Chapter 52
•Alex's P.O.V•
I found myself sliding down a massive twisting tunnel of dirt and rock as my team's screams bounced against the walls above me. After a few more seconds of falling, I tumbled across a large flat ground shworded in darkness. The others tumbled into whatever cavern I was in moments after and all let out groans as they got up onto their feet.
"Is everyone okay?" My voice echoed slightly.
"Barely." Keith groaned. "Can someone turn on the light?"
Celest snapped her fingers and another ball of light sparked to life in her palm. It's light revealed that we were in a large cave, about the size of one of two classrooms put together. The rocks were jagged and looked sharp.
"What just happened...?" I muttered. I tried getting up, only to cry out as a searing pain shot through my left leg. It was them that I noticed the hole in my jeans and the large scrape on my knee, blood dripping from it.
"Oh my god, Alex, are you okay?" Damian asked. I propped myself up, hissing as I bent my injured knee. Natalie bent down in front of me.
"Here, let me." She closed her eyes and brought her glowing hands close to my wound. The torn skin started to emit a soft green glow and the pain lessened.
"Thanks, Nat." I smiled.
"Any time." She replied.
I looked down at my clothes to find my shirt and jacket covered in rips and tears and dust. I noticed a few scratches on my arms and felt a bit of blood trickling down my cheek. I held my hand to it and felt a sharp sting once I placed my fingers on the wound. The cut was small, and thankfully, pretty shallow. Still, I winced in pain.
"Oh crap, Alex, your cheek!" Cameron pointed to my cheek.
"It's fine, Cam." I said. "It's just a small cut."
"Yeah, but it'll get infected if we don't patch it up." Zielo said, holding his arm. Natalie opened her eyes and my body glowed a bright green. After a second, the stinging stopped and the cut closed. The scrape on my knee had also closed up, good as new, though it still stung for a little bit. The glow around my body faded.
"Hey, I'm fully healed." I said.
"Hey, Nat, you think you could heal the rest of us too?" Aarya asked. Natalie's eyes glowed again as the rest of the team started emitting a bright green glow. Soon aafter, their injuries were also healed.
"Thanks." Zielo said. Natalie panted.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Aaron asked.
"Yeah." Natalie replied. "I just never had to heal that many people at once before. It took quite a bit out of me. But I'll be fine."
She held her hand to her chest, and the wounds on her body glowed before healing themselves. I looked around. Celest's light didn't reach too far into the cavern we were in. In fact, there was a line where the darkness started and her light stopped.
"Where are we?" Zack muttered, almost in fear.
"Keith?" I turned to him. Keith went up to the closest cave wall and placed his hand on it. A bright radiance pulsed out from his hand across the surface of the cave. He turned back to us.
"Nothing..." He said. "I can't make out where we are. The tunnels are too complex."
"Is there any other way out of here?" Celest asked. Keith closed his eyes for a couple of seconds.
"No..."
"So, we're stuck down here?" Zack aid alarmed.
"I'm afraid so." Keith said in defeat.
"But what about the way we came in?" Aaron asked. He looked up, only to see that the way we came in was no longer there. We were trapped.
"Oh no..." I muttered. "Were stuck down here. There's no way to get out...How are we gonna get back to the guardians, and the teachers? Grandpa... Oh no, he's probably scared pantsless. And what about-"
"Alex." Zielo put his hands on my shoulders, staring into my eyes reassuringly. "Calm down. We're gonna find a way out of here...somehow."
"But how? Keith said that the tunnels are too complicated to map out. And who knows how far we fell." I said. I found myself getting more and more worried by the second.
"Wait, Keith, can't you just manipulate the earth?" Aarya suggested, arms crossed.
"I can, but this much rock is a little outside my range of control." Keith scratched the back of his head.
"Then just smash through it." Zack said.
"And risk the entire cave collapsing on top of us? Zack, are you sure that's a good idea?" Damian said with a bit of a sour attitude.
