Infirmitate

TWO | Rogue Agents

Luckily, Jacob seemed to have warned my father of the agents chasing him. It didn't take long for my father to bring some of his best warriors to the field. They were all startled by the large, black and red dragon but quickly worried about protecting me and defending their home.

The warriors all gathered to form a protective circle around my father and me. This gave the both of us a chance to use our powers. Like Thanatos, my father can move the earth. Plants will grow and fold how he likes and the ground will fall away at a single thought.

With that in mind, Father makes the ground around us sink down several feet. A ring shape of air now encircles us. All but two of the agents, the two blondes Noa warned me about, fell fifteen feet with the dirt. Father quickly forms a bridge of tree roots for us to cross. After the last person crosses, he lets the roots go back to their original places.

All heads turn when the dragon roars loudly in pain. The young man Noa called "Charlie" has Blade pinned down, dark colors of Magic flow from his hands to the dragon. "Go! Help him! I have the others." At my command, the soldiers that survived the first attack from the agents go to aid Noa and Blade.

I turn back around to look down at the people in the trench. Some are injured but there were no casualties. I look around. Actually, there were-surprisingly-only five casualties, two being our own. I look over at Father, who had chosen to stay with me.

"What do I do with them? They are too dangerous to hold captive. They could escape and slaughter my people." My father sighs as he looks down at the agents struggling to get out of the trench. "I'd say your ice would be the least painful of your powers." My eyes go round.

"I can't kill all of those people!" My father frowns down at me. "They are attacking your friends and your home. They were trained to do nothing but kill. Jacob warned me about them." His voice is stern but I can see the fear in his eyes. "Either you kill them," He points down to the people who are now standing on each other's shoulders trying to escape the trench. "Or they kill us."

I look back down at the people. The look in their eyes is all the same. Determination. They will do whatever it takes to get out of there. I shake my head. "I can't do it." I whisper, the air leaving my lungs in a white cloud from the cold.

Father sighs and closes his eyes. The ground starts to rumble and dirt begins to close over the trench, burying the agents inside. "What are you doing?" I lunge forward and grab his arm. He opens his eyes as the dirt settles over and the grass grows over the ring of earth. Faint shouts can be heard from underground.

I fall to my knees in shock. "What did you do?" My heart breaks for the people who my father buried alive. "It had to be done. Maybe not today, but soon, you will learn that a leader has to do what it takes to protect their people, no matter what."

He walks away to help fight Clair and Charlie, who are still managing to evade harsh injury from any of the fighters out there. The cries from underground grow quieter and I draw my attention back to the earth I'm kneeling at.

I take a shaky breath and set my bare hands in the dead grass. I feel earth harden beneath my fingertips. The crackling of ice continues until I know it has gone deep enough. The muffled cries finally cease.

I take a deep breath and stand up. It's time to end this. I slowly walk over to the fighting. Three more warriors of my father's have fallen. One appears to be injured. I quickly take away his pain and give him the feeling of calmness.

As I walk closer to the fight, I can see that Blade is badly injured and is laying in the grass with Noa urgently talking to him. I yell for the soldiers to back up and get my father to safety. Clair and Charlie take the moment of retreat to catch their breaths.