36 A Momen

Liza, Centra, Jasper, and Corson made their way down the first two blocks without problems. They were headed to the smithy and it looked like the attackers hadn't made it onto the academy grounds.

Their only indicators that something was wrong were the off and on siren and the faint coloring of the barrier over their heads. Whatever – whoever was attacking had placed a great strain on the city's main defense.

Liza had just cleared an alleyway and had signaled for her current team to move forward. She'd chosen a longer route with fewer alleyways and side streets. Liza had debated taking the same route that the larger groups were or this one. So far it appeared to be working.

Liza rounded the second to last corner. She quickly studied the next street.'It's all cl-'

'Shit.' Jasper cast a quick Valkine fireball at the tree creature that had snuck up behind them.

Corson grimaced as he pivoted and placed himself between the human-sized tree creature and his teammates. The creature nimbly avoided Jasper's fireball but got one of its two twig arms severed by the dagger Corson had hidden behind the fireball. Corson flipped the dagger and maneuvered it for a second strike as Centra loaded her bow.

The Trie snatched Corson's dagger and slashed it a Centra's arrow. In moments, the Trie was headed right for them.

Centra yelled, "Back!"

Corson was slow to follow his sister's instructions. But it was intentional. He wanted to keep himself between the Trie and his team. He wanted to protect them.

Centra quickly shot three arrows. The Trie dodged the first, blocked the second, and found a dagger logged in its chest. Then an arrow to where a human's heart would have been.

The Trie didn't care. It pushed forward and sent some of its oak leaves at the group.

Jasper quickly cast a sloppy Valkine barrier. His aura was draining quickly.

The leaves sliced into it and the barrier crumbled. But it was enough, the Trie's leaves fluttered gently to the ground.

Centra slung her bow over her shoulder and threw out her hands. She looked as if she was trying to keep someone from pushing her over. And, in a way, she was. Centra had locked herself in a telekinetic battle to prevent the nimble Trie from moving. "Jasper bind it!"

"I need a moment." Jasper closed his eyes and stood with his hands palms out at his sides. He was centering his energy. A binding spell required a balance of the six main magic types, ice, water, earth, fire, wind, and life.

Centra groaned but held tight. She had changed her mind about retreating when the Trie had displayed its ranged attack. There was no option of keeping a safe distance. They'd have to take it down, or go down themselves.

Liza approached her teammates and started to move in for an attack. "Liza, wait. We can't have you attack now. We still need to get back."

Liza shifted her grip on her daggers in irritation. She could go and end this now.

"No!" Centra said, "We don't know it would work! Look at its shoulder," the arm Corson had removed had already begun repairing itself.

Corson stood with his remaining five daggers poised for an attack. He was worried that an attack now would make it harder for his sister to control the Trie. But he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. His right palm was throbbing under the teal ribbon he'd bound it with. And his aura was draining quickly with his focus elsewhere.

Liza sighed, "I'll watch our backs," and turned so she could keep an eye on the corner and the Trie.

Jasper didn't bother to speak. He began casting once he was centered. He quickly brought his left hand to his head. His thumb was facing his forehead. He channeled his aura into his hand as he yanked it down to the base of his throat, then over to the end of his right shoulder. He extended his arm and two fingers were pointed at his enemy.

Crystalline looking chains formed around the Trie. Jasper had achieved a near-perfect balance that left the chains shifting colors. Within a millisecond of the chains' appearance around the Trie, they changed from a physical object to a marking etched into its bark.

"Don't hit the marks!" Jasper shouted as Corson launched his attack.

Corson's dagger ripped, chipped, and tore at the Trie. He was searching for something that would let them kill the Trie without fire. Jasper was running out of aura and they needed to find another way to kill one.

As Corson hacked and slashed, the edges of his daggers dulled, and he grew anxious. It had to be there. There had to be a spot that they could hit to kill this thing. But more wood fell away, then regrew, as Corson searched. Soon most of the untouched places were under or near the chains. One nick and the Trie would be free to move.

Then he'd found it. A crystallized core that appeared to keep the Trie alive. Corson struck it with a dagger, but his blade bounced back leaving only a scratch on the core.

Corson's heart rate picked up and his hands shook with nerves. It was so hard to find the core and they couldn't even destroy it.

But Centra was calm she pulled back an arrow. "Move your blades." With Corson's blades pulled back she released. And cracked the core. Another arrow whistled after it and the Trie went limp within its bindings.

"Let's move. We've been here too long."

Liza nodded and moved forward. The next road looked clear.

"Sis, why didn't you tell us it was here?"

