Last Gasp

Bambi

~Freedom!~

We gave each other hugs, still reeling from the fact that we’d just broken out of our cages.

I turned to Tyler and hugged her so hard my chest felt like it might explode. Sitting in that cavernous dungeon made me fearful that I might never again see the light of day.

“Twice in one day. This is a pleasant surprise!” Tyler said, coughing from the strength of my hug.

But once I pulled away from her a different realization set in.

“Why did you help us?” I asked.

Tyler smiled as though it were the funniest question to ever be asked.

“Because you’re my friends. And you saved me from prison when I had no hope I would ever leave.”

I wanted to hug her again and let my tears fall. This entire ordeal had drained every ounce of energy from my body like a wrung rag.

“It’s a trap, I’m sure of it,” Ekon growled.

Max placed his arm around Ekon and pulled him close, reminding my drunk mate to keep quiet, or we might all be found.

“She saved you. Why would she do that just to hand you over again?” asked Ela.

“Because she’s a witch and that’s what they do!” Ekon argued, his words slurring.

Max looked at me and shrugged. “I don’t really understand it all myself.”

“So, you’d rather still be stuck in that cave, locked behind bars?” I snapped. “You need to trust others, Ekon, or this will never work!”

“And you need to stop telling me what to do!” Ekon yelled. “You’re lucky I had a drink because I can finally think clearly.”

“We’re lucky you’re drunk?” Max interrupted. “After all Bambi’s done to try and keep you sober, the way you respond is to throw that compassion right in her face?!”

Ekon huffed. “Compassion isn’t what we need. If we don’t leave now, we’re royally fucked. If you trust that witch, maybe you’re not the person I thought you were.” He looked at Bambi, eyes narrow. “And maybe you’re not my Luna after all.”

The others looked at him, stunned by his tirade. I couldn’t believe my own ears, but arguing with this drunk buffoon would do us no good.

“I should rip you apart where you stand, ungrateful boozehound,” Max growled, his muscles bulging with anger. “Bambi deserves better than some has-been wino with a chip on his shoulder.”

I moved between them, giving Max a stern look. He was my big brother and his instincts were always to protect me no matter what, even if it meant teaching my loaded mate a lesson he would never forget. But we didn’t have time for that now, no matter how much Ekon’s words hurt.

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that,” I said to Ekon. “When we get out of here, we’re going to have a long talk. Maybe I’ll even invite Max to join in… But right now we need to work together to escape.”

“Actually,” interjected Tyler, “I don’t know how much that’s going to help. Devina is extremely powerful now and if we just leave, her powers will only continue to grow.”

“See!” Ekon said much too loudly, “The bitch wants to lead us right back into the fire.”

I slapped his face so hard I was afraid it would give away our location.

“If you call her that again… the person who saved us from certain death… I will rip out your tongue so you can’t speak that word ever again.”

My voice was angry and emotional, but I meant every word I said.

The others gawked in horror, unsure of how Ekon might react.

Ekon rubbed the quickly reddening spot on his cheek and simply looked at the ground.

“Tyler’s right,” Ela added. “I’ve seen the power over her followers. There are way too many Rogues to take them on headfirst, but Devina needs to be dealt with. Or this will just keep getting worse.”

“What about Matthias,” Max questioned.

“He’s strong, but once that blast of energy was emitted, Devina started wearing the pants in that relationship” Tyler cautioned. “And I don’t think he really even knows that.”

“What do you suggest?” I asked.

“She’s gotten cocky and thinks that she can’t be stopped. She might be right. But if we can separate her from the other witches, there’s a chance our group could defeat her.”

It was risky. And as Ekon so eloquently put it, we would be jumping right back into the fire. But what other choice did we have? Running would only delay the inevitable. We would have to face Devina sooner or later.

I wanted Tyler to teleport us far away.

Devina and Matthias wouldn’t let that happen. Not after all we had witnessed here in the forests of Brazil. I knew they would do their best to end the world as we know it and kill every last one of us in the process.

I nodded my head. My brother’s eyes widened. “You’re serious? This is the grand plan? To jump her and hope she doesn’t fry us all with that big blast of light?”

“What else can we do?” asked Ela.

“~We?~ You’ve got to stay behind and take care of Hunter,” Max snapped.

“I’m finished sitting around and watching my friends risk their lives,” Ela said with a strength I’d never heard. “Hunter wouldn’t just sit on his ass, and neither will I.”

“And you’re okay leaving him behind?” Max asked warily.

“What else would I do, cheer you on from the sidelines?” Ela replied.

“Alright,” Max said, “what’s the plan?”

Ela

I stretched my legs and popped my neck. If this plan was going to work, then my body would need to be in tip-top shape.

