A chill sweeps through the room as Gretchen's chilling words echo through the air. The darkness in her eyes sent shivers down my spine, and I knew the depths of her cruelty knew no bounds. 'I will ensure Xander receives the punishment he deserves for his countless betrayals and the laws he has broken,' she declares, a wicked smile curling her lips. 'The first thing I will do when we capture them is slowly kill his precious little witch, Janie, right in front of him. And then, I will leave him to rot in the dungeons, mateless, alongside Warrick.'
A surge of anger courses through me, overriding my fear. I can't allow Gretchen's vile plan to unfold unchallenged. ‘You’re not strong enough to fight against Janie alone,’ I shout at her.
‘What did you say, you little half-mut?’ She scowls and walks back behind me with the whips firmly held in her hands.
'You're not powerful enough to defeat Janie. That's why you fled through the portal. You realized Janie was more powerful than you, and you panicked, desperate for an escape,' I tell her.
The revelation strikes a chord among the Mystic Council, their whispers and murmurs punctuating the tension in the room. 'Gretchen isn't the most powerful witch?' Orlan exclaims.
A venomous sneer twists Gretchen's lips as she arrogantly responds, 'I am, and always will be, the strongest witch in Felderia.'
Suddenly, chaos erupts within the chamber. Warrick, in his wolf form, lunges at Amos, tearing into his throat with ruthless efficiency. Blood spurts from the wounds as Amos crumples to the ground. His life extinguishes within seconds. The remaining wizards—Thaddeus, Orlan, and Caius—cast their staffs at Warrick, their magic intertwining to restrain him. Undeterred, Warrick snaps his menacing jaws at them, his mouth-stained crimson with Amos's blood.
‘You mangey fool,’ Gretchen says to Warrick, but then she smiles. ‘Now you can watch up close while I whip your mate to death,’ she cackles. Raising the whip, she prepares to carry out her sadistic plan.
Pixel slowly climbs up Gretchen’s dress, ready to intervene.
I notice Warrick’s ears twitch, and mine do, too, hearing the sounds of multiple footsteps coming through the stairs. Suddenly Janie, Orelious, Mister Kal, and Imogen appeared, united in their determination. Standing strong, Imogen wields a quarterstaff while Janie emanates an aura of magic, her hands charged and ready to fight. Gretchen narrows her eyes at Janie, but Janie held her ground.
‘Not if I stop you first,’ Janie declares with determination.
‘We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow,’ Gretchen shouts angrily.
‘I must not have read that part on the invitation,’ Janie retorts and smiles before continuing, ‘Although the mystic council are the most powerful wizards in Felderia and able to open portals that lead to anywhere in Felderia with just two of them. We managed to find over a dozen wizards who were willing to help us and used their magic together and managed to conjure enough power between them to create a portal as close as they could to here, which was Aurora Grove,’ Janie explains proudly.
Gretchen narrows her eyes at Janie, but Janie spreads her feet in a fighting stance, magic forming in her hands, ready to fight. ‘Where’s Xander,’ she says, realising his lack of presence.
‘I’m right here,’ he says, appearing from Thaddeus’s shadow and swiftly hovering his hand over an open page of his book. A symbol appears in red ethereal light. Suddenly, a blinding flash emanates from the tome, accompanied by an invisible force. The blinding flash engulfs the area, momentarily disorienting Gretchen and the three wizards. Simultaneously, the powerful shockwave blasts them backward with great force. The impact sends them hurtling through the air, crashing into the stone walls around them, freeing Warrick from his magic restraints.
Warrick launches himself at Thaddeus, his razor-sharp claws slashing through the air with devastating force. The wizard's stomach splits open, blood gushing forth gruesomely from Warrick's fury. Orelious then tears Thaddeus's head from his shoulders, severing the connection between body and life with a swift, merciless strike.
The clash of magic intensifies as Xander casts another spell. Orlan, held captive by the ethereal restraints, struggles against its grip. Meanwhile, Janie summons her magic, her power crackling and surging through the air toward Caius. At the same time, Caius refuses to relent, meeting his assault head-on and retaliating with a surge of his magic. The forces collide, an explosion of raw energy that rocks the dungeon, causing the walls to shake and crack.
Mister Kal appears out of thin air and explodes into a myriad of fleas that attack Caius as he continues to fight against Janie whiles scratching and pulling at his robes, distracting him from the ongoing battle.
Imogen spins in the air, to my complete surprise and hits Orlan across the back with her quarterstaff before using it to send his staff flying across the cold stone ground.
As everyone continues to battle, I feel Gretchen breathing heavily behind me in a furious manner. She raises her hand to whip me, but Pixel quickly appears on her chest and breathes fire, unleashing a scorching attack, causing Gretchen to scream in agony. Her face contorts in pain as she slaps Pixel away with a force that I feel him slam into my back before he falls to the ground.
Gretchen raises her hand and sends the whip flying towards my back with all her strength. I brace myself for the sharp, searing pain I’m about to endure, but instead, soft fur brushes against my back and a loud yelp rings in my ears. I look over my shoulder to see Warrick in his wolf form standing back up, growling and snarling at Gretchen.
With a single word spoken, Gretchen conjures a spell, 'Beastiabindus,' her magic entangling Warrick as he lunges towards her. The restraints hold him in place, his feral strength temporarily subdued.
Gretchen falls back, dropping the whip that has slashed through Warrick’s side. He’s only mere inches away from her. She looks around to see all the wizards are now dead except for Caius, who Xander, Orelious and Janie corner. Gretchen stands and disappears upstairs, knowing all too well that she is now the one in desperate need of escape.