Reclaimed (The Phoenix Chronicles Book 1) (9 page)

“Today we do the obstacle course to test your physical abilities, team work skills, and the sheer will to win. Treat this like your life depends on it. Our guests are watching. Now split into teams.”

Summer looked around like a frightened child. She had no idea where to go.

Ash stormed up to her and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her alongside him; weaving between the different students.

“This is crap,” he grumbled. “They act like we weren't taking our training seriously when that's all I do.”

“Who are the guys in hoods?” Asked Summer.

“No idea,” he replied as he pulled her towards a small group of water wielders. “She's on your team.”

None of them were too thrilled by that idea. Her only saving grace was that Ash decided to stick by her and be on the same team. She was starting to appreciate him a little more every day.

“What do we do?” asked Summer.

A blonde boy rolled his eyes and stepped towards her. “There are six teams of mixed wielders. We need to be the first to make it across.”

Another boy came forward that was the blonde boy's twin. “Don't screw this up for us.”

Ash folded his arms. “Clayton and Carl are annoying but powerful. Watch them.”

Summer stood close enough to Ash that their arms kept brushing against each other. She was anxious because she didn't want to fail but, she also didn't want to give the other wielders another excuse to hate her. It's like she was doing everything wrong and it just kept spiraling out of control.

Ash pulled off his jacket just as the whistle blew. His shirt hugged his broad chest as he looked over at the wielders.

“Let's go!” he shouted.

Summer had no idea what was going on. There was yelling coming from all directions as people tried to frantically make their way across the course.

When they reached the first obstacle Summer thought she was going to faint.

“Go!” exclaimed Ash.

“No,” she whimpered, taking a step back. “I'm afraid of heights.”

Ash growled in frustration. “Too bad. Get up the ladder or we fail.”

She didn't want to disappoint her team so she gulped loudly and began her ascent. Ash stayed right behind her and the rest of the team followed him. They reached the top of a wooden platform that her team was piled on. She watched as they grabbed a swaying rope and propelled themselves to the other side.

The other students acted like they had done this hundreds of times. Launching their bodies aimlessly into the air in an attempt to grab the rope didn't seem like a big deal to them.

When it was Summer's turn she didn't let herself think about it. She took a few steps back and jumped off of the platform; her limbs moving about wildly.

I'm going to miss the rope,
thought Summer.

She extended her hand as far as possible but, it wasn't enough. Just as the panic was beginning to set in she felt a hard gust of wind and the rope hitting her palm. Summer grabbed it as hard as she could and let out a deep breath when her feet hit solid ground. Hands grabbed her clothes and yanked her forward.

She looked back just as Ash was landing. A wind wielder caught her eye and winked. She smiled in response and knew he had been the one who helped her.

Ash grabbed her elbow and pushed her forward as the rest of her team climbed down the ladder. Once at the bottom they had to maneuver through waist deep quicksand. She wasn't even halfway through when every muscle in her body was begging her to stop.

“What now?” she shouted as her entire team stood still.

Clayton and Carl put their hands into the sand. A few seconds later Summer could feel the pressure from her body lift. The addition of extra water to the sand made it easier to move. Of course this was also an advantage to other teams as some members started to pass them.

“Get moving!” shouted the twins.

All of them finally made it across but, an entire team had passed them.

“They’re beating us,” said Summer.

Ash clenched his hands into fists. “We play dirty now.”

They came to large wall that had a beam attached to it. Across from there was another wall that they had to scale down.

Ash stood with his hands by his side. “Chris, help me out!”

A boy stepped forward and created a set of dirt steps leading up to the beam. Ash climbed to the top and gestured for the rest to follow.

Summer was somewhere in the middle when something black and purple zipped past her. A person yelled out in pain as a loud thud echoed off the ground. The more she climbed, the more attacks shot past her.

Once everyone was at the top they began climbing across the beam. Summer glanced over her shoulder one time to see Chris getting rid of the steps. Many wielders fell to the ground but that didn't faze anyone. They just all continued competing like this was a real battle and their lives truly did depend on it.

The ground began to shake again as another earth wielder made steps. Chris destroyed them and continued to do that as fire was being hurled at him. The other wielders were ruthless.

“This is crazy!” shouted Summer.

Ash smiled, a chaotic happiness dancing in his purple eyes. “It always is.”

Once everyone was across the beam Chris used one last strike to crush the steps and put a hole in the ground. He ran across the beam, smoke coming from his burnt hair and clothes.

“Good job,” said Ash, patting him on the back. “You're getting stronger.”

As they approached the next obstacle Summer was confused. It was a dense forest with wicked looking trees. A lot were burned or warped; their tortured limbs reaching for the sky.

“What is this?” asked Summer as she watched a few people from another team rush in.

“A forest full of traps that the earth wielders make,” said a dark wielder. “They rearm themselves after being set off.”

Summer's eyes grew wide as she heard a screech and then a loud crash.

“No time to think or you'll never do it,” said Ash. “Just run and be careful.”

They stayed close to each other as the team pressed forward through the dense woods. The pace they kept was quick but, cautious.

Another loud scream to their right had most of them jumping. Summer grabbed onto Ash’s shirt sleeve as she looked around.

“What kind of traps are these?”

