We ran for the lake as the fire elemental roared once more. Fire exploded out of it and chased after us. By the time we got underwater, fire had caught in our clothes and hair. We dove deep down the lake while the elemental sent fire ball after fire ball our way. We saw its bright shape above the lake"s glacial water. I got deeper inside the lake and spread my senses around me. There were life forms all around us. They didn"t feel friendly, not one bit. I felt a nudge inside my brain then opened my psionic link.
"I don"t think the creatures down here will leave us alone," Heda said, panicked.
"How did you not see this coming?" I asked.
"I was trying to track the threads of fate to find the hidden entrance. I couldn"t concentrate on ours at the same time. I told you this already," Heda replied, on the defensive. "None of us can fight underwater. If we go up, the fire elemental will grill us."
We were in a tight spot. I felt the creatures underwater approaching us from all angles. Sylens and Friede were looking at the rampage the fire elemental was causing at the lake"s surface. I could help them, but that would reveal the potential of Rimbaldi"s spheres.
I cursed inwardly. If I didn"t help them, Heda would probably die. I needed her more than the other two. My lungs were already screaming for air. I was sure the others were experiencing the same feeling I was. I had to do something, lest we all drowned, or worse...
"Tell them to come here," I told Heda, jerking my head toward Sylens and Fride. "I"ll protect us while you search for a way out of this."
"I don"t know if I can," she replied.
"Everything in this forest, beside the fire elemental above us, is manmade. Rimbaldi"s a genius. Trace one of the creatures" threads of fate. I"m certain you"ll find where the mad scientist releases them from," I told her with a firm tone.
She called Sylens and Friede to join us while I produced one of Rimbaldi"s crystal b.a.l.l.s from the bottomless pouch. It was filled with neutral energy. I asked the others to huddle around me then I directed my will toward the sphere and began absorbing the neutral energy within.
Wind exploded out of the sphere then surrounded us, clearing the water that previously submerged us.
"I can"t hold this thing for long," I barked at them.
We were able to breathe and speak, mainly due to the energy I projected around us. I absorbed the neutral energy from the sphere and directed it outwards, creating a large sphere that could hold us all inside. I couldn"t hold it for long however, lest all my energy gets drained.
"I have about twenty six of these," I told the others, pointing at the sphere. "It"s running low on energy. Soon it would shatter. By my calculation, it would take a minute for me to completely empty the sphere. Heda, you have twenty six minutes to find us a way out of here."
"How does that even work?" Sylens asked, bewildered. "These things powered beasts to attack and kill us."
"Those beasts don"t have to fight against the insane pressure these waters are exercising on me right now. Heda, please get to work before we all drown, or die to the incoming beasts."
Once I finished speaking, the dark depths of the lake lit up. We looked up to see the fire elemental covering the entirety of the lake. Fire rained down the surface of the lake in continuous streams. Bubbles began forming all around us.
The energy in the sphere I was holding began dissipating. I picked another one from the bottomless pouch and drained energy from it as well. Things had taken a really bad turn.
"It seems the elemental is trying to boil us alive," I said, gritting my teeth. "Heda, you only have ten minutes. We either find a way out of here or we"ll boil."
Heda nodded. "You can count on me." She closed her eyes then.
Sylens and Friede eyed us with great despair. "What can we do?" Sylens asked.
"Try to slow the incoming monsters," I said. I took another sphere from my pouch and began absorbing energy from it. The other two I previously used had turned to dust.
We could clearly see what surrounded us, mainly due to the fire elemental above us. We saw large fish, as big as horses, heading toward us. They had green scales and wide heads. Two spiral horns protruded from their bulged foreheads, and they were aimed directly at us.
Sylens cursed under his breath and turned to face the scaly fish. He projected his hand toward them, and released his energy outwards. The bubbles caused by the heating water slowed down. The fish that dangerously approached us seemed to come to a full stop.
Sylens turned toward me. Sweat trickled down his brows, and his shoulders shook. "I"ll hold them off as long as I can," he grunted.
I nodded. "If they hit the barrier I created, it will burst. We"ll be submerged, and Heda would be vulnerable. Hang in there champ!"
The longest five minutes of our lives ensued. I started using two spheres at a time as water kept on heating around us. The energy surrounding us became more and more aggressive. It was like the conflict I created within the corrupted sphere, only this time the energy that attacked me was much stronger.
Two energies collided, and the strong one wanted to prevail. In this case, it was the element of water fighting against me and against the fire that was boiling it, causing it to evaporate. It felt like I was battling chaos, and the barrier I created began bending in dangerous angles.
I took another sphere and began absorbing energy from it. It scared me how fast I was turning Rimbaldi"s spheres into dust. The more spheres I consumed, the more I felt as though I wasn"t making a difference.
I picked the last sphere I had and drained it all in one go. Inside me, another battle raged. I"d been channeling too much neutral energy through my conduits. As a result, they expanded to an abnormal size. Soon, I"ll run out of neutral energy, and I"d have to use my own to compensate and keep the barrier up and running.
I was busy considering all the best and worst case scenarios when Heda opened her eyes.
"I"ve found it!" she screamed out loud. She looked around her and saw me and Sylens, struggling to keep the barrier up and running. "I know it"s hard for you to stay focused, but I need to show you where it is. Try not to lose your grip over what you"re doing!"
Without further warning, Heda projected her consciousness toward us. We all saw a small hatch in the bottom of the lake. The image flashed in our minds for a second, but it was enough to cause Sylens to drop his guard. The big fish collided against my barrier, and a large hole was created on top of our heads.
Hot water rushed inside in a deluge. Heda squealed as hot water poured over her head. We were about to be submerged at any second. The sphere I"d created was compromised, and water had already built up to our knees.
I was about to break the barrier when Friede raised her hand to stop me. "Keep it up for a while, will you?" Friede asked. "I"ll shield us against the incoming hits and the scalding water."
She shot her hands forward and drew a pentagon in the air. Bright energy flew out of her fingers as she drew the star. Then she connected each head with a line that created a perfect circle. She looked at each one of us, murmured something I couldn"t clearly hear then pointed at us in turns.
The five pointed star flew at us and stuck to our chests. Friede nodded at me. "We"re ready now."
"No matter what happens, focus on finding the hatch. It"s the only way for us to survive," Heda said before I released my control over the sphere.
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