"We have to take them all down," I say.
"We will injure them!"
"You don't need to kill them," I retort, out of breath, before dodging another one. "Just make sure they can't attack you or injure themselves more! Moreover, they obey some sort of rule about you not going past them, right? All we have to do is make sure they can't tell when we are out of their way..."
He frowns, but I have an idea. Taking a deep breath, I put my hands together, and focus. Fire and water. It's ironic that Naptera herself is the one who gave me the hint I needed to get out of this situation. I make sure to control my powers the best I can and activate both parts of me. My inner fire burns inside, while the water gently runs along my veins, like a flow that's ready to get as big as a waterfall if I need. I can't help but smile, a bit excited. I opened a new door once again, but I feel this last one I opened is the hardest to take control of. Fire and water aren't really a pair, they're opposites. It takes all of my focus to balance them, as if I was pulling both sides and keeping them from fighting. They want to dominate the other, I can feel it. I manage to keep them in control by keeping them away from each other, but this is a complex exercise. Still, the thrill sends shivers down my skin. It's like holding back two giant beasts ready to attack...
I freeze one hand and heat up the other. Soon enough, and with all of my focus to keep it going, steam starts appearing around me. A strong, thick, white fog that spreads to my surroundings.
"Mara..."
I don't have time to look at Liam's baffled expression. I focus even more to get one hand colder and colder, and the other hotter and hotter. The two beasts are roaring, ready to fight, but I need to keep them in check and just an inch apart to do what I want. It's draining, but exciting. Even more so because I've been used to controlling my fire for a while now, but the water is new, and I need to learn how to control that stream. They are so different, I can't even re-use what I know about my fire. Water is much easier to tame, I know I can stop the flow anytime. It's harder to control, though. It's like the difference between a feisty cat and a vicious snake... They're so different, and I need to learn and adapt fast.
Using my fog, the wolves start attacking again and make their way through. They understood right away; unlike the humans, they can use their sense of smell and their enhanced vision to find the targets, even in this situation. I can even hear them all mind-linking each other, making sure no one gets isolated or separated from the pack. I smile as they figure it out pretty quickly and progress. From the bits I can see through the white steam, they are careful not to permanently injure the girls, but it's harder when they have to hold back... Still, we are finally moving. As I extend my fog, I can hear the sounds of fights coming from all sides, even opposite to us.
As soon as I feel I can, I stop creating more fog and join the fight to help us make our way through. The wolves I can still see have apparently agreed to knock over the girls, and bite their wrists until they let go of their weapons. They are basically harmless once they're disarmed, and with the white curtain I've created all around us, they can't tell where the wolves are, either, so they're not trying to kill themselves.
"Mara, it's working!" exclaims Liam, excited.
"Yeah, it's–"
Before I can finish my sentence, I feel dizzy all of a sudden. Oh, I did not expect that...
"I warned you," suddenly says a voice behind me.
I glance over my shoulder, only to guess that it’s Naptera's silhouette in the fog. So she decided to get out of the water... I glare at her, but ignore her, coming to my senses and resuming the fight. It looks like she's given up on attacking me, but I don't like having her behind me...
"You're going to kill yourself," she hisses. "No witch was made to handle two elements!"
Oh, can't she stop fucking talking…?
I realize I'm asking a lot of my body. I used to get very tired and... damaged when I used my firepower the first few times. Now, I am dealing not only with that, but with an extra new power as well, and those two won't even cooperate. Of course I'll get tired twice as fast...
However, I'm far from done, and far from giving up. I've learned my own limits by now, I can handle this much.
"If you're not going to help, you can leave!" I retort.
She's lost her animosity from before, so I don't think she'll attack me again, but I don't like the idea of leaving her here with the rest of the wolves... She glares, but I glare back, and that’s the last time I look at her before I continue fighting my way out of this crowd.
Ignoring the Water Witch, Liam and I keep going, heading northeast. Because our group is staying close, we progress fast and smoothly while the rest of the werewolves are attacking the humans more slowly from the other side.
“Mara, here!”
Selena found a way out, at last! We run through the opening, ladies first while the Black Brothers make sure none of the human girls can attack us or something. It feels good to finally move toward where we're actually supposed to go! Like last time, I run alongside the werewolves, but I'm not as joyous as before. I had hoped they'd do okay while I was underwater, but Ben's got more blood on his fur, and Nathaniel Black is limping a bit...
We don't have time for a checkup, though. We get closer to East Point Ground, and there's a strange feeling in the air. I don't like this... We meet with some other wolves, maybe about a few dozen or so, but as per the Alphas' orders, they remained at a safe distance, so I'm not sure how many are really waiting in the area. Our two groups meet, and to my surprise, Lysandra Jones is standing there, the only one in her human form, a smirk on her face as we approach.
"...Took you long enough," she says.
"We were held back by another witch... How's the situation here?"
"Boring, at best. We stayed at a distance as you recommended. The witch arrived half an hour ago, but all she's been doing since is tracing circles and weird symbols on the ground. I warned everyone to stay away, and keep the humans at bay too. If there was–"
Before she can finish her sentence, a terrible noise shakes the whole area. It's violent, sudden, and deafening. Even worse, it sounds like an explosion. I block my ears by reflex, and a lot of the wolves crouch down. Liam jumps in front of me, covering me with his body, and for a few seconds, I'm completely unable to tell what's happening. It's just so strong and powerful, I have no idea what's going on.
Slowly, after that first loud bang, the noise dissipates, but there's an odd feeling lingering in the air... Shit, I don't like this at all. I'm very uneasy, and I stay close to my mate. I need to know what's going on. I finally look over Liam's shoulder, and it's clear no one understands what happened. It's not over, though.
Right after that, the ground literally starts trembling under our feet. Not just a little wave, but more like a violent rumble. The sound is almost as bad as the first explosion. We fall down, on all fours or on our knees, completely at a loss. I see wolves rolling down some hill or on top of one another, unable to keep standing. What the heck is going on?!
