"Anything from the trolley dears?"

"Black coffee. And a croissant. And a bagel and the paper if you have one. Do you want anything Sheira?" I asked as I stuffed money into the trolley lady's hand and took my purchases. Sheira stayed silent, carefully pouring over the books and notepads she had spread over the table in front of us.

"Black coffee, a couple of milks and sugars and another croissant please." I took the extras and pushed them in front of Sheira. Whether she decided to eat them or not, she had them as an option. Although to be fair she'd hardly moved since we had boarded the train at Kings Cross, it turned out that Sheira had also raided her cabins cash jar including her head counsellor Sapphire's personal stash.

Getting into London had been easy with Sheira's help and figuring out where the hell we were going had also been down to Sheira. She was the reason we were on a one-way trip to York and not being dragged by the ears back to Camp. But she was mad at me. Blind people could tell she was mad at me. She barely said a word as we travelled north, allowing me to get some sleep while she holed herself up into a corner and planned what our next move was. I was grateful, don't get me wrong, but I got the feeling that I would be paying her back for the rest of my life. I sighed and picked up the newspaper and scanned the first page.

"Well I made the front page. I can cross that off the bucket list," I said.

"Hm?" Sheira looked up from her pages. "Oh, for God's sake," she muttered.

"Page three, listen to this. London based family disappears in a towering inferno. The Hayden family consisting of thirty-six-year-old Aleena Hayden, her sixteen-year-old son Nicholas and the five-year-old twins Lilah and Maxwell have become the latest victims in the disappearances that have been spreading across the country. Aleena, Maxwell and Lilah were last seen walking back to their flat on the Sears Estate while Nicholas was last seen by his teacher Hector Slattery- That's that old bastards first name?"

"Keep reading!" ordered Sheira.

"Fine, calm down. Nicholas was last seen by his teacher Hector Slattery after serving a detention, although reports that he did in fact return home is still being disputed. The disappearance would have been waved away as another sad occasion and another set of names for the police service, if it not for the utter destruction on the fifteenth floor of the Demoney Tower where the Haydens lived. Just hand out my address to the nation why don't you?"

"Nick!"

"Sorry. The floor was practically obliterated. Residents reported loud bangs and screams from the fifteenth floor but when some braver residents attempted to reach the floor they found that they were unable to for no apparent reason. Some claim that the stairwell had caved in while other suggested that a barrier of some kind had been set up although no evidence of this has been discovered. Walkways were singed, barriers and walls had parts torn out, vast quantities of water had flooded the floor despite there being no evidence of burst pipeline. Two jets of fire, presumably from a flamethrower were seen spilling over the side of the building-"

"Your handiwork," said Sheira her arms crossed in front of her.

"And I presume that's yours?" I said, stabbing my finger at an image. A thick carpet of snow was covering the courtyard where we should have hit that ground.

Sheira scowled. "It was either that or our necks, which would you prefer?"

"Don't get me wrong I'm grateful, just didn't know you could do that."

She glared at me. "Of course, I can, now keep reading."

"A thick carpet of snow suddenly appeared out of nowhere after two figures were seen plummeting from the fifteenth floor, the identity of these two figures has yet to be discovered but they are presumed to be a male and a female. However, their bodies were not discovered and so no one has been able to figure out who these two are. The male is theorised to be that of Nicholas Hayden as the figure roughly resembled him but as the bodies have vanished it is impossible to confirm this. Police are also searching for a white van that appeared shortly after the two bodies fell which was captured on CCTV. The Camp I presume."

"You presume correctly," said Sheira. "There's a sigil on it that changes the number plate and brand depending on every person who sees it. It's practically untraceable."

"I see a logo for a bakery."

"I see a construction company. The only thing that stays the same is the Elemental Crest." She must have registered my blank expression. "You'll see it a lot more. Is there anything else in the article?"

