Chapter 94: Guess Who's Back

CASSIE'S POV

"We have to get over the snowman's legs to get to the other side," I whispered to him.

"I know. Just follow my lead," he responded.

We moved as silently as we could, holding our breath as we passed the sleeping monster.

Damon did a clean double twist in the air, clearing the monster's leg and landing on the other side without making a sound.

My mouth fell open.

Not fair. I can't even do a cartwheel, let alone _that_.

I gestured with my hands aggressively, trying to tell him there was no way I could copy him.

He mouthed for me to calm down. I pursed my lips, crossed my arms, and waited.

If this snowman wakes up now, I'm toast.

He walked around the monster, checking for any other way I could get through, but there was no space for me to follow.

Looks like I didn't have a choice but to follow his lead after all.

He suddenly held out his hands. He nudged his head toward my feet, then toward his hands.

I didn't get it, so I just blinked at him.

He pointed at my feet, then into his palms, fast.

Wait... did he want me to put my feet on his hands?

I raised an eyebrow and he nodded.

Great. That's exactly what he wanted.

I gulped and wiped my hands on my clothes before grabbing the collar of his jacket. I lifted one leg to his hand and pushed myself up.

My other leg lost its balance, and I crashed into Damon, taking him down with me.

He almost groaned out loud when he hit the ground, but I quickly clamped my hand over his mouth. Our faces were so close I could feel his breath on mine.

We froze like that, waiting to see if we'd woken the beast.

Thankfully, we hadn't.

I finally climbed off him and helped him up. He had a grin plastered on his face as he stared at me.

I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable under his stare.

He jerked his head for me to follow, and I did.

When we reached the entrance, we paused. "So you're sure about this, right?" he asked me.

"Are you?" I shot back.

"I guess we're about to find out," Damon said, and took my hand.

And right on cue, the snowman woke up with a roar when it spotted us.

"Now!" I yelled.

Hand in hand, Damon and I jumped into the ice slide.

~

My eyes flew open. It took me a while to focus on the people around me.

"Hey, hey... are you okay? What happened in there?" Jake was suddenly at my side, holding me to his chest.

I blinked a few more times until he came into focus. "Jake?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. Tell me what happened. Your body was so cold, you were practically freezing. I had to warm you up with my body heat," he said to me calmly.

"That was you? You actually helped me in there," I said, and groaned.

My head was pounding now, and my breathing was shallow.

"Really? So what happened? Is Damon..." he asked again.

"If I'm awake, he should be awake and okay too," I said.

"Hakeem, you need to send someone out to report this. If Damon's okay, the Elementals need to know immediately before they hurt him," Jake said to Hakeem.

"I'll go deliver the message," another student bodyguard volunteered. He was a water student. I think I've seen him hanging around Damon a few times too.

They opened the giant door for him and he left quickly.

I was still in Jake's arms, soaking up the heat from his body.

"Are you sure you can keep doing this? You don't look good," Jake said, touching my face and forehead.

"I'm fine. I just need a minute or two, then I'll go in for the next person," I said, finally sitting up.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked, and I smiled at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Once I see Damon's fine too, I'll get back to work," I said, clearing my throat.

~

After a few minutes, I was starting to feel like myself again. At least the dizziness was gone. The headache was still there though.

Suddenly, the giant door was pulled open and two water students came in carrying someone.

Damon.

I finally let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding.

He's safe.

They brought him to the corner where we were all sitting. I stood up immediately to help.

Once they had him seated, everyone crowded around, asking how he was feeling.

"It feels good to be alive again, folks. Ow... my ribs," he groaned, touching the left side of his ribs.

"Hey... you," I said, and pursed my lips.

He finally looked at me and his eyes lit up immediately. "Cassie!" He tried to stand to hug me, but the pain in his ribs stopped him. "Ouch... that hurts. Bad," he groaned and sat back down.

"Just don't stress it," I said to him.

"Thank you, Cassie. I don't know if I would've made it out without you," he said to me.

"Hey... you're exaggerating. I barely did anything," I said.

"Still. Seeing you there gave me the courage I needed. So thank you," he said.

"It's not a problem. I know you'd do the same for me," I said, and smiled brightly at him.

"I hate to say it... but it really IS nice to see your stupid face again. Wash-up," Jake cut in.

Damon smirked at him. "Of course it is. I know you couldn't survive one more second without seeing my devilishly handsome face. Dragon Breath," he shot back.

Jake scoffed and shook his head. "You should've saved him last, Cassie," he said.

~

Once Damon was settled, everyone gathered around again, waiting for me to do the magic again.

Most of the gloom among the students had lifted. They were chatting and even laughing with each other now.

And yes. They were still mostly talking to people from their own element.

Everyone kept asking if I needed anything and I gave them all the same answer: "No, I'm good." But it didn't stop them from asking.

"So... who's next?" Damon asked me.

I shrugged.

I was thinking maybe Madeline or Sage.

"How about Cara?" Jake suggested. "It's only fair she goes next. She was the first victim in all of this."

Damon shook his head. "Why not Sage? She deserves to be set free just as much as everyone else," he said.

"I think Cara should be the priority here. She was the first to turn blue, and we need to pull her out next. She's suffered enough," Jake countered.

"Sage is suffering in there too, so don't act like your sister's the only one," Damon retorted.

"Are you seriously trying to pick a fight with me about this? Don't you have any self-respect?"

"You're the one with no self-respect. And you're selfish too. Like Cara's the only one who needs saving," Damon said.

Jake moved closer to him, but Hakeem held him back. "Come on, man... there's no time for this," he said to Jake.

I can't believe they're fighting about this like there's even a choice to make.

"Are you guys serious right now? I'm the one doing the mind-walking, and I promise to bring everyone back safely. The order doesn't matter. What matters is that everyone gets out. Alive," I said to them.

"I'm just trying to be fair, Cassie. Cara's been in there longer than the rest of us. Can you imagine how long she's had to suffer all alone?" Jake said.

Okay. Maybe I did understand his point.

I could only imagine Cara having to fight, hide, and get tortured all this time, completely alone in there.

"I understand where you're coming from, Jake. But this shouldn't even be a choice. All of you deserve a chance to be free from the Voreth's hold," I tried to explain.

"Okay. I get it," he said, but I noticed the crease in his forehead and the clench in his jaw.

He didn't agree with me.

"Okay. Now I need quiet so I can concentrate," I said, and everyone immediately stopped talking, their attention back on me.

I closed my eyes and breathed in and out slowly.

I pictured a girl with blonde hair like Jake's, and sharp, bright eyes. Almost immediately, I felt my mind lift from my body and travel through the mind-space.

My feet landed light as a feather on the dark ground without a sound.

I looked around the familiar darkness and pursed my lips. "Guess who's back..." I muttered to myself.