The Seven (Fist of Light Series) (24 page)

“Ah, a command, I see,” Jeeves observed passively.

I started forward purposefully, delicately stepping out upon the ice as one would approach an active railroad crossing. We had been drilling incessantly and Jeeves made sure the quality of my work was tested rigorously. Previously, I had made the ice too thin and fell through numerous times. That was precisely the reason why my subconscious mind had imagined myself in a swimsuit, rather than a heavy winter parka.

Once out on the ice and sure of my footing, Jeeves had me further expound on my abilities. The idea was that I had to keep my attention focused upon the ice in addition whatever test Jeeves threw my way.

“Water,” Jeeves told me.

I brought up my tired arms, and I fixated upon the specifics of the desired result before applying any power to my design. Energy lashed out at the lake, forcing tendrils of water to rise, stalagmites of liquid that protruded from the lake. The tentacles lashed out aimlessly, awaiting enemies yet unveiled. A shield constructed of ice rose up to protect the lower half of my body. Offensive components followed, rising up out of the water with deadly intent. The icicles were shaped to resemble throwing daggers, although only a miniscule few were able to be manifested, for splitting my attention so many ways was no small feat.

Jeeves could alter and control my Dreamscape at will, and he took advantage at every possible opportunity. Sensing an alteration in the environment behind, a school of piranha launched themselves at my throat. The first line of defense was my army of tentacles, and they performed admirably, given their aggressor’s small size. Piranhas were snatched out of the air and entrapped in the liquid, and then flash-frozen and shattered to pieces. Time stretched endlessly as I called upon Air, a legion of throwing knives was commanded to take down the few remaining piranha. As discovered from a prior, most unpleasant experience, the carnivorous fish were not gentle when eating someone alive. I had no reason to relive the experience.

A killer whale and a great white worked in concert for the next portion of Jeeves’ assessment. My tentacles did little to slow the behemoths. As the two predators raced across the surface, I released the constructs and whirled one hand in a clockwise motion, forcing the water in the immediate vicinity to gyrate at increased speed. In essence, a miniature whirlpool had been created around my ice island, and the two beasts were cast aside like sacks of meal when they attempted to broach my defense. The ice beneath cracked and split, however, and forced me to divert my attention to keeping it together under the continued onslaught of my whirlpool.

Eventually, I was forced to terminate the brutish efforts of keeping my enemies at bay. Precious energy had been wasted, while other adversaries were given the opportunity to array themselves against me. Keeping still would force me to react instead of act. Abruptly, the ice split open below me and I plummeted into the water. My eyes widened in alarm as my disbelieving eyes were confronted with the sight of a flailing sea serpent, vaguely resembling a pre-historic octopus. Nessie, the Loch Ness had come out to play.

My heart thumped at an alarming speed. My attempts to swear were met with failure. All that I managed was losing more oxygen. Tentacles shot out, and I commanded the water to propel me out of their reach. What ensued after the initial assault was an insane Scooby Doo chase scene complete with matching theme music, wherein I dodged, maneuvered, and veered around innumerous appendages that wished to maneuver me toward a set of fearsome, needlepoint teeth. There was the pressing problem of my depleted stores of oxygen. Nessie had no such restrictions. Struggling through a sense of drowning, I commanded the Water to force me to the surface, full speed ahead.

The killer whale and the white were waiting patiently, circling, churning up the calm surface. I continued shooting toward the surface, screaming narrowly sustained by the expanding gases in my lungs, a by-product of my ascent. Thrashing the shark upon the gills and narrowly avoiding losing my arm at the elbow, I cannonballed out of the crushing abyss. With a greedy inhalation of breath at the apex of my jump, I thought frantically for a way out of this predicament. Now my pseudo-being was dropping from a hundred feet, to impact with the surface of the lake, which would be deadly in any circumstance.

