~ Power ~

Chapter 10 - Hematite

‘Oops!’ Freya said, grinning at Lena.

Lena’s eyes widened, ‘You’re utterly mad! You’ve killed us all you stupid child.’

Freya looked across at Wendy who was jumping around, dodging rocks like a mad thing.

‘Actually,’ Freya said, ‘I think Wendy and I are going to be just fine.’

With that, Lena began to run back towards the entrance. Five hundred yards away. Wendy dodged a piece of roof and then looked up at Freya incredulously, ‘Do you know something I don’t?’

‘Yes.’ Freya said, clasping onto the piece of Hematite. She shut her eyes and focused intently, but nothing happened.

‘Look out!’ Wendy shouted and Freya dodged the next piece of roof.

‘Crap, I truly thought that was going to work. I guess they activate in different ways…’

Freya turned her attention to the Sapphire in her hand. She remembered something about Sapphires being water based stones. She dreamed up a nice big high-pressure water cannon in her head. She hoped that the Sapphire would activate in a similar way to the Red Jade, using her anger and passion. How different could fire and water really be? Unfortunately, the answer to that question was extremely. As with the Hematite, nothing happened.

‘Damn. These things are trickier than I thought.’

Freya was getting desperate now. She singled out the Emerald again. ‘Maybe if I…’

Just then the earth cracked beneath Freya and Wendy.

                                          *                      *                      *

Freya awoke a few hours later with several bumps and bruises, but altogether intact. She couldn’t see much, everything was dark. She felt her way around her surroundings – they seemed to be in a small cavern – and eventually she found Wendy by the far wall of the cavern. She checked for a pulse and was relieved when she found that Wendy’s heart was still beating. Yikes, Freya thought to herself, that was a close call. I really must learn more about those stones. That was too close, I don’t know what I would have done if Wendy had–

A cough from Wendy cut Freya off. She moved about a little bit. ‘Where are we?’ she said.

‘In a cavern under the ground,’ Freya said, ‘Just like I planned.’

Wendy rolled her eyes which Freya didn’t catch because of the present lighting situation.

‘So how do we get out of here then Mrs. Power-Stone expert?’

Good question, Freya thought. She couldn’t use the Red Jade in the cavern without contaminating what little air they had left; Amethyst was of no use whatsoever; she was afraid of using the Emerald again in case they dropped further down into the ground; and she didn’t know how to use the Sapphire and even if she could conjure some kind of water cannon, there was no guarantee that it would be high pressure enough to blast through thick rock, she might just drown them both. The only really option left was the Hematite, which, like the Sapphire, she didn’t know how to use yet. She would have to learn quickly, she wasn’t sure how much air they had left.

‘Well?’ Wendy queried.

‘I’m thinking.’

Freya placed all of the stones, except the Hematite, back in the pouch and slipped it into her pocket. She pulled the stone closer and inspected it. She turned it over and stroked it, as if to reveal some secret the stone kept locked away. Her mind was racing with different ideas of how to activate the stone, but none of them worked. Biting it didn’t work, neither did blowing on it or throwing it against the wall. Wendy sat in the corner with one eyebrow raised, a little concerned.