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~Andromeda~

"WAIT!" I shout, running after the witch, all hostility gone for the moment, wiped out by the sound of my brother's name. "What do you mean, Killian's coming?"

But it was too late. She had vanished. I cry out and slump to the ground. She couldn't possibly have meant my brother...could she? How did she even know who my brother was? I was so confused. Suddenly, I hear a loud groaning sound. The ice cracks beneath me. I start panting, because for some reason it's hard to breath. I choke and cough, hacking almost as if I had swallowed smoke.

Then the ice cracks and I am falling.

I wake up with a shudder and a gasp that leaves me in worse shape than before. I just breathed in a huge cloud of soot. The thick black cloud made the inside of the crowded bus hot and stuffy. People are screaming. The dream I just had evaporated, overpowered by fear.

Where's Liam? I think, and whip my head frantically around.

My screams soon join everyone else, but instead of calling for help or praying, I am calling for my little brother. The smoke stings my eyes, making tears pool and slide down my face. I try to summon a snowstorm, but the air is too dry and I am too thirsty.

"LIAM!" I call, and my voice cracks. There is no answer but a welcoming breeze.

Wait. Breeze? I stumble along a little farther and discover a gaping hole in the side of the bus, hidden by a melting wall. I promptly hop out, hoping against hope that Liam found the same escape route as I.

I was just about to jump back in the bus when I hear the familiar cry of "'Meda!" Only this time, it is colored with fear.

"Liam!" I follow the sound until I find him. And stop. My thoughts grow sluggish with panic. Perdix gives me an awful smile, his arm entrapping a struggling Liam's waist. I take a step forward, but already there is a fireball in Perdix's hand, throwing an eerie light upon his face, his blue eyes glinting maliciously. Liam cries out in pain and fear and struggles to get away from the heat.

"Hello again." Perdix starts. "I do wish we didn't keep meeting in these...inauspicious circumstances."

"Let. Him. Go." I growl through gritted teeth, hating the way my voice trembles, hating the way my body shakes as I hold it back from what it screams: Save Liam. Because I knew taking a single step forward would mean his instant death. I had never been so scared in my life.

For a moment, Perdix's grimace fades, replaced with uncertainty. He recovers his composure just as quickly, but I notice. I look down and am startled to see that a sheet of ice is spreading lightning-fast around my feet and snowflakes drift in the air and melt on my skin, the cool touch a welcome after the terrifying heat of the fire. I realize that I have a chance of winning this. A slim one, to be sure, as I have been weakened by the fire, but a chance nonetheless. I just have to be smart about this. I force myself to smile. Liam cries out again, though either from pain or from the fear of the strange face I must certainly be making, I am not sure.

"Can't you see?" I chuckle. "You can't defeat me. Even trapping me in a fire can't cripple my power."

"That may be so," Perdix responds slowly, the ever-present smile thankfully disappearing. "But I still have the boy. You won't let me hurt him." I swallow because I know I can't deny it. Every visibly clenched muscle, every quickening breath I take, is testament to how much I love Liam. Maybe, before I knew him, I could have walked away. Even then, my conscience would have troubled me. But now I can't. I would rather die a thousand times than let Liam get one scratch from Perdix.

"I will tell you one last time;" I chirp, still struggling to keep up the pretense that I am not worried by Perdix's obvious power, and of his madness. "Let the boy go without hurting him, and I might let you leave alive." That part was true. Even if I did defeat him, I wasn't sure if I could kill someone. I knew I couldn't let him continue to hurt people like this. I let out a silent breath. This is not the time to fuss about ethics. Right now, my top priority was protecting Liam.

Perdix looks at Liam for a time, as if considering my offer. My breath catches. Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult, after all. Maybe there still was one spark of humanity left in Perdix's dark heart. But then he looks at me, and my heart sinks. His smile is back.

"I think I'll keep him for a while." he drawls.

All right then.

With a shriek, I throw a wall of ice at him, one that carefully swerves to avoid Liam. Caught off guard, Perdix takes the full brunt of the blow, hurtling backward. Yet his grip on Liam does not lessen. Just before Liam hits the ground, I summon a mound of snow to soften the impact of landing. For Perdix, I'm afraid, I simply didn't believe he deserved the courtesy.

Unfortunately, Perdix cushions his fall with a blast of fire that slows his descent, but doesn't entirely stop him from getting hurt. When he lurches up, I am glad to see that a thin trail of blood has made its way down from his mouth to his jaw.

Before I can attack again, a hurtling inferno distracts me. Instinct takes over and I create an ice shield that melts on contact with the inferno. It didn't last long, but at least it doused the flame. Quickly, before Perdix can react, I assault him with a barrage of icicles. I then duck as a trail of flame shoots over me, so close I can feel the heat.

What to do, what to do?

A pocket of snow circles Perdix's face, blinding him and leaving him open for attack. I put thick ice around his legs, but he has recovered and is melting them before I can react. However, I notice Perdix is off balance.

Taking advantage of that, ice appears under Perdix's feet, making him slip and lose his purchase on Liam. Liam darts away, running toward me. Relieved tears rush to my eyes.

"Come here." I croon, beckoning him with arms outstretched, forgetting about Perdix (idiot that I am!). "I'm here for you. Everything's going to be all right."

Looking behind Liam, I spot Perdix, his hand raised, ready to throw a fireball. But not at me. At Liam.

"NO!" I scream, and shoot a bolt of my power at him. It connects and he falls, but it's too late. The fire shoots out. Liam is not fast enough. Without a second thought, I jumps in front of Liam, shielding him and shooting a bolt of pure power at Perdix himself. When the fireball hits my chest, something strange happens. Instead of burning my skin, it goes inside of me. Then all the blood in my veins turns to fire, and I scream. Less a scream than an animal sound, one of a living thing that is overwhelmed by more pain than anything should feel. As I collapse, through my fog of complete agony I hear someone else yell.

That's strange. It almost sounded like my older brother. I think, at that instant slipping into unconsciousness.