"Witchy, do something!" yells Lysandra.
I glare at her, but while the ground is still shaking like crazy under us, I grab Liam's shoulder to try and steady myself, and look toward the center of that plaza.
The chaos is even worse down there. The wolves that were close try to crawl away and retreat carefully as the vibrations are even worse at the center of that area. Of course, that's exactly where Ravena is. I need to control the feeling of sheer panic growing inside to try and see what's going on. Is she doing this herself? Or is something worse happening? I can't tell from this distance. All I know is that those symbols Lysandra mentioned were definitely witchcraft, and whatever she was trying to do, Ravena may have succeeded. I can barely believe my eyes, but the ground is opening all around her. This is clearly no normal earthquake. This is her doing, but there's no telling if she's actually aware of what she's unleashing. Long and deep cracks are running all around, and despite all the soil flying left and right, I can tell those cracks are positioned exactly where the lines of her magic circles were. This is the work of an Earth Witch at full power...
I wouldn't say Ravena looks alright, though. I keep staring, and I don't like what I'm seeing. I don't like that at all... Fucking hell. Something strange is happening to her, but it looks way too familiar to me. Long black lines are running on her skin, even up to her face. She is in a weird position too, her face turned toward the sky and her mouth open as if she was screaming. Even weirder, her eyes have turned entirely white, and her hair is floating all around her... Oh, Moon Goddess, I don't like that. It has to be the curse trying to take over her body. I see the movements of a dark aura all around her, growing like a roaring storm ready to unleash. I can see this earthquake is the work of Ravena fighting at full power, but this is definitely not a good sign. I don't know how she thought she could endure the curse, but she was wrong. Things are looking really bad, and if I don't stop this madness soon...
“Mara, what the hell is going on?!” yells Selena in my head.
"It's Ravena! She's trying to overtake the curse!"
I really don't think things are going well for her, though. Her state is odd, to say the least, and I can see that dark cloud of magic growing stronger and thicker all around her. She definitely awakened that curse, but it might have been a really, really bad idea... I didn't expect it would be this bad. I don't know much of what's going on from where I am, but the ground is shaking more and more, and she's alone at the center of this earthquake. This is not going to end well. Those cracks are getting larger and larger, and I even spot actual chunks of the ground falling inside those large gaps.
"Oh, she really is that crazy!"
Somewhere behind us, Ayesha just arrived, and she's barely standing up, fighting the terrible shockwaves underneath like the rest of us. She has no choice but to fall on her knees with a grimace. Yeah, welcome to hell... Ignoring all the wolves that growl at her, she lifts her head up to me.
"What's the plan?" she yells over the noise.
"I need to get closer and stop her! If this goes on, she'll destroy all of Silver City and us with it!"
“Mara, you can't!” shouts Nora. “This is too dangerous, we can't even get close! We can barely stand, and the ground is full of holes everywhere! If you fall into one of those, we can't tell where you'll end up!”
"Nora, if I don't stop her, this is going to get much worse! Ravena is currently fighting the curse, and once she loses, it will be free to do much worse! This is an earthquake, this is Ravena's doing! She might not even be controlling it!"
"How about we let the curse kill her, and join the fun after that?!" shouts Ayesha.
"The curse won't wait! It's already getting stronger each second! Can't you see it?!"
Ayesha frowns and glances beyond, but she seems at a loss. What, she seriously can't see that crazy dark cloud? It's almost big enough to be over our heads now!
"I only see that old bitch's aura, and it's going freaking crazy!" she yells over the ruckus.
“No, I see it too, Mara!”
I turn around, and Selena's golden eyes are turned toward the sky, as she's growling toward the dark cloud.
“Me too…” says Nora.
What, so only those two can see the curse's dark aura...? And Ayesha can't? What the hell is wrong with that curse?! However, I need to save my questions for later. For now, I need to get to Ravena and stop this madness somehow...
"Mara, what do we do?!" asks Liam.
"Remember when the curse was possessing me?"
"You think I'd forget?!"
"It has to be the same kind of thing!" I shout, making sure our allies hear me. "We have to knock her out, so at least the curse lets go of Ravena! I'm sure she is fighting it from the inside as well, so if we can force it out of her as we did for me..."
"...We can stop all this craziness," nods Liam.
We both stare at the large field of ground between us and Ravena. This isn't going to be easy; there's a long way to go, and the closer to Ravena, the crazier it gets... The cracks are opening wider and wider too, so we can't even predict if one spot isn't going to crumble next!
"...I'll do it," says Liam.
"Liam!" I protest.
I don't want to see him of all people run into that battlefield! It would be almost suicide! However, he grabs my shoulders, forcing me to look at him, looking more determined than ever. It's strange how clearly I can hear his voice despite everything going on around me. It's as if we were alone in a room, not in the middle of dozens of growling wolves and an earthquake.