“Nets, ropes, things that shoot at you, and fire.”

She swallowed hard and continued to hold on to him. Either Ash didn't notice or he didn't care because he didn't say a word.

They had been walking for what seemed like forever when one of their teammates shot up into the air and was dangling from the tree like some kind of bait. Their ankle was tangled in a thick, dark rope.

Without thinking, summer shot a small flame toward the rope. The person fell and was caught at the last second by another wielder. Everyone looked at Summer in shock and something that she thought looked like the smallest bit of respect.

They kept moving forward as a handful of their teammates got caught in different traps. Most were nets or foot traps that would violently throw them in the air. It was always terrifying to see them go up but, there was never an injury. It wasn't until the very end where the worst traps were.

Summer, Ash, and three others were walking together as a small wire was tripped. The cord tightened and the five of them found their ankles locked. A whistling ahead of them had all of them looking up.

“Rock Spears!” screamed a wielder.

Summer shoved Ash down just as a large shard of rock pierced her shoulder. She clenched her teeth and sucked in air.

“You idiot!” exclaimed Ash. He cut all their ankle locks off with his dark power and steadied Summer. “Why did you do that?”

“It was going to hit you in the face.”

He let out a frustrated growl and called over one of the light wielders.

“I'm not very good,” said the young girl.

Ash looked at her, his eyes blazing. “Sorry.”

“Sorry for...damn!” screeched Summer.

Ash had yanked the piece out and the light wielder did the best she could. It wasn't perfect but, at least the bleeding had stopped.

“Last part!” bellowed Ash as he helped Summer out of the trees.

Ahead of them were six platforms that were short enough for them to jump on. A council member was standing next to each one.

“They haven't done this for a while,” said Clayton.

“Only once since I've been here,” nodded Carl in agreement.

“What do we do?” she asked, wincing slightly as she touched her shoulder.

“They put a wall of their power up in the center of each platform,” answered Carl.

“And you have to get through it,” said Clayton. “You can try anything you want except attacking the council.”

Carl snickered. “Or you could try that and let us all see what happens.”

“We do this as a team or we fail,” said Ash.

Just as he said that, one of the newest wielders on another team stepped back and jumped through the light wielders wall. He screamed and fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Summer gulped loudly. “Okay, as a team.”

They walked up to the first one which was the water wielders stand.

Summer bit her lip. “Let me try.”

She practiced what Ash had taught her and was pleasantly surprised when the two small flames she produced actually behaved and turned the water into steam before completely disappearing.

“Hurry,” said Ash. “We don't have a lot of time.”

Carl and Clayton jumped over first. They extended their arms and helped the injured Summer over who was still favoring her shoulder.

This went on until Ash, the last person through, jumped across. He made it just in time as the wall of water shot up his back and soaked him.

They made it through all the platforms doing the same thing. Every single wielder attacked and helped each other out. Things were going smoothly and the finish line was in sight until they reached the dark wielders wall. Tolai smiled wickedly at them as he ignited a large flame of dark power.

The two light wielders they had on their team stepped forward and looked terrified.

“We can't do this,” said one, her voice trembling. “We're not strong enough.”

“Try,” urged Ash.

They both attempted to neutralize the flame by pushing it down with their light energy. It worked for a split second until the wall roared forward and knocked the light wielders over.

Summer turned around to see another team gaining on them.

“We can try to bury it with earth,” said Chris.

The team mumbled in agreement so he stepped forward with two other earth wielders. They knelt to the ground and moved the earth until the purple fire was covered.

“Go!” Shouted Ash.

Half of their team was able to jump over before the rock shattered.

Summer and Ash looked at each other.

“Now what?” she asked.

“We need an attack powerful enough to destroy his. I don't know if that's possible.”

Summer glanced up and saw the hooded people staring at them. Something in her gut told her this was a test they needed to win.

“Say something mean to me,” she said.

Ash raised his brow. “This is not the time-”

She held her hand up to his face. “Say something mean so I can crush Tolai’s attack. It's the only way.”

“Summer, I'm not-”

“You're ugly,” said Clayton.

“You suck,” said Carl with a smirk.

Summer smiled. “You can do better than that.”

Clayton turned to face her. “No one wants you here. That boy died because of you.”

Summer could feel her gut twist in pain.

Carl stepped forward. “You're no better than any of us and not a single wielder likes you. What you are is just a poor girl who needed a place to sleep.”

“That's enough,” growled Ash.

Summer could feel the fire building in the core of her body. It was growing, begging to destroy the people verbally assaulting her.

“Bet you feel like a failure,” said Clayton. “Well, you are and anyone who has ever told you that is right.”

Summer's golden eyes began to glow. There was a small amount of willpower she was using to control the fire that was dancing around her fingertips.

Summer offered them a grin. “I appreciate it.”

She carefully walked towards the edge of the platform and rested her hands on the wall of dark energy. The attack burned her skin but, she didn't feel it. She let out a deep, primal scream and shot the fire down in-between the platforms.

Tolai took a step back as the fire exploded the earth beneath them. He shielded his eyes as the mixture of black, purple, and red wrapped together. There was a loud hiss and then silence.

Summer fell to one knee as her vision began to blur. Two arms hooked onto hers and lifted her off the ground.