And he’d lost. Malcolm forced his body into motion, rising to his feet and turning in a slow circle. He couldn’t see anything, but he reached out, first with his hands.
He was in a small room, but it was different from the cell where he and Rose had been kept in Underworld. By using his wind listening, he got a sense of the exact dimensions. The cell expanded upward, almost fifty feet overhead, but was no more than fifteen feet wide across.
I’m in… an elevator shaft?
He didn’t have time to give it more thought. A small slit of light appeared high above him, and Malcolm could barely make out two figures standing and peering down at him.
“Don’t panic,” called Rain Dancer. “This is all part of the plan.”
“You bastard,” said Malcolm. “And killing that boy? Was that part of the plan?”
“Take it easy,” said Rain Dancer.
“Fuck you.” Malcolm wished that he was within range to spit in the demon’s face. “You and your fucking cult are no better than the champions. You’re a killer, Rain Dancer.”
And I’m going to be the one who kills you.
Malcolm clenched his hand into a fist, trying to get a sense of whether he could charge the opening and make it through before Rain Dancer closed it. They were too high above him, he decided.
He could try it, but it would be the end of the conversation and any chance he had at talking his way out of the situation. Which, he silently conceded, he was already doing a pretty poor job of.
“Wind Runner,” came Shield Maiden’s voice. “You might not understand why we do what we do, but please, believe that we act in the name of what’s right. We want peace, and a better world.”
Malcolm grimaced, unable to contain himself.
“And how many thirteen-year-olds are you willing to murder in cold blood to make that happen?” he called up to them.
“More than you’d be comfortable with,” said Shield Maiden. “At least, as you are now. We’re still giving you a chance, Wind Runner.”
“The same chance that the boy had,” said Rain Dancer. “We’ve trapped you here for a reason, ya? You’ll have a chance to use your powers to stay alive, and even escape. But it’s going to take more than you’re capable of as a normal champion.”
Malcolm let out a mocking laugh.
“So what?” he said. “You’re going to fill the shaft with water? Is that supposed to scare me?”
“Poison gas,” said Shield Maiden. “We picked one heavy enough to sink to the bottom. If you want to stay alive, you’ll keep flying.”
A chill ran down the back of Malcolm’s spine.
“Go ahead,” he said. “I’ll find a way out before I turn.”
“If you manage to, given what we’ve done to the doors, the result will be the same,” said Shield Maiden. “This is for the best, Wind Runner. We want you to reach your full potential.”
Malcolm heard a hiss come from somewhere nearby. He let out a panicked shout, immediately calling for the wind and charging up the elevator shaft. He kept himself pressed against the elevator shaft’s side with air pressure, running up the wall like a character in an action movie.
“Have fun,” said Rain Dancer, with a laugh. “We’ll be back once you’ve received the touch of the stars.”
The open doors closed, cutting off what little light Malcolm had to see by. He ran up to where the opening had been anyway, slamming the wind into the sides of the elevator’s shaft and trying to make an escape for himself.
Nothing happened. He could still hear the hissing sound coming from the bottom of the elevator shaft. Malcolm used his wind running to keep himself as high up as he could. There was little to grab onto for purchase within the elevator shaft, and he suspected that Rain Dancer and Shield Maiden had chosen it for that reason.
They moved me somewhere else. I’m not in Underworld anymore.
It meant that even if he managed to escape, there was a very high likelihood that he wouldn’t be able to find his way back to Underworld again without a serious search. The only location he had to go on was the area around the sand cliffs, and he’d probably be searching for a hidden entrance.
Malcolm tried to keep thinking those kinds of thoughts, pushing his focus away from his impending doom. He was kicking back and forth, from wall to wall, trying to smash through the elevator doors with his feet. It wasn’t working, and he was starting to get tired.
The hissing sound of the gas entering the elevator shaft was the bane of Malcolm’s existence. He sniffed every couple of seconds, paranoid, knowing that the second he could smell the gas, it would already be too late.
His legs started to get tired, and he had to rely more and more on his power to stay aloft. Malcolm could feel the heady euphoria setting in. This time, however, he wasn’t sure if it was from overusing his ability, or the first onset of the poison, clouding his mind.
“Damn,” he muttered. “What am I supposed to do?”
He kept using his powers, trying to think of a way forward that didn’t involve dying or giving Rain Dancer what he wanted. Malcolm started humming a Nine Inch Nails song, knowing that it would help him keep his energy and sanity levels up, if nothing else.
Do I have a trump card, here? Wait… Maybe…?
Malcolm remembered absorbing Shield Maiden’s power earlier in the day. He could still feel it on the edge of his awareness when he reached out, but it was unfamiliar. It felt like trying to read directions in a foreign language, totally different from how instinctual his wind manipulation had become.
He was almost at the point of exhaustion, his legs too tired to keep pushing up and off the shaft. Soon enough, he would have to fly, and even using the burst method that Shield Maiden had taught him, he doubted that it would be enough.
I have to try this. Even if it doesn’t work, it’s better than what I’m doing now.
Malcolm held out his hand and felt for Shield Maiden’s power. He pushed his will outward, trying to make a shield bubble as he’d seen her do many times before. One flickered into existence over his palm, but popped after only a couple of seconds.
There was clearly an art to it. It reminded Malcolm a little of blowing bubbles using soap and a wand, more of a gentle, careful process. He took a deep breath, this time sure that he could smell and taste the poison gas. Malcolm started coughing, knowing that he’d only get a single chance at what he intended.
He flew up higher into the elevator shaft, ignoring the rush of confusing mania that came with pushing his wind manipulation to the limit. Picturing the size of the bubble shield clearly in his head, Malcolm called it into reality, surrounding himself in it.
To his relief, he managed it, encasing himself in a bubble shield just barely wider in diameter than he was tall. The bubble, with him inside it, began to sink toward the bottom of the elevator shaft. He fidgeted nervously.
Let’s hope to god this thing is airtight…
CHAPTER 24
Malcolm waited inside the bubble shield, first for minutes, and then for hours. He knew that Rain Dancer and Shield Maiden would show up eventually, and he spent the time trying to stave off his boredom by formulating a plan.
He wasn’t capable of taking Rain Dancer on in a fight. Malcolm had to acknowledge that fact as the truth. Rain Dancer’s powers could hit him from a distance and keep him from getting in close, on top of being his weakness. Malcolm couldn’t match him in the same way he could a less formidable opponent.
Shield Maiden, in a similar sense, could subdue Malcolm using her power, but only if she got the first attack. Now that Malcolm could use her shield bubbles, too, he could surprise her and potentially contain her before she could get the drop on him.