Book 2: Chapter 70
John
I coughed blood but I wouldn’t allow something this painful to happen to my mate. I know she felt it through our bond what I couldn’t hide, but it was better than feeling it on your fur. I heard crackling pops behind me before I saw red lightning shoot across the room, nailing the hag, shooting her across the living room and out the window.
“If being a hag’s so great, why do you have to eat people to maintain it?!” She screamed. She jumped over me, shifting to be faster, running out the door and I followed. She shifted back, hurling another wave of dark red lightning, but this time Babba Maggi was prepared. She blocked it, lunging at my mate with flaming blue lightning hands, and Heidi grabbed them.
It was Chaos outside. Giant batlike creatures clawed mindlessly at the stone, breaking windows to get in. I didn’t know what they were trying to do, but I had to help my mate however I could. As bad as it sounded, she was my priority.
Babba Maggi was stronger than Heidi, but she wasn’t stronger than me. I took the opportunity to lunge at her throat again, missing because another witch intervened. The witch clawed at me, and I snapped, missing her arm. She screamed, clawing my face with force. The impact made me slide a bit away from them, and they grinned with false confidence.
“How dare you dog!” She yelled. They made a formation to help their leader by getting in front of her so she could only fight Heidi…. and I snarled at them. There was no point in saying anything, I just ran toward the one floating on the right headfirst.
I used my ability to gain speed, catching that one off-guard, biting into putrid flesh…. They tasted as bad as they smelled. I could only assume that they must have been cursed or something from cannibalizing their own people. The giant owl seemed to be tied to her, as it swooped down on me to make me let go of her. One second too late and I could have ended her.
“Ah!” Screamed Maggi, being shocked by my mate. The others tried turning to help, but reinforcements in the form of other witches ran to help me. I jumped on the one that I bit, getting her in the middle of her back. I shook her as hard as I could until she no longer moved. The owl vanished mid attack while the others chanted a circle around the other. She was trapped within it, and she floated around in it, trying to get out.
“Let me out!” She screamed in fear as I jumped in, jumping up and snapping at her, but she was just a little too high.
“Lower the Height!” Screamed Grenadinia, leaving her post to protect the Omegas. As it was, only about 15 or so were out here helping… the rest of the entire coven was powerless.
They did as they were told, lowering it, and I could kind of see translucent air lower, and she pushed on it with flaming hands. She shot fireballs at me desperately as the wall lowered, and I jumped up, slamming her into the invisible wall, crushing her ribs with my paws. The bear disappeared, now leaving the other demons to fight the snake and help Rahrraam.
She gurgled blood that turned black nearly the moment it touched the cold air, and she became dust before catching fire on her own…. The other one didn’t do that, but the body was a skeleton regardless.
“Fools! Their deaths mean nothing!” Said Babba Maggi trying to get Heidi to let go, but her eyes were her wolf’s She was using both her powers at the same time, and though she wasn’t as strong as Maggi using one power, she was when she used both.
“You’ll not get away!” Yelled my mate, sprouting small horns. She breathed hot steam from her nose, but she started coughing.
I leaped in her direction as hard as I could, galloping to her aid, as did her demon. The giant snake ran behind him being the only thing left, and it bit his leg before he grabbed it by the throat, and ripped it’s head off.
“Die!” She cackled, headbutting my mate, but I was there. I jumped at the hag’s throat, finally connecting. I slammed her into the ground, and didn’t stop shaking until she had no head.
“Burn in the lowest level of Hell!” Screamed Grenadinia, catching her aflame while I still shook her.
“John Let GO!” cried Heidi coughing on her knees. I could feel that she got up to hold me, but I had to do this. I had to make sure she was dead. No one else dared approach, and I didn’t care that my fur had caught fire. I burned, but pain was temporary. I held onto that hag until she began to rapidly rot and become a charred skeleton. I shifted finally satisfied, knowing my mate was safe. They were already working on burning the bodies to complete ash.
I turned to look at my mate, who let me go when she saw my face…. I don’t know why though. I shifted to put out the fire, and my mate took steps back from me. My burns were already mostly healed so that wasn’t it… but as I took steps to her…. she took steps back.
“Heidi.” I said quietly, taking a few swift steps to catch her before she ran away. She made no effort to struggle. The small horn nubs had vanished, but her coughing didn’t.
“Oh dear.” Said Grenadinia. “Not even mother could summon the horns…. Only father ever accomplished that, but it takes a great deal of energy… and sacrifice.” She mumbled.
Heidi closed her eyes, shedding a tear, and I think I understood what she was looking so concerned for…. Her powers come from sacrifice… “No… no I don’t want that.” I said looking at her.
“I’m sorry.” Said the witch, and I felt her slipping. Her heart slowed, and Rahrraam limped to me.
“Help her.” I said to anyone. I held her, as a bride, because she was. She was my small mate who did too much to try and help me…. She didn’t have to do this.
“Her flesh is half. She was never supposed to ever wield enough power to equal a hag, one who rivaled a team of full witches John…She was using her very lifeforce energy as fuel… and I could not stop her, as it is her choice to do a thing like that…but I can give her what little lifeforce I have left…” He turned into a sleeping rat in her hands. His breathing was labored, but his heart was steady. Both of them smelled of no magic… she only smelled wolf. I would be fine with that. If she could never cast again and that little shit stayed a rat the rest of their lives… as selfish as that was, I could accept that…
“She feels stable now… but it will be some time before she can cast anything…, if she didn’t trade her power to save you as father did before we were born.” Said the other sister, Hellinia.
“Where were you?” I demanded, walking into the house.
“I used all my strength protecting the coven. The hell bat-spawn Babba Maggi summoned were created to steal the children….. one got away but we recovered the body… Killing Babba Maggi made her spells deactivate with little Tatiana about 30 meters in the air.” She mumbled. It was silent a while….
“Forgive my outburst then.” I said quietly, pulling some of the stray curls from Heidi’s face.
“You’re focused on your mate. Please. We have a barrier in place again. Feel free to take your mate upstairs and rest…. We never intended to wrap you all up in this mess…” Said Hellinia.
“I will. If you need something lifted, please ask.” I said as a curtesy, but I hoped she understood that realistically I might not if Heidi didn’t improve.
“I can practically feel the love between you two. It would be rude to impose.” She smiled, and I made my way up the stairs carrying them both.
I did not sleep that night, only prayer… I prayed to the Lord and the Lady for her sake… I didn’t care if it would get me in trouble if anyone ever found out. I didn’t care if he came back to punish me… I just wanted her eyes to open. I could figure the rest out.
“The irony. I finally complete the bond, thinking it would protect you, yet it’s you who got hurt to save me.” I laughed, though it held no humor….
She shifted in her sleep holding me, and I stroked her hair. She hummed lightly. “John are you ok?” She asked.
“I’m fine… but please don’t ever do that again.” I kissed her forehead, and she opened her eyes. They were a strange combination of silver and green.
“I only saw red… She hurt you… and for once I could do something about it…. she was trying to destroy their packhouse since she couldn’t get her way…. All those children…” She said looking down.
“I’m not saying you did something wrong… I just want you safe… You could have died.” I said very quietly. “Rahrraam had to give you the last of his energy to live.”
“I felt it… I used more than what I had and kept going…. He’s only alive because I am…. If I would have died, he would have too.” She said giving him a weak, but gentle pet between the ears. “… now I won’t be able to help you with Herrakken…”
“I was going to leave you here anyway.” I said with a small smile, and she playfully slapped me.
I wanted to know why she was scared of me, even now I smelled the smallest bit of fear from her… Looking as I did must have made her think of me as a monster….
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