"Hey, at least I'm up with ideas. You haven't suggested anything that could help us get out of here." Zack snapped.
"Because there is no way out of here!" Damian snapped back.
"Hey, calm down. There's no need to yell." Aaron said, placing his hands on Damian and Zack's shoulders. Damian let out a breath.
"Sorry. I just, don't like the feeling of being... trapped." He said. I tilted my head.
"Trapped?" I asked. He looked in a different direction, avoiding eye contact completely.
"It's a touchy subject." Aarya whispered into my ear. I glanced at Damian with a curious stare.
"That's irrelevant." He muttered. "Let's try find other ways to get out of here."
The group started brainstorming different ideas, all of which eventually led to a failure. With very second, my enthusiasm faded more and more. I sat against the wall, letting thoughts walk through my mind. That's when I remembered what Arthur said at the gates of this castle.
'Arthur, can you teleport us to the other side?'
'Unless I've been to a certain location or I can see it clearly, I unfortunately cannot...'
"Unless you've been to a certain location..."
That's when an idea struck.
I got up and made my way to the team, who's spirits seemed to be dwindling. "Guys, I have an idea."
"It's probably better than anything we've come up with so far..." Zielo groaned. "Let's hear it."
I turned to Damian. "It's gonna rely on Mr. Mindaro over here."
"What? Me!?" Damian looked surprised.
"Remember what Arthur said before we went into the tunnels?" I asked him.
"Uh, no." He replied.
"As long as a mind elemental has been to a certain location, or can see said location, they can teleport there." I explained. Damian looked back at me with a puzzled expression.
"And...how does that help us, exactly...?"
"Simple." I said. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "The library where we found the second half of the prophecy, you're going to teleport us there."
His eyes widened, seemingly in a surprised panic. Keith's eyes lit up.
"That's genius!" He said, pumping his fists into the air.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Aarya facepalmed.
"No, no, absolutely not!" Damian protested. I raised an eyebrow.
"What? But, Damian, it's our best shot at getting out of here." I said. He shook his head.
"Yeah, except there is no way I can teleport all of us!" He said.
"But you're a master-"
"At teleporting myself. The moment other people come into the equation, things get a lot more complicated." He cut me off. He walked off to one of the cave walls and placed his hand on the rock, eyes closed behind his cracked glasses.
"I can teleport myself just fine, teleporting two people, manageable. But all ten of us?" He turned to me, a look of doubt plastered across his face.
"It's too much for me to handle. It'll require too much power, power that I didn't currently have. Even if I could, I don't know how far the library would be from here. I could end up transporting us somewhere completely different." He sat down with his back against the wall, resting one arm on his knee.
"Then, maybe-"
"Taking you all one at a time won't work either." He cut me off, his eyes glowing slightly. "It'll burn through my energy like a flame through paper. Before I know it, I won't have enough to even move."
He looked off into the darkness sadly before letting out a breath.
"It's not a bad idea, Alex, but the odds are against it. I'm barely strong enough to teleport three people at once. Teleporting ten people, including myself, that's well beyond my limits..."
I glanced at him in surprise. I've never seen him so...defeated. Damian was normally so quick to come up with ideas and solutions. He was always so witty, and resourceful. But seeing him now, there was none of that left. His enthusiasm was wiped away and replaced with a defeated frown.
"Maybe I can try telepathically contacting with professor Saladin, but until then, we're stuck here." He muttered. His advice from my battle with Keith echoed through my mind.
'If you're in the right mindset, limits don't exist...'
"What was that...?" I asked. "What did you just say?"
"That I'll try contact professor Saladin through telepathy?" Damian said. I shook my head.
"No, before that."
"Teleporting all of us is well beyond my limits?"
"Yeah, that!" I said. "You don't actually believe that, do you?"
Damian looked at me, puzzled. "Of coarse I do. I'm nowhere near strong enough to do it. Believe me, I know."
