I chuckle.
"You get a time out, Ayesha. We borrow your magic, and you get to sit the next round out."
She glances around at the fight raging around her. Now that I see her from up close, she does look tired, her lower lip covered in blood, and the markings appear on her neck too. She lets out a long sigh with a grimace right after, holding her shoulder. Next to me, Selena steps forward with her golden eyes staring at the Fire Witch, looking a bit excited. Ayesha's eyes go from her to me.
"I'm not sure what your idea is, but... deal."
"Thanks."
I look down at the wolf.
“Selena, ready?”
“I'm always ready for more firepower, witchy. Bring it on.”
I try to focus as much as I can. I know the spell, but having seen it done once doesn't make me an expert at all... Still, I am one of the most powerful witches around, and I have the knowledge of dozens of generations in my mind now. I take a deep breath and face Ayesha, trying to feel her power inside. She's frowning and probably a bit anxious as to what I am preparing, but she's visibly too exhausted to protest now anyway. I only hope she’s still got enough magic...
I find the core of her magic power, her source, and indeed, it feels a bit different than mine. I can't quite describe it, but it's as if... it has a different constitution. It makes sense, though. Ayesha comes from a different line of witches, her power was forged differently, as if her magic had its own fingerprint, very different from mine. Still, magic is magic, and fire is still my specialty... As soon as I get a hold of it, a large magic circle appears under her feet.
“Is this... harmless for them?” asks Nora, sounding a bit worried.
“Magic isn't like a limb or an organ, it's more akin to... a deep breath. I'll deplete her of most of what she has left, but afterwards, Ayesha's magic will still be there, she can produce more again once she's rested. Like emptying her lungs, but she can still breathe in. For Selena, though, I can't guarantee... It might feel a bit weird.”
“I'm not a pup, Mara. Hurry up.”
Indeed, it's not like we've got forever either. I have to focus on this spell, and if it wasn't for the Black Brothers forming a protective triangle around me, I'd be defenseless. Still, I trust them fully, and I don't have much of a choice anyway. I close my eyes and focus, reproducing the spell I saw, to the best of my ability. I feel the circle moving, from Ayesha to under Selena's feet, and I hear the witch gasp and fall on her knees. I need to focus on her fire, to keep it inside the circle, trapped outside of its owner. Fire is so... whimsical, I need to hold on tight and not let go. Still, I keep my grip on it, and gently, push it toward Selena's golden aura. I feel her hesitation, but I keep pushing, as if I was introducing her to the fire. Ayesha's blue flames slowly start to change, and they feel different too, as if they were adapting to the new owner. They turn a bright gold color, almost white, something strong and blinding.
“Wow... Now, I like that,” chuckles Selena.
Looks like it's working... I take a few more seconds to make sure that magic is adapting to Selena's body, but there's obviously something going on with her aura that protects her, and that Ayesha's magic recognizes too. Light Magic. It just finds its way to take and convert that magic into Selena's. Once I make sure it's stable, I slowly open my eyes to find the cream-white wolf's body now dominated by large, white-gold flames. Wow, it's... even more impressive and beautiful than I imagined. Her mate approaches, visibly worried, but she's fine. She looks like a young sun on four paws burning bright, almost blinding.
"Nice," I chuckle.
“This feels... pretty awesome,” she growls, moving her limbs as if to test it.
"You don't have a lot, though, and unlikerealwitches, you're not going to be able to replenish it easily, so be careful to not run out right away."
“Got it. We just need enough to get you back to that hurricane thingy anyway, right?”
"I guess... Nora, are you sure you want to do this too?"
She steps forward and nods. Meanwhile, Ayesha steps back with a grimace and a groan.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking the guinea pig... Also, who the hell are you going to get to do that crazy new spell?"
"...I was thinking Naptera?"
She scoffs, staring at me as if I was crazy for a couple of seconds.
"Wait, you're serious? You do know she tried to kill you, right? Also, she's been sitting the whole fight out!"
"She can keep sitting it out, but I don't care if she likes me or not. Last time I checked, she wants that curse gone and so do we. ...Do you know where she is?"
Ayesha grimaces.
"You really are a crazy one... Last time I spotted her, she was somewhere west..."
Right, I can actually feel her. It's faint, but... there's definitely the trace of a Water Witch in that position. I nod and turn back to Ayesha.
