Page 106 of Which Witch is Willing?
I am the dance of the flame.
A spark ignited the forest, setting the undead waiting in the trees on fire and arcing round them, ensconcing their battle in flames and evening the odds. Many of them ran for the cliff, hurling themselves into the ocean.
Elsewhere, other fires burned. Tempers ignited and passions and evils that had been held back now exploded into chaos and battles. Forests and planes alike were chewed up by flames so powerful their plumes blotted out the sun.
I am the breath of the sky.
Where lightning touched down on the battlefield, scores of undead were blown for yards where they landed, mangled and useless.
Elsewhere, tornadoes and hurricanes churned the skies, feeding the sea storms, fanning the flames.
I am the heart of the earth.
Sinkholes opened up in the earth, swallowing entire sects of Lucifer’s host. Vines lashed and pinned them to the ground, immobilizing them so the horsemen could do more efficient damage.
Elsewhere sinkholes devastated roads and railways. Landslides and earthquakes changed the geological maps of entire nations.
A distressing knowledge opened up a pit in Aerin’s chest as she felt the final seal give way. It vibrated inside of her with that silent, terrible stillness right before an earthquake. The sky turned dark. The moon barely glowed, it was so red with blood, so smothered by volcanic ash.
It was done.
Goddess help them all.
She sought Julian in the battle and found him easily. His features both savage and focused, his movements controlled and choreographed, he devastated dozens at a time with his sharp spear.
Next to him, Dru hacked at limbs and heads and Nick stood on the saddle of his horse, surfing through the horde and taking them out with three arrows at a time. With sweeps of his long scythe, Bane created a constant circle of bodies, and with their concerted efforts, they’d managed to keep the host of hell at bay.
But it wasn’t enough.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Lucifer advanced. She’d broken through the line of witches, and was coming straight for the stones. Her lips murmured dark incantations, and behind the ash and destruction razed everything to the ground.
“It is done,” she said, her eyes gleaming with dark intent as she raced for them. “There is no need for you now.”
51
“We need more time!” Tierra shouted over the din. Keeping their hands clasped, she folded them over until she clutched at Moira’s other hand, forming a circle. “A protection spell, Quickly!”
Now, their wands were each held by themselves, and another.
Moira touched her wand to Aerin’s and motioned the other two to do the same. An orb of light and energy pulsed between their circle, and then, as if fed by the air of a child blowing bubbles, it undulated and grew. Encompassing them first, then expanding to cover the stones.
“Everyone fall back!” Claire screamed into the fray.
Now that the final seal had broken, power coursed through Aerin, but she wasn’t certain what to do with it. Something told her that if she used it to destroy, it would be lost. Diminished.
It was meant for something else.
But what?
The coven helped Sunny, Barriston, and the uncles safely back into the shield just in time to watch the chomping, straining undead crash against it like a rogue wave.
It held.
The horsemen battled their way into the stones, pulling their mounts up short and breathing with the exertion of battle.
“We were beating them back!” War raged. “Send us out there, we can protect you!”
“This is only a skirmish,” Tierra said. “I can feel the earth in pain. The broken seal is rending the world in two. We have to do something now. Something bigger than this.”
