Chapter Seven

As I said, when I woke up – full of energy. It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for you. Next time your mother tells you to have a good night's sleep and you'll feel better in the morning, believe her – Jonah was gone, undoubtedly taken by the Raze.

I also realized, with a chill, it was probably the next day. Dani's ceremony was today. Why? Why would she? Maybe she was faking it and was going to spy for us. A small part of me wanted to believe it, but whispered instead, Bläsa would've known.

This was one time I wished I wasn't right.

I spent about an hour wishing Jonah was there. What was Bläsa doing to him right now? What if Jonah was dead? Maybe Bläsa didn't need him alive and killed him with the four poisons. The many possible what ifs kept creeping through my head.

Finally, Jonah stumbled down the corridor, guarded by a Raze. He was shoved back into our cell and the Raze hissed roughly, "I'll come get you in half an hour."

Jonah sat up slowly. "Are you okay?" I asked, crawling over to him.

He nodded once. "Fine. He did the same thing to me. I told him what I knew – the camp location was confidential. He didn't believe me."

I nodded as well. "He thinks we know where it is. Even if he did know the location, what would he do with it?"

Jonah managed to look at me and cock an eyebrow. "Attack it."

I felt my cheeks get hot. "Oh. Right."

He sighed. "Dani's ceremony is in thirty minutes."

"The Raze said so," I agreed. "How are we going to get out?"

He looked at me with a small twinkle in his eyes. "Actually, I have a plan for that."

I gasped. "You do?!"

He shushed me. "Not so loud." Dropping to a whisper, he continued, "Let's watch the ceremony. Bläsa ended up telling me all about it, whether he knows that or not. Dani has to soak in all her new powers for about five minutes, just as you did for Lêshä. Then, while everyone's distracted, you do you magic thing."

We both knew he meant the spell where I filled the room with magic. I nodded, and he continued, "I'll put up a shield. Afterwards, once you either kill all the Raze or distract them, we run back here. I know a doorway out, a different door in that circular room. It's the one on the left end. We're going to have to fight our way out."

I sighed. That plan sounded impossible, and we both knew it. Raze were everywhere in this compound, and just getting out would prove difficult. "I'm up for it," I said, agreeing nevertheless.

"We have to try," he said. His words were getting tighter and tighter as his eyes dropped lower and lower. His body was reacting the same way mine had. "Is there any way you can make me stay awake?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I can try."

Summoning my magic – which was pretty easy now – I thought heal Jonah, at least temporarily. I even thought it in French, and the little bit of German I'd picked up during the Wars. Yes, I mean the World Wars.

A bit of energy came from my fingertips and a black shimmer raced over to Jonah. It hit him in the chest, and although it looked like it would hurt, he sighed in relief when it entered his body. "Thanks," he said. "That helped." His eyes were open all the way, and he wasn't speaking so tightly.

"That's good," I said, taking a deep breath, trying to restore the bit of energy I'd lost. Magic was like running – you knew how to do it by heart, but you couldn't do it all day.

We rested and prepared for what we were going to do for the rest of the time. It was life or death, and we couldn't afford to get captured again. It was a silent agreement – if all hope was lost, and I don't mean myself, then we would purposefully die. The Raze had all two poisons, and I also had some cyanide that Clara gave me. The only problem was the ricin. "Jonah," I said. "We don't have a way to get ricin."

He shook his head. "I have ricin."

I gave a double-take. "Why are you carrying ricin with you? Don't you know how dangerous that is?" Ricin stopped our powers for days on end.

He nodded. "I could ask you the same question about your cyanide."

"Clara gave it to me."

"Yeah, well, that makes sense. She used it on me, too, when she got me. Tried to give me some but I refused. Seemed too dangerous. She insisted I carry a poison and I chose ricin," he replied. "Seemed logical. I didn't think I'd be in a situation like this anytime soon."

"Well, you made the right choice," I said, unsure of whether to laugh or to be grateful for our luck. "You know, you'd think he'd give us ricin so we wouldn't escape. We probably could've already."

"Maybe he forgot," Jonah said, shrugging. We both knew that wasn't true, but what else could've happened? A god just doesn't forget things like that.