"Yeah, but, have you ever tried?"
He didn't answer. Instead he just looked away, clenching his jaw.
"You're the only one who can get us out of here. Do I have to remind you what's at stake? Please-"
"I know, Alex!" Damian snapped, a single tear dripping down his cheek. "I know what's at stake! I know that the entire realm is counting on us to defeat the Corrupted King. But I can't do it. I can't just burst through my limits like they're nothing! Not like you can..."
I stood there in shock. His look softened ever so slightly as another tear rolled down his cheek. The entire group was quiet, shocked at Damian's outburst. The calm and responsible one of the team, lashing out at someone in frustration was a big surprise to all of us. We all stood there in silence. He buried his head in his knees.
"I'm too weak..." He whispered. It hurt seeing him like this. I wasn't sure what to do for a moment, then it dawned on me.
"...you know, I heard this saying from a certain elemental a little while back." I said softly. He looked up at me, slightly confused.
"Whenever you feel weak, just tell yourself this..." I walked over and knelt down in front of him before continuing.
"If you're in the right mindset, limits don't exist."
His gaze softened in realization before looking away again. I continued.
"Those were your words, Damian. And ever since you said them to me, I stuck by them. And since then, I've only just been getting stronger. You really inspired me to improve on my magic with your words, so I figured you might need to hear them yourself." I said. I put my hand on his shoulder and flashed him a small smile.
"Limits are meant to be broken, after all." I smirked. "I broke mine in my fight with Keith thanks to you, now it's your turn."
He turned to me, a tiny glimmer of hope sparkling in his eyes. I offered him my hand, looking into his eyes with a soft, reassuring expression. He flashed me a warm, thankful smile before taking my hand and helping himself up, then pulling me to my feet.
"Thank you, Alex." He said, still holding on to my hand.
"Hey, you inspired me to break through my limits, it's only fair that I help you break yours. Consider this my way of saying thank you." I said to him. He chuckled. A purple glow then enveloped his body, then spread across mine, tiny sparks popping here and here. The purple aura felt tingly. I looked at Damian with intrigue.
"Everyone, hold on to me." He said.
"Uh, what?" Zack said, puzzled.
"You heard me." Damian said. "Grab onto me. I'm getting us to that library."
"But, you just said-"
"I know, but that doesn't matter now." Damian cut Aarya off, extending his hand to her. "After all, didn't you hear what Alex just said?" He looked at me, a determined smile on his face.
"If you're in the right mindset..." His eyes started to emit a brighter glow.
"...limits don't exist."
Aarya smiled before taking Damian's hand in hers. The bright purple glow encompassed her body as well. Zielo took my hand, and Damian's glow spread to his body as well. Everyone else joined hands until all of us were surrounded by a bright purple aura, linked in a circle. Damian seemed slightly drained.
"You okay?" I asked him.
"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm good."
With that, he stood up straight and took in a deep breath. More sparks started to appear around Damian as he exhaled. "Brace yourselves."
He then closed his eyes. The glow around our bodies began to brighten. Damian's face started to strain and his struggle became evident in the quiet grunts of exhaustion coming from him.
"Come on Damian, you got this." I encouraged. He strained more, seeming to be at the edge of his power. The glow grew brighter as the seconds passed.
"Come on, come on...!" He groaned. Another set sparks popped from Damian's body. Suddenly, I felt a sudden surge of energy travel through my body. Everyone else seemed to have the same feeling I did as more sparks leaped from Damian, his body starting to glow brighter and brighter. A small purple light started to appear on the floor of the cave, small sparks jumping out from it as it grew larger and larger.
The light turned into a ring that grew our towards us. The same lights appeared beneath out feet, growing into large rings that illuminated the cave floor. I stared in amazement as the light in the centre grew into an intricate and unique spell circle with glowing runes inside the rings. Our elemental symbols appeared in the centre of the ten rings under our feet, glowing brightly with the rest of the spell circle.
