Searching for the Key

Chapter 28

"Akur," Katia said. Somehow she knew he was the cause. "We need to defeat him."

"We can now," Nathan told her. "We can finish all of this."

He helped her off the ground and his hand lingered on the small of her back in case she suddenly felt weak. But Katia had never felt stronger and a fiery determination was coursing through her.

She looked up directly at Akur, a cold sneer tugging at her lips as she turned to her friends. For the first time they noticed something besides evil and hatred in Akur's eyes. Fear. He could no longer hide behind his curses.

"You're too late!" He shouted down to them from above the cliff. "It is almost sundown!"

They all looked up to see that he was right. They had about ten minutes before the sun would disappear behind the horizon and Akur would come back to full power, more dangerous than ever.

"Come on. It's now or never," Nathan said.

He pulled Katia from the ground and together the four of them ran towards Akur.

"Hunters stop them!" Akur shouted.

The hundreds of Hunters broke from their fights and turned to Katia, Nathan, Celia, and Damien's sprinting figures. The Elictis pursued them and tried to make a clear path so that the four of them could defeat Akur.

They met each others' gaze with confidence. They fought with each other so many times that they could work together out of instinct. Damien made a ring of fire around them, successfully pushing the Hunters back. Katia and Celia trapped them against the ground with ice and rock.

The four of them ran straight for the wall of dancing flames, and at the last moment, Nathan conjured up a gust of strong wind that brought them up and over. They landed on the other side of the wall and ran, killing any Hunter in their path as the other Elictis came to take care of the remaining ones. They were almost at the cliff where Akur was watching the fight unfold below him.

Around them the Elictis were fighting harder than ever. Laura was teleporting on Hunter after Hunter, killing each one with a quick stab. There were more dropping dead for no apparent reason until Suki and her friends reappeared from thin air. David was as big as a giant, and Mike was lifting Hunters into the air and throwing them down with so much force that they would explode in clouds of black smoke. Amanda transformed herself into a vicious tiger and was going around ripping their heads off.

At last Katia, Celia, Damien, and Nathan arrived at the bottom of the cliff. Still running, Nathan raised his hands and a gust of wind lifted them up. They landed softly on their feet right in front of Akur. He stared at them with fear plain in his eyes. They could finally defeat him.

"Hello," Nathan said with a smile.

"We would just like to thank you for everything you have done for us. You know repay the favor," Celia said.

They continued to stalk closer at a slow, suspenseful pace as Akur began to back up.

"Yes like for killing the people we love," Damien told him, his tone bitter and with anger in his eyes.

"And trying to force me against my own friends and family. Not to mention using and killing me," Katia said.

She looked terrifying and powerful. Her face was set in a determined expression and her eyes burned with a fiery anger and passion. She was going to make this monster pay for everything.

Akur was trying to hide his fear, but no one could deny that it was there hidden in the deep, black depths of his eyes. He was almost back to full power. It was going to be difficult to kill him, but not impossible.