Chapter 19

            “Ability status undetectable?” Acacia frowned as the blue-tinted words drifted away from the screen and the glass orb went back to its rainbow state. “What does that even mean?”

            “I think I know,” Annice started pacing the long width of the atrium. “It means that you do have an ability, but your body has not yet ready to manifest the ability, and the Typearl can only read manifest-ready abilities, since they’re easier to detect.”

            Lifea nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! Loud ringing of bells snapped everyone out of their thoughtful trances. “What’s happening?” Claris shouted over the din. Bloome and Lifea shared a look that seemed so dreadful, Acacia yelled, “It’s something bad, isn’t it?”

            “That’s the village attack alarm,” Lifea whipped her head around. “My dad’s not back yet.” Annice stared at where Lifea was looking. “How do you know that?”

            Lifea’s face was stricken with fear when she turned her gaze back to Acacia, Claris and Annice. “Four bells mean the village front defences are down. But it also means that the chief isn’t here to man the second, third and last defence against the attackers. And it also means that the attackers aren’t rival elves or Dyians. They’re shadows.” Bloome dashed outside.

            Claris’s eyes widened. “I thought Sunhilde was safe from shadow attacks.”

            “That’s the problem! The first line defences are the plumefoil flowers. The second is elven archers. The third is a spear offense. The last is an evacuation!” Lifea shouted over another chorus of donging bells. “That new line of bells mean that the shadows have overwhelmed second line defences. I need to go help.”

            “We’ll go to,” Acacia decided. Lifea may not have been very nice to her, and she hated how Bloome had lied for his own intention, but the innocent elves in Sunhilde deserved to live. Annice and Claris agreed. There was no other way.

            “We have to get to the Battle Prep Area,” Lifea panted as they ran. “Remember to always carry a plumefoil with you. Just don’t look or breathe directly from it.”

            The Battle Prep Area was more of three canopied tents, one filled with flowers and potions, the second with arrows, bows and spears, and the third with loudhailers, swords, and shields. Acacia grabbed a spear and a few plumefoils, even though she hardly knew what to do with them.

            Annice and Lifea both held a bow and a cylindric tube of arrows. Claris had picked a loudhailer (her specialty) because it would enhance her Superability as a Voicer. The battlefield was in chaos. Elves were panicking and running around shooting arrows and swinging swords, and others were setting up wooden barricades along Sunhilde’s perimeter.

            And the group of attackers that Acacia had hoped to never see again—the shadows. They were baring their teeth and knocking down barricades, running over elves under them and drinking blood on the ground. So far, it didn’t look like anyone had died yet, but the number of injured elves at the canopied medic’s tent was doubling—fast.

            “Why are they attacking?” Claris asked, but Lifea had already raced over to the archery lines sending arrows spiralling into the air. Annice shot a look that seemed to say it’s out of my hands before taking off after Lifea.

            Acacia was too focused on running everywhere trying not to get hit by trampling elves, rebounded arrows or the splats of black the shadows were hurling through the air that she didn’t see the shadow melting into the ground and race up behind her until an elf ran to shoot it with a red arrow.

            “Watch out, will you—” a shadow slipped under him, opening its giant jaws, and preparing to devour the poor elf. Acacia screamed as it swallowed the scrambling elf’s legs. “STOP! Just stop! Please!” Acacia hadn’t realised it heard her until the shadow bowed it’s black head and melted away from the now-shell shocked elf.

            Acacia stared at her hands, stumbling backwards as her injured wrist shook with a black energy. “What the—” Acacia suddenly recalled Gullen’s bite. And how the shadow had been muddled in the woods. Annice had also said they could sense or hear or smell through their teeth, and Scalers were clearly much more powerful than shadows.

            And if all shadows would obey her command because she stank of Gullen, she could end the fight. Someone screamed amongst the chaos and blood splattered everywhere. Loud roars and slurps riled everyone fighting their way to the front into a mad kind of panic.

            And a few minutes later, Acacia realised why.

            The crowd cleared away as fast as lightning, leaving Acacia right in the path of the majestic but otherwise terrifying Scaler. It wasn’t Gullen, and the fangs were longer and thinner, and it wasn’t as scary looking like the commander Scaler, and yet, every twitch of the possessed dragon’s wings or ears made Acacia want to scream.