I flicked my gaze over the rest of the words. "Nah, nothing important anyway. Just what to if anyone has any information. Wait here's something. Police strongly believe that that these disappearances are linked to the other fifty-nine disappearances that have been occurring over the past few months. However, this case may be linked to the disappearance of Rose Coultard as her backpack and a substantial quality of her blood was found nearby the Demoney Tower. These are the only two cases that appear to be linked but Scotland Yard are investigating the other disappearances too see if any other connections exist. The Metropolitan Police is issuing a statement...advising to not go out alone...potential targets are being protected...No leads to the perpetrator." I put the paper down and leaned back in my seat. "Never thought I'd become a missing person," I murmured.

"Let's try to keep it that way for the moment." I looked up at her. She shrugged, "it'll just make it a lot easier for us to navigate the country if we keep our heads down. All elementals are on high alert, tensions are running high, we're walking the knife edge and the police aren't helping."

"Surely there are elemental cops?"

"Of course, there are," Shiera took a bite out of her croissant. I was glad I bought it now. "They don't know any more than the human police, they only know the true danger. We have no idea where Molly is based."

"And I presume we're looking for someone who knows the hellhole Molly crawled out of."

She nodded. "We won't make it far without someone that knows what they're doing."

"Meaning?"

"We need a much more powerful elemental. Which is why we're heading here."

She pushed her map towards me. Sheira hadn't been sitting idle while I was asleep. The map was covered in scribbles and notes, some were crossed out, others were underlined. She had been carefully mapped our entire journey from Kings Cross to a little train station in the middle of nowhere. Then, circled in blue pen was a patch of field with the words Ashwood Dale written next to it in Sheira's neat calligraphy. Our destination. But...

"Sheira, I don't know if you noticed this, but there's nothing there. It's a field."

She hit me with her notebook. "Its an elemental village, you idiot."

Elementals have villages? Invisible villages? Even at this point that was still surprising. "Is this where were going to find help?"

"It's our best shot."

I flicked over the map again. There were other names, other places noted down, Shadowville, Strongwyn, Marbeldell, most a lot closer to London than the one Sheira selected. "Why Ashwood Dale specifically?" I asked. Why were we travelling further to reach an elemental village? She didn't answer. She didn't quite look me in the eye. "Sheira?" I suddenly had a very bad feeling.

She sighed. "Well... We need people that would willingly go against the Army."

"And...?"

"And most elementals aren't that stupid," she muttered. "Most elementals aren't willing to poke the bear that is Molly and her goons. Remember that kid I told you about? The one that lost to Molly? He's an example of what happens when you go up against the Army unprepared."

"So, we need a lunatic is what I'm hearing. We need someone that is crazy enough to run head first into almost certain doom."

She nodded. "We need elementals with a grudge. A desire for revenge. These people aren't uncommon, many have lost loved ones, friends, family."

"Like Annie from my cabin." I felt a pang in my chest at the thought of my friends in Fire. Would they have woken up yet? Would they discover the empty housekeeping jar first, or my empty bed? Sheira's friends in Water would also be frantically searching for her, it wouldnt take them long to put two and two together. I sighed and gazed out of the window at the fields and towns sweeping by us, they had just lost two of their friends in one fell swoop. I couldn't think about it.

"Yeah, exactly. But those people know that there's not much that you can do, they know that its suicide to take on Molly. But there are those that are almost driven mad by the desire to get their own back and a grudge against the Army that severe means that these people are quite..." she waved her hands, trying to summon up a word to describe the image in her head.

"Violent?" I suggested, "unpredictable?"

"Dangerous is what I would say." She sighed.

Fantastic, I thought, where was Batman when you needed him?

Sheira pinched the bridge of her nose, "I really don't want to go there. Its reputation exceeds itself as a place for elementals on the wrong side of the tracks. Criminals every single one of them."

"And we're going there?" I muttered. Knowingly walking into a world of criminals was not what I had in mind, but if we had to, I would walk through hell.

"It's the best plan we have, the other settlements won't help us, they'll call us crazy and I know for a fact that's where the Harpy will go to them first to find us. They already know we're gone and search parties will have been sent out, we need to find help, and fast. Ashwood Dale is our best hope at finding your family as quickly as possible."

