Reclaimed (The Phoenix Chronicles Book 1) (16 page)

It took her a matter of seconds to break through the water. Once she was on dry land the fire slowly faded. She collapsed to her knees and looked up.

“That was awesome,” said an earth wielder.

“Thanks,” smiled Summer.

She picked herself up and was glad to see that Nora and Zach were okay. Then the panic set in.

“Where's Tracy and Petar?”

Zach shook his head. “We don't know. It looks like they didn't make it.”

“Damn!” she exclaimed. “This sucks!”

The last part of her sentence was drowned out by the howling of the wind.

Oh crap.

Chapter 18

Summer braced herself against the large gust of wind. The combination of her wet clothes and the blowing air had her shivering uncontrollably. She could barely focus on anything in front of her since her teeth were chattering so loudly.

The climb up this part of the mountain wasn't particularly dangerous. There were a few trees and rocks that came hurdling towards them but, she easily dodged them and pushed forward.

By the time they got half way up elimination mountain she was beyond exhausted. Hiking against the wind was like trying to run in sand. Her legs were on fire and she knew she would be feeling it the next day.

“Good job,” said Zach, patting her back.

Summer nodded, too tired to say anything, and looked around at the other wielders. A lot had already been taken down by the elements. She wasn't even sure if half were left.

“I think this was harder than the council thought it would be,” said Nora.

“Yeah,” nodded Zach. “Way hard.”

Summer furrowed her brow. “What's happening?” she asked, pointing to the path ahead of her.

There was a black and purple haze that had descended on the mountain. Everything was completely covered and it was impossible to see anything outside of the mist.

“Dark element,” answered Nora. “This is insane.”

“Why?” asked Summer. She produced a small flame in her hand and cocked her head to the side. “Can't I just use this and lead us through?”

“It's more difficult than that,” said Nora. “Enough of the dark element can make you hallucinate. You'll see freaky things. It can really mess with you.”

Zach nodded. “Let's just get up there together and remember it's not real. Summer's fire should help and I can try some wind to see if it clears things up.”

Some of the other wielders noticed Summer's fire and followed closely behind. It wasn't until they were inside the dark mist that Summer knew what Nora meant. It felt like an overwhelming sadness had taken over her body. The weight of those emotions were pulling her down and she had to take deep breaths just to go forward.

Summer blinked and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. The faces of all her foster families began to pop up.

“You'll never be anything,”
they whispered.
“Just quit. You were a worthless child and now you're a worthless adult.”

The words dug into Summer like someone was physically striking her. She clenched her jaw and pushed through, determined to not let her past get to her.

“Your family didn't want you, society doesn't want you, this world isn't meant for you.”

She shook her head and forced the emptiness that was filling her chest to go away. The only thing keeping her grounded was the occasional tug of her shirt to remind her that there were people depending on her. She wondered what kind of personal demons they were fighting.

The attacks continued and Summer had to fight the urge to vomit. All around her she could hear cries for help. The dark mist was maddening.

A break in the darkness indicated they were almost at the end. Summer bit down on her bottom lip and forced herself to continue. She had taken just a few steps when an image of Ash appeared in front of her.

His arms were folded as he smirked down at her.
“You mean nothing to me. I used you. I used you because you're weak.”

“No,” she said. “This is not real.”

“You trusted me and I think you're a joke.”
The image of Ash came close to her.
“I will never love you like you love me.”

The tears were streaming down her face as she continued up the mountain. Every step forward brought a small amount of comfort that the end was near. No matter how much she told herself that Ash was fake his words still hurt. In a sick and twisted way there was some truth to it. She would never be good enough for anyone that she even remotely cared about. It was a hard pill to swallow.

Summer took one last step and the haze lifted. She felt like the happiness had finally broken through the darkness and she was free.

Nora looked at her, her eyes swollen from tears, and grabbed onto her. They stood there for a brief moment as both of them cried.

“That was the worst one,” said Summer as she pulled back.

Nora wiped her eyes and nodded. “I didn't think it would be that bad. It takes a powerful dark wielder or a bunch of them to make that kind of mist.”

Zach cleared his throat and looked nervously at both of them. He hadn't been crying but, clearly looked distressed.

He grabbed Nora's wrist, pulled her towards him, and gave her a kiss.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. “I know you saw me and none of it was true.”

She cupped his cheek. “I know. Now let's finish this.”

There were groans of other wielders appearing from the fog. All of them had the same look of horror when they emerged.

“There's only one element left,” said Summer.

They looked at the field ahead of them. The ground was starting to level out and the top was actually quite beautiful. What wasn't beautiful were the obvious electrically charged trees, bushes, flowers, and fallen logs that she could see.

“What do you think that is?” asked Nora.

Zach picked up a rock and threw it at one of the bushes. It zapped it and sent the rock crashing into the ground.

“Light wielders can't kill,” said Zach. “They can only shock and paralyze other people. It looks like we have a maze of traps to get through.”

The three of them watched as a small group of wielders went through. Someone touched a tree and let out a painful scream. They collapsed to the ground, their whole body convulsing.

Nora stepped forward and gave Zach a quick kiss. “See you guys at the other end.”

Smoke covered the ground as she disappeared into it. All around them dark wielders were doing the same. Summer watched in jealousy and amazement as they emerged on the other side without a scratch.

“Lame. I forgot that light can't affect them if they do that,” sighed Zach. “Now what?’

Summer chewed her bottom lip. She was so ready for this to be over. Her body hurt, her shirt was torn, she had scratches all over, and she was dirty. This day was physically and mentally exhausting.

“I'll just lite the whole field on fire and we'll wait for it to burn to the ground.”

