Page 12 of Poltergeists & Change of Life

Just another day in the life of a pregnant witch, reluctant hero, and now an explorer in Lyra's pocket dimension of horrors. Eat your heart out, National Geographic. This was what I call extreme tourism.

"Alright, team," I called out, summoning every ounce of bravado I could muster (which, admittedly, wasn't much at this point). "Let's show these Tainted witches what happens when you mess with the Dieudonne. On three. One... two..." Because the universe has a sick sense of humor and a degree in dramatic timing, everything went to hell. Figuratively, this time.

CHAPTER 6

"Three!" I shouted as all hell broke loose. I thrust my hands forward and channeled my pregnancy-enhanced magic into a blazing fireball. It streaked towards the nearest cluster of Tainted witches. The shower of sparks as it exploded was stunning. Literally. It sent them flying like bowling pins. "Strike!" I crowed as I conjured a protective barrier around our group.

To my left, Stella was a whirlwind of motion. She flung spell after spell, each one was more creative than the last. "Hey, Tainted creeps!" she yelled, hurling what looked suspiciously like a glowing rubber chicken. "Catch this!" The chicken exploded mid-air, showering the witches with a sticky, neon-green goo that seemed to nullify their magic on contact.

Nana, bless her crafty soul, was pulling vials from who-knows-where in her cardigan. "Eat this," she cackled as she lobbed a potion that erupted into a cloud of shimmering purple smoke. The smoke coalesced around a group of witches and hardened into crystal-like structures that trapped them mid-stride.

Persephone was a vision of divine fury. Her eyes glowed with celestial fire as she raised her hands. Suddenly, the groundbeneath the Tainted witches' feet erupted into a tangle of vines and roots. "You dare challenge the Queen of the Underworld?" she thundered, her voice echoing with mystical power. The plants writhed and constricted, binding our foes tight.

And Aidon? My grumpy god of a mate was in his element. His sword flashed like lightning, cleaving through dark magic as if it were tissue paper. He moved with inhuman grace. For one second, I marveled at the whirlwind of destruction he became. He left a wake of disarmed and very confused Tainted witches in his path. "Is this the best Lyra could do?" he growled and deflected a curse with a casual flick of his blade.

Feeling something come at me, I spun on my heel. My pregnant belly made the move slightly less graceful than I'd hoped, but didn’t stop me from flinging out my hand. A wave of force rippled through the air and sent a line of advancing witches tumbling head over heels. "Sorry, not sorry," I called out. "I'd say it's not personal. Let's face it. At this point it kind of is!"

A Tainted witch who crackled with dark energy managed to break through our defenses and lunged at me. Without missing a beat, I ducked (thank you, constant evil fighting). I swept my leg out and channeled a burst of magic through my foot as it connected with her ankle. She went down hard. My eyes flew open when I noticed she was encased in a cocoon of glowing energy.

"Nice moves, preggo!" Stella shouted as she tossed me a vial of something that smelled suspiciously like week-old gym socks and rotten eggs. "Use this! It'll make them think twice about messing with a hormonal witch!"

Leaving thoughts of my babies’ growing powers, I caught the vial and immediately lobbed it at the largest cluster of witches. It shattered at their feet, releasing a cloud of the most noxious gas I'd ever had the misfortune of smelling. The Tainted witches dropped like flies. They were gagging and clutching theirthroats. "Oh god," I choked out, waving a hand in front of my face. "I think that violates the Geneva Convention!"

Nana cackled from somewhere to my right. "That's my secret recipe! Works every time!"

The battle raged on, a chaotic symphony of spells, curses, and the occasional snappy one-liner. We were outnumbered, sure. What we lacked in numbers, we made up for in sheer, stubborn determination. And, let's face it, a hefty dose of divine backup.

As I faced down yet another wave of Tainted witches, I grinned. This wasn't how I'd planned to spend my day, but damn if it wasn't exhilarating. I ducked under a crackling bolt of dark energy and retaliated with a rapid-fire series of magical projectiles that looked suspiciously like glowing rubber ducks. They homed in on their targets with unerring accuracy and exploded in bursts of blinding light. They left the Tainted witches stumbling and disoriented.

"Duck and cover!" I yelled, unable to resist the pun.

Stella groaned even as she pirouetted away from a grasping tendril of shadow. Her spell turned the ground beneath the witch's feet into what appeared to be lime Jell-O. Nearby, Aidon was a whirlwind of celestial fury. His sword left trails of light as it cleaved through dark magic. A Tainted witch made the mistake of lunging at him, only to find herself on the receiving end of a godly roundhouse kick that sent her flying into three of her comrades.

Not to be outdone, Persephone raised her arms to the swirling, otherworldly sky. The fabric of Lyra's pocket dimension seemed to ripple in response. Fissures opened in the ground, disgorging spirits that swarmed around the Tainted witches. Their ethereal forms sapped away dark magic like supernatural leaches.

"That's cheating!" one of the witches had the audacity to complain.

"Honey," Persephone replied in a voice dripping with disdain, "I'm the Queen of the Underworld. I don't cheat. I rewrite the rules."

Meanwhile, Nana proved that treachery will always overcome youth and skill. She hobbled between groups of witches, looking for all the world like a confused old lady who'd wandered into the wrong dimension. But every 'accidental' bump and stumble left another witch incapacitated, either from a surreptitiously placed hex bag or a surprisingly strong whack from her cane.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry," she cackled after she clothes-lined a particularly nasty-looking witch with her cane. "These old eyes aren't what they used to be. Here, let me help you up." The witch made the mistake of accepting the offered hand, only to find herself suddenly transformed into a rather confused-looking flamingo.

I was running on pure adrenaline and pregnancy-enhanced magic. My spells were wilder and more unpredictable than ever before. One moment, I was conjuring shields of pure force. The next, I was turning Tainted magic back on its casters with a flick of my wrist.

"Is it too late to file a complaint with Lyra's customer service?" I shouted as I dodged another blast of dark energy. "The hospitality here leaves a lot to be desired."

Just as it seemed we might be gaining the upper hand, a bone-chilling screech filled the air. The remaining Tainted witches fell back and formed a circle around us. A figure emerged from the swirling miasma at the edge of the battlefield. It was tall and gaunt with eyes that burned with brown fire. Lyra herself had decided to join the party.

"Well, hello." Her voice slithered through the air like oil on water. "The Dieudonne family, in my humble abode. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

I stepped forward, ignoring Aidon's protective arm. "Cut the crap, Lyra. We know what you're planning with Hattie and that amulet. It's never going to work."

Lyra's laughter was like broken glass in my ears. "Oh, you foolish girl. It's already done. Hattie's essence is bound, and her power is mine to command. She will take what belongs to her, and I will have your power, too. You've played right into my hands."

She gestured with one hand, and the air around us began to crystallize. It was going to form a cage around us. My magic was being suppressed, and my heart began to race. She could not win. Yet, I was powerless to do anything about it. Everything I tried bounced back at me.

"Now," Lyra purred, "shall we negotiate the terms of your surrender?"

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