Chapter 12

Flinging my hand out, I groan in frustration as the man in front of me doesn’t catch on fire.  Aaron laughs at me before slinging his out.  The man goes flying away from the door.  Sending him a tiny glare, I move towards the opening.  I don’t make it far though, as his hand grabs me and pulls me back.

“You are going to have to let me do something,” I snarl.

He nods at me.  “Yes, but that does not include going in their first.  You don’t have your powers, and I am not about to risk your life because you have some sense of righteousness. “

“It’s not righteousness, Aaron. It’s just hard to be anything besides the leader.”

“I know, but we can handle this for now.  You can’t always be the hero.”

I let out a frustrated groan.  “It isn’t about being the hero.  It is about ending this thing, for good.”

“And we will, today.”

I stare at him for a moment before nodding.  Today would be the end of it, no matter what.  Someone would die today; I was just hoping it would be Diana.  Following behind Aaron, I glance back at my people fighting hers.  I feel completely useless.   While the people I love are battling, I’m running off to find Diana.  Is she here, or am I wasting my time while my family fights?

“Come on, Ivy,” Aaron says impatiently while grabbing my hand and running through the doors.  I don’t hesitate, or ask him if he is sure, we are going the right way.  He always knows.

Turning corners, I can feel, as we get closer to her.  My body begins to weaken as if her very presence sucks the life out of me.  Was that how she worked?  I don’t know, nor do I care.  The only thing I am worried about is ending her. 

Aaron stops.  “She’s in here.  I can feel her.  Ivy, are you sure, you want to do this now?  I don’t think it’s a good idea.  She knows that you are here.”

“I’m sure,” I mumble before walking towards the door.  How ironic is it that she is in the same room I was in, the same room that she locked me into and stole my powers.

The door opens on its own, and I step in.  I’m not frightened when it slams shut behind me or when Aaron begins to beat on it, letting me know that he didn’t make it to the other side.  None of that bothers me.  I am where I’ve wanted to be for a long-time, standing face to face with my worst enemy.

“Ivy,” she says with a tiny smile.

Tilting my head, I study her.  “Diana, looks like you’re a little happy today.”

“How could I not be?  I have you power; I have Chris’s power, and soon, I will have the rest of your friends.”

Not going to happen, I think at her while jerking my hand out.  Her nose crunches as my fist makes contact.  Dark blood pours down her mouth.  Her eyes narrow as she turns to spit the blood that had made itself into her mouth onto the floor.  “That was stupid.”

I shrug.  “I seem to be doing a lot of stupid things lately.”

“Like hitting your mother,” she replies while shooting her hand out towards me.

Diving to my right, I roll into safety.  As soon as I stop, I hop to my feet, knowing that she will not hesitate to hit me while I’m down.  “You never have and never will be my mother.”

“Ah, yes, you were a daddy’s girl.  Too bad daddy had to die.”

Anger flows through my body.  At that moment, I want nothing more than to fry her from the inside out.  The rage must have shown on my face, because her smile widens.  “That hit the nail on the head, didn’t it?  Do you even remember what he looked like, or how you withered beneath him while the blood flowed from his forehead?”

“I remember,” I whisper.  “I remember that you were the one who pulled the trigger.”

Her eyes roll.  “It isn’t something that I wanted to do.  It is something that I had to do.  You were never meant to get the fire; it was supposed to be mine.  Your dad would have made me let you keep it.  He loved you so much, more than he ever loved me.”

“That’s not true,” I tell her while walking to her side.  “He loved you, you were his soul mate.  It was just hard on him knowing that you wished harm on your own family.”

“Don’t you think it was hard on me knowing that my own husband chose his daughter over me?  That he didn’t love me enough to stay with me, to stay with the people he grew up with?  Instead, he left us and went with the ‘good’ people, the ones who wanted to destroy the Guild. All because of you.”

“My father was a great man.  You can’t fault him for doing what is right.”

“No, but I can fault him for ruining my life!” she screams.  Taking my chance, I dove at her.  My shoulder connects with her side as we tumble into the ground.  Once I get her there, I don’t hesitate.  Rearing my fist back, I slam it into her face once more.  Her head snaps to the side.  Slowly, she turns back and looks at me.  “You won’t kill me.”

I roll off her with a sigh.  “You’re right.  I won’t kill you, yet.  The only reason is that I need my power back.  I can’t live without it, and you are the only one who knows how to give it back to me.”

“How do you know you won’t get it back when I die?” she asks while attempting to pull herself up.

Jumping up, I slam my foot into her throat before she can move.  Why isn’t she using her powers?  Why isn’t she doing anything?  “That’s the problem.  I don’t know.  I could kill you, but there is a chance that my power will die with you.  I can’t let that happen.”

She shakes her head.  “You can’t.  So, it looks like we are at a cease fire?”

I look down at her.  Does she really think that this is the end?  Does she really believe that I will just walk away?  That is when I notice it.  Her hairline is beading with sweat, her eyes are glowing brightly, but she isn’t letting out the fire.  “It won’t let you control It.” I laugh.  “This is great.  My fire does not like you very much, does it Diana?  I guess I forgot to mention the fact that the elemental powers aren’t like the others.  It fights you.  Makes you do things that you don’t want, but the worse thing is that it will not work with you unless it likes you.  It hates you Diana.”

“Take it back,” she croaks out, finally giving up her illusion.

My foot slides from her neck.  Taking a few steps back, I sit down.  “I don’t think that I will just yet.  I think it would be a good way for you to die, being killed by the power that you attempted to steal.  That is the thing, Diana; you cannot take an elemental power that is not meant to be yours.”

Shaking my head, I wonder why I didn’t think of it earlier.  This is one of the few powers that choose who to go with.  It wouldn’t let someone like her handle it.  Her eyes begin to water as she withers.  Her body spasms became more frequent.  Is it wrong of me to sit here and watch?  Should I end her misery?

I stand and make my way towards her.  Pushing my hand into her chest, I feel the heat radiating off.  It’s time to take it back.  My eyes close as I call it to me.  I don’t know how that I know, but I know that it will soon flow back into me.  It is mine, and it will be until I find a successor.  It has to be a person both my fire and I choose, and that person is not Diana.

The heat that was once hitting my palm, streams up my arm.  It begins to cover my body in a comforting way.  I missed this, I realize.  I missed the warmth it gave me, the calming feeling.  It settles in with a tiny snap.  Opening my eyes, I push further down.  I need one more thing before I can kill her.  Finding it, I pull it from her. 

I push myself from the ground.  Looking down on her, I feel remorse.  She could have been a mother to me.  We could have been a family, but she ruined that a long time ago.  She made our life the way it is today.  I no longer hate her for it, nor do I blame her for what she did. 

“I forgive you,” I whisper to her before watching her body burn to a crisp.