Xylia

Eleven

"Is she awake yet?" A voice hissed from beside me. A light tap on my cheek tugged me closer to consciousness, but my eyes remained closed.

"Well we need her to get up, she's been sleeping for almost eleven hours now." A new voice interjected, their tone laced with exasperation.

"You guys are going about this all wrong, this needs a woman's touch," Drea's unmistakable comment had my body trying to pry my eyes open, but they remained shut. She muttered something to the others. A hush of silence filled the cave.

Maybe she wanted me to sleep some more?

I relaxed further against my makeshift pillow.

"XYLIA GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP!"

I jerked up immediately, head swaying with vertigo and ears throbbing from the screeching sound.

Six pairs of eyes scrutinized my disheveled form. Nonchalantly wiping off the trail of dried drool, I cleared my dry throat and spoke.

"What'd I miss?"

"We should be asking you that," Drea spat.

My stomach plummeted as I recalled the empowerment ritual, or in this case, the lack of one. Massaging my temples, I slowly rose to my feet. My joints popped back into place and I stretched my aching muscles.

"Well, I went through the chamber and we performed the empowerment ritual." That wasn't a total lie.

Everest stepped forward, curiosity and excitement swam in his eyes. "Did it work?"

Panic flared in my chest. "Of course it worked." I replied a little too quickly.

Drea narrowed her eyes, sauntering forward. "Well how do we know?"

I floundered for a reasonable excuse. Drea continued to glare daggers at me, waiting for an answer.

"Well?" She tapped her foot on the ground impatiently. I froze, unable to decide between owning up to the truth or fabricating a half lie. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

"Of course," Drea huffed, "leave to her to screw every-"

"Drea stop." Volkan snapped. Facing him, I noticed his stiff posture, hardened eyes, and clenched fists which finished off a very un-Volkan like demeanor.

"Xylia," Everest interjected, "can you come outside for a second?"

Trailing after him, I heaved a breath.

"What happened?" He deadpanned. I delved into the whole encounter, from the disembodied voice to the glowing strings. He soaked up my tale like a sponge, golden irises swirling in thought.

"From what you told me, the spirit attached to your body."

Color drained from my face and an icy sensation creeped in my gut.

"So you're saying, the spirit is in me?Like right now?" He nodded gravely.

My body went rigid, mind swirling in a tempest of thoughts and emotions. I tried to feel for a foreign sensation, scrutinizing for something that wasn't there before. Nothing stuck out.

"How did that happen?" I inquired.

"You described how you felt your 'strands' snap, correct?" I nodded.

"Well, those strands are the anchors that bind souls to this realm. Once an earthbound's threads break, there is no way to reattach the original strings back to the body. Spirits attach themselves to the open slots."

I digested his words; blood drained from my face as the realization set in.

"So whose strings did I grab?" I asked, not wanting him to confirm my suspicions.

"I'm not sure," Everest muttered, "But if I had to guess, you grabbed hold of the nearest spirit and partially bonded it to your body."

Oh dear.

"So I can still call upon its power?" I questioned.

At this Everest sighed, "I believe so, but your abilities are more dormant, meaning we need to simulate a stressful situation to catalyze your powers..." Drumming his fingers on his chin he pondered, "But I'm not sure how we are going to do that."

"I'll make this easy on everyone," Drea claimed, pointing at me. I'm assuming she heard the whole conversation considering her smug demeanor. Volkan lingered at the mouth of the cave, his serious expression from earlier had subsided to his usual carefree attitude.

"You. Me. Fight. Now." Drea's words were a splash of cold water to my system.

"Uhhh can we not?" I retaliated, not wanting to battle the she devil.

Everest rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I mean...it's not the worst idea?"

My eyes widened in disbelief. "She will kill me!!"

Turning to Volkan I pleaded, "C'mon V tell them we can think of other life threatening situations to trigger my spirity powers."

He strides up to me clasping a hand on my back, "Technically you are the one wielding a century old spirit in your body, I think Drea's the one that should be worried."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" A small snort spilled from his lips before he answered.

"Yes, now go kick some ass."

Pouting my lips, I trudged in front of Drea.

"Let's get this over with."

A smirk curved at her lips and she turned pacing back before facing me again. Scrunching up her cloak, she threw the extra material to the side, a glimmer of metal caught my eye.

Oh shit.

"You didn't tell me she had a bionic leg?!?" I screeched.

Those were my last words before Drea charged at me, metal leg and all.