CHAPTER 85

The fight continued within the training field the animals, claws and energy blasts clashing with one another. Amelia became confused with what was going on staring in a daze from the rush of adrenalin and the fear. She watched how Bruce and Elijah battled and as much as she tried to contain herself she was impressed by their prowess and strength.

But for every attacker they took out, two more seemed to crawl out of the woodwork. As much as it is difficult to believe, sheer numerical strength favored Ema. Amelia could feel herself not only weary but growing lethargic and less quick-witted as those precious stores of power waned.

A sharp hiss of pain merged into the sound of fighting, Amelia glanced back and noticed Bruce struggling, he was injured and bleeding. Three large wolves circled him and the Alpha, one of them going for a bite on the throat which made him stagger to the ground.

Bruce! Amelia began to struggle with the Guardsmen in an attempt to get to him as she shouted out, ‘No!’ However, before she could reach him, a great explosion went up, and the field was covered with dust.

Amelia was off the force of the blast. The impact of him pushing her forced her onto the ground she staggered making her head dizzy she tried to decipher what had happened. By this time they had poor visions, but she was able to make out Elijah and Ema locked in a magical battle.

But something was wrong. Elijah moved as if he were in a state of oppression, his claws not as clean and sharp as earlier. Amelia had the misfortune to bear witness as Ema finally breached his shield and fired a bolt of rather green energy in the center of his chest.

Prone on his knees, his face wearing the painful look of a man in transition. Ema towered over him, her victory well illuminated in her eyes as she looked ready to finish him off.

“No!” Amelia screeched all the lively energy in her body she didn’t even realize she had bottled up. She ran at Ema and proceeded to push the older lady to the ground.

The two fell to the ground, using their claws as well as brute force in a fight to the ground. Ema was fit and professional, one would have thought she had learned from the seniors for a long time now. But Amelia struggled with the fear and determination of a woman protecting her children and husband.

Thus for a moment, Amelia seemed to triumph. However, the mask would then slip from Ema’s face, her eyes would sparkle with pure evil, something that felt like a curse followed her pronunciation of the next word. Amelia yelled in pain as her head throbbed and she bent down in extreme pain on her knees.

‘So, you believe you could outsmart me?’ Ema growled, getting up. “You are no more than an impostor who pretends to wield great authority; now you are going to be taught your rightful position in society. ”

Another wave of pain coursed through Amelia and she realized through the pain that the fight was still going on. Bruce was down, his huge body almost rigid. Elijah forced himself up and it was hard to watch him move as his motor skills were subdued and slow. The pack members, who had come to their aid were slowly being overpowered by the number of troops Ema commanded.

Well, look at yourself, Amelia, Ema sneered and her lips curled in evident relish, This is what comes from being so self-centered, so determined to not accept what you are, okay? All those precious people who matter to you, are in pain because of you. "

Amelia was not willing to sit idly and let this go on; she wanted to shout back, to defend herself, to make him stop, but the beginning ache in her head was already growing. For a moment she was losing her consciousness, darkness seeping in through her field of vision.

With the last of her energy, she was able to lift her head in the direction of Elijah. Amelia and Bruce looked at one another over the field and, through the gunfire and the screams, something in his eyes made her shiver – love and fear at its worst, both of which she had never felt nor wished to understand.

“Dad,” she said out loud involuntarily as the shock set in.

But before she could assimilate this change, before she could cry out to him, there was only blackness. Amelia herself fainted, falling to the ground unconscious at the continued sounds of fighting in her vicinity.

Ema smirked at the unconscious form of Amelia lying on the ground in front of her. She had done it. She had brought low the mighty hybrid, had taught them all a powerful lesson, and made Elijah and Bruce and all the rest pay for what they had done.

But her triumph was not long to last. The sound was purely that of anger, and Ema glanced at the sight of Elijah getting up, his eyes red with the strength she hadn’t seen in him yet. The very atmosphere seemed charged with energy and when he opened his mouth to speak the rumble of the earth itself could be heard.

‘You will not touch my daughter,’ he bawled, and the world burst into flame.

The last thing as the consciousness faded away in Amelia was her father’s voice, an emotion she could not put into mere words – it was nothing but protectiveness inverted into anger. Then there was blessed quiet and she ceased to be conscious of the world outside.


What used to be a training ground for the young men was now a heap of debris. It was a scene of destruction, the smell of burnt grass and iron hung in the air, mingling with the stench of death and sorcery. And in the middle of it, they had Amelia – a girl so engrossed in her world that she had no idea what had happened, much less what was to come.

When the darkness enveloped her completely, the last thing that crossed Amelia’s mind was the combination of the fear that she never thought would be able to confront, the decision to fight for her life and for the only values she believed in, and the realization of someone who does not belong to the world of bright and innocent people any longer. Whatever came next, she knew her life would never be the same She could not equate her former and present life and this change had a positive slant. The only question was if she would wake up to that sin or if that dark would be the end of her.

She was unconscious but could feel her body being dragged away.