Her mind in a daze, confused about her surroundings, Audrianna staggered backwards.
* * *
"Holy shit!" Lincoln unbuckled his seatbelt. "Mat, get me on top of her-right on top!"
Mat could foresee what Lincoln's intentions were, and he positioned the aircraft above. "Lincoln," Mat said as he attempted to stabilize the swaying helicopter as smoothly as possible. "You sure about this? Remember, penny packets go splat!"
Lincoln looked at him with a sardonic smile and gave him a thumbs up. "No parachute, no rope, no helmet - no problem."
Looking back down at the deep ravine, covered with protruding foliage that hid the bottom of it from view, Lincoln wondered silently what the delay might be before he did go splat.
* * *
Viktor wanted to use his power to save Audrianna from falling over, but Lincoln and Matsenêstse were two humans in his employ to whom he was loath to reveal the supernatural. They knew nothing of werewolves, vampires, demons…he didn't feature being in their debt for keeping his secrets. He had never trusted a human with such a secret of the 'supernatural underground' before, and he wasn't going to start now. Viktor raised his hands to urge his group not to move. "Find your way back, I'll take it from here."
Xin looked at him and smiled. Viktor guessed at what Xin's smirk was meant to convey.
What you gonna' do 'bout this now, huh?
Viktor, stone-faced, turned his attention back to his wife. Xin, the girls, Darksmith - they all backed up into the forest. Viktor raised his hand. He felt the commonplace strain of the power raging within him as he attempted to release the curtailed amount he needed to save his wife from falling into the ravine.
Viktor was no novice when it came to sorcery, though he still struggled with controlling the craft he had gained through heredity, a power that was unique to his family. He braced himself for the impact of the feeling of breaching the dam of a mighty river that had had many years to build. Controlling a flow of energy so intense could prove deadly for any being.
Viktor raised his arm, extending it forward and mentally blocking out the loud whir and earth-tremor made by the helicopter above. He opened his hand and closed his fingers as though holding a hard ball.
The power inside him was in his grasp to control. Slowly, he attempted to tap into his wife's energy, her 'non-physical essence' in order to draw a connection between her and his power.
The feeling startled him.
A barrier?
He stared at his wife Audrianna backing over the cliff. There was no time…he tried again, reaching with his hand. He felt a slow burning in his hand- an unusual sensation. Viktor looked at his hand and it was on fire, burning from the inside out with an uncommon white flame.