I sighed, but what other option did we have. The Harpy was on our tail, we needed help and time was something that we did not have on our side. If this was the fastest option, and the most efficient for that matter, if we had to ask a bunch of criminals for help then that was a risk I was willing to take. I'd risk anything to get to Mum, Maxie and Lilah, to make sure they were safe. If this is what must be done, then so be it. I looked up to Sheira, who was watching me intently. She wanted my judgement, we were still a team in this, even if she was calling the shot. I nodded resolutely.

"Let's do it."

***

"TWENTY MILES!" I yelled.

"Will you keep your voice down!" hissed Sheira. She quickly shot a reassuring smile to the startled elderly walkers who jumped a yard at my outburst.

While we journeyed the rest of the way to our destination Sheira had filled me in on all the necessary details to our trip, what to do, what not to say, to let Sheira do everything as I would probably say something wrong and get both of us buried six feet under. But one thing that Sheira had neglected to tell me, one tiny, insignificant detail that was not that important was that it was going to take us about five hours to get to Ashwood Dale. And there weren't any cabs.

Ashwood Dale was a full twenty miles away from the nearest inhabited town, which made sense all things considered, but it was a royal pain in the ass. I sighed and slumped against a shopfront wall. We arrived in the little village of Brighthaven, a normal, non-elementally village in the middle of literally nowhere, at around seven, sleep deprivation beginning to set in, my wussy black coffee barely making a dent, my back was sore from sitting on a lumpy train seat for five hours and now I had a very long hike ahead of me. Thank god I was wearing comfortable shoes.

"I thought you said this would be quick," I moaned, my shoulders sagging.

"I said finding someone would be quick, getting there is another matter. Especially if you're going to be complaining the entire time," she added.

"I'm not complaining," I protested. She shot me a disbelieving look. "I'm not! All I'm saying is that we don't have time to spare and these seems about as long and inconvenient as football." I murmured.

"Why football?"

"I spend my Saturday mornings watching the Grand Prix qualifiers and it gets in the way, but that's not the point. From personal experience, meaning being forcibly dragged through the Yorkshire Dales with my grandparents, the normal human can walk seven miles in around two hours, meaning that we were going to reach Ashwood Dale in about six. At a minimum we'd be reaching the town by two in the afternoon. And that's considering a non-stop trip." I slid down to the floor and rested my forehead on my knees. "We don't have time to spare... They don't have time to spare."

Sheira's gaze softened as she put a hand on my shoulder. "I know you want to get your family back as soon as possible but we don't have a choice. We must go Ashwood Dale, even if it takes us all day to get there."

I couldn't deny the fact that this was the only plan we had, and therefore it was the best plan we had, but the fact that it was going to take so long to get there was a necessary evil that we had to partake in. So, I wordlessly let Sheira guide me out of town and through the winding trails that lead out into the Yorkshire Dales. Until she placed a hand out to stop me. She was pointing at a broken sign.

"Wow. Wood." I said bluntly.

"Look closer, this will be helpful."

"I'm looking at a broken sign."

"Look here." She pointed at a fragment of wood, what was left of the sign. There was no writing, faded or otherwise, only a strange symbol. A ring cut into four with the centre split into two like a yin yang symbol. It was odd that it was so prominent, and, stranger still, it looked familiar.

"I've seen that," I said as realisation dawned on me. "It was in the courtyard of Camp."

She nodded. "This is the Elemental Sigil. Our logo if you will. If you see this anywhere, it's an elemental area, a safe zone. When you get back you'll be set to studying them all."

"Fantastic," I muttered dryly, "I'm back at school."

"When the Harpy gets her hands on us, and she will eventually, you'll be dreaming of a detention."

And with that terrifying thought in my mind, and my imagination cooking all kinds of punishments, we set off into the wilderness. We walked for hours, along winding, paths, through fields and through copious amounts of mud while the sun beat down on top of us. Sheira could refill our water bottles as much as we liked but it still didn't rid the air of the building heat of the summer day. The curved hills of the valleys did nothing to shade us, if anything they concentrated it down upon us until we were frying like ants under a magnifying glass.

