SURVIVE (THRIVE: Book Two)

Chapter 48- In the Flesh and Blood

We all sit in silence as Aurora examines my mother's mind, looking for a way to help her however possible. The longer it takes, the louder my heartbeat sounds in my eardrums. What Sterling had done to me was disgusting and vile, but Ember was something else entirely. She seemed to have no care in the world, wanting to create chaos just for the fun of it. Still, certain parts of her personality were hard to read. As much as she frightened me, I wanted to know more. After all, people aren't always born sick.

"I can't get her out on my own, the only option would be to enter the gate and fight her off like we did Gael. But... you're right, she seems far stronger than he was." Aurora sighs as she stands up and begins looking through her possessions "There may be a way to contain her so that she can't take control in the meantime, though." she explains.

"How?" Daddy asks nervously as he watches her sift through jewelry.

"Charms can be more powerful than you think. It might block her from being able to use any of her abilities, but at least the ancient one in there will be contained." Aurora explains as she begins to frantically dig deeper through an old wooden chest "Damnit, where's that collar?"

"How do we even know that it's going to work? We haven't used anything like that before and it seems risky to hope for the best." Roxie explains as she watches her.

"It's far better than doing nothing." Desire says as she crosses her arms and leans on the wall "I say we just go in and kill the bitch, all of us combined should be enough to take her out." she explains.

"Scarlett, don't be stupid." Roxie states bluntly "It's not worth the risk, have I taught you nothing?" she asks frustratedly.

"I'm sorry, Mother." Desire sighs "I don't like this."

"None of us do." Nanea sighs "We haven't had to deal with anything like this in over a century, I thought we were past all of this and now it's like Gael is back all over again." she explains. My mother and father look defeated at the mention of his name, the whole topic just reminds me of how much I never knew before. I need to talk to them privately about Malakai, but now's not the time.

"Found it." Aurora states as she begins to closely examine a leather choker with a deep blue charm "I tinkered with this ages ago, but it should do the trick." she explains.

"God, I hope so." Roxie sighs as she stares at it. Suddenly, I begin to hear eerily familiar laughter from my mother's direction, but I soon realize that that isn't her voice.

Diamond Hard- Kerli

"Nika?" my father asks as he watches her slowly stand up, her composure beginning to loosen as she twistedly smirks at all of us.

"Well, it's been a pleasure, but I think I'll find my way out if you don't mind," Ember says casually as she begins to head for the door, but suddenly, Phoenix and Desire block her way.

"You must be Ember then?" Desire asks as she glares at her.

"In the flesh and blood." Ember shrugs as she cocks her head to the side "You mind getting out of my way?" she asks mockingly. In fear, Aria begins to back away and hide behind Roxie and Aurora.

"Not a chance," Phoenix states bluntly.

"Pity." Ember sighs as she glances back at the rest of us "Seriously, do you all really think you can keep me here? Seems like more trouble than it's worth." she explains as she spins around.

"Not to us." my father says angrily "Let her go," he demands.

"Um, lemme think." Ember says as she sarcastically taps her finger on her chin "No." she smiles at him, seeming happy with his frustration. As we watch her glance around the room, we all keep our distance. Suddenly, Roxie blasts a large purple flame at her, but Ember doesn't even flinch as it makes contact with her skin. As the flame disappears, I see the entire side of her body look ignited, slowly absorbing it as her veins glow beneath her skin. She casually glances down as it fades away, her eyes beginning to glow as she cocks her head at Roxie.

"... What the fuck are you?" Roxie asks, suddenly sounding afraid.

"Weren't you listening?" Ember asks curiously "You can't hurt me with my own techniques, sweetheart. Not to mention that I left a few things out when I wrote them down, silly me." Ember giggles as her hand begins to light on fire, studying her fingers as she twists her arm around. Suddenly, she darts her glance at me and shoots a blast directly at my head. Instinctually, I duck and let it hit the wall behind me, leaving the stone scorched. In anger I throw my hands forward, thrusting a strong gust straight at her, nearly knocking her down. Aurora and my father attempt to grab her from behind, but she ignites her back, burning their hands.

"Shit!" Aurora screams as she looks at her searing flesh. I try to throw her back again, but it doesn't work, she's somehow standing her ground without even trying. Suddenly, we hear a loud crack of thunder outside, followed by the sound of heavy rain.

"Get her outside!" Nixi suddenly screams as she darts into the room out of nowhere, lunging forward and knocking Ember down. Quickly, Desire and Phoenix rush to grab her, stopping her from burning them as much as they can as they drag her across the room to the window.

"Breeze!" Phoenix shouts and I quickly send another gust in their direction, throwing her on her ass outside into the flower field. As the rain hits her skin, I hear a sizzle as the water puts out the fire, returning her skin to normal. Suddenly Nixi begins to charge, hurdling through the window.

"Forgive me for this, Nika," she says nervously as she claps her hands together toward Ember, causing lightning to strike her dead on. I hear her scream as the bolt passes through her, and suddenly, she falls back onto the ground. As we all carefully climb through the window into the rain, we cautiously approach her, unsure of what to expect. Nixi kneels down and seems to study her, shooting us a thumbs up as the rain begins to slow to a drizzle.

"She's just unconscious, I tried to go easy." Nixi states as she looks at the branching pattern that the lightning had left behind "Gimme that collar, I don't want to have to do that again." she says as she holds her hand out. Aurora quickly passes it off and she carefully affixes it to my mother's neck.

"Good timing, but how did you know what was going on?" I ask curiously as Daddy reaches down to pick my mother up off of the ground, careful not to hurt his blistered hands.

"I was about to come in when you guys mentioned Ember still being around, so I figured I would hang back in case she tried to pull something." Nixi explains as we head back inside "I'm glad that I did."

"Thanks for that," Roxie sighs "We wouldn't have been able to do very much considering what she's capable of."

"I noticed," Nixi states worriedly as we climb back through the window.

"That was just one of them..." Desire says nervously as she sits down on the floor inside "How the hell are we supposed to take on four more like her?"