Burned Out [Completed]

The Real Bad Guy

Ten minutes later, we were standing outside the doors to the ritual room. I took a deep breath and moved to open them, but Wynn jumped in front of me.

"Oh no you don't, Ridgely." He pushed me backwards despite my protests. "This is our boss battle, we're entering in style."

He made us all line up in front of the doors. Jin stood on one end, Assana on the other end, and Wynn and I were in the middle. Wynn fussed with our mangled clothes until Jin finally slapped his hands away.

"That's enough, Wynn," he barked.

Wynn grudgingly stepped back into line. "You guys ready?"

"Do it already!" We yelled in a beautiful moment of unity.

Wynn cringed. "Okay, okay! I've said it before and I'll say it again: You all have no sense for the dramatic!"

He sent a gale force wind that slammed the doors back on their hinges. I was surprised they didn't fly off completely.

Say what you will about his eccentricity, Wynn did know how to make an entrance.

The chamber/dungeon/place-I-never-wanted-to-see-again-in-my-life was a lot brighter than the last time we were there. The torches all burned with the intensity of the flames in Sute's palace, but without the beautiful colors.

The fountain was still filled with lava. A figure stood silhouetted by the light it casted. For a heart-stopping second, I thought it was Heriotza, then it turned and I recognized Nick's wolf-grin. He didn't say a word, just observed us like he was taking our coffin measurements.

"I guess you were right," Assana said, frowning like that was the worst thing in the world.

"So how's this gonna work," Wynn rambled, his voice echoing around the room. "Is this gonna be a Mexican Standoff type situation where we just stare at each other Clint Eastwood style or what?"

"You're mouth never stops running, does it, Wynn?" Nick started towards us, his hands catching fire. Seeing him wield flames just felt wrong.

"I could have told you that, buddy," Assana advanced, forming her water whip.

"So the star pupil takes on the teacher," Nick smiled. "I would have prefered to take on my successor first, but I guess you will have to do."

I'll start this off with some words of advice: Never give Assana Saunders a reason to fight you.

She immediately curled her whip around Nick's ankles and pulled.

As Nick tumbled backwards, he slammed his palms against the ground, sending a blanket of fire roaring towards Assana. She vaulted right over the blast, using a sheet of water to clear a landing place.

Nick bounced to his feet a threw a punch at Assana's jaw. She moved her arm up to block and a fist of water followed her like a shadow, slamming into the side of Nick's face. He let out a grunt and stumbled sideways.

Once he regained his balance, Nick started to take a deep breath. I recognized that look. He was about to launch another wave of fire. Assana wouldn't be able to dodge an attack that big.

"Jin," I yelled.

I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted him to do, but he got the message. Before Nick could summon anymore fire, the ground bucked beneath his feet, flinging him several feet backward.

Nick roared. "You traitor!"

"You betrayed your own tribe," Jin said with obvious scorn. "I think turnabout is fair play."