Tyler suggested that a diversion would be best to keep all eyes away from the rest of the group. So, as Bambi and the others made their way down the same stream they followed earlier, I would sprint around the edge of the clearing, drawing attention toward me.

The witches had mostly dispersed and the Rogues were nowhere to be seen. But Devina was constantly making her rounds, drinking in the adulation from her followers, not even realizing that her prized prisoners had already escaped.

With the witches taking respite in the cave, her good humor probably wouldn’t last long.

So, I would sprint as hard as possible with Tyler keeping watch. Once I got enough attention, the witch would teleport me back to our original vantage point. Together we would teleport to Devina’s location to join the others attacking her from the stream.

I couldn’t have been the only one who didn’t think it would work.

We stood watching Tyler mash up a good bit of Fairy Slipper. She then proceeded to hide her figure with a stealth spell.

With Tyler on our side, we at least had a snowball’s chance…

I waited at the edge of the clearing, hiding from a lone Rogue doing a terrible job of keeping watch over the camp. I secretly smiled as he unknowingly passed by, knowing that we would soon be taking him by surprise.

My eyes closed. I tried to listen for the signal from Bambi, but it was taking longer than they had said.

~Bambi, are you ready?~ I linked.

~Not yet, we’re almost in place.~

~I’m at the location. Just tell me when to go.~

~Okay… get ready…~

Ekon

They tried to leave me behind with Tyler, but I refused to be sidelined with a witch. After reminding them of my strength and speed, they reluctantly relented.

And now we were supposed to wait for Ela as a distraction...

I bit my lip and sucked the rest of the wine from the skin. Devina was a terror unlike any other, but she had given me the only thing to calm my nerves.

For the first time in weeks, I felt truly alive and free of all inhibitions. We would win this fight.

~I would make sure of that~.

Devina would regret giving me such a potent wine… especially after I ripped off her head and swallowed it whole.

I looked at Bambi who was eyeing Devina’s path around the large hill in the middle of the clearing. She was moving slowly, taking in praise from her acolytes, as if that’s what fed her energy.

But if we kept wasting time, they would realize we escaped. Then there would be no distracting the army of witches and Rogues coming for our asses.

Bambi caught my stare and shook her head.

“Not yet,” she whispered. “She’s not close enough.”

“Come on,” I growled.

Waiting would be our downfall.

“You’ve already done enough damage with your words. We don’t need your actions to cause us more trouble,” warned Max. “Stick to the plan and we’ll all get a chance to take down that monster.”

Our eyes turned back toward the hill as Devina floated, Holly at her side. It hurt to know that, after welcoming her into my pack, she had turned so easily to the dark side.

~You can never trust a witch.~

As my sister neared, I could pick up her foul stench and gritted my teeth. I was partially shifted, able to see her gliding right into place. I looked once more at Bambi, but she continued to shake her head.

“Fuck this!”

I shifted while jumping from the cover of the forest.

“Ekon, no!” Max cautioned, but it was too late.

I sprinted with all my might, bounding over the short distance in only a few steps. But somehow my legs faltered… I hadn’t drunk in so long… and now I could feel it weighing me down.

I was only feet away from Devina, ready to rip her head clean off when Holly turned and saw me.

I leaped through the air, claws fully extended—

And Holly blasted me right out of the sky!

It burned like nothing else I’d ever felt. My head shook, trying to free the fire from inside, but all it managed to do was heighten the pain.

Holly

I watched the beast writhe on the ground and felt a tinge of regret. Hadn’t I known a wolf like this before? The scar on his face looked so familiar.

Devina turned in horror but soon met my gaze with a grin.

“Very good, my dear,” she said with a hiss. “You’ve proven your worth tenfold.”

I sensed movement in the trees and looked to Devina, who immediately knew what I was thinking.

She pinpointed the movement and pulled them from the trees with a magnetism spell.

Three large wolves tumbled out, ready to attack and kill…

~If~ we had given them the chance.

The wolves jumped up and pushed forward, covering more ground than I thought possible.

However, it wasn’t fast enough to stop my spells.

I hit the first one, a male wolf, with a confusion spell. He stumbled off-target, ripping at his head to try and clear it before collapsing onto the ground.

The second, a female, had dodged my magic and was nearly on top of us!

Devina floated beside me, watching our every move. She was letting me have this one…and I would not disappoint!

With one final blast from my palms, the confusion spell reached the female wolf and blew her back several meters. She landed with a hard thud.

I watched her writhe before shifting back to her human form. She was utterly beautiful. Part of me wanted to go to her, to touch her head and calm the fear written across her face.

Devina’s hand touched my shoulder and I felt an unbelievable desire to hug her… to fall into her arms and be sucked up inside, becoming one with the most powerful witch of all.

“You have surpassed my expectations,” she said with a hint of affection in her voice. “And I will repay your loyalty by allowing you to watch as I carry out their executions.”