Conviction's King | Damian Book 1

Chapter 29

"I need you to make a wall in front of us and around as much of the island as you can handle. Don't let it break, no matter what. I'm going to try and compress the wave and the energy will have to go somewhere. Since it can't go up, it will go outward."

She nods.

A thick layer of green speckled with blue appears atop the swell, reaching all the way to the shoreline, my muscles straining as I hold my arms up and out, my eyes fixed on the water as Cressa-la takes a deep breath.

"Do I just imagine it, or...?" She asks.

"Yeah," I croak, the swell pressing against my ceiling. I can feel my energy and my abilities depleting fast as the energy presses upward.

"Okay," she breathes, and takes a step back. She presses her arms outward. Immediately, a wall of cyan explodes from the ground and stretches around the beach, disappearing behind the trees. I can't see how far it goes, but I catch a glimpse of Cressa-la in my peripheries. She opens up her eyes and lets out a cocky smile. "I figured it out."

A bolt of green shoots through her wall and fizzles out, speckles of green exploding through the cyan like fireworks.

It distracts me for a moment.

Why does she have... my color?

The ceiling I created shatters, bringing me back to the present.

Cressa-la closes her eyes and focuses again, her wall growing taller as she stretches her powers to her limits. I begin to create my own walls before the main part of the swell, slowing it down, but it breaks through every one of them. It begins to crest and I lift the wall I created higher and it busts through, blocking out the sun, but it won't crash over the whole island. I'd slowed it down. I create another ceiling just above the top of the crest, pressing down. Sweat drips off my chin as I push the energy downward, attempting to squish the water. It doesn't work as much as I want it to.

Then, it's upon us.

I take a deep breath and make a second wall just behind Cressa-la's, letting it reach up and over to try and contain as much as I can of the water.

The water hits our wall and I hear Cressa-la cry out, here nose bleeding. Before I can say or do anything, she takes a step forward and the wall returns, only a fraction of the water falling at our feet from the sky like heavy rain. Her body glows with cyan, mine with green, as the water soaks us to the bone. I stretch my backup wall upward and outward, mirroring hers and cresting over to contain any stray pieces of water.

The wave towers high over us, like a mountain made of water. Just as my body begins to give up, black creeping in from all sides, a sudden light bursts from both of us, white and bright like the sun. It zips up our walls and way over the wave, then begins to push the water in the other direction, effortlessly.

The water doesn't want to budge, but then the energy is put into momentum in the other direction.

The tsunami has been avoided. Because of the white light that had taken over the ground and been absorbed into me.

Cressa-la and I stare at each other as our walls fall for the longest time, the blood from her nose halted by her upper lip. Had she absorbed the white light as well? Is that... what divine energy feels like? Or was that a one-time deal from the entity?

We both stand up straight, looking out at the water with utter shock. A smile cracks on her face and her eyes light up, and I find it happening to me as well.

"I cant believe we just—"

"Damian."

The voice comes from behind me and I feel my body tense, purple smoke creeping along the ground under me.

Morgiana.

I curse beneath my breath and suddenly pull Cressa-la in to protect her, doing what I've done twice now for her—twice in the old timeline. I formed an image in my head and pressed my lips against her forehead, feeling a bit of my energy pass between me to her. She tenses at the touch and I lean down slightly to whisper in her ear, "Stay behind me."

I turn around, keeping one hand on her arm to make sure she's still there, and come face-to-face with the sea witch.

"What?" I snap.

Morgiana runs a tongue over her teeth, her eyes darting past me and to Cressa-la, who I forget is nearly as tall as me and I can't hide her very well. I kick myself mentally but hold my ground.

Morgiana's eyes flick to me. "What just happened? Was that you?"

"No," I say, being truthful. "That wasn't me."

"Then who was it?"

"I don't know," I tell her. "But I knew a tsunami would be coming right after and I was able to hold it back."

She nods slowly. "Smart boy. What was that white light?"

I shrug. "I honestly have no idea, either."

"Maybe not so smart, after all." She glances at Cressa-la again, but says nothing as I push her further behind me. She doesn't really need protection, not with what she just demonstrated, but... she technically did die when she went up against Morgiana last. I'm not taking any chances this time. I know what this woman is capable of. She could have taken that wave down with a flick of her wrist.

Knowing that tells me where I stand as well.

"Who is that?" Morgiana asks, finally bringing up the subject I was hoping she'd gloss over. Morgiana smiles darkly. "Is she the girl who's had your head messed up?"

"Doesn't matter," I spit. "I don't believe we were due for a meeting just yet."

"Oh, we weren't. You've just been acting so strange lately, and... her powers..."

Her eyes flash purple and I grit my teeth.

"It was me," I lie. "It's that blue that's in my glow. She was just trapped here."

"Mmm," Morgiana sounds, nodding. "Fine. Keep your secrets, Damian. But know that I have leverage against you, considering you're willing to defy me for her." Her eyes narrow and she smiles, a purple shimmer washing over her irises, locking my gaze in place. "Show me your allegiance to me and kill her, Damian."

I can feel my limbs lock up and my breathing shallow out as the animal inside comes out to play, her purple irises filling my insides and seeming to consume me.

I... everything... everything wishes to obey.

Cressa-la... could die at my hands.

As the animal claws its way up my sternum, I find myself turning toward Cressa-la, the purple glow peeling away from my own eyes. Her eyes widen and then harden, and she sets her jaw, ready to fight.

Always ready to fight.