Graydon surged forward, instinctive denial filling him.
Massive with a teal fringe and a scar running across its snout, thelu-ongtwisted, aiming toward the lake.
Graydon'skisurged as his form seemed to almost disappear as he shot toward thelu-ong.
If thelu-ongdisappeared into the water, they wouldn't be able to save Kira and Devon.
He knew even as he fought for every bit of speed he was too far. There was no way of stopping this. No way to avoid what was coming.
The inside of Graydon's mind went silent and cold. The same way it had when news was brought of his parents' deaths.
It was a place that lacked warmth. Stark and sinister. Reality was stripped to its bones.
Graydon's future stretched before him. Empty and dull. Centuries upon centuries unbroken in their tedium.
Gone was Kira's smile, her fearless energy.
The moment passed, too slow and too fast all at once with Graydon a bystander. All his power rendered useless.
Blink—thelu-ongdove. Another blink and its head entered the water. Waves cascaded away from it.
A last blink and its tail disappeared beneath the surface.
Helplessness tried to rise; Graydon shoved it down ruthlessly.
She wasn't dead.
He could still feel her.
There, burning as brightly as before.
He simply needed to retrieve her.
Tragedy had a way of showing you what was important.
To him, Kira's worth couldn't be measured. He refused to let this be the end.
Graydon poured every bit of hiskiinto going faster. More and more, until only Torvald could keep up with him, his desperation matching Graydon's. Physical manifestations ofkiflickered in and out of existence around his form, creating a brief halo.
It was a rare side effect, only happening when a large amount ofkiwas used in a short amount of time.
Pressure built in Graydon's body as he fed his power from his own personal well. If he went much further, he would courtkiburnout.
Graydon judged the risk as acceptable against the potential loss of Kira and Devon.
Ahead, the ripples in the lake disappeared.
Graydon condensed a hard shield made up of air andkiin front of him as he prepared to hit the surface at full speed. He hadn't sensed a large output ofkifrom thelu-ong. Such a thing would mean it had jumped planets. As long as it remained here, he had a chance.
The lake wasn't that big, especially for a being as massive as alu-ong.
Graydon didn't have more than a second to spare on the question of why the creature hadn't already made the jump or what it was doing here.
Right now, all that mattered was Kira and Devon and their safe recovery.
Seconds before Graydon prepared to dive, thelu-ongfrom before breached the surface.
Graydon veered away from his path, avoiding crashing into the ground only by chance. He circled quickly, a spear of blackkicondensing in front of his palm.