“Good idea,” said Zach matter-of-factly.

She hit his arm. "I can't really do that. It'll hurt people.” She tapped her chin. “Can you run really fast across the traps?”

He shook his head. “No I still get shocked. Maybe this will work.”

Zach stepped to the edge of the field and held his hands out. He shot a soft breeze across the grass and smiled as the surrounding trees revealed themselves as being traps by a small current passing over them.

“Good job, Zach!” said Summer excitedly.

She walked next to the two of them as they braved the field. It was taking a long time to cross but, neither of them had gotten shocked. Their method had worked. Zach would use his element and then they would take a few steps. This continued the entire way.

They were just steps away from the finish when Summer slipped. She could feel herself falling backwards and prepared for the worst. A quick shove in her back sent her flying forward. She landed on the dirt and heard the painful moans from behind her.

Summer grabbed the dirt in her hands. “Damn,” she said through clenched teeth.

Nora helped her stand. “It's okay. He wanted to do it. Don't feel bad.”

Summer turned around to see Zach lying on the floor. He was pinned down by almost invisible chains.

“We were right there!” she yelled. “I'm so stupid.”

“We're all tired,” said Nora, patting her back. “You did good.”

Summer turned and looked her dead in the eye. “I don't deserve people like you in my life. Thank you.”

Nora just shrugged and offered her a small smile as they watched the remaining contestants cross the line. There were only about forty who actually made it.

Once everyone could finally relax and had quieted down, Jasper magically appeared behind them.

“Good job to the remaining people. All the other wielders are back at camp. No one was seriously injured. Get some rest and healing. The next competition starts early tomorrow morning.”

He glanced once at Summer before walking down a set of stairs that looked like it had been hand carved into the mountain side.

She and the rest of the wielders followed. None of the winners looked thrilled to be competing tomorrow. Everyone was just exhausted and utterly defeated. It was a sad descent down the mountain stairs.

Once at the bottom they were greeted by their friends who didn't make it. Tracy and Petar beamed at Summer. They both rushed forward and squished her in a big, warm hug.

She grinned despite feeling so down. “Hi guys. Sorry for losing you back there.”

They both backed up. Tracy closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Girl, after seeing the way you look I'm glad we fell in some water. What were the other challenges?”

Summer told them what happened and their looks of horror were enough to tell her that she had been through a lot.

Petar pointed a finger at her. “It is wrong for them to use the dark wielders power like that. I do not agree.”

Summer sighed and nodded once. They began their walk back to camp when she spotted Ash leaning against a tree. He locked eyes with her and looked furious.

She was too tired to even try to decipher why he was upset this time. All she wanted was to get cleaned up, change, eat, and sleep. Hopefully in that order.

Once they got back to her tent she grabbed a clean change of clothes. It was still hot so she opted for a tank top and a pair of shorts.

Tracy pointed to her left. “There's a small stream up there that has some good coverage. You can get that dirt off up there. I already got you food.”

“Thanks,” she said and headed in that direction.

It wasn't very far and surprisingly she was the only one there. She was able to get cleaned up and changed without anyone seeing her. After she was done she felt a million times better. She started to head back when an argument that was escalating caught her attention.  

She crept over and peeked between two trees. Standing in the middle of a small clearing was Ash, Jasper, and Tolai. She had never seen Ash so angry and animated. He was throwing his hands around wildly while yelling at Jasper.

Summer quietly moved closer so she could try and hear what they were saying.

“You are pushing her too hard!” said Ash through clenched teeth. “None of you will be happy until she dies.”

“The boy is right,” nodded Tolai. “She's going to run just like the last person did. Is that what you want?”

Jasper pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course not but, she's good. I know she's the Phoenix. Even the elves believe it or they wouldn't be here.”

“I'm going to tell her,” said Ash. “She has a right to know about the last boy.”

Jasper shoved a finger into his chest. “Don't you dare or I'll kick you out of this school just like I did your dad.”

“Watch it old man,” growled Ash. “You're not as strong as you used to be.”

“Don't you get it!” said Jasper as he held out his hands and looked from Ash to Tolai. “We are all losing our powers and she's our answer. I don't care what it takes-”

Ash shoved him. “I do! Her life is not worth your stupid agenda.”

Summer walked into the opening, her lip quivering. “Is that what I am? A stupid pawn in some sick game?” The three of them stared at her open mouthed. “I quit this ridiculous competition and I'm leaving when we get back.”

She ran from them so they couldn't see how upset she was. There was no way she was giving them the satisfaction of knowing how much they hurt her.

Summer followed the creek until it split into a larger body of water. She collapsed on the soft grass and looked up at the stars that were just beginning to lite up the sky.

“Summer,” said Ash cautiously.

She laughed bitterly. “Of course you followed me. I hate you.”

She could hear him approaching and refused to move. Her body was aching and begging for sleep but, she wasn't ready to give in. The pain of betrayal was keeping her awake.

Ash sat down next to her and wisely kept his distance. “I want to tell you what we were talking about.”

She finally looked at him, the tears of frustration easily falling down her cheeks. “I don't care. You're not even supposed to be talking to me. Remember?”

He reached out and touched her hand. “Don't you dare!” she snapped, pulling it back.

Ash was quiet for a while. He stared at the water and ran a hand through his curls. A soft breeze pushed through the grass and hit Summer. It felt good against her clean skin.

“When I started training almost four years ago a young fire wielder was in my class. He was powerful and quickly made a name for himself. Jasper thought he was special just like you. With all the intensive training and pushing him too hard, the kid left. After some tracking all they could find was his bloodied jacket.”