Chapter 22 : Run While You Can, Mr Witch-Hunter

The world swims back into focus like I'm emerging from murky water; sounds first, muffled and distant, then sharp pain in my throat, and finally my vision clearing to reveal Jay's worried face hovering over mine.

"Olivia! Can you hear me?" His voice cracks with panic, his hands cradling my head.

I jolt upright, gasping as memories flood back - Ephraim's fingers crushing my windpipe, the sanctuary under attack, Evelyn appearing from nowhere. The sudden movement sends sparks of pain shooting through my skull, but I push through it, scanning our surroundings.

"Where is he?" I rasp, my voice barely recognizable.

"Still here," comes a voice that makes my blood run cold.

I turn to see Ephraim standing twenty feet away, looking considerably worse for wear than when I last saw him. His immaculate coat is torn and singed at the edges, a thin line of red tracing from his temple down his cheek.

Behind him, witch hunters regroup in smaller numbers, some supporting wounded comrades, others eyeing us with renewed wariness.

Whatever happened while I was out, we gave as good as we got.

I rise to my feet, ignoring Jay's attempt to keep me down.

This time, I didn't have to reach for my powers, it was already waiting for me… it's like something is creating a peaceful connection inside me between the witch and wolf.

I have already been out for God knows how long… so the best thing which I can do right now, Is to let them flow together.

Power rushes through me like an electric current, making the air around me shimmer with potential.

"Do you ou still think you can take me?" I challenge, my voice carrying a new resonance that makes the leaves on nearby trees tremble.

Ephraim's eyes narrow, and I catch something I've rarely seen there before :- uncertainty.

Good. I need to put enough fear into him, which in turn will make them take their time before thinking of coming after us… this buy us time to go after the crown.

And judging by the way he shifts his stance, it's working.

His response is a blast of energy that cuts through the air like lightning.

I sidestep it with newfound grace, feeling my hybrid senses predict the attack before it fully forms.

The scorched earth where I stood a moment ago smolders, but I'm already moving, channeling a counter-spell through my fingertips.

The battle becomes a deadly dance.

Ephraim hurls curse after curse, each more vicious than the last.

I weave between them, my wolf reflexes guiding my witch's power in ways I never thought I could achieve on my own anytime soon.

When I strike back, my magic doesn't fight my werewolf nature; it amplifies it, making each spell hit harder, move faster.

I have to admit, It felt good to finally put this guy in his place.

From the corner of my eye, I see Jay engaging three hunters at once. His movements are a blur of controlled fury, but I catch the telltale signs of fatigue; a dodge that comes a second too late, a counterattack that lacks his usual precision.

Small burns appear on his arms where near-misses have grazed him, and my heart constricts at the sight.

Evelyn works her own kind of magic from the edge of the clearing.

Her hands twist in complex patterns, and the forest responds to her command. Roots erupt from the ground like living whips, ensnaring witch hunters and creating chaos in their ranks.

The living wood of the sanctuary itself seems to fight for us, branches reaching down to swipe at our attackers.

"You think this display impresses me?" Ephraim sneers, though I catch the strain in his voice.

Sweat beads on his forehead as he maintains a shield against my increasingly powerful attacks. "You're nothing but a fluke."

His words are meant to wound, but they fuel my resolve.

I feel my power building, crackling along my skin like static electricity.

When Ephraim attempts to bind my magic with an ancient curse, I don't recognize the spellwork from anywhere but somehow saw it's main structure… I feel it coming like a wave of cold air.

Instead of resisting, I somehow knew that I can spin the energy back at him… Whis I flawlessly did, watching his eyes widen as his own spell rebounds.

"Who taught you that?" he gasps, genuine shock breaking through his composure.

I bare my teeth in a smile that's more wolf than human. "That's none of your business."

That's when I hear it… Jay's howl of pain cutting through the chaos.

I whip around to see him thrown backward, a witch hunter's dark spell catching him squarely in the side.

He's thrown himself between me and the attack, taking a blast meant for me.

Time seems to slow as I watch him fall, his body crumpling, his side blackened by malevolent magic.

Something inside me snaps… a connection between my two natures shattering like glass.

The scream that tears from my throat becomes something along this line of an attack directed at the hunters… a roar that carries both wolf's fury and witch's intent. Power explodes outward in a concussive wave that bends trees and ripples the very air.

Witch hunters are thrown back like rag dolls, and even Ephraim staggers, hastily erecting a barrier that cracks under the onslaught.

For one terrifying moment, I'm sure I wanted Ephraim dead.

The magic pours from me in waves, responding to my rage, my fear, my desperation.

The ground beneath my feet splits and heaves, and the sky above darkens as my power draws energy from everything around me.

Through the maelstrom, I lock eyes with Ephraim.

What I see there sends a chill down my spine even as my power rages unchecked, not just fear, but a dawning recognition.

It was as if he's seeing something he's been told about but never believed until now.

"Just like the last one," he whispers, the words barely reaching me through the roar of power.

With monumental effort, I pull the magic back into myself, reining in the tempest before it can consume everything around us.

As I do, I catch glimpses of what my outburst has done - trees bent at impossible angles, the earth scored with deep furrows, witch hunters scattered and broken.

Of course the one who attacked Jay is 'Dead'

And Jay, still and silent on the ground, while Thalia kneels beside him, frantically working something I could only assume is healing magic that seems pitifully inadequate against the darkness spreading across his torso.

Ephraim and his remaining hunters begin to retreat, dragging their wounded with them.

Only he lingers at the edge of the clearing, his cracked barrier spell shimmering between us.

"This isn't over," he calls out, his voice unsteady. "You think you've won? The coven will send forces that make me look like a novice!"

I take a single step toward him, and the ground trembles beneath my feet. The witch hunter actually flinches.

"Run while you can, Mr. Witch-Hunter," I say, my voice still carrying that strange dual resonance. "Next time, I won't be so merciful."

As he disappears into the trees, the full weight of what's happened crashes down on me.

I rush to Jay's side, my heart in my throat, praying that I haven't lost him in my moment of uncontrolled power.

The cost of putting fear into Ephraim's heart might be higher than I ever intended to pay.