Suddenly, our cell door opened and the Raze that shoved Jonah back in here was standing in front of us. "Come with me," he growled. "Don't try anything."

I looked at him. "Do you think we would?"

He just growled and motioned for us to hurry up. As we were walking down the hallway, I asked, "Why are there more males than females?"

He looked at me strangely this time, but he still didn't answer.

"The females breed," Jonah whispered in my ear. "Most of them are breeding their whole lives."

I shuddered. That would be a horrible way to live your life.

We arrived at the other end of the hallway we'd grown so accustomed to, and entered a large, square room. A large, golden pedestal dominated one side, and the rest of the room was filled with Raze.

There were so many of them my stomach turned and twisted. The stench was overpowering. They all clattered and chattered, clicking their tongues in their own language. Proving Jonah's earlier point, only about ten percent were females. But I could look past all that. I could ignore every single Raze that entered this room because on the pedestal was Dani.

I couldn't help but gasp. She was downed in silver robes and her hair was drawn back in one braid. She was looking fit, fitter than I remembered her to be, and she stood with such an arrogant power that I could barely recognize her. A long, wooden bow was positioned across her back, and a quiver of arrows next to it. "Dani," I whispered, unable to contain the heartbreak.

It wasn't just that I'd lost somebody. I'd lost a friend to an enemy.

"Dani!" I yelled, but she didn't appear to hear me. A sly smile was spread across her face, and I wished I hadn't, but the thought crossed my mind – She looks so much more at home with the Raze.

Finally, she spotted me and Jonah. She didn't appear surprised. She wasn't even slightly happy to see we were okay. Instead, her features twisted into a frown and she looked away immediately. My heart sank.

But something inside me hardened. I think that was the time I lost every feeling I'd ever had for Dani, whether it be mere kindness or friendship. I forgot all that. She didn't think of me as a friend, so I shouldn't either.

She was only the enemy. Nothing more. Nothing less. As hard as that was, I did it.

Jonah was having a bit more difficulty. "We have to watch this," I told him. "The old Dani would want that."

He nodded sharply.

Suddenly, Bläsa was there, stepping majestically out onto the pedestal and resting beside Dani. She smiled at him shrewdly and he returned the gesture. "My friends!" he yelled, his voice booming out over all the Raze. Everyone felt compelled to stop talking, including me.

"Today we welcome a new member to our little 'family,'" he said, and everyone laughed. The way the Raze laughed was strange – it was almost like a cough.

"Danielle –,"

He paused to let Dani whisper something in his ear. "Oh, my apologies. Dani here has graciously volunteered to join us. She will also be my Vessel."

The crowd cheered. Jonah and I tried hard not to lunge out fighting as the Raze around us jumped and shouted "Hooray!" in their language. Or maybe they were shouting "Boo!" It's hard to tell.

Bläsa gave a wicked smile and I hated him for it. "Commence the ceremony, my friends!"

Bläsa stepped behind Dani, his black robes making him appear as her silhouette. Their height difference would've been comical in a different situation. He lifted his fingertips, and even though I gave an involuntary yelp, black lightning flew out of them.

The instant the tendrils hit Dani, her back arched and the leisurely grin was gone, replaced by a large 'O' or surprise. She began to twitch, and slowly, just like I was, she levitated into the air until she was surrounded by Bläsa's dark magic.

This time, I got a viewpoint that my friends had seen from me. Dani convulsed, raising high into the air. Bläsa's grin spread larger and larger as he filled her with his power. Suddenly, on Dani's wrist, a V identical to mine was tattooed.

But that wasn't all. My experience had stopped there. Lêshä had only done her Vessel halfway – Bläsa was going all-out. Her pupils began to grow, taking up her whole eye. Her hair, which had been purple and blonde today, began to change colours rapidly. New tattoos began to creep up all over her body.

And then it was over. She dropped to the floor, and lay there motionless for a few seconds. Bläsa staggered backwards slightly when he let the lightning he made go, but recovered swiftly enough.

And she sat up.