"Whoa..."
I found myself smiling in amazement as the circle glowed. I turned to Damian, who looked even more drained and exhausted than ever.
"Damian...?"
"Don't worry about me...I'm...fine." He said through gritted teeth. His veins started to pulse and bulge on his forehead. My body started to glow a ghostly purple as the tingly feeling spreading through my body to my fingertips. The same pale purple glow spread to Zielo and Aarya, until the entire team emitted a bright glow that lit up the entire cave.
"Midaria."
We all started to float a few inches off the ground as the light started to become so bright it was nearly blinding. Damian finally opened his eyes. The bright purple glow covered every last part of his eyes. But before I could say anything, a bright white flash blinded me for a couple of seconds...
•••
I found myself thudding onto the hard ground. I opened my eyes and found myself staring at a dark brown wood. As everyone slowly stood up, I quickly looked up and around at my surroundings. Shelves, books, scrolls, all up against a dark and gloomy brick foundation... This was the library.
We made it.
"The library..." I whispered. "We...we're here. We're here! Damian did it! Damian, you did-"
I turned to Damian, who lay on the floor, eyes closed. He wasn't moving...
"Damian...?"
No response.
I rushed to his side, trying to shake him awake. "Damian? Damian. Damian, wake up!"
He still didn't respond. The others quickly rushed to Damian's side in concern. A tear fell down my cheek in panic.
"Damian?" Aarya muttered. "...why isn't he moving?"
"Natalie, please tell me he's okay." I asked desperately. She didn't hesitate. Her eyes glowed and she placed her hand on Damian's chest. After a second or two, she looked to me with a relieved look.
"His magic core is dangerously drained." Her eyes stopped glowing. "...but he's fine. Just exhausted."
I breathed a sigh of relief as I set Damian on the ground. His chest slowly rose before sinking back down again. I turned to the others.
"We need to find the adults, fast." I said.
"But what about Damian?" Zielo asked.
"Yeah. We can't carry him while he's unconscious. Especially after he just exhausted himself like that." Celest added.
"Maybe I can use my levitation?" Aaron suggested.
"That wouldn't work. With how big this castle is, it'll take us a while to find everyone. Your levitation spell won't last that long." Keith explained.
"Good point." Aaron said in a defeated tone. Natalie stood up.
"You guys go. I'll stay here with Damian until he's conscious again." She said. Cameron shook his head.
"No, we're already one elemental short, we can't leave you here too. I can't..." Cameron protested.
"I'll be fine, Cam. Once Damian is awake, we'll come find you." Natalie reassured.
"But...but what if we run into the Corrupted King before we find the adults?" Cameron asked. Natalie wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you, little brother." I heard her whisper into Cameron's ear. A tear fell from his eye as he hugged her back. They pulled away a second later and Cameron wiped his tears away.
"Stay safe, alright?" He said. Natalie nodded. With that, he turned to the entrance of the linrary. "Come on guys, we've got a king to dethrone."
With that, they all made their out of the library into the corridor. As I walked through the doorway, a familiar, yet less intense pain scorched my head again. I stopped to rest on the walls. It went away after a second. I shook it off as I caught up with my team.
'Time to save the world...' I thought to myself.
~~~~~
Author's Notes
Okay, this was a fun one, the word count says that clearly. I already had a few snippets of this chapter pre-written, like a few others before this, which was a challenge to rework into the story in a way that flowed nicely front he previous chapter, a challenge that took me a couple hours to complete. But I had fun. But the best part was definitely when I gave Damian the spotlight for the second half of the chapter [as well as hinting at some possible trauma, which might get explained later]. I was so into writing this that I even designed the spell circle that he conjured myself. I couldn't find one on Pinterest which I liked enough, so I made my own. And I'm in love with how it came out. It only took a couple hours to make, bit it was SO worth it. Anyway, this note is getting long. I'll see you in the next chapter.
-BlueBoyHalo14