Cursed One that scares her, I'd say. I keep absorbing more flames, and getting closer to her. She starts tracing symbols in the ashes and I'm cautious. Is it a protection of some sort, a barrier? No, those symbols... Moon Goddess, a bombing spell? I start running toward her, I can't let her finish this! I growl furiously, warning her to stop.
"We are all going to die, you crazy bitch!"
She raises her eyes to me with a smirk.
"I won't die," she chuckles. "My wrath will survive, my wrath will always survive. Just like Nephera's anger, her pain. The curse will continue, the curse will always survive all those bodies, until all the werewolves pay for my pain!"
What the hell is she rambling on about?!
I can't stop. I need to stop her. I run and she starts retreating, the flames getting crazier around her. How do I stop that insane woman? How do I get my body back?!
No, Mara, calm down. Think. You're a real witch, regardless of which body you're in. This is just a problem that needs a solution, like any other. I need to ignore the body issue. What would I do to get my body back? She was able to do this with a stupid mirror and three symbols.
"Nora!" I shout. "Nora, ask Kelsi if she knows how to reverse the spell! I can't trace the symbols with my body like this, but she can!"
“Moon Goddess, Mara, you don't need to shout when you're mind-linking!” growls Selena. “Nate is taking care of the people upstairs, making them all go toward the roof. Damian is…”
He's here.
I feel his sinister aura rushing in like a hurricane even before his black figure appears. The huge dark wolf literally storms in, growling so furiously even I step back. The Dark Witch screeches and retreats, but Damian rushes to his younger brother's side first, and without even looking at Liam, stands just like I was seconds ago, between the witch and him. What the hell, we're supposed to... fight together? I glance at my body, standing a few steps away. I don't actually want him to get near her, he'd snap my limbs with one freaking bite!
“Nora, can you ask your husband not to... chew me?”
“Don't worry, Damian is just there for support and to keep her from going upstairs. He'll fight to help you but he knows it's your body, he won't hurt you.”
“Great…”
Moon Goddess, I hope so. And at the same time, it's infuriating. I have a powerful Alpha next to me, but we can't do anything because that’s my freaking body! Plus, we are running out of time. I know Sylviana's tree is being impacted by all the Dark Magic that witch is releasing here. The tree was made to contain the magic coming from the outside, not to act like an air filter inside! I need to stop it.
Suddenly, a horrible squeaking resonates, and the ground shakes under our feet... I mean, paws. Damian Black and I exchange a glance. He growls, and even without the mind-linking, I got that one.
Yeah, I know, we've got to hurry.
I leave him there, and start running toward my body again. She frowns, and runs away through the building. The rooms are too narrow and too burnt now, it's just a mess of smoke and flames everywhere.
"You'll die!" she screams. "I'll keep this body and kill you!"
I growl furiously and accelerate to catch up. I have to catch her. It's my body, my fire, my responsibility. I was the careless one, now it's my job to get her. As I run, I don't just pursue her, I try to grab as many flames as I can in my body. The smoke, the flames, everything, I absorb with my magic. It's hard, but I keep going. I am stronger now, I know I can take those flames.
“Selena, Nora, tell the brothers to have the people evacuate. I'll free the area around the emergency stairs as much as I can, but they really have to go, I don't know how much longer the building will hold!”
“Got it!”
I don't lose sight of the witch, but I have to slow down and try to get those flames. I am a Fire Witch, what’s the point if I can't stop this?! My wolf keeps growling, and it's exhilarating. The feeling of my fur, fueled by hundreds of flames, so hot and warm even the sun would be less blinding. I'm shining, burning, and this power is like a new wave of adrenaline. My heart is beating so fast, I'm afraid something's going to burst.
"You can't catch me!" she laughs at the other end of the room we just barged in.
It's a large conference room with a bay window and an amazing view over the closest streets. Needless to say, I don't have time to admire my surroundings. Most of those windows have burst open, and there's glass on the floor. The witch catches a piece of glass, her–rather, my hand bleeding from how tight she's holding it.
"You'll see," she smiles. "I'll bleed you bit by bit, until this body dies from a slow agony..."
I growl at her, and suddenly I know what I have to do. All of her attitude, that anger, that craziness... I can't give in to her provocation. I keep walking around her, circling her carefully. I just need to keep her there while everyone else evacuates.
"And then?" I ask, sure she can hear me. "You'll have a dead body you can't use. How many other witches in Silver City can you use to have fun? What's the point?"
"I will always find another," she hisses. "My hatred won't die. My hatred will continue to pass on to generations of witches..."
"Your hatred? What for? Nephera couldn't even see her child's spirit was still alive, and she died, leaving her alone! But you're not Nephera, are you? You're that evil thing that was inside her, and inside Clarissa too. What the hell are you?"
