. We looked at each other and nodded, both knowing what to do.

I controlled the air around me to lift me up. I came down behind the monster, but his focus was locked on Mary. I felt a wave of panic, and became a little desperate.

"Hey!" I screamed with all my strength. "Over here!" Apparently, the monster was dumb enough to turn around. He gave me a questioning look, like, Why would such a puny creature want my attention? Shouldn't you be running? He opened his mouth, but whatever he was going to say was cut short by Mary. She let out a war cry before she struck, which was her mistake. Faster than light, the enemy turned. He swept his giant foot across the ground, knocking Mary fifteen feet away. As I watched in horror, her bow slid out of her hand, and she lay still.

The opponent turned his attention back to me, like taking care of Mary was just one thing off of his to-do list. A feeling of hate hit me.

I didn't see any other possibility. The only way was to work with my team from both sides. I just had time to think, this is a stupid way to be killed, when I did it.

Throughout the fight, Will's form has been flickering. He turned from the tiny dog into a Great Dane the size of a car.

I controlled the winds again, but this time, I picked up Will. He slammed into the back of the monster in good larger form, and, before my enemy could recover, I finished him off.

Even before the pile of dust had blown away, I was kneeling at Mary's side.

I choked back a sob when I noticed the severity of her injuries. She had hit a rock, and her left wrist was slashed. Her right leg had grazed a branch on a bush, and her pants were ripped. Only a small scrape there. Good. She groaned and rolled ever so slightly to her left. On her back, the quiver had dug into her skin and left a red mark.

I couldn't believe I was doing it, but I didn't see another way. I pulled the feather out of Mary's coat pocket and set it on my lap. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the box of matches. A match lit, I touched it to the tip of the feather.