Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (50 page)

At that point, Youmi saw my little earth beings, and he stalled the water monster.  His indecision would cost him.  My creatures were almost to the base of his pedestal, which was nearly free of water, with only tidal pools surrounding it. 

Youmi made a last ditch effort to avoid defeat by crashing his creature to the earth.  It met the ground with a giant splash that sent a tidal wave into the side of the cliff.  I had picked my location well, and although the spray soaked me, the main force of the wave smashed into the wall below.

The earth trembled, but did not break. 

Water from the monster rushed back out to the ocean with amazing speed, pummeling towards the exposed pedestal, blanketing the ocean floor once again. 

With all my focus, as my creatures met the pedestal, I sent them climbing on top of each other to make a ladder.  I only hoped that I’d created enough of the little sand beasts. 

The wall of water struck the pedestal just as the last creature hurled its body up and grasped the globe in its paws.  But the force of the water was too much, and the pedestal cracked.  It toppled into the ocean, bringing my creatures down into the churning foam.

I had a backup plan, though, and had already put it into motion.  When the rush of water hit the pedestal, it sent it first into the air, out of the protection of the water Watcher, and in the brief instant that the creature holding the globe was air borne, I entered an osprey flying above the melee.  Taking the bird into a dive, I knew that there was little space above Youmi’s protective barrier.  I had less than a few seconds to get there.  The bird responded, and just before the creature and the globe dropped too low, I had it between the large bird’s talons.  Lucky for me, my creation had left enough caked mud on the object that the bird was able to grip the globe at all.  Even the best of us needed a little luck.

We flew swiftly back toward the cliff, and Youmi’s rage could be heard over the crashing of the ocean.  I couldn’t celebrate just yet, for I felt the bird losing its hold.  Just as the globe broke loose and began plummeting to the earth, I entered my body and jumped off the cliff, calling the earth to rise up to meet my fall.  It did, and I ran with all my might to the globe that was rolling on the beach. 

Youmi sent the tide in, but I was closer.  I dove and landed on the globe with a thud. Once I touched the globe, it was all over, and Youmi let go of the tide.  The water went hurrying back to meet the ocean.

I sat on the beach holding my prize in my lap with a huge grin on my face.  I was wet, dirty and bruised, but I’d succeeded.  I was incredibly pleased when the sickening feeling hit me, knocking me backwards into the sand.

A Watcher had died.
 

It was Ila.  I felt the explosion of her earth and air powers as they left her body, and went back into the elements.

It was always depressing to lose another one of us, for there were so few left.  Melancholy washed over me, and I absently wondered if the water Watcher was suffering too.

But then another feeling came trickling in, slowly at first and then sharper.  The Watcher’s power wasn’t dispersing.  It was flowing into another Watcher, a young woman, of
amazing
power. 

When the transfer was complete, a sudden premonition materialized in my mind.  I smiled to myself knowing that I would not have to search out this Watcher. 

She was coming to me.

I relished the spasm of anticipation that jolted me.  The coming days would not be boring.  On the contrary, they would be very stimulating, indeed. 

Revelation 12:7 

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought…