Take Me

But it was no use. They were out of sight, and the hole in the earth kept growing. Trees fell, tumbling into what was becoming an endless cavern.

Instinct told me to stay away from the edge. I flattened myself on my stomach, then crawled carefully toward the gaping crevasse.

“Be careful! Stay back!” Garret's strong voice carried over the sound of so much destruction.

I could have wept with relief.

Once I was close enough, I peered down and almost died on the spot when I saw the three of them clinging to roots jutting out from deep underground crevice.

“Can you climb up?” I screamed down at them.

“Not sure how,” Parris called back.

He gripped the roots with one hand, stretching out his other arm. I reached down, knowing in the back of my head there was no way I'd be strong enough to pull them up, but it didn't matter in the end. I couldn't reach him.

“Elliot! Help them!” I begged. Of all the times for him not to turn into wind.

The truth struck me before he shouted, “I can't!”

There was that edge of fear in his voice again, the helplessness I’d heard before.

Of course. Because I knew who was behind this.

Something inside me told me to look up, and I did, just in time to lock eyes with Healynas. He was watching. He'd always been watching, and this was his next test.

“Damn you!” I screamed, but he only smiled before fading into thin air.

“What are we supposed to do?” I looked down to find Garret losing his grip, kicking wildly as he tried to get a foothold.

If he slipped, there was no stopping him. He would go down, down, into the endless void now open beneath them.

“Use your magic!” Elliot commanded.

“I don't know how!” This wasn't air. This was earth, and I hadn't practiced earth yet.

“Try!” Parris shouted before slipping another few feet. I was losing him. I was losing all of them, and I didn't have the first idea how to save them.

But I had to try.

What did I know about air? Gathering it up, using it as a cushion. Could I do the same with the earth? Instead of imagining myself gathering the wind, which I had gotten pretty good at, I focused my attention on the crumbling, falling soil at Garret's feet. In my mind, I saw it coming together, forming a ledge under him.

Come on, come on. Do it. Work.I concentrated harder, sweat rolling down the back of my neck, my fingers digging into the ground beneath me.

Then slowly, the earth started to rearrange itself. Bits of rock and soil that had just broken free stopped falling and came together, forming the ledge I imagined.

Garret tested it, then let out a manic laugh. “It's working!”

“Keep going! Help us climb!” Elliot said, and I saw what he meant.

In my head, I now imagined a ladder. No, I couldn't whip one up out of thin air, but I could create handholds and footholds, one after another, using the same magic as before.

“That's right!” Parris shouted, taking hold and lifting himself a few feet. “You're doing well!”

“Keep climbing!” I shouted back, watching them progress.

Closer and closer they came as I created little ledges for them to stand on—to grip—until finally the three of them reached the edge and heaved themselves over it.

Elliot rolled onto his back, groaning. “Leave it to Healynas,” he grunted between gasps for air.

Parris gathered me in his arms, holding me tight. “Thank you. You did so well. I’m proud of you.”

I could barely see through the tears in my eyes, but Garret’s smile was plain to see as he wrapped Elliot in a similar embrace.

I did it! I passed the test.

And I shuddered to think what else Healynas might have up his sleeve.