Liam smiles and steps forwards, looking more confident than ever despite his ragged appearance.
"Let's take this curse down, tiger."
We all turn around and get ready.
The hurricane from before has grown much bigger, like a black storm taking over the battlefield. Perhaps because it felt our rise in power, the curse ought to have grown stronger too. If I am completely honest, it is scary to look at. The rain is still pouring down on us, the thunder growling above, and we're just about to run into much worse than that. The storm is loud and yet it doesn't fully cover the sounds of the raging battle all around us. The golems are like hellish silhouettes of mud scattered around the battlefield to slow the groups of wolves and men down. And many are down already. I feel a heavy weight on my heart as I take a second to notice the bodies, furs of all colors dirtied by blood, and the lifeless limbs sometimes sticking out of the ground...
"Let's go," I both say and mind-link.
Moving like one, the white and black wolves start running with me across the battleground, all of us aiming for the gigantic hurricane. Nathaniel and Damian each cover our flanks, and in front of me, Liam, now in wolf form, is running like a bullet shot right ahead, his black figure not slowed down at all by the slippery ground or heavy downpour. Seeing my mate run before me is like a lamplight in the darkness. I just need to follow him, trust him. I feel our mind-link, stronger than ever, like our minds are holding hands and not ready to let go at all. I feel his gentle strength pushing me, and I borrow some of his fearless confidence. I've never realized how perfect we are for each other until this very moment. How Liam is perfect to protect me against my fears, support my boldness, and feed the fire of my bravery. We truly are meant for each other. I feel his trust in me, and it's like another boost I can use. It fuels more of that fire in me, and appeases my heart.
I'm in a strange state during that last race to the end. I feel the pain of everyone around me, all the fights going on. I feel a wolf's body violently hitting the mud. The warm blood dripping, and their pain. The tired body, the fear, and the anger. But I can feel their bravery too as they stand back up. That's right. No wolf is running away, and they are all standing, next to the humans, to defeat the enemy as one. The heart of Silver City is beating right here with them, men and wolves, and I can almost feel its spirit. It's beautiful, powerful, and yet so fragile...
We keep running, nothing able to stop us in our race. I feel like my feet barely touch the ground, we're flying above the mud, the hills, and the traps on the way. Selena is like a flashing bolt, breaking the formation at times to dash through a golem, fry it, and come back, making reckless zigzags all around us. Nora is more careful and sticking to me, probably worried about my health and more cautious about what's coming next. I can't blame her; the closer we get to that thing, the scarier it clearly is...
This isn't about what we see. That hurricane is scary, but that monstrous aura is much, much darker and worse. It feels colder than death, scarier than hell itself, like a mountain ready to crush us at any second. Even just knowing the curse is going to try and instill fear into our minds, I can’t help but shiver. I have to focus on my inner flame to get over it. I keep running, holding on to my fire and using it to spread that same feeling of warmth and courage to the others through the mind-link. I can hardly describe it, this strong sense of community between the six of us. Like one wolf, one family. One body with very different limbs, and me and Liam at the head. Even his brothers seem to finally let me in. I can't explain how, but I feel their wolf minds, and instead of scaring me as usual, I feel them like two strong beings I can rely on. Like... big brothers, really. That's kind of nice, especially when Damian Black glances his silver eyes at me, and I suddenly feel supported too.
And I'm going to need their support, because we finally arrive at the base of that hurricane, and its strength is already trying to blow us all away. I dig my feet in the mud, and the wolves all do the same.
“How are we going to get past that?!” shouts Nathaniel in our heads.
“I think I can get us through,” I nod, “but I'm going to need everyone to stick real close, and Nora, Selena, you two need to help me through…”
“We got you.”
I nod, and right away, all the wolves get near or behind me, ready for it. I take a deep breath, and try to harness both my fire and water power together. This hurricane is made of a dark aura, some steam, and wind. I may not remember my school days, but I'm pretty sure wind is just cold or hot air... I try to calm down internally, and like before, split my fire and water power, one in each hand. It takes me a few seconds, but this time, I'm not alone. The fact that Selena has Fire Magic and Nora some Water Magic helps a ton. It's like trying to reach out for them, I know exactly where to direct my magic, on each hand. On my left one, I feel my fire, strong like a little brazier, and on the right one, water flowing gently in a small circle. Now, I need to use it all to get us a passage through.
I step forward, fighting against the strength of her hurricane, but at least Selena and Nora's presence near me are like shields against the dark aura. They don't erase it completely, but it's more like they fade it, allowing me to move without too much pressure. They make it so much more bearable for me... I hear the Black Brothers growling together, probably feeling the darkness more than they can see it. Liam's just one step ahead, next to my leg. I take another step, and so does he. If I move, he moves. I know he's not leaving me to face this alone, he's sharing his strength with me.
I start using my magic with all of them supporting me, each in their own way. I focus like never before and, stronger than ever, I push the winds away from us. It's like trying to undo a gigantic knot, pushing my cold Water Magic one way, the hot fire one the other, and struggling to let our group through. The hurricane resists, and increases its strength, but I won't let go. I extend my arms, one each way, and create a bubble of protection around our little group. I feel Nora and Selena too, understanding what I'm doing and sharing some of their magic, like vessels I can grab more power from. One step after another, we advance through the deafening noise of the winds bashing all around us, trying to crush us. The pressure is so terrible, I feel it in my arms and all of my body. If I let go of my focus for just one second, we will all die. I can't let go. I keep pushing and slowly advancing. I feel all of them, moving with me, like one body again. We are doing this, we're advancing and pushing our way into the eye of the hurricane.
“You're doing great, Mara. Just a bit more…”
I can't answer; I'm too focused on getting us through this. The pressure is burying my feet into the ground, and the pain in my shoulder is getting... too much. I'm sweaty, feeling gross, and like I'm getting squeezed from all sides. The wind is blowing in my ears, and I need to close my eyes to stay focused. One foot after the other, I keep pushing, hoping we're getting close. It's worse that I don't know when we'll reach the middle of this, if there even is one... I feel Liam silently sending me encouragement, and I just focus on my inner fire, on the core, to find the strength to continue.
“Get ready, everyone. We're almost there…”
I keep going, silently praying I'm not going to empty my recently refilled magic on this. I just need to keep us alive, though. To make sure we make it inside...
“Mara!”
I’m suddenly grabbed and thrown forward on the floor. To my surprise, I land on dry, warm ground. Liam runs up to me, helping me up.
"Are you alright? Sorry, as soon as we saw the opening we figured we should rush in..."
"Thanks," I gasp.
I'm still feeling a bit tired from the effort before, but at least now, I can stretch my sore arms and shoulders a bit. Oh, I'm so going to feel that for the next few days. Once I'm up, I finally look around. The others are spread like a square around me, growling at all sides, to the hurricane still going on around us, but it's... strangely quiet in here. I feel the wind, but it's as if we're in some sort of a bubble. I can even see the sky far above, not blue but at least not as dark gray as before. So this is what it's like inside... if what we are seeing is real.
I feel some magic going on all around us. I do not like this...
"So you made it after all."
We turn around and surely, risen from the ground, is... Luna. How is that possible? It's really her, with long, white hair, blue eyes, and wearing a familiar black dress. Where have I seen that dress before…? Oh, Moon Goddess. She's using Ravena's dead body as her own. The Black Brothers growl, and I feel disgusted too. I didn't recognize her before because her traits are somehow superposed with the Earth Witch's, and she changed her eye and hair color somehow.
"...Necromancy," I whisper.
"That's right," she says, with a surprisingly gentle voice. "A true witch, who masters all three elements, can obtain power over life and death. Of course, Luna first omitted to mention this when she began training me. However, now I understand that magic was capable of bringing back my mate... of erasing her mistake."
