Jay steadies himself on his feet - since when did an airship rock back and forth like this? - and braces himself for another blow.
One comes, a flimsy, mocking imitation of a punch, and he jumps at the opportunity. He grabs the outstretched fist and pulls, and kicks and lands it, and stumbles, and his leg buckles underneath him and he falls. A distorted-sounding jeer from under a layer of white noise he can't get rid of. There's a buzzing, under his skin, an itch, growing louder and louder. The vengestone chain had broken off what seems like an hour ago, but it was probably less than ten minutes total. He couldn'tâ wouldn't â use his elemental power â the long buildup made sure he had gigawatts, hundreds of amps, all furious and unwilling to restrain themselves. As much as he wants them to go away, he won't kill anyone. They don't do that. What would his brothers say..?
Jay shoves down the sparks that claw at the surface, begging to be let out. Not now. He scrabbles at the deck with the arm that isn't pinned under the rest of his body, trying to push himself away at least, but it's kicked away, and his head slams back into the floor.
The buzzing is so loud, and so hot. It's so loud. Someone kicks him again. First Master, it burns. He won't kill anyone. He can try.
"That's enough," he rasps.
"I beg your pardon?" a saccharine voice coos next to his ear.
"I s-said," Jay growls, "that's enough."
The buzzing escalates to a shrill screeching fury in half a second, audible to anyone within a thousand feet, and he lets the sparks out.
A dozen frenzied bolts of white lightning slam into the deck of the ship, threatening to snap the thing in half with the force of their thunder. Jay curls in on himself as the screaming electricity arcs over and around and from his body, dancing like a scrap of fabric in a hurricane. It's getting hard to tell what, or who, is making the noise. It's so loud. That's enough.
It smells like burning and ozone. Smells coppery. Tastes like it, too.
It's silent.
And a sole peal of roaring laughter breaks the silence, and makes Jay flinch.
"Well done! That may indeed be enough for tonight. I'm sure we're all tired. Anyone else want to try?"
No one raises their hand. Someone coughs.
"Very well," says the voice, dripping with honey and venom, "someone make sure Veena is still alive. And you-"
Something grabs Jay's collar. He protests, barely, for a moment, but everything is too hot and won't move like he wants it to anymore. He can't feel the deck under his feet. He wishes Nya were here. He's really glad she isn't. Nadakhan's face blurs into his vision, backlit by tiny flickering fires and scorched wood.
"You are coming with me."
