Jace stumbled through the trash right behind Lucien, his boots breaking through the ice and leaving a trail of footprints.
His arms ached from the stab wounds as if they were being burned by flames, and the Book of Fate was hidden inside his sweatshirt, heavy as a stone on his chest.
The roar of the motorcycle faded away, but Jace knew deep down that the Shadow Clan would never let him go easily.
Lucien stopped and turned to warn him, "You must learn control, or next time you will die."
Jace gave him a blank look, "Control? I don't even know where to start!"
He clenched his fists, his mind filled with the column of water from earlier - the standing water suddenly erupted and repelled the black shadow as if it was given life.
The scene was unusually eerie as if he had become another person.
Lucien gave a contemptuous laugh and walked slowly towards him, "The water runs in your veins, you need to awaken it." He paused briefly, his gaze as sharp and determined as a blade, "Follow me."
They sped down to the Chicago River, the wind and snow making the surface of the river white with waves, the iron frame of the abandoned dock creaking with rust like a broken skeleton.
Jace follows reluctantly, practically bored of being led by Lucien, yet subconsciously he longs to be dependent on him.
Perhaps it is a predestined gravitational pull that he finds himself needing Lucien.
Lucien stopped at the edge of the dock and turned to face the river, his tone cold, "Raise your hands and feel it."
Jace froze and gasped, "Feel what?"
Lucien grunts contemptuously, "The water, stupid." He waved his hand and a dark light cut through the wind and snow as if shadows were dancing in the air, "Like this, with your blood."
Jace grits his teeth and raises his hand, staring out over the river, the wind causing him to squint and his thoughts to wander.
He tried to remember what the water jet felt like, but nothing happened, only the stinging cold wind that made his face ache.
"It's not working!" Jace roared, dropping his hands and glaring angrily at Lucien.
Lucien stepped forward and tightened his grip on his arm with a force that seemed like an iron vice.
Jace flinches from the pain and tries to break free, but Lucien coldly commands, "Don't move."
He rips away Jace's cloth, revealing the stab wound, blood trickling down and dripping onto the snow.
Lucien whispers, "Blood is the key, awaken it."
Jace grits his teeth, his blood rising, and raises his hand again.
The blood drips into the river, and the water suddenly surges as if brought to life, the current rushing out and creating a column of water that slams against the iron frame by the dock.
The iron frame was knocked askew and collapsed into the river with a loud crash and a splash.
Jace stood stiffly in place, unable to believe the scene he had just witnessed. He looked down and examined his hands, blood mingling with the river water and staining his fingertips red.
"Hell ..." Jace muttered, his mind reeling. He looked up at Lucien, the side of the man's face appearing colder in the moonlight, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
Lucien stepped closer, his tone cold, "This is your power, but you must learn to control it." He paused, his gaze sweeping across the river, "Try again, but don't hurt me."
Jace gritted his teeth and tried to feel the current. This time he didn't resort to blood, he just stared at the river, his mind conjuring up images of jets of water gushing out.
The water began to gush, but uncontrollably, like a wild horse that had gotten loose, the jet of water rushed around and crashed into the other side of the dock, shattering the iron and splashing Lucien all over.
Jace gasped, dropping his hands in embarrassment, "I told you, I couldn't do it!"
Lucien grunted and wiped the water off his face, his eyes even colder, "You'll have to learn."
No sooner had he spoken than the sound of boots stomping through the snow came from the distance, like a bloodhound sniffing out the scent of blood.
Jace snapped his head up, and in the wind and snow, five dark shadows rushed from the other end of the pier, their short swords flashing with a cold light, and their pistols smoking with white smoke.
"Shadow Clan!" Lucien roared, turning to face the dark shadows, dark light coalescing into a shield that blocked the first wave of bullets.
Jace clenched his teeth and ducked behind the iron frame, gasping for breath.
The lead Dark Shadow swung his blade at Lucien, the blade was as fast as lightning, Lucien sidestepped, the dark light flashed and the Dark Shadow fell to the ground, bleeding.
The other dark shadow raised his machine gun this time but swept wildly towards Lucien, Lucien dodged left and right, agile as the wind, he used his power to cool the bullets, the bullets iced up and fell to the ground and shattered.
After several rounds of fierce exchanges, the black shadow was completely enraged and, even more furious swept at Lucien, Lucien was almost grazed by the bullets.
Jace finally can't take it anymore, his eyes locked on the dark figure as he rushes out of the cover of the iron frame.
He raises his hand and the river surges again, the water jetting out, but with no accuracy, like a runaway whip, slamming into the dark figure, narrowly missing Lucien.
Lucien coldly rebukes, "Control it, fool!"
Jace focused, the whisper flashing through his mind, "Focus." He froze, staring at the stream of water, trying to make it obey.
The jet of water thinned and slashed like a knife blade, cleaving at a dark figure.
The guy let out a harsh scream and fell to the ground, struggling to the brink of death. His chest was pierced by a heavy blow, and blood flowed everywhere.
Jace's blue pupils flashed with victory. He had succeeded!
However, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, another black shadow suddenly pounced on him, raising a knife and stabbing him straight in the chest.
Jace clenched his teeth and barely dodged as the blade grazed his shoulder and blood oozed out again. He sucked in a cold breath of pain, then slammed into the black shadow, and both of them fell into the snow together.
With the dark figure on top of him, knife raised high, Jace gasped for breath, his hand groping in the confusion, touching a broken piece of iron.
Driven by a momentary impulse, he slammed the iron blade into the Black Shadow's arm, and the Black Shadow let out a scream of agony as his hand gave way and the knife fell to the ground.
Jace struggled to his feet, panting like a dog, his hand shaking so that he could barely hold the piece of iron.
Lucien rushed forward and kicked the black shadow off the ground as it crashed into the river with a splash.
The two remaining black shadows scattered, and the gunfire became more intense, pouring down like a torrential downpour.
Lucien gritted his teeth, and even though his shield couldn't stop all the bullets, a few still grazed his legs and blood slowly trickled down.
He calmly gives the order, "Water shield, now!"
Jace raises his hands and focuses his mind as the river rushes out and turns into a wall of water that stands in front of them.
The bullets shot into the water, slowing down as if they were stuck in a quagmire, eventually sinking into the snow.
Jace breathed a sigh of relief that he had succeeded once again.
The wall of water shook a few times, almost collapsing, and he clenched his teeth and held on, a voice echoing in his head, "Hang in there."
Lucien took the opportunity to break out of the encirclement, sharp blades in the shadows slashing at the dark figures, one collapsing to the ground with a muffled grunt, the other turning to flee, but the wall of water suddenly burst, the current lashing through like a whip, knocking him into the river.
Jace fell to the ground, his hand braced against the snow, stained red with blood mixed with snow.
He looked up at Lucien, the guy stood there, blood still dripping from his leg, and said coldly, "Your progress is too slow."
Jace returned the glare, "Not drowning you is good enough."
Lucien smiled smugly and stepped forward, reaching out to pull him to his feet, "Let's go, they've got people."
Jace struggled to his feet, his legs aching like they were going to break and his arms shaking with pain.
He clenched his fists, the image of Water Shield coming to mind.
He had learned it, but what did it mean? Becoming a water god?