Rebirth: Beasts Bound

"Why are you suddenly being cold?" Thyrian asked, but I stood up, closed the pouch, and tucked it into the little sash I hung on my waist.

"You should talk to us when you feel down. Raven being cranky won’t help," Thyrian said, but I just looked away. He sucked on his bottom lip and walked off once he saw I wasn’t giving him the energy he needed.

"Let’s go," I said, staring at the others. We walked deeper into the forest. It didn’t take a minute before I landed on a shaky rock. I looked down at my legs and sighed.

"Really?"

Just like that, the rock gave way. I fell, landing on my butt, while the slippery sand carried me all the way to a nearby ocean.

My body sank into the river. I didn’t swim up because I sighted little fish moving around. They were colorful and actually glowing. I couldn’t help but stare in awe. What was even more beautiful was the fact that a lot were moving fast in the water...

They passed by me, and my finger gently brushed an orange fish. I felt electric waves move through my body as I touched it.

"Where is she?" Azrael asked, and immediately I felt like someone had jumped into the water. Thyrian. I could sight him far away in the water though. His merman tail immediately swirled out and he swam towards me. He stopped right in front of me, and I just stared at him.

He looked breathtaking. Even when his lashes fluttered, I felt my heart move, and I sucked down on my bottom lip. His hands rested on my shoulder and he swam up.

I laid on the sandy floor smiling. The air felt fresh.

"Are you okay?" Thyrian’s face hovered over mine. He had gotten his human legs back.

"Yes," I said, and my beastmen rushed towards me, even Kael.

"We should stop. You need to rest," Veyra said, but I shook my head.

"I’m good!" I rejected.

Azrael climbed a big tree to get a better view. From up there, the land looked wild and thick. "We still have a long way to go!"

Kael moved close behind me. I could feel his eyes on my back.

"You still mad at me?" he asked quietly.

I didn’t answer. My legs were tired, but I stood up. "Let’s continue walking," I encouraged, and continued walking.

"If you feel tired, do inform us," Ryker said, and I nodded, moving ahead of them. It’s weird, I can’t tell where my energy is coming from... I almost drowned, yet I felt energetic, but I shrugged my shoulders, not caring.

An hour passed, and Azrael stayed right by my side, helping me jump down from the last branch. His hand lingered on my waist a second longer than needed.

"We’re getting close," Azrael said. His voice was low. "I can sense the water."

Veyra jumped down next and dusted his hands. "Good. My feet hurt from all this walking."

Ryker laughed. "You complain too much for a big guy."

"Shut up," Veyra shot back, but he was smiling.

We kept moving forward till the trees started thinning out and the sound of rushing water got louder.

Soon we stepped into a clearing, and there it was, the old dam. It looked broken. Big cracks ran through the stone walls and water leaked everywhere. The river behind it was swelling, but I didn’t see or sense any shield that the tribe chief had talked about.

"This is it," I whispered. "If we don’t fix it, the whole lower land will flood."

"Isn’t that a good thing?" Kael asked, and I shook my head. "It will be bad news," I replied.

Thyrian stepped forward. "Then fix this."

We stood in a line near the biggest crack. Azrael went first. He raised his hand and green-black mist flowed out of his palm. It looked like dark smoke with green sparks inside. The mist sank into the stone and the cracks started glowing.

"Your turn, Veyra," Azrael said.

Veyra grinned and pushed red mist toward the same spot. The red mixed with the green-black and made the stone vibrate. Small pieces of rock moved and sealed themselves.

I stepped closer and purple mist danced from my fingers. My eyes glowed the same color. I pushed it into the dam and watched the cracks shrink even more. The purple mixed nicely with the others, making the whole wall shine for a second.

"Nice," Ryker said. He sent out bright orange mist. It wrapped around the top of the dam like fire that didn’t burn. The structure grew stronger. You could almost hear the stones clicking into place.

Thyrian smiled at me before releasing silver-white mist, which was bright. The mist flowed over everything we had already fixed and made it look brand new. The leaks stopped completely in that area.

Kael stood a little apart. He watched us work, then he sighed and stepped forward. Black mist poured from his hands. It was dark and thick, but it did the job. The black mist filled the last big hole at the bottom. For a moment everything looked scary with all the colors swirling together, but then it settled. The dam stood tall and solid again. Water flowed calmly through the proper channels instead of spilling everywhere.

"We did it," I said softly. I felt proud. My arms were tired, but my heart felt lighter.

Azrael pulled me into his side. "You did most of it, Raven."

Veyra came over and kissed my forehead. "See? We make a good team."

Ryker nodded. "The river looks peaceful now."

But Kael stayed quiet. He stared at the fixed dam with a strange look on his face. "Not bad," he finally said. His black mist still lingered a little around his fingers.

Thyrian noticed. "Something wrong, snake?"

Kael shook his head, but his eyes kept flicking to me. "Just thinking. This dam... it controls a lot of power. Whoever controls it can change everything downstream."

I frowned. "We fixed it to help people, not to control them."

He smiled that little smile again. "Of course, Raven."

The sun was starting to set. We decided to rest near the dam for the night. The guys made a small fire while I sat on a flat rock, watching the water. Azrael sat beside me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"You still feeling cranky?" he asked gently.

"A little," I admitted. "This whole journey is harder than I thought. I just wanted a break, you know?"

He kissed my temple. "I know. We’ll have a proper vacation after this—"

Veyra brought me some food and sat on my other side. "Eat. You used a lot of mist today."

I took the dried meat and smiled a little. "Thanks."

Ryker and Thyrian talked about what might be waiting ahead. Kael sat across the fire, poking the flames with a stick. Every time I looked up, his eyes were on me. That snake tongue flicked out once and I looked away fast.

Later, when the others were dozing off, Kael moved closer to where I was sitting. Azrael was half asleep beside me but still had one arm around my waist.

"Raven," Kael whispered. "Can we talk?"

I sighed. "What do you want?"

He looked at me with those dark eyes. "I meant what I said earlier. Choose me too. I can be good for you. I know I scared you but... I feel something real. I have no answer, and I can be devoted."

Before I could answer, a low rumbling sound came from the dam. The ground shook a little. We all jumped up.

"What’s that?" Veyra asked.

Azrael’s eyes glowed green-black. "Something’s wrong."

The dam started glowing with all our mixed mists again, but this time it looked unstable. Cracks appeared fast, way bigger than before, and water sprayed out like angry jets.

"How?" I shouted. "We just fixed it!"

Kael stepped back. His face looked surprised, but something about the way his mist still lingered on the stones made my stomach drop.

Ryker pointed. "Look! The black mist... it’s moving on its own!"

Thyrian grabbed my arm. "Get back!"

The dam groaned loudly. A huge chunk of stone broke off and crashed into the river. Water started flooding out fast. The peaceful river turned into a monster again.

Azrael pulled me behind him. "Everybody run! The whole thing is coming down!"

Veyra cursed. "But we just repaired it!"

Kael stood there staring at the breaking dam. His black mist was now glowing bright in the dark. He looked at me one last time.

"I didn’t mean for it to break this fast," he said quietly.

My heart stopped. "You did this?" I yelled. His lips parted to reply, but the ground shook harder. The dam cracked right down the middle with a deafening boom. Massive waves of water rushed toward us.

I stopped and instantly swirled my hands. Purple mist swirled toward the water, It all began to freeze gradually.

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