We stopped for a break at around ten, in a secluded patch of field surrounded by tall trees, to get our breaths back. I dunked my head under the water of a nearby stream to attempt to wash the sweat from my face, but to no avail. The water simply evaporated off me. Literally. The water in my hands turned to steam as soon as it touched my skin. I had no clue if that was normal. Maybe it was a Fire thing. But before I could ask Sheira if the fact that I was a walking radiator was normal, I saw her wrapping her hands like a boxer.

Ah. I should have realised that Sheira wasn't letting my training off the hook that easily. Training would have continued if the apocalypse was knocking at our door. Plus, I had the strong belief that she wanted to kick my ass a little as punishment for dragging her out here. Even though she chose to go with me... She just wanted to hit me, didn't she?

"Whatcha doing?" I asked nervously. Her response was to throw the bundle of wrappings at me. Oh well, when in Rome...

"We usually wait for a good few months to start combat training," Sheira began. She led me out into the centre of our little patch, providing us with enough space to practise without the worry of frying any innocent walkers. "But I think that giving you a few basics might be in our best interests. Now I'm going to punch you and you're going to block me."

"Wait a sec-" Sheira's fist slammed into my head and sent me reeling.

White spots danced in front of my eyes as I collapsed to the floor expecting a look of sympathy or guilt from Sheira. But no. She came at me again, this time slamming a karate chop down at my head. I shrieked and rolled to the left as her fist landed within inches of my face. I jumped to my feet just in time to leap back from Sheira's low kick that should have swept my legs out from under me. Good god that girl was stronger than she looked, years of training had prepped her to be a lean, mean, fighting machine, with a urge for violence, especially against me.

And as for my combat prowess? My athletic ability was questionable at best, I could run, but as for being used as a human punching bag? Yeah... not happening. What the hell was she expecting me to do? I know some people prefer a practical approach, but this was ridiculous. I just hoped that some of the defence moves in movies were real. As another punch came my way, I snapped my arm up holding her wrist in place. It worked. For a brief moment until her second hand came up, twisted my wrist and with a quick flick of her hip, I was flipped over on my back as the wind was knocked out of me.

I wheezed, "why did you do that?"

Sheira dusted off her hands, "I wanted to see what you could do."

"And punching me in the head without warning was a good place to start? You know that could have killed me right?"

She didnt seen to care about my attempted murder"You've got good reflexes," she said with a shrug. "Not bad survival instincts either."

"And you got that from punching me in the head?"

She ignored me. "You learned quickly, that shows you're resourceful. You've got potential."

"Right... just warn me before you do that again."

"You've always got to be prepared," and with that she lunged. I leapt back and out of pure adrenaline, and a little bit of fear, I ducked under her arm and copied the same technique that she had used to throw me over her hip. A quick twist and Sheira was on her back. I gasped and ran over to see if she was okay, but she was already standing.

A grin playing on her lips. "Excellent. Now...again."

For the next two hours this went on. It was hot, it was tiring, but by the end of it I knew a few good defensive poses, how to get out of a basic hold (she damn near strangled me in the process) and how to use my fire as a shield to deflect other attacks (I apologise to whoever owned that scarecrow). I still practised as we walked on, conjuring flames to my fingers and practising the techniques that Sheira had drilled into me. If I was going to get Mum, Maxie and Lilah back I needed to get stronger, I needed to practise. Even if I burned out.

I was so caught up in my training that I didn't even notice Sheira had stopped, which meant I ran into the back of her. A glare and an apology later I stood and stared at... a field. A dry field filled with dead grass surrounded by a low drystone wall. A few cows grazed and a miserable looking scarecrow drooped over the wall like the aftermath of Saturday night in Soho.

Still, I wasnt sure what I was meant to ne seeing. "Um...what are we looking at?" I asked. I knew Sheira's answer would probably make me look like an idiot, but I had to ask.

Her glance confirmed that. "Ashwood Dale," she said simply. As if it was obvious.

This had to be a trick, a long convoluted trick that couldn't have been organised, but you explain. The Harpy is about to leap out from behind a bush and then they'll be hell to pay with whatever twisted punishment the old bat can come up with. But the Harpy didn't appear and Sheira seemed completely serious.

