The stick in May’s pocket suddenly glows bright, capturing her attention. She stares at it, puzzled, while Leon and I observe in awe.
‘I wonder?’ May says as she pulls it out and holds it up in contemplation. ‘The spells Nina and I read in the book of spells and hexes,’ she exclaims.
Confused, I give May a quizzical look before another bone breaks. I recall us reading numerous spells in that book, but I have no idea why they’re on her mind.
May steps out from the bushes, raising the stick high in the air, and chants a spell from the book she has memorized. ‘Tumultuous Volley!’
Suddenly, thunder erupts, and dark clouds appear, swirling high above the rogues.
Tumultuous Volley is one of the spells I had read in the book. It supposedly summons a storm and strikes enemies down with lightning, but I can’t believe it’s real, that the spell actually works.
The rogues suddenly halt, gazing up at the storm brewing above them. Then, one by one, lightning strikes them down. The rogues scream, shout, and scatter in fear. The ones struck burst into ash.
Moss and the others don’t move an inch. Instead, they sit or stand frozen in place, watching with horror.
‘May!’ Nina shouts for her attention, but the rogues spread out further to avoid being struck by lightning and run toward May, attempting to form a circle around her. Leon attacks two of them at a time. He’s been bitten on the leg and has a scratch down his side, but he’s putting up a good fight.
May bites her lip, glancing over her shoulder at me. ‘Magnus, do you happen to recall what the words for the flame spell were?’ she desperately asks.
‘Inferno Flamo,’ I reply, shouting it out.
May smiles, and I swear I see a flicker of flame in her eyes before she summons it. With a determined look, May faces the rogues again and shouts, ‘Inferno Flamo!’
A ball of flame emerges from the tip of the stick she wields. May aims and hurls it toward a rogue, and then another ball of flame appears. May targets and hits as many rogues as she can. The rogues on fire rush toward the nearby creek, rolling in the water or meeting their demise as they fall to the ground, consumed by the flames.
I finally shift and unleash a fierce howl. Leon returns to fight by my side, and together, we lunge and bite at the rogues closing in on May. Suddenly, an elderly she-wolf emerges from the cave, her face contorted with fury. The remaining rogues shift into wolf forms and race towards Leon and me.
Leon and I easily dispatch half of them. Most are malnourished and lack any training skills they might have received in a regular pack.
Moss, realizing that we are closing in on him. He drags Nina towards the old lady and another woman around my mother’s age. As they take hold of Nina's wrists, Moss falls to the ground, crying out as his bones snap—the onset of his first shift.
Within a couple of minutes, Moss swiftly completes his shift. His wolf is medium-sized, brown, with a few odd patches of grey. I must be twice his size. He's not an imposing or handsome wolf.
Moss lets out a terrible attempt at a howl. It lacks any intimidation, and he charges towards Leon and me, who are fending off a few more rogues. Moss lunges at Leon, biting his leg. Leon whimpers and tries to fend off another rogue already attacking him. I counter by lunging at Moss, easily knocking him over. Balls of flame shoot past us, and thick fog envelops the surroundings as May shouts, ‘Nebulora!’
The only person I can see is Moss, snarling and snapping his teeth at me. Amidst the chaos, I can hear Nina desperately calling out my name. ‘Magnus!’
Moss lunges at me through the dissipating fog. I swiftly snap my teeth over his front leg, the crunch of breaking bone echoing through the air. He lets out a whimper of pain and retaliates with a snarl. Before he can make his next move, I lunge again, knocking him onto his back. Pressing my front paws onto his chest, I rip ferociously into his neck. Moss becomes limp as a puddle of blood forms around him, pooling from his torn-open neck.
As the fog lifts, the woman around my mother’s age lets out a horrific scream and rushes towards Moss's lifeless body. 'No! Not my son. He can’t be dead!' she wails, cradling his head, tears flooding her face. I take a few steps back, feeling the guilt of Moss’s mother witnessing her son’s demise. She looks up at me with a fierce stare.
Her eyes blaze with a vengeful fire. 'You, Magnus! You will pay for this!' Her voice is a venomous whisper laced with bitterness. 'I should have ended your mother's existence long ago, and now, I will reap my vengeance upon you too!' She warns.
The older woman clutches the younger one's shoulder, and a silent promise of revenge burns in her gaze. 'It's over for now, but this won't be the last you see of us,' she hisses. Her stare, cold and penetrating, locks onto mine.
I snarl, the primal urge to retaliate building within me. I step forward, ready to attack, but May intervenes, placing a reassuring hand on my back.
'No, let them go. We need to find Nina. We can worry about them later,' she asserts, her voice steady.
Moss's mother and the mysterious woman swiftly shift into wolves and vanish into the night. I reluctantly withhold my aggression and shift back, the transformation accompanied by agonizing pain. Leon follows suit, shifting into his human form.
With no time to lose, I call out for Nina.
There are dead bodies and ash everywhere. Gianna, still tied to the post, sobs uncontrollably. May frees her, providing her comfort. I hear a moan and a mumble and run towards the sound. Pushing a couple of bodies aside, I find Nina.
‘Nina, I’m here. You’re safe now,’ I assure her, untying her wrists. She squints her eyes, letting them adjust. The look of relief shows on her face. She sits up, lunges into my lap, wraps her arms around my neck, and cries into my chest.
'You came for me. You found me,' Nina whispers through tears.
'Of course I did, Nina. I would search the ends of the earth for you,' I tell her softly, holding her close.