Ch. 114: Battling On

CHAPTER 114
Kyle~
I might just fall over. Exhaustion. When have I ever been this tired? Maybe when I was left in the park by Ally’s after… everything.
I take another large breath in, grabbing hold of the fence post in front of me and I push out more ‘sleep’ to the witch bringing down a handful of wolves. She’s incredibly strong, and she’s gotta have some wards on her to prevent witchcraft or something. The other witch I had tried to put to sleep had already faltered and been taken down by three wolves. This one, however…
She stumbles forward and a wolf charges at her feet, throwing her totally off balance. Finally!
I fell down on my bum. Not even caring what it looks like. I can say one thing, however, it’s not at all graceful. Thump! I hit the grass. And a rock. Goddess that hurts.
I really should have been sleeping while in the cell. I couldn’t have charged up I don’t think, but maybe I could have saved some strength.
“Is this over yet?” I grumble to myself.
The sounds of hitting and screaming tell me that, of course, it’s not. I throw my head back like I’m about to nap. Although, no way I can. I muster up some energy from somewhere and roll over, pushing myself up a bit.
The wolves have gained some ground here. I could help with another one - but…
Far off amongst the smoke, there’s some breakage. It looks like lighting and fire but in both directions. There’s only one witch that I know who could be on our side - Ally. Thank you, Goddess, she’s alright. The fierce battle barely visible spurs me on and I jump up to my feet.
I move along the trees by this fence, looking for other… And I’ve found one.
A group of wolves in over their heads. It’s a witch and a werewolf and they’re fighting my team. I push down with my power and out into the earth where it hunts for the witch who keeps blocking our attacks. She’s caught off guard and stumbles.
“Go team, go!” I whisper.
A wolf charges at her while the others hone in on the one wolf fighting, and he knocks her completely off balance. She hits the ground and I smile.
“Wooo,” I say again softly, almost delirious from this recent effort.
The wolf on the bad team turns and takes off, she’s a wimp for sure, but definitely fast. I see one wolf go to chase her while the others turn their attention to the witch who’s still putting up a good fight. They leap and bounce against her shield, with one pushing through it and getting a good grip of her arm. It shakes its head, yanking her arm along with its motion and she screams out in pain. The attack caught her off guard and before I know it they’re all through and tearing her apart. After a few moments, she doesn’t scream anymore.

Rachel~
I’m not quite sure what to think.
“Make sure you hold on tight, and kick me twice here if you need me to slow down. Okay?” Jake asks me after explaining how I’ll be riding on his back through several cities.
“I really don't know if I can do this. I mean, what if we’re seen?” I ask him, wringing my wrist.
He looks at me very seriously, even more serious than usual anyway, and says, “You can. We were made for this. And don’t worry about people. They see what they want to see.”
I look at him for another moment and nod, knowing we’re wasting precious time.
He stands before me and starts to shift. Hair sprouts, bones shifting. I wince, expecting him to yell out in pain but he doesn’t. He gets larger and leans over as his limbs adjust, fire springing from his body.
He leans down to the right and I do as he suggested, I dig my right foot into his joint and swing myself over. Then I’ve done it. I’m on his back. He gives me a moment to reorient myself and I move slightly then exhale, grabbing tight with my wrists around his longer areas of fur. Then he stands back up and we’re off.
My eyes are closed at first and I silently pray to whoever is out there that I don’t go off flying. But after a minute I got curious and opened one eye slightly. We’re moving so quickly. I’m bouncing but secured. I glance down at my hands and realize - there’s fire, an actual flame, wrapped around my wrist keeping me in place. The realization makes me open my eyes fully and while everything is flying in a blur, I can make things out. Trees, mountains, roads, cars far up. We’re running along the beach. I move to adjust my footing and feel something there. Looking down at it I see flames there too, holding my feet secure like a foothold on a horse’s saddle. I push down on it and adjust slightly. I’m definitely not falling off anytime soon. I lean further into his strides, and we become one. My back curves when his does, my spine lengthens when he’s leaping. I can tell it’s working better for him too. His movements are faster, more sure. Like this, we move on and on, heading north.
My thoughts refocus on what’s waiting for us ahead. I hope I’m ready. I hope we get there in time.

Evan~
I’ve finally taken down that condescending vampire. But it seems like there’s more witches than there were before. How is that possible?
I dodge another fireball and run behind a group of trees, trying to reorient this attack. This witch seems to be stronger than the others, I haven’t made any progress. Meanwhile, she’s made some pretty good shots at me, and I can’t keep up this status quo. I need to mix things up.
Another warrior of my father’s sees me and jogs my way.
‘Evan, do you need assistance?’ he asks.
I nod. ‘See if you can get another wolf over here. Distract this witch, I’m going to try something.’
He moves to join me in watching the latest witch I’ve been squaring off with who is now refocused on another wolf I don’t recognize, and then another warrior comes to join.
I quickly tell them my plan and they don’t question it.
They move forward, out of the forested area, one after the other. They take my place with frontal attacks and I slowly move around back.
I’ve been watching Ally nearby who has been focusing most of her efforts on this very strong witch with a penchant for fire. But she does hit others, and at this moment, I could use the latter.
Unfortunately for me, she can’t link. So I have to run on over, and I end up hitting my head on her barrier. It’s much wider than I had anticipated.
She is focused on this angry blond witch, cursing at her while sending actual curses at her. Another time and there would be a joke in there. But she isn’t so consumed that she ignores me.
“Uh sorry, pal! I’m kinda busy!” she yells over the roaring sounds of fire and lightning.
Right. She doesn’t even know what I look like.
So I bark at her like a puppy and she looks confused. At that moment I shift. It’s risky, shifting into a human in this crazed battlefield, but I can’t leave those warriors out there with that crazy strong witch.
She throws something at the blond witch and then looks back at me, a surprised look at her face. The blond witch throws something back and I worry I’ve risked Ally’s life when the bolt crackles against the barrier.
“Need help with the one over there!” I yell as loud as I can and point in the direction.
She nods and I shift back.
But not before I’m struck by a bolt of lightning.
My whole body feels like it’s buzzing, my heart is beating erratically. And I can’t focus as Ally screams something at me.
I hit the ground and the pain is in everything. Every molecule of me. My spine, my legs, my heart, my skull, my eyes. Can lightning hurt my eyes?
Ally moves close to me and my teeth hurt. And all I can think about is how much my teeth hurt. Ally is yelling something at me but I can’t hear her. I can barely see her through the tears in my eyes. My whole nervous system is shocked.
Just when I thought nothing could get worse. I smell something. It’s flowery but not overpowered. Like sunshine. It’s a daisy. Or like a field of daisies. I roll to my side and look out. And that’s when I see a redheaded witch. Her hood has fallen back, and she’s on her knees. She’s crying. Weeping. I should feel something. Hate. For this creature in front of me. But when our eyes connect, I am too stunned to feel anything at all.
‘MATE’, Xavier says confidently in my head.
‘Son of a-’