"Where?" I asked. I turned around. I was looking for a sign, something, anything, but I got nothing. Until I turned around and found that my companion had, well...vanished. "Sheira?" I darted up the length of the wall and back again. "What the Hell!?" I yelled to no one in particular, I think I was hoping for a response, but nothing came. "I'm hallucinating." And now you're talking to yourself, well done, you've gone mad "I'm dreaming, I have to be be dreaming. This is just me about to wake up, and the last few days haven't happened. "

"What are talking about?"

I really wish I could say I didn't suddenly attempt a standing high jump, fall flat on my face upon landing, screaming like a girl the entire time. But alas fate is a cruel mistress. Then I received another bit of evidence to suggest I was heading for the loony bin. Sheira's head was peering at me. Just her head. Her body was otherwise occupied.

"What are you doing? Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness you know."

That was a bit rich all things considered. "Me? What are you doing? You're a floating head!"

She looked down, then up at me and rolled her eyes. "Come here."

Her arm materialised, grabbed my shirt and pulled me towards her. Sheira had fully emerged before me. As had Ashwood Dale. A small village stood where nothing had before. Narrow, winding cobbled streets lead to a cluster of worn, ramshackle houses. It was like the village from Stardust, and it had just dropped out of thin air.

"Woah..." I took a few steps back to take it all in when it vanished again. I stepped forwards, voila, ready-made village. It was the wall, it acted as a sort of boundary line rendering the town invisible if you were viewing it from the outside. I did a quick scan of the wall. Sure enough, the elemental crest was carved into the stone. It could only be found by those who already knew it was there.

"That's really cool," I said as I finally stepped through to face Sheira. She was smiling. Obviously everyone had a 'it's bigger on the inside moment'. "How come normal people don't run into this place?"

"Normal people see a fence with a sign saying 'Beware of the bull'. Most people aren't willing to risk it."

I was begining to love this world. "Why would they need that amount of protection?" I asked as we walked down the narrow road towards the village that hadn't been until a few seconds ago.

"Some people don't like being bothered, it's just a case of personal..." She trailed off, her gaze landing on something in the distance. Three bodies lay in the road, a pool of dark red blood surrounding them all.

"Oh my god," I whispered. Shiera darted forward and started checking the bodies for life signs.

I approached with caution and horror. Two men and one woman, their necks cracked at unnatural angles, blood seeping from wounds that littered their bodies. They weren't old either, early twenties at the most, and they were dead. I had to lean against a wall to steady myself. I wasn't expecting this. I knew Molly was a psychopath and that she had the capability to murder but seeing this with my own eyes... If that's what she did to her soldiers... Then what did she do to her enemies? I had to be sick in a bush. When I finally finished retching I stumbled towards a very concerned looking Sheira. She looked paler than usual, she was visibly trembling as she stood up.

"They died quite recently," Sheira voice was dry and shaky. Could you blame her though? "A couple of hours ago I reckon."

"Molly is here?" God help us.

"Molly?" she sounded confused. "These people were part of the Army."

"What?" I looked down at the bodies, clad in black leather with various weapons hanging at their sides. Something had to have caught them by surprise. A vicious big cat for instance.

"Look," she dragged me towards the bodies and pulled up the sleeve of one of the means shirts. A brand showing a circle surrounded by a claw was etched onto his skin. "Molly is a psycho but she's not about to get rid of soldiers like this."

"So, it's someone else?" To answer my question an almighty bang ripped through the air. Sheira and I leapt to our feet as black smoke billowed from deeper within the village.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked as we bolted towards the source of the explosion.

The deeper we ran the more evidence we saw of a long-standing conflict. More bodies littered the road, shopfronts had been smashed, walls had collapsed, and debris was everywhere. This town had become a warzone.

We skidded to a stop at the town square, the bloodshed here had been more recent. The stones were still sizzling, the smoke was thick, and the fountain was turning red from the dead guy floating in the water. The setting sun illuminated the carnage even further, casting long shadows over the debris and twisted remains of what might have been human once upon a time. Then there was the smell. I almost threw up all over again.

