“Nice move, Mara…” she gasps in my mind. “I'll give you that one.”
With my fire cat helping the werewolves all across the area, I can move again, my heart a bit lighter. A part of me is fighting at the back, and I can run again with Liam.
“Are you alright?” asks Liam.
I nod without thinking. In truth, I can feel Spark as if he was pulling on my inner fire, and it's tiring, but... I'm alright for now. We resume running, and thanks to the new ally, more wolves are able to catch up to us. Selena and Damian Black are behind us again, each of them finding their own path toward the Earth Witch. We're finally getting closer!
A loud ruckus suddenly shakes the ground beneath us. Liam and I both jump to the side out of reflex, but it's not enough. That hill is growing, growing much bigger than any golem we've encountered already... The ground beneath us starts rising, too fast. Before we get to jump away again, we both lose balance and roll down that new hill. I feel my body rolling down and hitting the ground, again and again, as if I was falling all the way down a huge mountain. It just doesn't stop. I try to catch the ground, something, but I'm swallowed by a wave of soil and dirt, and my vision darkens. I can't...
“I got you.”
A strong grip suddenly pulls me out of there. I feel my body flying above ground, and I suddenly hit a more stable one under me. I'm exhausted, but I struggle right away to get back on my knees, and find out what's going on. I grab the black fur in front of me without thinking. I realize just then the wolf standing in front of me in a protective stance isn't Liam... it's Damian. He doesn't care, though. He growls at the gigantic thing finally emerging from that mountain in front of us. Oh, Moon Goddess... not only do we have a giant hill now separating us from Ravena, but there's something just as big coming out of it. Two clawed paws emerge first, digging through the dirt, and Damian Black growls even more. Oh, what the hell, that thing is... a bear?
“Mara! You okay?”
Liam arrives at my side, followed by Selena. He looks like he's been through hell, his fur is as dirty as can be... I nod, but I'm much more preoccupied by that thing before us... Selena growls too.
“I take it this one's not a golem…”
"It must be her familiar," I gasp.
That bear isn't made of clay, but of soil. Just like I had materialized a gigantic fire cat... Oh, shit, how are we going to beat that thing and get past the hill to get to Ravena? I get back up, and the two black wolves move simultaneously to get between that thing and me and Selena.
"Liam?"
“You go,” he says. “Damian and I will take care of that thing…”
“Selena, you should go with her.”
I see the cream-white wolf hesitate too. She glances my way, but before I can say a word, another wolf suddenly jumps in. A third black one.
“Nate!”
“I can't let my brothers have all the fun, can I…?”
Indeed, he comes to stand in between his brothers, growling just as furiously.
That gigantic bear doesn't flinch in front of the trio. It's growling too, and frankly, it’s at least three times bigger than them! I can feel its hot breath from where I stand... Can they really handle that thing? I stare at Selena, and she's unsure as well.
“Selena,” says Nathaniel, “this was your idea. You follow the plan. Go with her.”
“Nate, no,” she growls. “You're–”
“I’ve still got three limbs and my fangs; I'm still a fighter, Elena.”
She freezes. I feel something happens between them, but... unfortunately, there isn't much time for this. After a couple of seconds, without a word, Selena gently rubs her face against his flank, then she turns to me.
“Let's go.”
She jumps first to take a detour around that giant bear. Probably not liking that the white wolf ignored him to take the long way around, that giant thing growls loudly. Just then, the biggest of the black wolves attacks, followed by the three-legged one. Liam glances back at me.
“Stay safe, tiger.”
“You too, hot stuff.”
With a heavy heart, I turn away and resume running, following the white wolf that's running past. As soon as I've turned away, I hear the raging growls of the battle behind us. The three black wolves are furiously and relentlessly attacking the magic bear, making sure it won't follow us. Selena and I keep running, as fast as we can.
"Are they going to be okay?" I can't help but ask.
