Exciti

Chapter 38 (Adam)

Adam ducked, pulling Liam down with him. A voop then a crash resonated around them as the whip of beads hit the wall right above their heads, sending bits of bricks and mortar showering over them as they ran to the exit.

Loreal sniffed and raised her whip up again. "It will be much easier if you don't do that." She brought it back down, aiming at the floor at their feet. The hit pulverized the pavement under Adam's feet, making him fall on his face in the rubble.

He was still coughing and choking on a mouthful of dirt when a shadow made him look up. Liam, his shirt covered in a white layer of dust and his shoulders pulled back in a determined posture, stood facing Loreal. His ball was floating in the air before him.

Loreal chuckled. "Beginners," She said then flung her whip again, this time aiming at Liam.

Liam threw his hands out, and the ball intercepted the whip mid-strike. Adam watched in horrified fascination as the ball rotated in an astonishing speed, wrapping the whip around its leather-bound body.

A grunt from the other side told him that Loreal was struggling to keep her hold on the whip. He sat up to watch her enter a strange one-handed tug-of-war with the ball.

Liam smirked and signed something to Adam.

"He says to drop the whip, or he will keep on pulling until the string is cut and your Excitus is destroyed," Adam croaked, standing up.

Loreal narrowed her eyes. "Tsk, Visus," she muttered, but didn't loosen her grip on the whip.

Instead, she pointed a heavily bangled hand at Adam, a disappointed look on her face. She mumbled, "I can't believe I have to use both hands with a kid," then fired the bangles off her hands like cannon balls.

Adam's legs refused to move. He was bracing himself for impact when Liam shoved him out of the way with enough force to knock the breath out of him. He hit the ground again, then looked up just in time to see Liam taking the brunt of the attack.

The thin, metallic circles overlapped as they stuck to Liam's torso and pushed him against the wall. In the background, Adam heard the ball tear the whip with a snap and send the beads raining to the floor before it zoomed in to hit Loreal with a thud, but he didn't even spare a glance that way.

"NO," He pushed himself off the ground and ran to Liam.

His friend was struggling to breathe, squeezed between the bangles and the wall. "Oh God, oh God," Adam cried as they both tried desperately to claw the bangles off, but the cursed metal rings felt molded into Liam's very ribs, their pressure on his chest escalating.

Within seconds, Liam was fighting for air to fill his collapsing lungs, his eyes bugged, and his lips darkened to an ominous purple color. Tears of frustration welled in Adam's eyes as Liam's attempts became clumsier and slower

No, no, no, no, no! was all that Adam could think of when Liam fainted, still held up against the wall by the bangles, his hands dangling by his side.

Adam's breathing came and went in sobs as he tried to Eclipse the bangles, cursing at his lack of control. His brain went into overdrive as the realization that he only had seconds to save Liam hit him like a speeding bus. He put his hands on the bangles, not caring if that woman got up and killed him, not caring if he never survived this, and closed his eyes.

Liam can't die, won't die!

For the first time ever, he wanted nothing more than to use his gift, to be the Boogeyman that they were all scared of.

Dammit, I am the eclipser!

Just then, something clicked in place deep in his heart, in his mind, and in his very soul. It felt like a circuit had been closed, and a switch has been flicked. He could finally see.