Лори Девоти - Unbound

A ball of blue flame landed inches away.

“Hell.” Kelly pushed on Kara’s shoulder, sending her rolling across the ground.

Kara landed on all fours, her chest heaving, dirt clogging her throat with each breath. Coughing, she looked up at the dais. Risk stared down at her, his hands fisted, his fingers white with strain.

“Lose,” he mouthed.

Lose? The note, this was what he meant. He wanted her to lose the battle against Lusse — the witch he claimed held him in bondage. It made no sense. Kara shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes.

“Kara!” Kelly screamed.

A stream of power snaked from Lusse’s hand, wrapping around Kelly’s ankle and jerking her to the dirt. Kelly fell, her fingers clawing helplessly in the loose soil.

Kelly. Kara stood, all thoughts of Risk’s betrayal and her own fear dissipating. Her arms held out, she concentrated >on pulling power from the room. Energy flooded into her, knocking into her like a speeding train. She staggered backward, her hand pressed to her stomach.

The power whipped back and forth within her body. Raising her head, she gazed around. The world around her changed, colored, as if she was seeing through blue-tinted glasses.

Kelly flipped onto her back, her hands flying forward, her own stream of power meeting Lusse’s. Her brows lowered, her mind focused, Kara held out her hand to her sister and let the energy she had pulled merge into her twin.

Kelly stiffened as the power touched her. Her head dropped against her chest for a second, as she accepted Kara’s strength as her own.

Opening her eyes, she smiled, and hit Lusse square in the chest with a gleaming streak of blue flame.

Eyes round, Lusse flew off her feet, the continuing line of Kelly’s power holding her six feet off the ground.

Kelly laughed, a harsh sound that scared Kara to her center. Remembering her own battle with the heady sensation of controlling so much energy, she jogged across the ring and dropped to her knees next to her sister.

“Kelly, let her down.” She pulled on her twin’s arm.

Kara wanted to win, wanted to escape, but if she lost Kelly to power madness in the process…

“Kelly.” She wrapped her hands around Kelly’s cheeks and twisted her face toward her. Her sister’s eyes stared up at her wild and vacant. Keeping her voice firm, Kara repeated, “Let her down.”

Without changing her expression, Kelly twisted her head back toward Lusse. The witch still hung in the air. For the first time, Kara noticed a tear in the other witch’s cape, a gray tinge to her skirt and stray hairs that clung to her angry face. Lusse’s face turning red with the effort, she whipped her body back and forth in an attempt to escape Kelly’s energy stream.

“Kelly.” Still no response. Pulling back her open hand, Kara struck her sister across the cheek. The sharp sound of impact echoed in Kara’s ears.

Kelly jerked, her eyes closing then snapping back open. Pressing her advantage, Kara grabbed her by the front of her jumpsuit and shook. Kelly stared at her for one heart-stopping second then dropped her arms.

Shrieking curses, Lusse fell to the ground with a thump.

“I had her,” Kelly murmured, her eyes darting side to side. “Had the power. Did you see me?”

Her hands still fisted in the front of her jumpsuit, Kara stared into her sister’s eyes. “You didn’t have the power. The power had you.”

“Had the power,” Kelly repeated.

“No, Kelly. Think. How did you feel? You weren’t in control.”

Kelly blinked slowly, warmth, intelligence and what Kara recognized as her sister returning to Kelly’s eyes.

“Oh, my God,” she muttered.

“I know. I know,” Kelly responded.

“No. The witch. Move!”

Kelly rolled to the side, a power bolt splitting the ground between them as she moved.

Lusse stood six feet away, her face dark with rage, her cape and dust swirling around her. “It’s my power. You pathetic upstarts.” She formed an O with her hand, another short stick of power appearing in the opening. With a quick overhead motion, she pelted the new bolt toward them.

“What the hell are those?” Kelly muttered, rolling again, this time into Kara. Not waiting for an answer, she pushed to her feet and sprinted to the other side of the ring, putting distance between her and Kara.

“Over here, Cruella,” Kelly screamed.

A sly smile curved Lusse’s lips. “Simpletons,” she said, and pulled both hands to her chest. Her eyes gleaming, she flung both arms out into a V shape, power bolts flying from each hand — one directed at each sister.

“Crap.” Still on the ground, Kara scrambled to escape. The bolt brushed against her, burning through the jumpsuit and sending an icy pain shooting through her side.

Kara lay in the dirt gasping for a breath, frozen with the shock of being hit. She pressed a hand to her side; it came back red with blood.

She stared at it stupidly. Funny, she didn’t feel as if she was bleeding.

“Kara,” Kelly screamed.

Kara looked, her hand still palm up in front of herself.

Lusse had taken a step forward; her eyes focused on Kara, she lifted both hands and prepared to throw two more bolts — both directed at Kara.

All Kara could do was stare at her, unable to believe any of this was really happening.

A scream rent the air. Suddenly, bolt after bolt of energy dug into the earth around Lusse. Kelly, a crazed look in her eyes, lunged forward, her hands a flash of movement around her head, pulling bolts from nowhere and tossing them as quickly as her arms could move.

“Leave my sister alone,” she shrieked.

Lusse turned, two huge bolts gripped in her hands. Eyes narrowed, she pulled her arms back over her head and prepared to toss them, but at Kelly, not Kara.

Something inside Kara snapped. She glanced up at the dais. Risk still stood there rigid, his face grim. “Help me,” she willed, her desperation pouring through her eyes.

His jaw tightening, he turned his face away.

Kara wanted to curl up in a ball, lie sobbing in the dirt until all this passed. But it wasn’t going to pass, not until either Lusse or she and Kelly were declared the victor.

A whistle pierced the air, Lusse’s energy bolts catapulting toward Kelly.

Inhaling, Kara pulled in more energy and concentrated on what she wanted — to save Kelly, to save herself.

Every muscle in his body clenched tight, Risk stared down into the ring. Kara was bleeding. His nostrils flared.

Her eyes huge with an unspoken appeal, Kara looked at him. Knowing he couldn’t interfere, if he did it would only jeopardize their escape, he turned his face away. He felt Kara’s despair, like a leaden sigh settling over him.

He couldn’t help her. He had to let Lusse defeat her and her sister. It was the only way, he reminded himself over and over. The words becoming almost a mantra in his mind.

Feeling stronger, he looked back at the ring. Kara spun away, her hands upraised, her face tilted upward, exposing her delicate neck. She inhaled deeply, her hands shaking slightly as if she were holding weights that were almost too much for her to bear.

Risk tightened his jaw. She had to fight this alone — she had to lose.

A slight breeze stirred Risk’s hair.

Jormun straightened on his bed of pillows. “Do you feel that? The twin. She’s doing that.” His eyes flashed with pride.

Risk leaned over the dais. The breeze grew stronger, began to move the dirt on the ring’s floor, too.

Lusse blinked, then lowered her brows. With a muttered curse she heaved two energy bolts toward Kara’s sister.

The wind picked up to a howl. A huge disk of power, air and dirt swirled together, forming a wall between Lusse and Kelly, and beside it stood Kara, her hands still outstretched, her body swaying with the wind.