YP – B3: QtnoWLM – Chapter 36 (Chapter 133)

164 Days Until Focus And the Uncertain End (part 4)

Zeydar hissed as the car approached them. The Aralax were coming in from too many sides, and hot on the backs of Kim and Phil. He’d have to make them all disappear while in movement. The cars would have to be up to the same speeds as Kim and Phil, at the same time, so they could move as a unit and the car was coming to fast for them to be standing around. They had to go. They could not stay standing any longer. The faster that Zeydar was able to erase their trail the easier it would be. 

Without seeming to need his words, everyone got into the vehicles. Shawn and Heia at the wheels of the two cars that they had. It was cramped in the back seat, but Zeydar could see everything he needed to.

“Can’t we just destroy them with magic?” Heia asked from the front wheel. The engine was on and she was ready to go. Evester was messing with the head sets realizing belatedly that he wasn’t sure the others had them.

“Sure.” Zeydar snapped back. Less than a minute now before they had to start driving. “Let me just do that.”

“Don’t be hostile.” Evester snapped back. “Explain why.”

“There are too many. I have not perfected killing them. Lets say I finish this wave. There are others attacking. This is a coordinated attack against us. They are everywhere.” If he was in complete control over his magic perhaps he could have destroyed them all, but he was working at low efficiency. Each passing day of limited control was making him want to use Dreams to be able to use the magic. At least them he’d have a Superior’s ability and control, even if it weren’t his full ability and control. Or to detox to access the power that he should have been able to before. One was clearly the better option and he knew it, which was why he was sitting in the car choking down the demands for his Dreams. “I’m not stable enough to make sure I don’t hurt us. Running is the best option here. I know I can do those spells.” He also knew Kony could help him with  the spells.

“So we aren’t even fighting? Letting them chase us?” Heia asked.

“Drive Heia!” Zeydar ordered and she stepped on the gas, lurching forward. Shawn’s car starting off after them. Too slow they were going too slow. “Go faster.

“I’m trying.” She screamed back.

“No, we are fighting.” Evester shook his head, preparing his weapon instead and rolling down the window. “Zeydar just isn’t going to do all of it. He could eliminate them now. He says he could if he tried, but that wouldn’t help us. A struggle would. So we fight. Kori and myself, Heia. Once Kim and Phil get here, we defend the cars and fight as we drive. Zeydar will defend us and do as much damage as he can while conserving energy to hide us as we run.”

“The wave is with Kim and Phil, fighting is the only way we can flee.” Zeydar looked to the windows feeling the surge in the world around him. The headlights were blinding, followed by the shadows that were closing in. They still were not fast enough. “Incoming.” 

The car came zipping towards them from behind, followed by what Zeydar knew to be Aralax. They were moving too fast. Flying… They were flying? They had to have adapted by being on their planet. It was the most reasonable answer besides Star Experiments. Zeydar only hoped that the Superiors had not caused the Aralax to gain flight.

“Faster!” Evester yelled as he looked back to see the speed at which Kim was coming. The engines roared as they shifted gear trying to get up to speeds.

Zeydar prepared to take Kim and Phil into his grasp of power. He started weaving the spell.

Evester yelled to both vehicles from out of the window. He shot back, knocking an Aralax back. “Faster! They are gaining!” 

Shawn’s car took off faster as Heia struggled to keep up. Zeydar turned back completely, ready to catch Kim’s car in his net. He had to make sure that they were able to keep up at the same pace or else Kim would shoot past them. The moment any of them braked they were screwed.

Magic in hand, Zeydar thought of the spell and cast his magic out behind the car to create a divide between Kim and the Aralax. From the ground snow turned to ice and shot up at the back of the car, impaling many of the Aralax that chased. A few made it past his ice spear barricade as the cars raced ahead and Kim’s car gained on them. Wind blew from behind, Kony’s attack magic, not nearly as powerful but worth something. Using Kony’s distraction, Zeydar created the bubble of magic around his car and Shawn’s. He layered in the disappearances, the tracking, all the spells and magic that he could to make them disappear.

The moment that he expanded his bubble around her, the cars were struggling to keep up with the speed of her car. Zeydar felt as Kony used his magic to take out a few of the Aralax that had followed as Kori and Evester shot them out of the air. 

“Get us going!” Zeydar called to Heia. They were losing Kim. Kim would be out of his realm of control soon. And no one could break. She knew that, they all knew that. Kim could not adjust, they had to adjust to her.

“You focus on saving our asses by erasing our trail and I will worry about driving.” Heia hissed back. The car sped up as Zeydar focused on the spell to erase their tracks in the dirt, the air, and the magic around them. There would be no sight, no sound, no physical trail, no smell trail, and no magic trail. Heia’s car caught up to Kim’s who had rolled down the window.

“Kill the stragglers!” Phil yelled from inside.

“Trying!” Evester yelled as he dodged one of the Aralax’s attacks that tried to get in from the window.

“What happened?” Heia yelled.

“Ambush!” Phil helped to join the attack. They must have tried to throw off the attack and failed at doing so, which was why they had arrived back so late. Zeydar was not sure and he would not hear them. Kori too was using her blade to cut any Aralax that got too close to them. Soon the bodies that had followed them were dropping, not dead but unable to keep up. When the last one fell, the cars raced on ahead.

“We need to put distance between us and them.” Kim yelled. “Follow me!”

Kim pulled ahead and Heia and Shawn’s cars followed behind flocking behind her. The cars raced into the darkness, Zedyar focusing on not only erasing their tracks, but making sure they did not run into more. They had been surrounded and he needed to get them a path out. He had to make a distraction. His mind spun in the bright magic. It swam before he began to drown in the power he was trying to tap into.

His skin crawled and began to itch as if he were being eaten alive by small insects. Each bite burned, and then his head started pounding. Everyone’s breathing was too loud. The cars were too loud. The lights were too bright. Everything was spinning but it was there, the magic he could use. Screams were echoing in his mind, memories turning into hallucinations. He was losing control on himself and reality too quickly.

Still, the magic was there.

Focus on me, Zeydar looked back to Evester who gave directions to Heia, as he looked ahead. Evester, who shouted things to the other cars unable to communicate to them otherwise, hoping that his voice would get through. Focusing on Evester’s voice, on Evester’s magic, Zeydar grabbed Evester’s wrist, fingers against his veins to feel Evester’s heartbeat. Evester looked back to him, their eyes meeting. Evester knowing, right then, why Zeydar did what he did. He didn’t have to explain so he did not. Eyes closed, Zeydar let himself relax. The thud of Evester’s heart beat steadied him. He didn’t need to drown in the magic, but he did need to sink into it to be able to complete the spells. To do it without falling into memories, without losing control. 

Evester called to Zeydar as Zeydar focused. Focused on Evester’s heartbeat as a tether and the depths of his magic to keep them safe, to keep them hidden, to keep them alive.

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