Oops! I Caught a Genie!

Chapter 19

         I felt Nora's energy mixing with my own. It felt incredible, my fatigue was nearly gone and I was free to use large scale flame attacks. A flash of lightning shot through the ranks and I followed it with a wall of flame. The snow was vaporized and steam filled the frosty air. When the air had cleared, the enemy was in full retreat. What was left of them anyway.

Mangoo blew up the remaining air vehicles with small bursts of lightning and I used a whole lot of energy to send an avalanche their way by breaking specific spots on the part of the mountain that still rose above us. I stopped after that and released Nora's energy, for fear that there was a steady link and that I might drain her.

I suddenly felt very drained, and when I glanced at Mangoo I could tell that he felt the same way.

I flung open the door to the cabin and before the triumphant speech I had been planning could get out of my mouth, I stopped cold in my tracks. My blood froze and my mouth dropped open in horror. The body of the elder djinn smoked quietly in the corner of the cabin, the cabin was also conspicuously missing a certain black haired binder. The once lively fire in the middle of the room had been reduced to embers.

Mangoo pushed at my back.

"Come on, its cold out here!" He whined.

I stepped to the side numbly and watched the color drain from Mangoo's naturally pale face when he saw the body.

“What happened here?” He asked in shock.

I didn't have an answer.

After laying a thick wool blanket over the elder’s body, we sat down on the other side of the cabin. Mangoo was the first to notice Liana lying near a hole in the back of the cabin, five feet from where the elder was. I ran over and crouched next to her head.

Small puffs of frozen breath confirmed that she was still breathing. Throwing my hand out towards the fire, I forced the flames higher and made them roar. Mangoo closed up the hole in the wall with a small bookshelf. I moved Liana closer to the revived fire and put my coat over her torso, Mangoo looked at me like I was crazy, but I didn't have the energy to go find another blanket. I sat down as close to the fire as I could without getting burned. My shirt was long sleeved, but it was rather thin. Mangoo joined us by the fire, sitting on the other side of Liana.

“What are we going to do?” Mangoo asked me.

“I don’t know…”

“The elder mentioned an organization of binders, do you think they took her?” Mangoo said.

I shrugged and stared into the flames. Please let her be alright.

A gasp from beside me caught my attention, but I didn't move.

“Nora!” Liana yelled.

“She was taken.” Mangoo informed her.

“Where? To that awful place?” She whimpered.

“Most likely.” Mangoo said.

“She told me you guys were powerful! Why havent you gone to save her?”

“A bit drained at the moment, sweetie. And Fritz is in shock. Look at him, his face is melting.”

I grimaced, looking up at my black and purple haired friend.

“I’m trying to think. Where would they go? To their base? Or some secluded storage unit?” I mumbled.

“Can’t she summon you through the binding?” Mangoo asked.

“Only if she has my watch I think. They have probably confiscated that by now.”

“Can you feel where she is? Can the bond track her?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Hu-Liana, where were you held before you were brought here?” Mangoo said, turning to Liana.

“They had me in a small room, I couldn't tell, but I think it was on a boat or something.”

“When did they take you?” I asked.

“Right after I left school, five men attacked me when I was walking from my car to my house. They put a rag over my mouth and thats the last I remember before waking up, tied to a cot in a room that seemed to be vibrating and rocking. They didn't feed me and then they knocked me out again. I woke up in here.”

Mangoo hummed thoughtfully.

“Maybe its a freighter or a carrier of some kind.” He said.

“Maybe,” I said, “But think about it. These are trained djinn killers. The ones that took Nora killed the elder djinn without a struggle. Two inexperianced djinn and a normal human wouldn't stand a chance.”

“Well, we could look. If we found the place where she was being held, we could go get back up.”

“Nora’s my smartest friend, if anyone could get out of this or get to a place where she could be rescued, its her!” Liana chimed in.

That settled that but-

“How are we going to search? I’m not leaving Liana here. It is too dangerous.” I said.

“Shifts?” Mangoo suggested, “I’ll take the first shift, you look like you are very low on power.”

“So do you. Don't strain yourself.” I warned.

Mangoo disappeared, Liana gasped when the purple smoke appeared and turned to me wide eyed.

“I guess I have some explaining to do…” I said sheepishly.