“Do you know how to break the curse yet?” asks Nora, sounding worried.
"...I think I got a clue. No, several, actually. I think I know why everyone else failed..."
“Does that mean you can succeed?”
I chuckle, massaging my chest.
"Actually," I sigh, "I think I might be the only one who can put an end to this..."
I hope I'm not mistaken, but the more I think about it, the more it all makes sense. That curse, and why so many witches failed over the years... Selena and Nora exchange a glance.
“Alright, if you think so... How do we proceed, though?”
"First, we need to get to Ravena and somehow knock her out, then have the curse focus on me instead."
“Looks to me she's pretty out of it already,” growls Selena, her head turned toward the Earth Witch's scary state.
"I don't think so. I don't think the curse could use her powers like this if she was... It's probably more like she's being used like some vessel. Ravena thought she could control the curse, but now it’s controlling her instead. I need to take her place and be the one to fight it off. I–"
A loud ruckus comes from behind. We all freeze and look back as the furious growl of the bear echoes all the way here. In the darkness, the sky above us suddenly seems to rumble like a storm, and the shadow of that monstrous thing appears briefly in the sky. Moon Goddess, it looks even bigger... We hear several wolves howl, a heart-breaking sound that can't be good...
“Liam!” I scream, just as Nora and Selena call out to their mates as well.
The seconds pass, and I try to feel my mate. I'm so panicked; it’s a real mess. I desperately search for him, my wolf and I united as one. There are so many wolves scattered all around, and I'm so panicked I can't even focus properly. I'm a mental and emotional wreck until I finally feel him reaching out to me.
“I'm fine... I'm fine, babe! You... focus on your own fight, Mara! Don't worry about–!”
He can't finish his sentence; another loud bang like an explosion resonates. We see soil flying from behind that hill. Oh, Moon Goddess... I can even hear Damian and Nathaniel's furious growls. That must be some fight from hell going on over there, but all we can witness are the ferocious growls and shadows moving. I hope they will be alright... Next to me, Selena growls.
“Let's focus here. The big boys know how to take care of themselves. Mara, are you sure we only have to get you to her?”
"I'm not sure of anything, but that's... that’s the first thing."
Although I can tell we're not quite there yet. There's only a stone’s throw distance between us and Ravena, but from the way her scary expression is still turned toward us, I'm sure those last few steps are not going to be easy.
Selena growls again, and she's the first to start running toward the witch, as expected. I get right behind her, ready to prepare any fire or magic circle, and I feel Nora running right behind me too. For a second, I hope this will happen much quicker than I imagined, with just us running over. Of course, it doesn't happen like that.
We hear a loud rumbling beneath us and, right at the last second, Selena jumps out of the way as a sudden gap opens under her feet. It's just a hole, but it suddenly pulls in everything that was around like quicksand. It happens so fast, but I can feel the monstrous volume of pressure under there. She's going to try to pull us in and kill us... We can't rest. Nora and I split apart when another crack appears on the ground between us, and this time, a new golem emerges. Before we can react, that thing grabs Nora's back leg, and she growls furiously, struggling to get out of there.
"Don't move!" I shout.
I prepare my fire, a smaller one this time, and throw it right away, just enough to harden the mud around her feet and let Nora break away from that thing. She runs as fast as she can farther away, but we're all split up already, and Ravena isn't done with us yet. Stones slowly rise from the ground and, as I step back to prepare for this, they fly our way, too fast, way too fast. I raise my arms, trying to conjure a circle, but it hits it so violently, I'm thrown back on my ass in the mud. Oh, shit. The ground immediately starts trying to grab me, but I won't let it. I take a deep breath and invoke my inner fire for the nth time today. I know Spark needs it, but I may need it more right now! I set as much of my body on fire as I can, burning all the damn soil until I have enough strength to get back on my feet and get away from that mess.
I glance to the side, but Selena and Nora are already battling a new golem while trying not to get swallowed by the ground. Damn it! She's trying to slow us down and keep us away from her... I run to help them out, and other rumblings echo in the sky above us. There's really a storm coming! Now, seriously? Or is that the curse acting out? I feel the humidity in the air, but it doesn't stop me. I'm already trying to make my way despite the mud, and anyway, I've extinguished the fire within to let Spark have most of it...
Instead, I prepare another magic circle and, like a shield in front of me, I run into that golem to try and push it with brute force. A bit unconventional for a witch, but that thing bursts as soon as I hit it.
“Nice one, Mara…”
“We're not done yet.”
Indeed, that golem is already reconstituting itself. This can't go on. Ravena has an endless supply of soil under our feet, while my inner fire is being pumped to Spark on the other side of the battlefield. I do not want to leave my magic cat without any source of power, either, as I know he's protecting all the other werewolves... Another round of rumbling resonates above our heads. The storm is already above us and getting louder. The perfect setting for a battle... While the golem builds itself back up, more stones are gathered around it. A lot of rocks, actually... Is that thing making itself armor? Before I can even realize, it suddenly moves and punches our way, hitting my circle.
The shock is violent. I feel the strength of it resonate through my whole body, and my magic circle shatters as I realize I'm about to get hit. That fist appears right in front of my eyes.
I feel the hit before the pain. A bundle of rock suddenly hitting my body, something breaking. I'm sent flying away, and the pain starts as my body violently hits the ground. It's almost an out-of-body experience, as if there was an echo in the pain that engulfs me. I hear my own groan of pain and their voices calling me in sheer panic. Damn, that... hurts...
“Mara! Mara, are you okay?!”
