What debt? Val couldn't think of anyone who she offended. She hadn't owed anyone money, unless you count the small portions she had taken here and there. What could it be?
Before she could think for too long, an overwhelming pain coursed through her hand. She screamed and looked down. There was a symbol. The man who hadn't spoken before this point raised up his own hand. It had the same symbol, but it seemed to continue down his arm.
As Val was distracted by the pain, the shadows began to make their move. They rushed to her, but before they could reach her, a wave of water washed over them, causing them to disappear. Val looked behind her, and Celeste was now standing with a stream of water floating around her.
The water rotated and flowed around her hands as she gathered it for another attack. There was something different about this water. It seemed to have a gleam that made it look blessed. But Val didn't have much time to think about it. The men started making another move, but this time, Celeste had captured them in spheres of water and lifted them in the air. The water went up to their necks, so they were still able to breathe.
"Now, what is this?" Hissed one of the men. They both seemed to be having an adverse reaction to the affects of the water.
Celeste put all of her focus into maintaining the water spheres, but it was taking a lot from her. Val began to recover from the pain. She moved closer to Celeste, and said, "We need to get out of here!"
"But I cannot keep them contained if we run away." Celeste cried.
"It doesn't matter. We can still make a run for it. They will need time to recover, which will give us a head start." Val explained.
Celeste shook her head. She was too uncertain about everything. Being a relatively sheltered child, she just couldn't operate well under pressure. Time was ticking down. Val could see them squirm in their water spheres and the worry on Celeste's face.
In an instant, Celeste seemed to have made a decision. At the top of her lungs, she cried out for her brother. "Cosmo! Brother! Please help us!"
She repeated this as Val tried to persuade her to leave. Much to Val's surprise, this worked. Cosmo came barrelling through. He released what looked like fire, but was a mix of black and gold. The men screamed in pain. The water spheres collapsed.
Cosmo took both of their wrists, and forced them to move with them. Once they started to move at a good speed, he let them go. They ran without looking back, heading to the forest just outside of the city.
"Celeste," Cosmo shouted, "you need to take Val to your mother."
"I will Brother!" Celeste replied.
Val was only trying to put one for in front of the other. She was still in a great deal of pain. It was a different sensation than a normal wound. Almost as though the pain could reach her soul.
By the time she came to, they were nearing a cliff. Val's eyes went wide. They have reached a dead end. She was aware that at the bottom of the cliff was the ocean with no shore close by. She looked at the siblings, and they looked relatively calm.
Celeste noticed Val's fear, so she took her hand and asked a question. "Val, do you trust me?"
Val saw the earnestness in her eyes. She sheepishly nodded her head. The shadows continued to follow them. Cosmo reduces his speed to fall behind the girls. Celeste increased her speed, almost dragging Val behind her.
The cliff came into view. Celeste released Val, and jumped off. Val heard the snarls behind her, and had no time to think. She ran to the edge, and pushed off.
When she felt herself midair, she kicked her legs. Her arms flew to her sides, and her skirt above her head. This blocked her vision. The fall seemed to be never ending.
When it seemed that she should have made contact with the water, her momentum came to a stop softly. The sudden change in speed made her a bit disoriented. She pushed her skirt down, and tried to look around. She was under the water's surface, but was in some sort of air bubble.
Val's senses started to come back. She peered around, and she couldn't see anything around. A loud noise caught her attention. What came into view was a large, slithering creature. It moved quickly in her direction. Val tried to scream, but nothing seemed to come out.
'Val, do not worry.' A voice that sounded like Celeste entered her mind. 'This is my other form. It is me, Celeste.'
Val's heart continued to race as she looked at the creature. It was long with four powerful legs. The paws has sharp claws. The face had a long snout, and a long black mane down it's long neck. But looking into its eyes, she could see it. Those eyes were calming, like a soft tide on the shore. Those were Celeste's blue eyes. Her heart stopped racing and just looked at her in confusion.
A roar came from above. Val looked up, but the water distorted the image. But the black blob above looked like a creature of legend. It was most definitely a dragon, releasing it's angry breath.
'That is Cosmo. He is taking care of the pursuers, so that I can take you to Mother.' Celeste's voice rang through her head. 'Mother can help you. Do not worry, we will be there soon.'