"We need to leave," muttered Sheira. I agreed.

We'd find help somewhere else, it wouldn't be too difficult, we just needed to as much distance as possible between us and Ashwood Dale. I was all set to run from this hellhole when a scream and another bang caught my attention. A young man with wild red hair flew from behind a wall, slamming into the building behind him with a bone shattering crack. His black leathers identified him as an army soldier, the holster by his side was empty and blood covered him from head to toe.

He noticed me and Sheira as he jumped to his feet and attempted to conjure a shield in front of him, but his hands were shaking that violently, nothing was coming. He cursed and Then he looked up...and screamed. His eyes filled with terror as a wave of blackness slammed into him, the shadows turning to knives, effortlessly piercing his skin and flesh ramming into his chest and throat, pinning him against the wall. His screams stopped, and his head lolled forwards.

Dead.

I choked back a scream as Sheira forcibly dragged me backwards. What had done that to him? What sort of evil was that? Then I saw something that could either be very good or very bad.

"Sheira..."

Her priorities were in the right irder so she wasnt looking at the ground. "We need to go. Now!" She ordered.

I pointed downwards. "Sheira, why is the ground shaking?"

She looked down. The debris that scattered across the floor was beginning to leap off the ground. We turned to look at each other as a tank ploughed its way through the wall beside us. Sheira and I leapt back in shock as the thing continued to barrel towards us. It was huge, unnaturally big and monstrous in every sense of the word. It was a black hulking mass covered in a thick armour like hide, its brown eyes were wide and a horn as long as my leg protruded from its nose. And it was coming right at us.

Rocks flew everywhere as it skidded towards us and in a pure fight or flight reflex, I summoned a flame to my hand and released the flamethrower at the thing. It bellowed in pain and crashed into the wall beside us. Only know it had stopped could I tell what it was. It was a rhino. I was feeling quite proud of myself for taking on something like that, but my bubble was quickly popped by Sheira crying out my name.

And a wave of blackness crashing into me. The pain didn't hit me instantly as I flew backwards and slammed into the ground, carving a channel in my wake but when it did it felt like I'd been hit with a sledgehammer. As I sat up, conscious of the fact that one of my ribs might have been shattered, I saw what had hit me. The rhino was gone and in place of where it once stood was a man.

He was tall, dark and terrifying, blackness swirled from his fingers and his face was contorted into a glare. He looked like he wanted to kill me. Without saying a word, he summoned blackness to his hand and flicked it at me. I yelped and darted out of the way, desperately pulling up a shield as the black shadows whipped towards me. The force of the shadows slammed me back again, my back cracking into a wall.

Oh god help me.

I retreated behind the fountain, ducking down and another wave crashed over my head, sending rumble and debris flying everywhere. I took a deep breath and steeled myself, summoning flames to both my hands, and ran out from behind my cover and sent the two projectiles flying towards the man's head. He, almost lazily, flicked the them away like they were made of paper. I started hurling fire at him, hoping, praying that something would land but he just continued to advance on me, effortlessly deflecting anything I threw at him.

I cursed and retreated, flicking my hand over my amulet sending Flame out onto the battlefield. He snarled and lunged, knocking into the guy and sending him sprawling. He hadn't been expecting that, so while Flame kept him occupied, I flung a volley of fireballs at him, each one finding its mark, causing the guy to cry out in pain. He snarled in rage and whipped out his arm, a wave of shadows pushed Flame off him, but not for long.

Ice had bolted into the action, sinking her fangs into his leg which froze on contact. The two beasts launched a simultaneous attack, a flurry of teeth and claws attempting to rip this guy to bloody pieces. A sudden pulse of blackness sent Flame and Ice flying. Ice crashed into the fountain, her fur instantly drenched in the dark red water. The man had broken free of his leg restraints and leapt to his feet, slamming his hands above his head, surrounding Flame and Ice in a cage of shadows to keep them at bay while his full attention turned back to me. His eyes were cold and angry. Their onslaught hadn't seemed to have done anything. His clothes were torn, but not a mark had been made on his skin.

