flesh. His muscles tense under my grip as his hand forms a tightly balled fist.
Leaves rustle on the other side of the enormous serpent, catching our attention. “He’s not alone,” I gasp, pointing out the presence of two other people.
We move together into somewhat of a huddle. “What do we do?” Zoë asks Cardine.
“Wait to see if they can break my barrier. If they get through, you need to be prepared for a fight.”
Ben paces back and forth at the edge of the tree line. His face twists in frustration and anger. He can’t get through. He approaches the serpent. Its head is large enough to encase Ben’s entire form, but its proximity doesn’t seem to faze him. He places a hand on the back of the creature. As if responding to his touch, it transforms. It shrinks and morphs into the body of an older man. The dark walker. But he’s not just the dark walker. He’s Ben’s father.
“Emma…” Zoë calls to me. “Is that—?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. This just got a lot worse.”
“Alexander,” Cardine whispers angrily under her breath.
She takes a step closer to the barrier and yells, “I thought I did away with you a hundred years ago!”
He says nothing as he extends his arms in front of him, palms open, facing us. His brow squeezes tightly together and his mouth contorts into an intense grimace. Bright silver bolts of light shoot from his palms and collide with the barrier, sending all of us flying backwards, onto the grass. Zoë rushes to get back on her feet as I crawl to Cardine to help her up.
The invisible barrier vibrates as the intense flow of counter magic streams through it. Ben brazenly walks within inches of the surging bolts of light and steps through the barrier, as if it doesn’t exist at all. As he passes through, a crackle pattern slowly spreads upward throughout it, revealing exactly where it stands. Within seconds, it fiercely explodes into millions of tiny shreds of a glass-like substance that instantly evaporate into dust.
The dust forms two swirling twisters that hover over Alexander’s palms. They slowly get smaller, dissolving rapidly into his hands. When they have completely vanished, a burst of hot yellow light explodes from his chest. An evil smile spreads across his face.
“What did he just do?” Zoë asks Cardine.
“He took my magic within him.”
“That doesn't sound good.”
“It’s not.”
Ben centers his gaze directly on me. An evil smile spreads across his face. He walks briskly, headed right for me. Charlie springs into action, running straight for Ben. He crashes into him with such immense force that he knocks Ben onto his back. Ben wrestles against Charlie’s grip, trying to forcefully break free. Fists fly angrily through the air and blood spatters on the grass.
Panic rushes through my body, burning my veins with boiling blood. Alexander is just yards away. Two other individuals I haven’t identified are still hiding in the woods. I have no way to defend myself. I must rely completely on Zoë and Cardine.
“I’m the one you want,” Cardine shouts at him, trying to deter him from his course. “You’ll never get another chance like this. No point in wasting it.”
Without taking her eyes off Alexander, she murmurs to Zoë, “you are no match for him. You take care of the others while I deal with this.”
I stand completely helpless as Charlie exchanges blows with Ben. In the real world, Charlie could physically handle himself. In here, I have no idea how he will fare. If his body is weak, he may not last much longer.
“Zoë, do something,” I beg her.
She stands frozen, searching her brain for assistance. I scream to her once again. “Zoë, please! You have to do something now!”
Tears stream down my face as Ben takes control of the fight, pinning Charlie to the ground. He sits on his chest staring evilly down at him, moving his hands slowly toward Charlie’s neck.
Seeing this makes something in Zoë spring to action. She holds a hand in the air, aimed at Ben and squeezes her fingers into a tightly balled fist. Ben climbs off Charlie and stumbles away, scratching at his throat for something to loosen. When he realizes that nothing is there, the fear behind his eyes multiplies.
He falls to his knees, as his face slowly turns purple. “Zoë, don’t kill him,” I plead with her.
She loosens her fist enough to allow him shallow breaths as she crosses the grassy field toward him. “Charlie, go to Emma,” she commands him