Jonah and I gasped. We couldn't help ourselves. Gone was the Dani we knew, with no hope of ever coming back. Her icy blue eyes were gone, taken up by the pupil. She had no iris anymore. Her hair was jet black, and it made her pale skin look ghostly…just like Bläsa's. Her robes had fallen away, so she was only wearing a tight black tank top, jeans, and somehow she had a new pair of combat boots.

But her tattoos…those were insane. She still had the deeply etched V, but on her other wrist was a B, presumably for Bläsa, marking her as his. All over her arms, black swirls and lines dominated. On her forehead she had more elaborate designs, and from what I could see of her legs she had them there, too.

Her bow had grown larger – it was thick, sturdy, and covered in swirls, just like her body. Her arrows were jet black as well, with only a red end to them. I could bear all of it. I could live with seeing that every day.

But the fact she was smiling killed me inside.

Bläsa laughed, and suddenly, as a single unit, every Raze in the room bowed. Someone dragged me and Jonah down with them, but as we were falling to one knee, Jonah whispered, "Now."

I took everything inside me and bundled it all together. Hate mixed with anger and fear met rage. Once every emotion was together, and once I could feel the energy racing through me, I gave a yell and let it all go.

Jonah immediately yelled something in Mandarin and he was surrounded by a shimmering force shield. That was good, because I was blind with fury. Black tendrils, almost identical to Bläsa's raced out of my hands, filling the room.

The Raze had no chance. Some of them managed to fight their way through the magic, but about half got incinerated on the spot. Dani and Bläsa were safe, shielded somehow, but I didn't care. I didn't care who lived and who died right then.

"Hope!" Jonah yelled, somehow getting through to me over all the chaos. "We have to go! Now!"

I don't know how I managed to listen to him. I also don't know why I stopped. I wanted to destroy Bläsa, to murder him violently. But Jonah was my anchor. He kept me grounded through the pain, I guess. There's no other way it could've happened. But I stopped, just because he told me to.

I shut off the magic and immediately felt the draining effects. I staggered a bit, but regained my composure and together we bolted out of the room and back into the hallway. "Weapons!" Jonah panted.

I nodded. The first Raze we ran into I took down by magic. Now I wasn't sure I could cast another spell, but I had to try. We took the beast's sword, but I let Jonah carry it, because we both knew he was rubbish at magic but a great fighter.

We continued down the hallway, past our cell. If you looked closely you could still see the indents of where our bodies had lay on the straw. Racing past the prison, we could see the door that led to the circular room.

Things were actually looking up.

And then she was there. I don't know how she did it, but suddenly she was standing in front of us, her bow drawn. Her eyes blinked, but the pupils didn't dilate or grow smaller. Her jet black hair was blowing across her face, as if an invisible wind surrounded her.

She traveled through time. "Ride the winds of time and all that." Clara had told me Dani was able to do that. How could I have been so stupid and forgotten?

"Dani, don't do this," I said, but she wasn't going to listen to me. Her head cocked sideways slightly, but she wasn't paying us any attention.

Jonah hesitantly lifted his sword and was about to charge Dani when she fired.

Her arrow was going to hit Jonah. I couldn't let that happen. Using my magic, I used whatever energy I had left and I directed the arrow to me. I know, I should've made it hit Dani. I didn't have the power for that. I'd used everything up killing the Raze. Only a slight direction change was allowed by my magic, and after I did that, I was totally out.

But it didn't end there. I saw the arrow. I saw it fly through the air, about to strike me in the heart. I knew I was going to die. Dani probably had poisons in that quiver of hers, and Jonah and I both knew it.

He was just a little quicker. Because before I knew it I was lying sideways on the ground and he had an arrow in his chest.

"Jonah!" I yelled. Dani was gone. Why didn't she kill me? I didn't really care. Jonah had taken an arrow for me…Jonah had saved my life.

He was trying to sit up, and for a moment, hope flashed within my chest. Maybe it was a regular arrow. Maybe Dani didn't realize that. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "It's…poisoned."

My heart sank. "The death is slow. Painful. Takes a long time." That was another piece of information Clara had given me. Another one I wished I didn't know.

We both knew what was happening but I refused to accept it. I didn't even think the word. Instead, using some hidden strength and a lot of adrenaline, I hoisted up Jonah and let him lean on me. We still stubbornly continued down the hallway.

