Ember Gods

Chapter 42

Jacob jumped over Eachan and met the swords with a clash of metal. He swung violently, dodging the attacks. The Ember Gods barely did anything, though, and he recognized they were just playing with him.

"Stop messing around!" He pushed Sanso as hard as he could, nearly knocking him to the ground. "You wimps! Cowards!"

Sanso's color flickered between boredom—the purplish pink—and irritation—a dark pink—like he was trying to maintain control of his emotions. Jacob pushed him again. "Coward!"

The air around Sanso's face flared bright red, and Jacob knew he'd gotten what he wanted. Sanso glowered. "You really want us to fight? You think we're afraid of you? We could smash you like a fire beetle right now—never mind what's intended for you."

"You couldn't hurt me if you tried. And you're just a puppet of the Lorkon! They tell you what to do, and you do it!"

The other leather-clad man growled, his color changing to match Sanso's. "Let's show him the true power of an Ember God."

Sanso nodded in agreement and they jumped forward, a new energy behind their strikes. Jacob wasn't able to block everything, and he felt the Kaede leaves heating up. He trusted they'd do their job and keep him safe.

Every time the swords struck, a flash of blue light burst from his skin or armor. He blocked as many attacks as he could, doing his best to keep pushing the Ember Gods away from Eachan and the others.

Sanso roared with frustration, becoming even more ferocious in his advances.

After several minutes, Jacob felt his armor begin to wear out. The strikes started to hurt and he couldn't tell if they were piercing through. Sweat dribbled into his eyes, making them sting and get blurry.

The scenery around Jacob changed drastically. He froze, still holding his knives. The Ember Gods, the tunnel, the darkness—all of it had disappeared. Instead, he was surrounded by mountains so tall, he couldn't see the sun.

"No, no, no!"

Jacob shook himself, punched out, kicked, tried to get over whatever his body was doing to him. The mountains didn't disappear. "No! I can't hallucinate now!"

A gust of wind brought snow flurries with it, and Jacob realized he was shivering. He spun and ran up the side of the mountain nearest him. He threw rocks, viciously stabbed snow banks. Nothing he did jolted him back to his own reality.

He'd failed. Sanso would take Aloren and Matt to the Lorkon. Devastation hit him and he fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands, squinting to keep the tears from dropping from his eyes. What was wrong with him? Why, during the most important fight of his life, had this happened?

"Jacob!"

The shriek made him raise his face. A flash of light replaced by blackness, then a burst of flame as an Ember God blasted him with fire. He was back in the tunnel. Relief poured over him even as he realized he didn't have much time left. How long would the armor last?

Sanso was still attacking, though he was starting to favor his left shoulder—the one Jacob had stabbed when they first met. Had he and his companion even noticed Jacob's episode? Matt and Aloren were screaming at him from behind.

Jacob jumped to his feet, thrusting forward with his knife. It nicked Sanso in the left shoulder, and he screamed in rage.

"Pile of beetle dung!" he shrieked. "Worthless human!"

If things hadn't been so insane, Jacob might have laughed at the pathetic insults.

The Ember God grabbed Jacob and flung him over Eachan, at least twenty feet down the tunnel, toward Matt and Aloren. Jacob slammed against the side of the passage before falling to the ground. The power of the leaves dimmed to a nearly imperceptible level. He only had a few moments of protection left.

The Ember Gods sent a blast of flame and Jacob jumped to his feet, bright fire roaring past him on either side. His armor barely held the heat back.

"Early!" Jacob called. "Hazel!"

The Minyas appeared next to him.

"Give me strength, both of you, and help me push forward!"

The Minyas nodded and disappeared.

Two spots on his shoulders warmed where the Minyas touched him and he broke into a sprint, then a fast lope. The blaze stopped and he raced toward the Ember Gods, his mind clearer than it had been since entering Eklaron. He put his hands in front of him, wondering what would happen if he tried to mold the air. Was it possible?

The flames were just erupting for a second time when Jacob leaped over Eachan. The air in front of his hands started to ripple and bounce. There was a flash of light as the fire touched Jacob's palms, and his hands started glowing such a bright blue that he couldn't look at them. The inferno flared around him, not burning him.

He continued running, letting the Minyas' energy help him push forward. The strength behind the Ember Gods' power grew as Jacob neared, but he didn't stop.

Taking advantage of their surprise, Jacob jumped through the last of the flames and landed in front of the Ember Gods, letting loose a wild roar.

The men looked up in surprise. Blinded by the searing light, they hadn't seen him coming. Instinctively, they raised their hands to blast him, but Jacob was ready.

He concentrated as hard as he could, sensing power originating from the Minyas. He drew on this and held the intensity inside himself. Then he released it at the same time the fire exploded from the Ember God's hands.

Jacob's power was stronger.

The Ember Gods cried out, and the force behind Jacob's attack blasted them back. He heard his brother and Aloren calling him to come, but he ignored them. He wasn't done.

Drawing from the Minyas' power again, he reached into the sides of the tunnel, using the air shield he'd created as spatulas to pull out huge chunks of earth, then he dug into the dirt above him.

The sides and top of the passage collapsed, filling in the tunnel, and Jacob jumped back.

He concentrated one last time, sucking power once more from the Minyas, and molded the entire mound of dirt into a huge stone, barring the way.

His arms fell to his side, the job finished.

Matt and Aloren reached him at the same time. Both were panicked and screaming. Jacob searched the air, looking for the Minyas, but couldn't see where they'd gone. He looked down and gasped.

Early and Hazel lay on the ground. Oh, please don't be dead. He gently picked them up and carried them out of the tunnel.