I Am: The Saviour

Chapter 13

The moment I jumped the most wonderful feeling enveloped me. I felt like I was on fire, like I could do anything. When I opened my eyes the edges of my vision were tinged with blue flame. Looking down I saw my hands were no longer solid skin; everything was encased in a layer of electric blue flame. Pegasus' head and mane was nothing more than a vague shape beneath the heat and colour. I grinned when I saw Nadu's incredulity morph into terror. The shapeless beast he sat astride fanned its great wings and tried to escape from the light that both Pegasus and I emanated, but everywhere our light touched the shadow disappeared forever.

"Where are you going Nadu?" My voice sounded wrong in my ears as I taunted him, remembering what he'd once said to me. It felt like years had passed since that moment when Nadu had swooped in and almost killed myself and...him. A wall of flame erupted in Nadu's path, destroying one of the beasts wings. Nadu turned back to face me with a defiant glare. "Oh, you're no fun." I crooned. A malicious evil caused a gleeful smile to erupt on my face, but there was nothing joyful about it. "Bet this wasn't what you expected, was it?" My final words said, I unleashed a flood of fire upon the Shadow. Everywhere the light touched the darkness disappeared without a sound, and it consumed the beast like a starving animal.

"No!" Nadu yelled out repeatedly as he tried to escape, but the shadow was rapidly disappearing, and his escape routes were cut off as light enveloped the entire desert. His blanket of shadow was gone, and Nadu was soon left standing on a circle of darkness with his crackling green staff. There was a loud bang! as the staff split in half and disintegrated. "You will pay for this!" Nadu hissed as the flame advanced on him. "You will-"

He was gone. Just like that, our light engulfed him and his cries were abruptly cut off. I looked down towards the ground, and saw a group of the remaining soldiers that hadn't managed to flee had been apprehended by the remaining Freedom Fighters. Any traces of darkness had been obliterated. The desert was marred by strange ruts that snaked out in every direction like a leafy tree branch. The adrenaline drained out of us simultaneously and the fire evaporated with a hiss, the beast inside me curling up to rest once more. We descended - a controlled fall really - and Pegasus stumbled as he landed. My throat was dry and scratchy, and I felt intensely dehydrated, as well as absolutely starving.

"Sil-Ersatz!" I saw Finch rushing up to me, her arm in a crude sling. Henry trailed behind her, unconsciously covering his stump. She reached me just in time to catch me as I sunk to the ground. "Holy shit, where are your clothes?"

"F-food - W-w-water -" I sagged in her arms, too exhausted to be embarrassed, and Pegasus' head drooped as he swayed.

"Hey! I need help!" Finch yelled out, and a couple of relatively unharmed Freedom Fighters came running to assist her. A cloak was wrapped around me and I was roughly thrown over someone's shoulder and hurried to the food room, while a group of others escorted Pegasus into the mountain. I was laid out on one of the tables, and Finch arrived with a water bottle. She dribbled it into my mouth, and I gulped it down greedily, needing more. Once my thirst was satiated, I was able to sit up, and scoffed everything they put down in front of me, making sure to keep the cloak wrapped tightly around me.

"That feels better." I burped, and leaned back contentedly.

"I'd hope so. You cleaned us out of half our stock and drained most of our water." Finch grinned as she handed me a napkin to wipe my face. She placed a stack of folded clothes on the table beside me, and I began to change. We were the only ones left in the lunch room, everyone else outside helping. "Pegasus is doing okay. Dragonfly magicked up a paddock for him, and a pool of water." I nodded gratefully.

"What happened? After, you know..."

"The smoke?" Finch asked, and I nodded. "Everyone stopped fighting. I thought it was all over, and this was how I would die. But then, it was amazing. You were amazing. The smoke disappeared and there was this blinding light and you were on fire. We were outnumbered, and didn't have time to regroup before the soldiers circled us. Then Dragonfly appeared out of nowhere. She'd summoned every woodland creature that resided in Ranwick, and they'd come to fight. Sphinxes, Mudbugs, faeries, giant carnivores thought to be long since extinct - they completely obliterated the army. And the trees, oh the trees were alive."