The Usurper's Throne

50

My heart was pounding. I glanced around, desperately wanting this to be a bad dream. Not much had changed, but the wooden board I was stuck on was half-burnt and a giant glass dangled above the throne. That was what Daniel was talking about.

I whirled on Eric and the old man.

"Why am I here?" I asked franticly. "I shouldn't be here," I said. The man shrugged and held out a hand.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Roy."

I didn't grab his hand. "Who are you, Roy?"

"A fellow elemental," he said, surprised. "The elemental of light."

I blinked. "I thought Damien stole your power?"

He narrowed his eyes. "He was. The elemental of darkness freed me," my heart leapt at the mention of Damien. "I knew I had to find you, old friend. Of course, I knew your father. I am sorry for your loss."

"No loss," I said quickly. "I never knew him. Why did you bring me here? The guy who was stealing your power has an Alpha's Claim over me. And he is not above stealing my power."

"The Alpha's Claim?" he asked curiously. "Interesting."

He looked at Eric. "My boy, now would be great."

Suddenly, Eric latched onto my arm and teleported us again.

We were on an uneven surface. I glanced out at the floor two stories below. Panic flooded my chest. Eric collapsed next to me, and I grabbed him and lowered him to the ground.

We were in the freaking glass ball.

"Eric?! Eric, we have to get out of here!" I yelled. His heart was beating, and I saw the rise and fall of his breath. He had just passed out from exhaustion. Why in the world was he taking commands from Roy?

That was the stupidest name for an elemental, I though. I gently shook Eric' shoulders.

He began to stir.

"Eric?"

"Where are we?" he asked. He blinked and looked at me. "Naomi?" he asked. He glanced around. "Where is Berry?"

"Back at Redwood. Why am I here?" I asked. "What in the world were you thinking?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I...thought...I could have sworn that Berry showed up at Redwood and I took her back. How did we end up here?"

Realization hit me. "Roy was an illusionist," I said. "Can you get us out of here?"

"Probably not!" we heard a voice from below. "He's probably out of commission for a few hours at least."

We both looked down. Roy.

"Roy! What are you doing?!" I yelled. "Get us out of here!"

"For your future use, if there is an illusion, you'll see a slight waver in the image, like a shimmer of dust. Or something will be off. Like a missing electrical outlet. I always forget those."

"Roy! Why are we here?" I yelled.

He rolled his eyes. "I intended to go back for my old friend, your father, but I found you instead. I was hoping you might be able to help me get rid of the Wereking, but you can barely conjure a windstorm. So, I will just use your magic!" he shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry!" He stepped under us and lifted his hands. I felt magic stirring from inside me. "Damien had this rigged to act like a funnel for magic. You can feel the grooves on the side."

"You've got to be kidding me," I said as magic danced down my arms and into the top of the ball. It didn't hurt, but I could feel myself being drained.

He stopped and glanced up at me. "You have bigger battery than your dad!" he shouted and laughed. "Don't worry! I'll make sure Damien doesn't find you! I'll be back if I need more. Just stay quiet!"

With that, he whirled off and left.

I sat down as darkness swirled over my vision. Crap.

My only hope was that Eric was here with me, so we could teleport away once he had energy. I glanced over at him and saw he was out cold, sleeping.

I leaned back, but the curvature of the ball was so awkward that I couldn't do it comfortably. I sat cross-legged. Could I break the ball with the wind?

That would just send us crashing two stories down and on a pile of glass.

+++++++++

"Hold on," Eric said.

Please don't leave me here. Please don't leave me here.

"Naomi!" Elijah exclaimed as we teleported back to the ground. We both collapsed onto the floor. I stayed on my hands and knees as Elijah ran up.

He rushed toward me as I made my way onto my knees, panting. I lifted a hand for him to stop. "Elijah, what's the code??" I asked

He stopped, looking confused. "What?"

"Elijah, what is the code?" I asked, staring at him angrily, standing on my knees.

"9721?" he said softly.

I fell back on my hands and knees. "Good. Honestly, I don't remember what the code is, but that sounds right, so I'll take it that it's really you and not an illusion."

Elijah finished making his way over to me and helped me up. He pulled me close to him. He sent a scathing glare at Eric. "I thought we already had a conversation about this. You should not be here."

"I agreed and still agree, believe it or not," I said, looking around. I didn't even have my earplugs. "The light elemental, whose name is Roy, by the way, made Eric grab me."

"Well, then I would be more than happy to have Eric send you back."

Eric's eyes were wide. "I don't have enough juice. I used everything I had to get us out if that cage and I was recharging for a good half-hour." He pulled his gun from his waistband. "I promise, I thought I was taking Berry away from here."

"I'm starting to think light elementals are just idiots," Elijah said. He whirled on me.

"Elijah, I really don't want to be here," I promised. "Roy needed a magic boost. I'm really tired of people using me for my body," I complained weakly.

Elijah tightened his grip on me. "I agree. Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Just a little tired. Can't you just put me in the dark realm? Like you did back at Redwood?" I asked.

"That was a special room for that very purpose. Unless my father was hiding something from me, I can't think a room like that. Even if you're in the dark realm, if you hear him, you're still under his compulsion. He can blast a ray of light and get rid of the realm." He turned to Eric. "When will you be able to make another jump? Even a mile away? I want her as far away as possible."

Eric's eyes were wide. "No time soon," he said. "A few hours."

Elijah nodded. "Okay. Okay. You're safe now," he said, instinctively tightening his grip on me. "We haven't been able to find Damien yet."

"We have," I said. "He was here not ten minutes ago. He saw me in the glass ball. Or at least he looked dead at me. And then he left. I don't know why. Roy said he was going to make sure Damien didn't find me, so he may have put an illusion over us."

"Did he give you any commands?"

I shook my head. "Unless he gave me another command to forget it. Or that was all an illusion. Roy told me that all illusions shimmer like a mirage in the heat. If we see a shimmer, it's fake. He also said that some things won't make sense. They have to think up every detail, but sometimes they forget stuff like electrical outlets."

We were in deep trouble.

"We need to find the light elemental. He's trying to take down Damien, too."

"I hate that guy," he muttered. I didn't know which one he was talking about, but at this point, it didn't really matter. He looked down at me. "Things just got a whole lot more complicated."

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We're coming up to the end of this saga. Man, what a ride. Thanks to all who have engaged. You bring me joy! :)