Centra shuddered at the thought of the Trie. "It doesn't have a mind." Even someone blocked gave off a muted and muddled feeling of having thoughts or emotions. But that Trie had none of those. It had felt like the air or the stones they were walking on. To Centra not a thing about the Trie had felt alive, something like that didn't – shouldn't exist.

Jasper was walking next to Centra when as he stumbled. "I-its magic. I could feel it like runes or a spell forming."

Centra glanced at Jasper for a moment before she resumed examining their surroundings. So, it was made of magic. Then she wouldn't be much of a lookout. Jasper on the other hand, "Can you keep watch?"

"Yeah." Jasper glanced behind them. What kind of legend could make those creatures?

Jasper turned to the building in front of them. There were far too many legends to pick from. They needed more info.

♢ ♢ ♢

DJ and Kyrie arrived at the top floor. Most of the students had left. Some doors were locked, and others left open. Kyrie and DJ quickly knocked on doors and checked open rooms.

DJ knocked on the door across from the one Kyrie knocked on.

The door in front of Kyrie flew open, as an annoyed young man spat, "What?"

"You need to evacuate."

The young man glared at Kyrie. "Like I'd listen to a murderer." He started to close his door.

But Kyrie couldn't let him stay here. Stay where he'd be in danger and where a rescue party would have to be sent later.

The door quietly slammed into Kyrie's palm. "You need to evacuate."

The guy holding his door growled as he tried to close it again. "Fuck off." Stupid hero, it was just a drill. Everything was fine – safe until this murder failed at his job.

"It's not safe to stay here."

"Felt pretty damned safe till a murderous hero showed up." Is that stupid hero using his ability to keep the door from closing? Fuck.

"The evacuation siren is going off. You need to get to the smithy."

The young man's arms and face took on a slight glow as he used his ability to increase his strength. "It's just an F-n drill!"

By this time DJ had convinced the occupants of the other room to leave. "Whether it's a drill or not doesn't change what to do." He said as he stood behind Kyrie.

The guy looked at DJ and stopped pushing on the door. DJ? Oh. Well, "I-I guess so. You really think that?"

DJ smiled as he said, "Yeah."

The guy glanced at Kyrie then looked at DJ. "But evacuating's for wimps."

Kyrie shook his head but left DJ to answer. "Nah. It's the smart thing to do."

"Hmm." DJ was a cool and decent guy. He'd never do something wimpy, unlike this shorty. The guy stared at Kyrie as he said, "I'm not doing this for you, murderer."

Kyrie nodded solemnly. DJ and he had gone through this song and dance several times. It had gotten to the point where Kyrie was wondering why he was here. DJ knew what to do, where people were supposed to go, and the students listened to him – respected him. And DJ could talk. All Kyrie seemed to do was piss people off the moment they saw him.

It had been different at Avalon. He was hated. The people were terrified of the moment he'd lose control again. But he was also respected and trusted. They trusted he'd protect them. They knew he'd help them, protect them. But he'd failed. The ruins were evidence enough that their trust had been misplaced. The students here were right. There was no reason to listen to a hero like him.

Kyrie could feel his fingers bite into his palms.

DJ had moved away from the door as the other guy grabbed his stuff. When DJ realized Kyrie wasn't following, he turned around. DJ felt a sympathetic pang for Kyrie. He walked back and placed a hand on Kyrie's shoulder. "Come on."

Kyrie took a deep breath and turned to follow DJ. "I'm just making this harder for you."

DJ patted Kyrie on the back. "Nah. You're helping me get them through the pissed off stage faster."

Kyrie rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Oh yeah, it's really helpful to piss them off."

DJ sighed. "Dude it's okay. You being here really helps." DJ grinned at Kyrie. "I get people out faster by saying, 'Hey, you see him? He's Kyrie Say. Yeah, that guy. Do you think he'd be doing this if he wasn't concerned it was real? I know, right! So, head on over to the smithy. You don't know where that is? It's just a few blocks that way. It's a great place to get a new weapon or have one fixed. We're students so the school'll pay for it. Bye pups see you around sometime. And stay safe out there!' "

Kyrie laughed. "Is that really what you tell them?"

DJ grinned as they rounded the corner into the last hallway of the top floor. "Nope. But the part about you was real."

"Ugh." Kyrie stretched and said, "Alright, I got it. I'm helping so stop moping."

DJ gave Kyrie a hard and friendly pat on the back. A pat that would have had most people stumbling a bit. "Yep! It's the end of the world! So, what? We're still here so we've got stuff to do in order to see tomorrow!"

The last hallway ran parallel to the back of the building. The first door they found had been left open. DJ and Kyrie entered the room and could see a long window showing the back side of the dorm.

"Oh shit." DJ stared out the window in shock and terror.

"We need to go faster."

"No more mister nice guy."

"Definitely."