I stepped towards Marie. I had picked up her scent again after following the magic of Marak for a few miles.

I had to concentrate on the trail and couldn’t run as fast as I wanted to.

The odor was stronger now, she was close.

Still alive.

She was not alone. I could hear twenty, maybe thirty people around her and metal, the rattling of chains. Henry, Marak, Alik, Illy and Rose; I distinguished their odor easily. Astarte even.

Why would Astarte be here? Wouldn’t it mean it was over for them?

No.

I recognized the smell of her blood. The noise of chains was coming from her.

My ears perceived voices in the distance. I hid in the shadows of the last specks of dusk.

“Licky Licky. I like you, but you know what’s going to happen after this evening, don’t you?” It was Astarte’s voice.

“…Yes. I am familiar with your way of punishing betrayal. But I do not believe you will kill me, you never have. I shall accept your punishment, Astarte.”

“You’re not ready for that. You never will. You’d be better off putting me inside the circle with Marie.”

The Elder didn’t respond at first. “Maybe I should. You broke the Laws multiple times… But I can’t. I’m here to serve justice, and your actions have always had meaning beyond what I could understand. I am unable to judge you.”

“But you judge them? They have been normal humans for most of their lives, you only met them twice, when all of their world collapsed on itself.”

“I know. And the fact that they are humans, albeit strange ones, lets me judge them. I know how they work; I know what they’ll do before they decide it themselves. Whether now or later, the Beast shall control Gray. It shall bring destruction in this world beyond compare. Prophecy or no prophecy, the monster needs to go.”

“Alik.” Astarte said with a serious voice. “You’re just going to fulfill the prophecy yourself.”

“No. You know this ritual. It brings death upon everything that lives. Even you couldn’t survive it. It is forbidden for a reason: It can break any spoken law.”

Astarte laughed, then spoke in a soft, cold manner.

“Oh, I know what this ritual does and doesn’t. And everything you say is the truth. But don’t you remember my words, child?”

“Do not call me that.”

“But you are. You are playing chess with a wolf, child.”

“Stories for kids. A lesson to be taken metaphorically, you said so yourself.”

Astarte laughed again. “Are you not old and experienced? You should feel the signs. Can’t you see the sky? The air smells of things to come no one could predict.”

Alik sighed. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, as usual. I’m sorry, Astarte, but I have to do this. We are the guarantors of peace and order. Such chaotic creatures are not meant to roam here.”

I walked through the forest. I was taking my time, listening to the spoken words. Night had fallen, the moon was full. It would be red.

The Beast was close to my skin, but I didn’t let him control me.

I was closer now, enough to smell another. Natasha. Weak, close to death.

This shouldn’t be…

I did not understand what I was going to find out there.

But I continued to go towards the center of the forest.

Finally, I reached a large glade. It was a perfect unnatural circle, and inside it, humans, no witches I immediately corrected, were surrounding my girlfriend, in another smaller circle.

It was filled with magic and runes.

Marie was in the middle of it, unable to move. No restraints, only energy holding her perfectly in place.

My senses went on high alert.

On the other side of the clearing, Alik, surrounded by ten or so vampires and by an unconscious yet still standing Natasha, was talking to Astarte. Multiple jeeps surrounded them, on top of the vehicles, contraptions to hold the God-Child in place. She was on her knees, stuck on the floor by metallic harpoons piercing her body and sticking it in place with chains and powerful magic.

I could see the flow of energy but did not know how to free her from it.

I wouldn’t bother for now. Right now, I needed to get my girlfriend out of there.

I sneaked outside the forest. I made no noise. The moon made large shadows for me to move unnoticed.

I saw Henry in the back of one of the jeeps. He was hitting the window to get out, but a quick compulsion from a vampire made him stop.

I got closer to the circle, felt the tremendous magic inside.

“A FINE CREATION. KILLING THE WITCHES NOW WILL ACTIVATE THE RITUAL AND IMPROVE ITS CAPACITY.”

I didn’t care about the Beast’s analysis.

“STEP INSIDE, ORACLE OF CHAOS.”

I walked inside the circle. One of the witches I passed next to shivered in fear by reflex, the other didn’t as much as budge a muscle.

Five of the witches in the circle were here willingly. Illy and Rose as well as six others were stuck in place with the same spell that forced Marie to stand there. But the magic was much more powerful, putting them in a sort of stasis preventing them from seeing, hearing and talking.

Further away, at the northern curve of the magic circle, Marak grinned.

“How nice of you to just walk right into our trap! Elder, it is there, as you predicted!... I was certain you would first kill us all, monster! Smart of you not to!”

I didn’t know how he saw me, but everyone who could turned their gaze towards me.

“Gray! What the hell are you doing?” Marie exclaimed.

“I’m getting you out of here.” I was in Igris’s body but my voice was terrifyingly low.

“Well, don’t! Look at the rune on the ground! It’s another version of the death thing! They are doing the forbidden ritual! Go away!”

I moved fast, grabbed her hand and pulled, but she didn’t move an inch.

