The Girl After

Chapter 30

"Answer my question," I demanded as we followed Unalaq.

Mako turned his head and scowled at me. I was sitting behind him on the back of his camel. I didn't want to be on the overcrowded snowmobile with Bolin and the twins. Mako hissed at me, "Be respectful, Leinani."

"Oh, shut up," I said dismissively. I smacked him on the back, the sound triggering our camel to pick up the pace. It brought us to the side of the Avatar's uncle. "I need answers," I urged. "That spirit kept saying my mother's name. It seemed to know me, or, at least, it thought it did... Why, though? If anything, shouldn't Spirits be harassing the Avatar?"

"She has a point," Korra said lowly. She looked at me and asked, "You said that it knew your mother. Do you think that she could have some involvement with the Spirit World?"

"I wouldn't put it past her," I grumbled. "She's always been eccentric and power-hungry."

"I think we're here," Mako announced. We reached the edge of a cliff, and Mako brought our camel to a stop. Bolin stopped the snowmobile behind us, while Korra and Unalaq drew closer to the edge. In the distance, thunder clapped angrily and lightening flashed under black clouds in the sky. The Everstorm. It was beautifully horrifying.

As we continued our journey, the wind whipped at us. Never being one for the cold, I wanted nothing more than to be back in Republic City with Asami in her warm factory. With my arms around Mako's torso for stability, I buried my face into his back. My cheeks stung from the nipping cold air. My head was slightly spinning from the altitude.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. I nodded in response. He didn't say much else after that. He simply put his hand over mine as a way of reassurance, a gesture he'd last shown when we were still working for the Triple Threat Triad.

As we reached ground level, I looked up again. A whispering caught my attention again, this one indiscernible. I looked around. Everyone else had heard it too. It came again from above us, and each of us looked overhead.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bolin asked nervously.

"A spirit," I whispered, more so thinking aloud than speaking to anyone in particular.

Unalaq noted, "We must keep moving."

We'd barely made it a few feet before another sound held us captive. It wasn't like the first. It was a low, foreboding growl. The menacing sent a chill down my spine.

"Oh, man," Bolin shuddered. "I really don't like this."

His brother said, "Just stay calm. There's no reason to—" His voice rose an octave. "—panic!"

A small gremlin-looking Spirit leapt from the snow bursted from the snow underneath our camel. Bolin shrilled, Korra cried out. It was heinous. It leapt into the air and snatched supplies from our camel, receiving a good kick from me to send it back into the ground.

"Is it gone?" Bolin asked from behind his hands, which were covering his face in fear.

I shook my head, saying, "There's no way that thing was alone. We should keep going before—"

By some dumb luck, a dozen other little Spirits popped up from the snow like daisies. One grabbed onto Naga's ear. Another stole some of Unalaq's supplies, while another stole Korra's. The polar bear dog reeled back as the Avatar shouted.

Above us, Spirits with wings emerged with deliberate maliciousness. Mako ducked his head down (Well, maybe I shoved him down.) as I thrusted my fist at one of the winged Spirits. A flaming orb shot in its direction, and the Spirit vanished with a vicious hiss. It reappeared with an aura of pure resentment, speeding in at me from the side and knocking off of the camel's back before I even had a chance to react.

Contrary to popular belief, the snow did not cushion my fall in any way. The wind was taken from my lungs on impact, leaving my gasping. Another Spirit — this one identical to the one that'd I had encountered in the cave or perhaps the same one — stood over me. There was no whisper, no lingering of my mother's name. Only the eyes of the Spirit piercing into me as I laid under it, nowhere to go. No escape.

I closed my eyes tightly. Think, Leinani, think! What could I do? My bending hadn't worked the last time, but it was to no avail. My bending was only child's play, at best. Quite honestly, I didn't enjoy using it either. Chi blocking wasn't even an option at this point.

What else am I good at?

A distraction, I decided, was my best route. I inhaled deeply and flexed my hand. I needed to relax myself. I needed to think more clearly. I bent the snow around my hand into an icy gauntlet and drove it into the Spirit. It squealed and recoiled, allowing me space to slide from under the Spirit and bring myself to my feet.

Kya would've been proud.

"Leinani!" I heard Mako yell. Upon looking back at him, I immediately ducked down. A fireball soared over my head and hit the beast. It let out a screech, which revealed its rows of sharp, jagged teeth.

"Well, great," I frowned at Mako once I was upright again. I gestured toward the snarling Spirit. "Now you've made it angry!"

Before either of us could do any more damage, the Spirit was surrounded in a helix of water. The water and the Spirit began to glow, and the Spirit came to a tranquil silence. It had been brought to peace. Over my shoulder, I caught a glance at Unalaq, who was responsible for calming it, then back at the Spirit as it deteriorated.

"Are you okay?" Mako asked. He placed a hand on my shoulder and furrowed his eyebrows.

I nodded. "I guess I can cross Fight evil spirits off of my to-do list," I said.

He didn't laugh, but I didn't really expect him to. Instead, he said, "Good to see you can still be a smart aleck after your life has been endangered twice in one day," with a smirk.

I mirrored his expression and replied, "I live for this kind of thrill."

This won a smile.

We were quickly separated by Bolin's snowmobile. It was running rampant, smoking from the engine and carrying a screaming Bolin and a pair of silent twins at a dangerous speed. "I can't stop it!" He shrieked. Eska and her brother took hold of Bolin and jumped backward out of the vehicle, though it continued speeding until it crashed into the mountainside. In response to their landing, Bolin's suit inflated, leaving him a helpless ball. He slid down the slope with the twins gliding behind him and Pabu sitting on top of him. Now laughing, Bolin shouted, "I'm a raft!"

Once he reached the bottom, I stopped him with my foot. Bolin greeted me with a sweetly innocent smile. "Uh... Can someone please deflate me?" He asked. Foreseeing his request, Eska bent an icicle and shot it into Bolin's snowsuit. He sank into the puddle that was his suit, a muffled "Thank you" in reply.

I trekked through the snow and made my way back to our camels. Our supplies littered the ground, our bags torn. "I don't suppose any of those could be salvaged," I said, catching Mako's attention.

He let out a distraught sigh. "Oh, great," he said, "there goes our equipment. Now what are we supposed to do?"

"There's only one thing we can do," Tonraq declared. "We have to turn back."

"No, the solstice is tonight" Unalaq argued. "We're so close."

"This mission is too dangerous. We're leaving."

The Avatar finally spoke up. She turned to her father with a hard scowl. "No, Dad," she finalised. "You're leaving." Korra looked at me. I assumed she was hoping for some sort of affirmation, especially with the absence of her sidekick. I didn't do anything.

With a disappointed look, Korra commanded, "Let's keep going."