I summoned fire again and concentrated it into a fireball. This wasn't working, and I couldn't keep this up for much longer. Sweat was already dripping off me like rain and my breathing was shallow and uneven. This guy wasn't even breaking a sweat and I was wearing myself out. I caught a glimpse of Sheira who was trying to break ice and Flame out of their shadowy prisons. She was hugging low to the ground, keeping out of sight. Good. She didn't need to get hurt.

He waved his arm and pulses of blackness came at me with ferocity only deflected by my own flaming shield. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep this going for. Every blast he sent my way broke down my shield a little bit more, every new wave resulted in my energy being drained and my flames flickering. One wave sent me to my knees, I could barely stand but he saw a weak point. He leapt forwards, blackness swirling around his fingers. I barely had time to register what was happening but Sheira's training, and my natural reflexes, meant that I could slam my arm into his wrist knocking his hand away while I twisted into his hip.

He yelled in shock, but only for a second before he brought a low kick down at my legs. I fell to the ground and rolled just in time to avoid the punch that shattered the ground where it struck. I jumped up and drove my elbow into his jaw, and my knee followed swiftly into his stomach. Sheira was right about getting more power into your knees and elbows. I could see that I was getting on his nerves now, which was making his strikes more aggressive, and more erratic.

I waited for a slip up. I waited for him to make a mistake, just like Sheira had told me. Everyone has a weakness, you just need to wait for them to show it. He made no attempt to cover himself as he lunged, so I took that chance. I sent my left hand into his face, the fire burning under my palm. He shrieked and staggered backwards in pain, the smell of burning meat filled the air as he dropped to his knees, one hand covering the wound. Ha, ha come me again I dare you- Oh hell. His hand came away revealing his face. He wasn't burnt. He wasn't even scratched. He couldn't be hurt. Because before my very eyes, he was healing himself. His skin was knitting itself back together before my eyes. The torn clothes but no wounds, the burns that I should have left before. It made sense now. The realisation that I was totally and utterly screwed dawned on me in that exact same moment.

Oh Hell.

I heard Sheira scream as she darted out from behind her hiding place. A terrible grin spread across his face. He stood, and opened his arms wide, a wave of shadows came at me. I wanted to run but I couldn't move, I could only cry out in pain as the blackness slammed into me. I felt bones break as a force that felt like being hit by a car shattered my ribs. The ground met me as I flew backwards, the sudden stop tearing through me clothes and shredding my skin in a similar effect to a cheese grater. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

I just lay there, staring up at the sky, only barely aware of the footsteps approaching me. The man loomed above me. No emotion flitted across his face. He raised his hand, a spear forming between his grip.

"No!" Sheira dived in front of me, using her own body as a shield. "Please don't do this. We're not with the Army."

"He attacked me first." His voice was low, strong and deep. It was the sort of voice that made you scared for no reason.

Sheira was on her knees now. "He didn't mean too," she explained. "We were just on high alert, it was a reflex action."

"Reflex or not, he made the first move."

"I never said he was smart. Please you've done enough. He's only been part of this world for a few days now, he doesn't know what to do yet. He doesn't know the rules. Please just let him pass this one time. Please?"

She was begging for my life. I let my gaze drift up to the man, his dark eyes were narrowed. The shadow spear flickered from his grasp. Sheira breathed a sigh of relief.

"Next time I won't be so merciful," he said coldly. His retreating footsteps were the only reason why I knew he was gone.

Sheira's panicked face came into view. "Oh my god. Nick? Nick can you hear me?" She had tears in her eyes.

I tried to get up, but I couldn't move. Oh god please tell me I'm not paralyzed. The taste of blood filled my mouth as I spoke. "Are you okay?" I whispered as my vision clouded over and my ears began to ring.

Sheira's voice distorted like she was speaking underwater. She felt so far away, even though I knew she was sitting right next to me, desperately calling out for help. I heard more footsteps, Flame speaking softly to her and a pair of hands shifting me ad carrying me away. But I couldn't focus on that. All I could hear was Sheira, standing next to me the whole time, repeating the same phrase over and over again.

"It's going to be alright," she whispered. "Everything is going to be alright."