Origins (Book 4 of Alfireán age)

Plasma Ball

Olivia brought her glowing ice crystal closer to the floor and winced; its light was quickly fading. It appeared the gem had hit something and fractured, and the spell inside was unraveling.

It probably broke when Alf saved me from smashing into the ceiling, she thought as she army-crawled over to Drake. The hissing sound of machinery and the clanking of dozens of crab-like legs echoed in the fog. A red war bot's shadow briefly materialized in the murky distance, then faded from view as it hunted relentlessly for them. Fixing the crystal right then was out of the question.

With everyone huddled together, Drake whispered, "Do you think we can make it to the entrance?"

Zaphaniea's eyes glowed briefly, then she shook her head. "I don't have enough energy to play out the entire scenario. But from what I can tell, the machines are starting their search grid by the entrance. There are dozens of them over there."

The prince's face soured. "So, they've cut us off and are now hunting for us?"

Zaphaniea nodded.

"Well, that's just peachy," Rex grumbled as he and Rinnia edged closer.

"It's worse than you think," Olivia said, pointing to her dying jamming spell.

Alf inspected the shattered gem and frowned. "You're right; this isn't good."

Drakovian eyed the dimming light in the ice and glanced at Zaphaniea. "Can she fix it without getting us killed?"

The grand champion took a deep breath, and her eyes glowed orange and gold once more.

"No," she answered at last. "Powering it up will only help them pinpoint us."

"So now these things can communicate while we're trapped in here?" Valarinnia asked, her chin-length black hair brushing against her worried face.

"It seems that way," Drake responded. "Can Delavarian help us?" he asked Zaphaniea.

"He could try," she said, her eyes glowing once more. "But facing this many, he may die trying."

"No! My father is still recovering from his fight with Vackzilian. Don't you dare tell him about the predicament we're in," Rinnia snapped.

"Keep your voice down!" Drake hissed.

"Sorry," Valarinnia said. "Just don't tell my dad. He'll charge in here like a bull in a china shop, trying to save me, and get himself killed."

"Don't worry," Zaphaniea assured her. "I won't. From what I can tell, earth magic now works in here, but only to a depth of about an inch. And in my vision, Silver tells me he can't get past the first group anyway."

The princess sighed in relief.

Olivia turned to Alf. "Do you think you can create a shield like earlier and use it to ram our way out?"

Alf's lips scrunched together. "Maybe," he said, taking a deep breath. "But I'm not really sure how I did it, and even if I could, I doubt I could batter through even one of these machines, let alone three or four."

"And trying to squeeze past them is far too risky, especially if they close ranks," Drake concluded, then rested his face on his fist. After a second, he looked up at Alf. "We have gotten ourselves into quite the predicament, and every moment, they are getting closer to finding us. It's hard for my analytical mind to admit this, but I think it's time to pray."

Alf's face lit up with a warm, genuine smile. "You're right. It is," he said, bowing his head and taking Olivia's hand. Olivia then took Zaphaniea's hand, and Alf started to pray. "Heavenly Father, we're in really big trouble, and we need your help getting out of it. So, Lord, we ask you to show us what to do. In Jesus' name, we pray, ame-"