            And she shook when its beady magenta eyes trained on her. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Acacia held out her injured hand. Gasps echoed from the elves hiding behind the houses and bushes and fences.

            Sweat trickled down Acacia’s forehead, and she was sure she had a sweat patch on her back, even with her light wear. She took a step back when the Scaler snorted and twisted its body like a snake towards her. “The fountain! Get to the fountain!” Claris’s voice rang from a nearby alley, attracting the Scaler’s attention and fearful hisses from the few elves hiding in the same alley as her.

            Acacia nodded, noticing the elves had stopped her from rushing out to help. She bulleted for the centre of town. The Scaler roared angrily, driving gaping holes into the smooth stone paths as it chased after Acacia.

            It was sleek and slim, probably a beautiful, long dragon before the queen of the shadows, the Shadowness, ruined it with her possession. She didn’t look like the dragons from Lava Lake, with wings and a larger torso.

            Her body was as thin as her neck was, and two long whiskers spread from her snout. She twirled as she chased after Acacia. If she made it to the fountain, Acacia’s Elemenability as a Water Elemental could give her an upper hand, especially since the Scaler didn’t seem to be as dumb as the shadows and could remember that her commander wasn’t so tiny. (Gullen’s head was two Acacias tall.)

            Panting, Acacia channelled all her energy into her arms, jumping into the air, ducking and rolling, transporting and then slamming straight into the water fountain. “Ow,” Acacia shot up from the stone floor, waving her arms as the water drifted from the fountain, leaving it empty and dry.

            Acacia gathered all the water, swirling it into a ball. The thumps of the Scaler crashing towards her made Acacia spin around just as it leaped into the air, diving head-first for Acacia. The ten-year-old-girl forced the water to shoot like a rising, thick water pillar towards Scaler.

            The Elemenability part of Acacia told her that she was straining too much of her control, pulling hard on her gut. But Acacia ignored the warning. The pillar was rising too high. If she released her grip on the water, it would crash down on Sunhilde.

            The top of the water pillar met with the speeding Scaler, and the water flowed around its face and sprayed to the sides, like a water fountain. An invisible cushion of air stopped the water from touching the Scaler’s face, and it kept on rushing towards Acacia.

            Acacia felt another sort of energy flowing through her from her injured hand, and when she glanced down her feet were drifting off the ground. More water from the fountain surrounded her in a protective water ball, and when the water stopped flowing. Acacia felt her hand reach out on instinct—like someone was controlling her body.

            The water didn’t call for her.

            It bowed to her. It recognised Acacia as its master.

            She curled her fingers into a fist, and the water vanished from the air, reappearing beside her outside the water bubble in a spinning water tornado. Mist sprayed everywhere, cloaking the air. The Scaler halted, swinging its tail back and forth. Blue clouded Acacia’s vision as she raised her hand—again without wanting to—and the tornado disappeared, reappearing under the surprised Scaler.

            Acacia uncurled her fist, stretching her fingers. The tornado opened, sucking the Scaler inside it. A dash of purple swirled by every second in the water tornado as Acacia spread her arms, and the tornado widened, becoming bigger and bigger. Everything in Acacia’s mind screamed for her to release the tornado, the bubble of water around her would keep her safe.

            But the shouts of horror hammered into her ears as houses got whipped up by the tornado, debris flying everywhere and pieces of the houses spinning in the tornado. Stampeding elves rushed by her. However, that wasn’t enough to reach her, and Acacia was about to let the tornado flood the village, and an evil grin coated her lips.

            “Acacia! STOP!” Claris’s voice hit Acacia like a splash of cold water. Acacia blinked out of her daze, her vision cleared and the water ball slowly seeped away behind her. The tornado tilted, threatening to burst, but Acacia refused to allow that.

            She threw her arms out despite her exhaustion, driving the tornado towards the remaining army of shadows. She forced the water to evaporate and let her control slip. Acacia collapsed to on the ground, only remembering after that that she had been levitating.

            Then everything was dimming and her ears squeezed out the loud noise around her, and she blacked out.