Raze were hissing at us but only half my mind was there. One caught up to me and lunged, claws bared, ready to strike. I tried to use magic, but I couldn't. I had forgotten I had no more to use.

I felt a searing pain in my back and I knew I'd just been scratched. Mercury. Infects with toxin.

I roared, half in pain and half in anger, and maybe a bit in fear.

Do you need any help?

Suddenly, Lěshä's voice was in my head. Yes. I need it right now and don't tell me no.

I felt filled with energy. The pain in my back went away. Everything, actually, seemed to go away. I was in my own world, and no one else was allowed…well, except for Jonah. He could come.

Raze kept trying to break into my head but I pushed them away. I killed them…just like Dani wanted to kill Jonah. I could hear him breathing with me. He wasn't going to die. He couldn't die, could he? What would happen if I lost my anchor?

I shuddered at the thought.

We made it to the circular room…and no Raze followed us. Why aren't they coming? I thought. I was still energy-high and I didn't want to let any of it go. It clouded my thoughts, muddling my emotions. All that mattered was me and Jonah. Nobody else. Never anything else.

"What door was it?" I asked Jonah groggily.

His voice was laboured and I could tell that he was in pain but in my current state it didn't matter. "The one…on the very…left." I took the door on the very left. Surprisingly, it opened without force. Or maybe I did use force. Who cared?

Without looking, I stepped through the door and then I was falling…

As I hit the ground, all the energy left me. Lêshä…I thought, moaning out loud. My back was on fire, I was about to pass out and I had just hit my head. It was a wonder I hadn't died. To top it all off, it was raining cats and dogs.

I'm sorry, you've entered a sheltered place. Extra protections are up right now, I can't get through, she told me. You're close to your camp.

Are you kidding me? I exclaimed. Bläsa was that close?

Not at all, she replied, you stepped through a transporter. Simply think of a place you've been and you'll go there. You're just outside of where you want to be, outside the borders.

I groaned again as the pain settled in. "Jonah?" I called weakly. I felt hot, and clammy. What did mercury do again? I couldn't remember…

He gave a weak, "Here." I inhaled sharply and sat up, yelling in pain. My back was searing in pain and heat and I was sweating uncontrollably. He was my first priority, though.

"Can you walk?" I asked.

He shook his head, ever so slightly. I moaned, getting to my feet. I was wavering and staggering, but Jonah needed me. I had to stay strong.

Walking over to him, I tried to use magic but I was right out of that. So, instead, I screamed and then lifted him up, putting him in a fireman's carry.

"You're…strong," he whispered hoarsely.

I couldn't respond. I was sagging under his weight, and if either of us didn't get help soon we could die. For good.

So I put my left foot forwards. And then my right. And I kept walking, supporting us both on next to no strength.

Rain was pelting me, getting my hair wet and making it stick to my face. Sweating in heavy rain in an interesting experience.

Then, all of a sudden, I got freezing cold. I felt like every breeze was a blizzard. I could barely think. My teeth chattered and my legs threatened to give out on me.

No, I thought. I will not give up now.

And then I saw it. A shimmering border, hiding what I knew was our camp. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I couldn't do any of those things. I didn't see Clara or Fane, but who knew what had happened to either of them? They could be dead for all I knew.

I was counting on the fact they weren't.

Jonah's breathing was getting shallower. As my toe crossed the border, everything came into view. The buildings, the meadow, everything. I was even saved from the rain. Apparently the new borders were weather-proof.

"FANE!"

That was…I couldn't tell who it was, but it wasn't me or Jonah and I felt like I knew who that was…did I? I couldn't exactly think. Spots were growing in my vision and I knew it was only a matter of time.

Someone was running towards me. I couldn't do it anymore. I tried to drop Jonah softly but it was a hard thump when he landed. I collapsed to the ground myself, the blackness taking over.

I began to twitch without warning. Was I having a seizure? I couldn't tell, but I convulsed over and over. Someone placed their hands on my chest but I didn't know who.

Then the blackness took me and knew I wasn't coming back for a long, long time…