Unless
I somehow managed to slow myself down or blunt my impact with the surface. I hardened the Air around me then it was shaped into something reminiscent of a wakeboard, before a parasail was added into the mix. Grinning maniacally as the water rushed up to meet me, my parasail caught the air around it. My board smacked onto the water with minimal force and was catapulted back into the sky before any of my attackers could reveal themselves. I summoned a jet-stream to keep my Air-fueled invention moving, speeding across the water like a skipped rock.

The exhilaration diverted my attention long enough for the next wave of attacks to catch me unaware. A veritable firestorm rained down upon me, and my pain receptors quickly noted that such things hurt, a lot. Glaring over my shoulder where Jeeves should have been, only an undefined figure was visible in the middle distance. Infernos burn in conjunction with oxygen, which made concentrating Air the very worst of ideas. My parasail went first being that it was above, a protective shield that diverted much of the heat. Flames burst forth, tinting my purple column of Air a blood red. I did what any sane person would.

I screamed like a hysterical schoolgirl as I tumbled twenty feet to the lake, wheeling my arms in frantic circles, as if it would slow down my descent to the water. Improvising wildly while arcing downwards, I modified the structure of my jet-stream, which enabled me to continue across the surface unimpeded. My impact was jarring, but my forward momentum saved me from becoming submerged once more, where Nessie and pals lurked. The Air enabled me to retain forward momentum, but didn’t safeguard from the rain of fire. I commanded a hemisphere of Water to form. It protected me from further third degree burns. Luckily, I was suspended in a detached state of calm, because the sight of singed and smoking skin would have been totally repulsive.

My shield hissed and spat when keeping the remainder of an abnormal deluge of flames from reaching my skin. Locating Jeeves became top priority. The tranquil waters of my lake made for smooth riding, while also making it glaringly obvious when Jeeves’ marauders broke the surface. I saw no disturbances so assumed that an ace was kept up an unruffled sleeve. I altered the course of my travel as proximity with the edge of the lake became apparent, curved back toward where Jeeves would be implementing the next phase of his nefarious plan. Movement flashed in the peripheral of my vision. I turned my attention toward it. But only the tail fin of a colorful dolphin disappeared back into the water. Not exactly a big threat.

I focused once more upon the open water. I had a brief moment of calm before mermaids converged on me in a relentless fury, groping toward my exposed flesh with talons ideally suited for rending and tearing. One clawed hand grasped the tip of my purple-hued board, yanking it under the surface and effectively unseating me from my once fast-moving transportation. Catapulted forward, I had no time to save myself from a watery embrace, merely to brace arms before my face and prepare for impact in three, two, one…

The force of the impact sent me reeling, twisting and turning while bubbles of oxygen trailed in my wake. Mermaids threated my appendages with their claws. Instead of submitting to the panic that threatened to overwhelm the senses, I hunted for a way out of this mess, a more logical solution. But they had fashioned their own typhoon of living scales, which impeded all avenues of escape.

A claw raked across my bare chest, tearing out a hunk of flesh before any defense was formulated. The pain followed soon behind the blood loss, a portion of my stores of oxygen was forfeited to screaming before self-control was regained. I tried to withstand the agony, but changed tactics as my walls were battered down under an onslaught of further attacks. My calf was raked deeply, a bicep, followed by my face, a superficial cut meant to frighten. As my levels redlined, I commanded my mind to allow the pain to wash over and through me, an immovable rock in a fast-flowing river. Instantly, my body came back online in full form.

Glancing up, I saw that the only exit was through the eye of the storm, the surface. On the other hand, it was likely that propelling myself out of the water would end as it did previously, with a rain of fire. Nothing would change, and I would be even less capable of defending myself. With my energy reserves lacking, I had serious doubts of surviving yet another assault. It made sense that if Jeeves was able to govern the creatures of my Dreamscape, I would be capable of the same. Concentrating, all feelings of desperation and fear were blocked out.

