Breaking Step (Dungeon Runner 3)

Breaking Step, Chapter 57

Motes of lights filled Tibs's sight as his heart slowed; no, small lightnings. He blinked to clear them, trying to understand what happened.

"You are here!" The words exploded like thunder within the lightning, the first on his left, the next on his right, and the last above him. "I am glad! I didn't think you would! Few find me." The volume lowered with each word until they no longer hurt, but they still had the thunder's strength, and moved around with each one. It was as if a crowd with the same voice hid within the lightning and a random person spoke each word. Or, Tibs realized...

"You're an element."

"Yes!" This time, the word boomed so loudly Tibs was shoved back.

He kept blinking, knowing he wouldn't help. These weren't the spots looking at the sun and then away caused. They were the element.

"You're... Lightning?"

"Of course. You came to me, did you not, Child of Human?"

"Not—" he rubbed his temple. Could he offend an element?

Laughter boomed all around him. "It has been a time since one came to me unplanned."

He remembered Mama's warning, given to him as the sky turned gray, the winds picked up and they hurried to their shelter. Never stay out in the storm. Seek a low building. Hide under, lest it take you away from me.

His heart tightened. Why did she have to be taken from him so early? He wasn't ready for the world. What other lessons could she have given him?

"It will pass," the voice said with a gentleness that carried as the words danced around. "Nothing lasts."

"That doesn't help," Tibs replied bitterly. "What do you want?"

"To move, to dance, to flit and be."

Tibs took a breath, and ignored he wasn't breathing. There was no air here. Only Lightning. "That sound like what Air does. I thought you were all different."

"Air is everywhere; ever changing, ever moving, never fixed." The pause was filled with a crackling Tibs could imagine was laughter. "I am here, and here, and here. I stay, I go."

The words jumped around, And Tibs gave up understanding what he meant. The elements weren't people, so he couldn't expect them to act or think like he did.

So. This was an audience. How had he gotten here? That didn't matter at the moment. The goal of his audiences was to get the shadow of the element. It would be within Lightning, which was all around him.

"It is here!" the words had such joy in them, as they bounced, Tibs smiled.

He looked around, and it didn't help. All he saw were the sparkles of lightning. He reached for some of the... darkness was the wrong word in this ever lit place. The lesser brightness that followed the flashes; one of them might be the shadow.

His hand closed over nothing.

Lightning didn't laugh. Tibs wasn't even sure he watched. There was something to the stretching silence that made him think the element was no longer aware he was there. But that couldn't be right. Tibs was inside. Lightning had to know about it. So this was... him being ignored? That didn't feel right. The element was distracted? What could distract him from what was within him?

Lightning chuckled, the sound dancing around and causing bursts of light and following lesser light.

Tibs tried to follow them, but they were too quick. One close, the other far. Ahead or back, up or down, left or right. There had to be something... a pattern that would let him work out where the voice would be. Where Lightning would be.