The black cat rubs his small body against my leg, and quickly runs away from the battle. With his small size, he has no issues avoiding the golems and jumping out of sight. The few people who do spot him seem surprised to find a cat lost on the battlefield, but they don't have time to focus on him. I smile and open my hand, feeling like I could take down a freaking volcano. Big, red flames immediately appear, making me beam.
"Now that feels good," I chuckle.
I turn around and quickly blast two nearby golems with my fire, the huge bundle of mud exploding and splattering the humans and wolves that were fighting it just before. Awesome. I look down and the black markings are still there, but more scarce; nothing to worry about, for now.
“Mara?” suddenly calls out Nora. “I... I think Selena and I may have come up with some sort of crazy theory…”
The white wolf approaches me, and I hear a chuckle from Selena in my head. A crazy theory? What did those two talk about that I didn’t hear? I'm usually the one coming up with crazy plans, so I'm kind of excited Nora is the one with one now...
“Luna the Wolf... You said the witch gave her the power of elements earlier, right? To control them like you do?”
“Yeah,” I nod, wondering where she's going with this. “She made her into a super powerful wolf by transferring some witches' power into her. In the illusion, she had all three of them. Water, fire, earth, and Luna the Wolf couldn't use them at full strength, but it was enough that the witch could use her for her crazy necromancy spell...”
Nora and Selena exchange a look, and suddenly it hits me. Oh, Moon Goddess.
“Are you guys... suggesting I give you... some magic?”
“It could work, right?” says Selena, coming forward and visibly excited. “You said it yourself. We are Royals, we aren't very different from Luna and you, right? If that witch managed to give her some powers, can't you do the same to us?”
“Wha-... You can't be serious! You guys aren't cursed, and even if you are full of Light Magic, if I give you elements, you will have to use your own life force to manipulate it! It means you could die!”
“Are you going to tell us this isn't what you've been doing all along?”
I can hear that tone of reproach in her voice, and almost see her raising a suspicious eyebrow... Oh, damn it. It's true I haven't been able to use little Mara or Clarissa's strength in a while, which is why I'm getting really tired, but... I shake my head.
“Still, this is super dangerous! I am not sure I can do it, and I was out of magic just a few seconds ago, remember? We just got me refueled, so to speak! I can't share it with you, I'll need it to fight. So, now, where I am going to get more magic!”
They exchange a look and nod. What, they already thought about that too?
“Well, it's not like you're the only witch around, are you?” says Selena, stepping forward.
They can't mean... Ayesha and Naptera?
I look up, and sure enough, I can spot the Fire Witch, not having the best time fighting. More than that, she's visibly hurt, from the way she's limping and grimacing. ...Could it work? I try to look through my memories, everything little Mara taught me, and... what I saw from that illusion. Perhaps it was a long-forgotten kind of magic, because it was nothing like I have ever seen before, but... now I can't forget it. I spent... actually several years watching an ancient witch practice her magic on a werewolf. It's still there, clearer than a dream, it's a memory, a memory Luna gave me. How ironic is it that Luna herself gave me the keys that might give us the victory…? It doesn't mean it will be without danger, though, even if I manage to reproduce that crazy spell.
I take a deep breath and start running to give assistance to my witch peer.
Ayesha sees me coming, and with a frown, steps back to watch me blast the golem that was giving her a hard time. She lost her coat and her arms are now exposed, full of markings, but she looks alright, just a bit... exhausted. She catches her breath while I get rid of her opponent, shaking her head. Once that thing is reduced to ashes between us, she stares at me with an odd expression.
"Looks like someone decided to come back from hell."
"Missed me?"
"Don't push it," she grins. "What happened in there?"
"A lot... but I think I have a chance to actually end this," I nod.
She slowly nods, looking relieved. If anything, I'm impressed she really stayed behind to fight. I have a feeling Naptera will be harder to convince to help us...
"How are you holdin' up?" she asks, massaging her neck.
"Better than you, by the looks of it."
"Hey, some of us were fighting while you were getting nap time."
"How about you get the nap now, then?"
"What?" she tilts her head.
