Page 22 of Hunted on Halloween

Tia took a stepback, she thought she was ready for whatever was to come. Seeing the witch step out of thin air in front of her rattled her.

“Is she one of yours?” she asked Tieran, feeling more discombobulated as she realized that she was still thinking of them and us meaning us the humans and them monsters. How could she protect them all when she still saw them as two separate species, two different people?

“She’s a witch like you, witchling.”

Well, wasn’t that a kick in the gut because whenever Tieran called her a witchling, she understood now that he wasn’t referring to humans or monsters, but he was referring to both.

As she stood there looking at the red-eyed witch, Tia understood why there was a prophecy and why it all came down to her. Without her, the humans and Tieran’s people would never survive. It wouldn’t matter if this plane was destroyed and the other one continued to thrive because they would kill each other.

They needed the glue named Tia to bring them together. No, she wasn’t delusional or thinking that things were going to be perfect, and harmony was going to reign. She did know that with her influence, things were going to change. She’d work on it until they did.

“It’s a kick in the pants to realize that the whole world depends on you whether they realize it or not,” Tieran said.

Tia turned to look at her mate and she realized that he’d been living with that responsibility for way too many years, and now she was going to take his hand and together they were going to hold each other up.

“Witchling,” the female hissed, standing in front of the vault. “I’m ready for you.”

“Hold your horses, bitch,” Tia said. “Can’t you see I’m having an existential crisis over here?” She heard Tieran’s and Bryce’s low but deep chuckles, and it made her feel better. She could do this.

She looked down at the ground again to realize the witch, whoever she was, hadn’t stepped over the line and that’s when she knew that she couldn’t step over the line. She was waiting for Tia to make the first move. “You can’t step over the line,” Tia said. “What happens if I simply wait you out?”

“This world explodes, and I’m vindicated either way.”

“When this world explodes, so will the other one,” Tia said, giving her a history lesson like she was talking to a young student.

“Hogwash, that woman knew nothing.” The Witch shook her head mumbling to herself. Her necrotech sisters had taken care of that crone and her prophecy.

Tia gave her a slow smile, wondering if it looked as evil as it felt to her. The woman in front of the vault flinched, so Tia thought she may have hit the mark. She brought up her hand and sent fire at the other woman.

It bounced off an invisible shield. On-the-job training indeed, she thought. The woman lifted her hand and sent what looked like a bolt of dark lightning at Tia, but it also bounced off the shield.

“If you want me or the curse, you have to be willing to step over the line,” the woman taunted.

Tia ran her hand through her , thinking fast. If she couldn’t send fire through the shield and the woman couldn’t send whatever it was back at her, then why should they worry because wouldn’t the curse simply destroy the area that it was contained in?

“It doesn’t work like that, witchling,” the woman said, disgust in her voice. “When this curse activates, it will take everyone. It will destroy everyone on this plane. The only question is will I kill you before the curse has a chance to kill us all?”

Tia nodded. That had answered her question. There was no choice but to confront the witch.

“This is my fight.” Tia said softly, standing tall. As much as she would like her mate and Bryce to be there with her, having to worry about the witch hurting them would distract her. She needed them to stay safely behind the shield. She turned to her mate. “Wait for me, please.”

She wanted to kiss him one last time, but it would just be a distraction. She turned back to face the witch. “What’s your name?”

“You can call me Esmer.”

Tia knew when the witch said her name was Esmer that it was short for Esmeralda. She would grant the witch her dying request.

“Esmer, how many years have you been here guarding this vault while your sisters have been living their lives?” The witch projected anger and disdain for all she had been through.

“That many.” Tia stepped over the line. She acknowledged there wasn’t enough time. Maybe there’d never be enough time to get through all the anger and pain that Esmer felt at being left behind.

The witch didn’t wait. She was mumbling words and conjuring up some kind of spell to hit Tia. All Tia had in her arsenal was a shield and fire, and she doubted that it would be enough.

She threw up a shield to protect herself from whatever Esmer was throwing at her. The darkness hit the shield, making it wobble before it threw her backwards. She ended up on the ground. The shield still covered her, but it had grown weaker.

Tia pushed herself up. She could hear her mate hissing and saw him pacing. Tia shook her head no; she wasn’t going to worry about him if he crossed the line or watch him die while she tried to kill the witch.

Her head was pounding as she tried to strengthen the shield. The witch continued to bombard it, hitting it with the darkness that seemed to come from her very soul.

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