Free Ominous Odyssey (Overworld Chronicles Book 13) by John Corwin

my head hurts."
    Elyssa checked the time on her arcphone. "We only have an hour. We need to run."
    I unslung her broom from my back and tried to activate it, but it was dead as a doornail. "I don't get it. Your broom doesn't look damaged."
    "It died like it ran out of charge." Elyssa pushed past a giant stalk. "We don't have time to figure it out."
    "This model should have had plenty of aether left." I flipped open the broomstick and checked the aether battery, stumbling as I tried to walk through the scrubby underbrush without paying attention. I checked the magic meter. "The battery is still at eighty percent."
    "Justin, you need to pay attention so we can run." Elyssa looked up. "The Daskar will see us the moment the snow clears."
    The sunflowers hid us so long as we were careful to stay beneath their wide crowns, but running would quickly reveal us to anyone with sharp eyesight. It wasn't like we had much of a choice if we were to reach Mount Ulladon in time. I replaced the aether battery and slung the broom back over my back. "Let's go."
    Elyssa started at a jog, dodging around the thick clumps of grass dotting the ground, then picked up speed as we gained knowledge of the terrain. She sprinted ahead and I followed—carefully. Our reflexes were supernatural, sure, but at top speed, even my ninja girlfriend had issues dodging giant sunflower stalks on uneven ground.
    I looked back to check for pursuit and smacked into a sunflower, cracking the stalk and landing me on my butt. "Son of a—" I hopped back to my feet and spotted crystal armor glinting in the sunlight. The Daskar circled over the debris from the avalanche and didn't seem to be looking our way.
    I hurried to catch up with Elyssa and found her waiting impatiently a few yards ahead.
    "They' haven't seen us," I told her.
    "Good." She gazed up at Mount Ulladon. "Maybe we have a chance."
    We ran onward and reached the mountain thirty minutes later, only to find the next challenge. A steep cliff loomed for a hundred feet before turning into a slope we could hike. I flung out a hand and tried to channel a strand of Murk to help us scale the cliff quickly, but my mental faculties were shot from too much strain.
    Concern flickered in Elyssa's violet eyes. "Spider powers not working?"
    I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists, digging deeper, but trying to force aether through my exhausted system only gave me a headache. I tried another tactic, using Arcane spell casting instead. Taking a breath, I drew aether into my well. The moment I tried to cast a spell, fist of pain kicked me in my cerebellum. I staggered back.
    "Gotta rest my brain." I rubbed my temples to sooth the ache.
    Elyssa pressed a hand to my head. "You're burning up."
    "You know how I've always had trouble holding a shield while moving?"
    She nodded. "Yeah, you said you had to calculate movement speed or physics or something like that."
    "Constantly channeling a solid object in a specific position while I'm moving at high speeds requires a ton of extra energy and brain power." I stared up at the cliff. "How are we supposed to get up there?"
    Elyssa dug her hands into the thick clay earth and rubbed it on her hands. "The old-fashioned way."
    "Rock climbing?" I looked straight up and felt dizzy from vertigo. "Uh, I've never done that before."
    "Technically, it's called bouldering." Elyssa grabbed a clump of blue clay and mashed it into my hand. "Rub this on your hands. It'll help your grip."
    I did as instructed. "Now what?"
    She inspected the rock face. "I see the line we can take. Luckily, it hasn't been worn smooth."
    I saw a few rocky outcrops and some cracks, but I didn't see how in the world I was supposed to reach all of them. "How about I use my broom and you climb?"
    Elyssa nodded. "That's fine. Catch me if I fall?"
    I grinned. "Always." I unslung my broom and activated it. Instead of levitating it dropped to the ground. "What's going on with our brooms?"
    Elyssa frowned. "Did you break it