Then, I entered into the now familiar arm-wrestling match with my psyche, deciding what could and should be. Success was ensured when my vision was occluded by a school of piranhas, which all occupied themselves by feasting upon my aggressors. Thousands of needled teeth went up against raking claws, and my critters won out the day. It seemed the mermaids had no stomach for such a loss of their numbers. A flash of retreating tails and a dimming of my vision made me realize that lack of oxygen was my primary demand.

My lungs burned, convulsing. “Stupid,
Stupid
,” I mumbled incoherently, berating myself.

I commanded Water to do the heavy lifting required in raising me to the surface, bringing me to rest walking on water. Sputtering and spitting, I managed to gather in some air. Smiling shakily, my steps were only slightly jerky in walking to Jeeves’ position. My arms were lead weights and legs titanic anchors, but eventually the distance separating us was covered. Grinning tiredly, and smugly, I shot a thumb over my right shoulder.

“See that? That is beast mode,” I said.

Jeeves’ attention focused on the area of my fixation, and it seemed he concurred with my statement. “You’re right, of course. I see exactly of which you speak. Quite the beast. You should have tallied your enemies before assuming the mantle of victory. But I assure you, there is no doubt that the same mistake will befall you again.”

My grin widened gradually as Jeeves spoke, and my Smug rose to extreme levels. Then my concussed gray matter discerned the meaning behind his words and I whirled around to take a peek behind me. Enormous tentacles were arrayed ominously, and during the course of my rotation they struck, dragging me off my feet as if my lunch hadn’t added twenty pounds of mass to my stomach. Suction cups held fast to my skin and refused my innumerable pleas for release. Slime oozed down my arm as I followed my mental lead to a logical conclusion. The Goliath known as the Loch Ness Monster was surrounded by water. An obvious conclusion, many hazard, however one with a devious mind might take this one step further.

I gathered the dregs of power I had remaining to me and focused on the slimy water within the monster that had entrapped me. Plunging underneath the surface and no doubt in the mouth of Nessie, I released my pent up energy outward. The command was simple, although draining: I wanted to freeze the water that permeated Nessie at the cellular level. If my plan paid off, I wouldn’t have to find out what it felt like to be eaten alive by a legend brought to life by my overactive imagination. The water came to life with tremendous amounts of noise; currents buffeted my body as the Loch Ness Monster thrashed violently. Luckily, having been detached from the sucker that had ensnared me, I was given the opportunity to swim frantically to the surface, away from the dying beast.

Drained and weary, I levered myself up onto the lily once more, bruised, battered, and bleeding. Chunks of my flesh were missing, and I groaned as a trickling stream of pain threatened to develop into an unstoppable deluge. Jeeves just smiled sadly and scrutinized my wounds. Although, I sensed that it took something out of him to train me in this particular way, and it began to visibly show. His eyes were baggy, as if he hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in weeks. Falling into a heap at Jeeves’ feet, I thought of rainbows and butterflies with arms and legs spread comically in an attempt to create a lily angel. Propping my head up one arm, I stared into the depths of the lake.

Electric thrills of adrenaline pulsed through my body, seeing the immediate body of water come to a boil. Nessie rose up out of the water and before me was a giant eye, looking down upon the insect in front of it. There was no longer any energy remaining for schmancy manipulation of Air, nor Water. In hindsight, it would have been wise to finish the job, rather than allow the creature to thaw. The monster’s gigantic tentacles were already beginning to flail around, and no doubt the first thing on the beast’s mind was to snack on the puny little human who tried to flash freeze it.

Scrambling to my feet, I tried to envision something that would get me through the next couple of minutes intact. My sword came to mind, but I couldn’t use that, since it was merely an embodiment as Jeeves in the physical world. Which meant fabrication of my own sword was necessary, post haste. Lightning had always been the weapon of choice in times of dire need, and this time was no exception. A sword made wholly from lightning formed in my hand, and I did my best to hold the wavering construct long enough to plunge it into my resuscitated adversary.