Chapter 52
Nick struggled to get to his feet, but every time he started to rise, Keith landed another blow on him. Judging by the brightness of Keith's physical aura, Nick could tell he was holding his full power. As such, Nick was unable to see Keith's movements, or prepare to block. Even when he thought he had predicted where the next strike would come from, the difference in their physical levels meant he couldn't move fast enough to respond.
Nick! Dagr's voice called through Nick's pain. He glanced at the dragon, an understanding growing between the two, and he mentally nodded. Keith could read his mind, and knew he had just agreed to something with Dagr, but Nick had made sure that was all he thought.
Dagr grasped Nick's power, drawing in the mystical energy, and a second later lighting crackled from the sky towards Keith. The attack was instant, and Keith's body was engulfed in a bright flash.
"Did we get him?" Nick's physical energy cured his eyes, which had been blinded by the flash, and he stood. He could tell Dagr had used all of Nick's small mystical energy in that attack, and it would take time to recharge his power.
"Well, that was a cool trick." Keith was behind him, and his voice made Nick jump as he spun around. The fourth year as untouched.
"Really Nicky, have you not figured out the difference in power here? My physical energy can easily shield me from an attack of that caliber." He smiled and pointed towards where he had been standing, which was now a black scorched piece of ground. "Though, I must say, that was impressive for a first year." He cracked his knuckles, a wicked grin on his face. "Now that you're out of tricks, let's say we start to wrap this fight up."
The rain of blows that followed left Nick panting on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth. He had been using his physical power to create a shield around his body, much as Keith was. However, the onslaught of strikes wore down his energy, and as he struggled to fend off Keith, he could feel the blue fire flickering.
"What's the matter Nicky, out of steam already?" Keith stomped on Nick's back, breaking it and pinning him to the ground. Nick felt the last trickle of his physical energy heal his spine, before its warmth left his body. The next attack from Keith would not be healed.
"Whelp, guess our game is over." Keith ground his heel into Nick's back, sending pain through his body. Nick refused to cry out.
"Oh, being tough are we?" He stomped on Nick's ankle, breaking it. Nick fought back a scream. Keith broke the other one. The pain was becoming overwhelming, but Nick refused to give him satisfaction.
"That's okay Nicky, I just figured out a way to make you squirm before I kill you." He dragged Nick towards where Naomi and Becca were tied up, both still unconscious. Keith pulled out the metal device he used for healing, and after a second, Naomi jerked awake. Her eyes were wild, panicked, as she struggled against her bonds.
"I'm going to kill you!" She growled through clenched teeth as she looked at Keith. She must have realized her powers were cut off.
"Funny you should mentioning killing me sweetheart. Because someone is about to die today." He nodded towards Nick, and Naomi's eyes grew wide as she saw his broken form.
"Nick." Her eyes filled with tears, and her voice cracked.
"Hey." His voice was week, his vision blurring, but all he could think of through the pain was how lame he must have sounded.
"Really, hey is all you got to say? Man, how did she ever fall for you?" Keith kicked Nick in the stomach as he laughed. "Any who, if you're not going to cry out in pain and beg me for mercy." Naomi cried out in pain as Keith broke her arm. "I'm just going to break her, and heal her, and break her some more until you're completely broken." Keith grinned as he broke Naomi's other arm. "Just think Nick, you're causing Naomi all this pain.
Nick could feel rage and despair flowing through his body. He crawled towards Naomi, eyes filled with tears. Her eyes told him to stay, told him it was okay, but her screams pushed her warnings away.
"Your pride is admirable Nick. But unlike your father, it seems you won't put it aside to save the one you love from pain and suffering." Keith healed Naomi's wounds, and then started again.
"Stop it." Nick's voice cracked as he cried out, he was breaking along with Naomi's bones. "You win Keith, leave her alone." Keith grinned from Naomi to Nick.
"See, was that so hard?" He snapped another one of Naomi's bones. Nick broke down.
"Stop it!"
"Make me." Keith was laughing, and he punched Naomi across the face, causing her to spit out blood. "Oh, that's right, you're weak Nicky." He struck Naomi again. "Too weak to save yourself." Another strike, "too weak to save the ones you love," a broken bone this time, "and too weak to keep your promise to Eli."
Eli. The moment Keith said his name, Nick knew what had to be done. Without thinking, without pause, he took the spiritual energy flowing through his body, and turned it inward. He knew what this would cost him, knew it would shorten his lifespan, but he would not let Keith harm Naomi anymore.
"No!" Keith knew what Nick was thinking, but it was too late. Nick's spiritual energy sent ice through the pit of his stomach, as he urged it to open a portal within, to the other dimension.
All four energies rushed into Nick's body, a torrent of power flooding every ounce of his being, and he wasn't sure if he cried out in exhilaration or pain. All four energies flowed through, and even as they endless supply of physical energy healed him and filled him with strength, the other three energies threatened him with death. He tried to stem the flow, but they fought, and he knew it was only a short matter of time before he lost control. The image of the decimated mountain range filled his mind. What had he done?
Nick! Dagr's voice tried to push to him, but his mind was awash in pain and fear. He had done what Eli had warned him against, and now he was going to kill everyone. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. The energy within him was reaching a critical point, and suddenly, his hold on it slipped, and it raged through his body.
"I'm sorry." It said it out loud as he sent the message to Dagr, and he shut his eyes, knowing everything would soon be destroyed. Just as the energy reached critical mass, as the pain became too great to bear though, Nick felt something strange within. A different energy, Eli's energy, stirred.
Suddenly, Nick's energy was flowing not out of his body, but into the portal Eli's energy had made, sucking the power that was flowing in back towards the other dimension. Eli must have known Nick would make the mistake he had, and had created a way to save him.
Relief filled Nick as he felt the power reach an equilibrium, a stream flowing not solely into his body, but instead simply passing through. The rate at which it flowed through his system, the way it felt, Nick could tell all of the energy was a little over twice as high as what his physical energy had been at, meaning all of his energy leveling were likely sitting a little over 100. That meant his power was nearly on par with Keith's, meaning he had a chance.
It also meant he might have enough energy to gain one advantage in this fight that he doubted Keith had planned for. He surrounded his body in a physical shield, preparing to defend against Keith's strikes as he moved forward with his plan. Nick didn't care that Keith could read his mind, because even though he would know Nick's intention, the end result was something Nick didn't know. He poured his spiritual energy into Dagr. The dragon was going finally be able to reveal his true form.