Nonetheless, her resolve was strong. She drew as much of the spirit as she could, channeling it into compulsion. Nothing happened. Then, I felt that weird tickling in my head. At first I thought Avery was back on the scene, only rather than someone reaching into me, it was like they reached through me.
The power in Lissa surged, and I realized what had happened. Oksana was still there, somewhere in the background, and she was lending her strength again, channeling it through me and into Lissa. Simon froze, and it was almost amusing. He twitched slightly, rocking back and forth as he tried to advance on her and finish the lethal task. It was like he was suspended in Jell-O.
Lissa was hesitant to move, for fear of breaking her control. There was also the issue that Reed was not being compelled, but for the moment, he seemed too confused about what was happening to Simon to react.
"You can't just kill me!" Lissa blurted out. "Don't you think people are going to ask questions when they find my body shoved out a window? "They won't notice," said Simon stiffly. Even the words required effort. "Not when you're resurrected. And if you can't be, then it was just a tragic accident that befell a troubled girl."
Slowly, slowly, he began breaking out of her compulsion. Her power, while still there, was weakening a little-there was a leak somewhere, and it was dripping out. I suspected it might be Avery's influence or simply Lissa's mental fatigue. Maybe both. A supreme look of satisfaction crossed Simon's features as he lunged forward, and then. He froze again.
A blazing gold aura lit up in Lissa's periphery. She glanced over just enough to see Adrian in the doorway. The look on his face was comical, but shocked or not, he'd picked up enough to target Simon. It was Adrian's compulsion holding the guardian in place now. Lissa squirmed away, yet again trying to keep out of that damned window's opening.
"Hold him!" Lissa cried.
Adrian grimaced. "I... can't. What the hell? It's like there's someone else there..."
"Avery," said Lissa, sparing a brief glance at the other girl. Avery's face had gone pale even for a Moroi. Her breathing was heavy, and her sweating had increased. She was fighting Adrian's compulsion. A few seconds later, Simon broke free yet again. He advanced on Lissa and Adrian, though his movements seemed sluggish.
Son of a bitch, I thought.
Now what? demanded Lissa.
Reed. Go for Reed. Get him out of the picture.
Reed had been frozen during the struggle with Simon, watching with fascination. And like those of the guardian, Reed's actions seemed a little sluggish. Still, he was moving toward Lissa again. Simon had apparently decided Adrian was the immediate threat and was heading that way. Time to see if dividing and conquering would work.
What about Adrian? Lissa asked.
We're going to have to leave him on his own for a minute. Get to Reed. Knock him out.
What???
But she advanced on him anyway, moving with a determination that warmed me with pride. His face curled into a snarl. He was frantic and overconfident, though-not thinking clearly and still moving in an ungainly way. Once more, I attempted to teach Lissa without words. I couldn't make her do anything, but I tried to make her feel what it was like to punch someone. How to draw back her arm, curl her fingers in the proper way, build up the strength. After what I'd seen her do earlier, the best I could hope for was a decent approximation of a punch, enough to keep him off her and create further delay.
And that's when something truly beautiful happened.
Lissa socked him in the nose. And I mean, socked. We both heard the impact, heard the nose break. Blood came out. He flew backward, both he and Lissa staring wide-eyed. Never, never would I have thought Lissa capable of something like that. Not sweet, delicate, beautiful Lissa.
I wanted to whoop and dance with joy. But this wasn't over yet.
Don't stop! Hit him again. You've got to knock him out!
I did! she cried, horrified at what she'd done. Her fist was also in agonizing pain. I hadn't really mentioned that part during my coaching.
No, you've got to incapacitate him, I told her. I think he and Avery are bonded, and I think she's taking her strength from him. It made sense now, why he'd frozen when Avery drew power to use compulsion, why he'd known to show up when he had. She'd used their bond to summon him.
And so Lissa went after Reed again. She got in two more punches, one of which knocked his head against the wall. His lips parted and his features went slack. He dropped to the floor, eyes staring vacantly. I wasn't sure if he was entirely unconscious, but he was out of this for the moment. Off to the side, I heard a small cry from Avery.
Lissa turned to Adrian and Simon. Adrian had ceased any attempts at compulsion, because Simon was engaged in a full-on attack. Adrian's face showed he'd taken a few hits of his own, and I figured that, like Lissa, he'd never engaged in this kind of physical combat. Without any need for direction from me, Lissa strode over and turned on her compulsion. Simon jerked in surprise, not stopping his attack, but caught off guard. Lissa was still weak, but the walls around him had dropped a little, just as I'd suspected they would.
"Help me!" cried Lissa.
With the momentary lapse on Simon's part, Adrian tried to wield his spirit too. Lissa felt and saw the change in his aura as the magic flowed through him. She felt him join her in their psychic attack on Simon, and a moment later, I sensed Oksana joining the fray. I wanted to play general and shout orders, but this wasn't my battle anymore.
Simon's eyes went wide, and he fell to his knees. Lissa could sense the other two spirit users-and was a bit surprised by Oksana's presence-and had the vague impression that they were all doing slightly different things to Simon. Lissa was trying to compel him to stop his attack, to simply sit still. Her brief brush with Adrian's magic told her he was trying to make the guardian sleep, and Oksana was attempting to get Simon to run out of the room.
The conflicting messages and all that power were too much. The last of Simon's defenses fell as all those mixed messages blasted into him, creating a tidal wave of spirit. He collapsed to the floor. With all of their magic combined, the spirit users had knocked him unconscious. Lissa and Adrian turned to Avery, bracing themselves, but there was no need.
As soon as all that spirit had blasted into Simon, Avery had begun screaming. And screaming and screaming. She gripped the sides of her head, the sound of her voice horrible and grating. Lissa and Adrian exchanged glances, unsure how to handle this new development.