I saw the energy around her. If I pulled harder, she would still not move but lose a limb instead.

I growled in anger and looked at the dark-skinned witch.

“Let her go.” I ordered.

Alik appeared next to him. “This can’t be done, I’m sorry. Begin the ceremony.” He ordered the witch.

Energy reached out to me, coming out from Marak and the four other free witches. It was the same spell that trapped the others.

Gust of wind on the ocean.

“As I thought, we can’t immobilize the monster, Elder.” Marak informed him.

“No matter, begin the ceremony. It is an animal; it won’t leave its mate.”

“I hope you’re right. Does the young witch have to die as well?”

“It is unfortunate. I apologize for the loss of a promising recruit, but it is the only way to make the Conscient stay in place. An unfortunate collateral.” Alik calmly noted.

Marak nodded and began concentrating. He knelt on the ground, picked up some grass and earth, and put it in front of his heart.

I wasn’t caring about them, only looking at my girlfriend, and how to free her.

What should I do?

The Beast was there. But it was staying silent.

“Gray!” Marie called out to me.

“Shh, let me…”

“Gray. Please, just leave.” She pleaded with tears in her eyes. “It is my fault, I should have been more careful, I was just so happy to see Nat I didn’t think…”

“Hush Marie. I’m trying to concentrate.”

“You don’t have time, the glyphs are activating, you can feel them as I do. We knew from the beginning I would die before you. Don’t follow me there. That’s not how I want to go.”

I looked at her. She was crying.

“Your death is your own.” I repeated her old words.

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“Yes. Exactly.”

“Well, I refuse. You are mine.” I couldn’t contain my anger.

“Oh Gray, I always will be. Please, just…”

Things happened fast.

The energy holding the trapped witches weakened slightly, enough for them to talk again. “Rose baby, please close your eyes. Gray please, I don’t…” Illy asked me incoherently.

The others began shouting and protesting, Rose began crying: “Mommy? What’s happening?”

Marak’s eyes opened, taking a reddish and ominous glow.

Alik smiled. “It is done. Checkmate.”

The runes activated completely, sucking all life from within the circle. I grabbed Marie.

The grass fell, became dark, withered, and died. Insects screeched and ceased to be, everything living was sucked out of existence, flowing inside the witches.

Beast! Do SOMETHING! I shouted inside myself.

IT only gave a sinister laugh.

“Gray, please leave…” Marie begged. Then, the spell reached us. Her eyes took a greyish tint, her lips moved: “I lo….” Then stopped mid-sentence, not to move again.

I felt her body become heavy in my arms, free of the trapping enchantment, void of life.

She was dead.

Her energy flowed towards the witches, one of them grunted in pain as it was too much for him.

I couldn’t move, her body still in my arms. The spell reached me an instant later.

A gigantic force began pulling for my lifeforce, trying to rob me of my essence as it had done to Marie.

A single droplet in the vastness of an infinite ocean.

Marak fell on his knees, as did Illy. Rose immediately lost consciousness. Most witches screamed in agony, pleading for mercy, squirming on the ground. Another began scratching her face in a terrifying rendition of pure madness.

“What is happening?” Alik shouted.

CHAOS COMES. The Beast answered him, even though no one except me could hear.

Illy shouted: “Belfor! Stop the spell!”

“No!” The dark-skinned witch protested “We have to…”

He looked up to me, still standing straight, holding the lifeless body of Marie in my arms.

“By all that is holy…” He stopped midsentence to scream in pain.

“STOP THE SPELL!” Illy ordered.

“Don’t!” Alik countered. “The Conscient is still not affected by the ritual. You have to continue!” He was visibly shaken, not understanding at all what was happening.

Marak waited for two more seconds. Illy fell unconscious after the first, and one of his neighboring acolytes took a knife out of its scabbard and stabbed himself in the neck during the second.

The spurt of blood reached his face, and he stopped the spell.

The energy around me receded. The glyphs scrunched up the grass and earth, then disappeared.

Some witches gasped for air. Others didn’t react anymore.

Illy coughed violently.

Their screams had ceased.

I did not care.

I looked at Marie.

“It’s still alive! Belfor, what the hell is going on!?” Alik shouted.

“I…don’t…” Marak was catching his breath.

Only one witch was still standing, she looked young but felt old. She barely registered in my consciousness. It didn’t matter.

“You’ll pay for what you have done, Belfor Marak.” She said before vanishing out of thin air.

“Licky Licky? What happened?” Astarte’s asked with an interested tone.

“You!? Did you do something?” Alik left the ritual circle to go towards the God-Child.

Marie’s body was getting colder.

“YOU COULD JUST KILL ALL THE WITCHES. WIN BACK HER SOUL.”

The Beast was tempting me. I hated IT, it had done nothing to help. I tried to ignore its words. But I remembered Illy’s explanation. If I killed all the witches and regained the taken energy, I could bring Marie back…

“Gray…please…don’t hurt Rose.” Illy had woken up already. She seemed to know what I was thinking.

