Fate of Elements by M. Stratton, Skeleton Key Page B

Hallet’s fire.
    I’d never felt pain like this. Uncontrollably, my body started shaking, and all I could focus on was the agony. Even Hallet disappeared from my vision. I could no longer feel his spirit. I didn’t know if it was because he was dead, or because I was dying.
    Dayna strode over to me and leered down. “Here, have some water.”
    Though the pain, I could feel the water start to soak my back and rise around my body. Between the crushing weight of pain, and heaving in breaths through broken ribs, I knew at this point the water was overkill. It wasn’t going to take much to finish me.
    “Oh, poor little girl. Finally realizing you aren’t strong enough to play with the grown-ups?” She crouched down and bent her face close to mine. “You’re not as easy to kill as I thought you’d be, I’ll give you that. But your uncle, he was easy.” She snapped her fingers. “I didn’t need that crazy old man coming around here filling everyone with the stories of your world. But you know what? It was easy for me to go into his world and kill him, but I never knew about this.” She reached into my pocket and pulled out the Skeleton Key. It glowed in her hand. “Now it will be mine, all I have to do is kill you and take your powers. Add that to what I’ve already taken from Erion and Naida, and will take from your precious Hallet, I will be God in this world and yours.”
    She stood up and sloshed through the water over to where Hallet lay. Painfully, I moved my head. I wanted a better look at him, one last look before I died. Vaguely, I wondered what would happen if I died here. Would I somehow be transported back to my world? Would I die there? Or would I wake up there, just to be tortured with the guilt of knowing this beautiful place was lost to the clutches of evil because I had failed?
    The water was at the edge of my mouth now. There wasn’t much time left. My heart ached, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to grow old with Hallet. Finally, after all of these years, I had found someone who understood me, who appreciated me for being who I was, and it was all going to be ripped away from us. I could see his strong, red essence being taken from him. She was stealing it.
    How I could heal myself? I was so broken there was no way I could get to Hallet to help him without helping myself first. Closing my eyes, I tried to push away the panic of the water rising, of the air leaving my body, and the rock crushing me. I was panicking, thinking my magic was leaving me. Focusing on my inner light, which was dimming much faster than I wanted, I tried to nurture the small flame that was me. I built it back up, little by little, until I didn’t hurt as much. Until I felt a little stronger. Then I worked some more, all the while knowing it might not be quick enough to save Hallet. I couldn’t hold back the tears that escaped my eyes. This wasn’t how the adventure was supposed to end. I wanted my happily ever after.
    As the screams of battle grew louder, my desperation peaked. I needed help. If I was a god in this world, then the people here should have to listen to me, no matter the element.
    “Stop.” I licked my lips, my voice was so weak. “Stop,” I said louder. My conviction surged through my body. “Stop!” I screamed. The rock exploded and everything went quiet.
    Deliberately, I got to my knees, my eyes fixed on Dayna. I wanted her to know she couldn’t beat me. Her people were simply following her orders; I couldn’t punish them, but I could punish her.
    “Stay down, little girl, I’m not quite ready to finish you off. Let me get the rest of Hallet’s powers first. Then we’ll see how long I can keep you alive to keep feeding off of your powers.”
    As my bones creaked, I stood up straight facing her. “Dayna, you are no longer the Queen of the Earth Elements. You are stripped of all of your powers, those you were born with and those you stole.” I held a hand out toward her and imagined the