“Why should I care? You killed Marie.” My voice had never been this cold.

“Heaven’s sake, I have to rework on a whole new plan. Belfor, let’s leave and regroup while the thing is still in shock.” Alik ordered while I was talking to the nature witch.

I did not care what he wanted to do.

“I’m sorry Gray. But Gione already teleported away. It’s too late, even if you found her, Marie wouldn’t come back.”

THE LITTLE WITCH IS RIGHT, YOU KNOW?

SHUT UP. IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.

HOW SO?

You influenced me. If I had left the circle, or never entered it, they would have had no need to kill Marie.

NO, THEY WOULD HAVE KILLED HER IN ANOTHER WAY. ONE WHERE NOTHING COULD HAVE BROUGHT HER BACK.

What? You know how to bring her back?

NOT ME.

My anger subsided, insane hope submerging me whole.

Who? Tell me, I don’t have much time.

She was getting so cold already.

“Yes Elder, we should…” Marak talked back to Alik, but once again, I did not care about their words at all.

“Gray? Gray?!” Illy shouted at me.

WHO!? The Beast began laughing.

TELL ME.

MY LOVE HAS BEEN FOREVER AND NEVER ENDING. BE MY MISTRESS AGAIN, COLOR OF THE MOON, AND YOUR MATE SHALL LIVE WITH YOU.

I have no time for your riddles, Beast.

CAN’T YOU FEEL HER LOVE?

What? No, I…

The Beast showed me the ocean.

The one inside of me, the infinity that cradled me.

ACCEPT HER.

I…I don’t…

OPEN YOURSELF TO HER COMPLETELY.

Wasn’t this the thing demonologist did? How would that help with…

YOU HAVE NO MERE LINK WITH HER. YOU ARE HER.

What? No… How am I supposed to…

EITHER DO IT OR MARIE WILL CEASE TO EXIST.

The Beast showed me the ocean once again.

The Ocean within me.

YES. YES!

Time stopped. Alik was waiting further away for Marak to join him. Agonizing witches were squirming on the ground. Illy was crawling towards her daughter. Astarte was struggling on her chains, fake smile on her lips, looking straight at Marie and me. She was giving me such a sad expression, as if she knew. As if she had known.

The Ocean within me is dark.

CHAOS HAS EVERY COLOR.

I delved deeper within myself. Much deeper than before. Igris and Ray together could reach such depths, only them, only together, beyond where the Beast hid, beyond my past and future.

There, I walked on infinite dark liquid.

Except it wasn’t liquid.

It was alive.

CALL HER.

I felt what it was. Could not comprehend it.

It had always been there. It was with every life. It was life itself. It was death.

Please, help Marie. I begged her.

CALL HER NAME.

…Chaos…

Illy

Rose was too young for this amount of energy. She was still breathing, but I feared for the worst. Half this amount of magic would have made most witches demented. If I hadn’t done so many dumb things with Nat back in the day, I wouldn’t be conscious right now, or I would be gauging my eyes out like Fiona there.

I crawled once more, pushing my body to its utmost limit.

Belfor was leaving, Alik supporting his side. He was followed by Ulrich and Jeremy, two of his damned witches that had survived the drain of magic.

I knew Gray had been hiding things from us. But when the rune had activated, I, as well as all the other witches, had felt the energy she had.

Belfor was in denial, but I was not. Gione, one of, if not the strongest North American witch had reacted the best way I could think of. She had immediately teleported away. She fled so not to incur the wrath of the girl we had angered.

I doubted Gray would listen to me. She was still unmoving, in the middle of the ruined glyph, holding Marie in her arms. I needed to take Rose and leave, as fast as possible.

Once again, I crawled forwards, using the recently acquired excess of magic inside me to help me move.

“Sorry M’am.” A male voice came from behind me.

I looked at him. A vampire, Alik’s goon. “I’ve been ordered to get rid of the witnesses.”

He had announced it as if he were going for a walk with his dog.

No emotion, nothing.

“No…” I knew better than to beg with the bloodsucking monsters. I looked at my daughter for one last time.

But before he could do anything, the clearing became clear as day. Except this daylight was grey, its shine impossible.

“What is…?” The vampire behind me said. “The moon…”

I raised my head. The moon…I couldn’t hide my shock. The celestial body was three times larger as it should have been. It felt as if it filled the entire sky.

Then, I sensed Magic.

Not magic power or energy, just Magic. Pure, infinite.

It came from Gray.

I looked towards her.

She wasn’t there.

In her stead, stood something magnificent.

Something terrifying.

Something that personified Magic was holding Marie in her arms.

It gave her a light kiss on the mouth, then laid the body of my young student on the ground with immense care.

Out of her gigantic shadow, an even bigger wolf emerged. He rose from nothingness. His fur darker than night itself.

“MISTRESS” IT said.

She didn’t respond. She crouched, then touched Marie’s forehead and torso.

It was a spell.

Power grew.

Impossible brightness filled my eyes, the rumbling of a giant explosion pierced my ears.

And then everything went black.