Escape and Chase

Escape and Chase
Elara's POV

The darkness inside me was eating my silver light like a hungry monster.
I could feel myself changing, becoming something terrible. My hands shook as dark words got louder in my head, telling me to hurt everyone around me. The pack members were backing away from me, their faces full of fear.
"Stay back!" I screamed, trying to warn them. "I can't control it!"
But then something crashed through the window behind me. Glass flew everywhere as a person in a black cloak jumped into the room. It was another witch - an old woman with silver hair and cruel eyes. The same woman I'd seen in Sabrina's magic mirror.
"Sister!" the old woman called to Sabrina. "The spell is working too fast. We need to go now!"
"But she's not fully under our control yet," Sabrina argued.
"Look around you, fool!" the old woman snapped. "Half the pack house is destroyed, and there are too many witnesses. We'll finish this later."
I tried to grab Sabrina as she ran toward the window, but the darkness inside me made me stumble. My legs felt like they were made of lead, and my vision kept going fuzzy.
"This isn't over, little priestess," Sabrina said with a nasty smile. "The spell will keep getting stronger. Soon you'll be asking us to take control just to make the pain stop."
She and the old woman jumped out the window and disappeared into the night.
"We have to follow them," Alaric said, running to my side. "Are you okay to move?"
I wanted to say no. Every part of my body hurt, and the dark sounds in my head were getting louder. But I couldn't let Sabrina get away. Not when she was trying to use me to hurt innocent people.
"I can make it," I said, even though I wasn't sure that was true.
Kaiden emerged beside us, looking confused and angry. "What just happened? One minute I was talking to Sabrina in my office, and the next thing I know, I'm hitting you like some kind of crazy person."
"The witches were controlling your mind," Alaric explained quickly. "But we don't have time for details right now. They're getting away."
We climbed out through the broken window and landed in the pack yard. I could see two dark shapes running toward the trees, moving faster than normal humans should be able to move.
"There!" I pointed. "They're heading for the woods."
"I know those woods better than anyone," Kaiden said. "Follow me."
It felt weird running alongside Kaiden after everything that had happened between us. But right now, stopping Sabrina was more important than our past troubles.
We chased the witches into the dark forest. The trees were thick and tall, blocking out most of the moonlight. I kept falling over roots and rocks, but Alaric stayed right beside me, helping me stay on my feet.
"Can you track them?" Alaric asked Kaiden.
"Their scent is strange," Kaiden answered, sniffing the air. "Like flowers mixed with something rotten. But yes, I can follow it."
We ran deeper into the woods. The dark voices in my head kept getting louder, telling me to stop running and turn around. They wanted me to attack Alaric and Kaiden instead of tracking the witches.
"Fight it," I whispered to myself. "You're stronger than this."
But I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold on. The magic was spreading through my body like poison, making it harder to think clearly.
After what felt like forever, Kaiden held up his hand for us to stop.
"What is it?" Alaric whispered.
"Listen," Kaiden said.
I strained my ears and heard something that made my blood run cold. It was singing - multiple voices saying words in a language I didn't understand. But somehow, I knew the words were bad. Really bad.
"This way," Kaiden said, leading us toward the sound.
We crept through the woods until we reached a clearing. What I saw there made me want to run away screaming.
There was a circle of black stones in the middle of the clearing, and inside the circle, at least six witches were performing some kind of rite. Sabrina and the old woman were there, along with four others I'd never seen before.
But the worst part was what was in the heart of their circle.
It was a pile of personal items - clothes, jewelry, and other things that belonged to the pack members. And floating above the pile was a spinning ball of light that looked like it was made of pain and sadness.
"They're stealing the pack's life force," Alaric said softly, his voice full of anger.
"That's why everyone's been getting sick," Kaiden realized. "They've been draining our strength to power their spells."
I watched in fear as the witches continued their chanting. The ball of light got brighter and bigger with each word they spoke. I could actually feel the pack members getting weaker, even from this distance.
"We have to stop them," I said.
"How?" Kaiden asked. "There are six of them and three of us. And you're barely standing up."
He was right. The evil inside me was getting stronger by the minute. I could feel myself losing the fight against Sabrina's spell.
"I have an idea," Alaric said. "But it's dangerous."
"What is it?"
"Elara, your power is the opposite of theirs. If you can break their circle, it should stop the rite and free all the stolen life force."
"But the spell she put on me-"
"Use it," Alaric said strongly. "Use the darkness they put inside you against them. Turn their own weapon back on them."
I stared at him like he was crazy. "What if I can't stop it? What if I hurt you instead?"
"Then we'll deal with that when it happens," he said. "But right now, this is our only chance to save your pack."
I looked at the witches, still chanting and taking the life from people I'd grown up with. Then I looked at Kaiden, who was watching me with something that might have been respect for the first time in years.
"Okay," I said. "Let's do this."
But as I stepped toward the circle, one of the witches suddenly stopped singing and looked directly at me.
"Sister Sabrina," she called out in a voice like breaking glass. "Our little weapon has arrived."
All six witches turned to look at me, their eyes glowing with that familiar purple light.
"Perfect timing," Sabrina said with a cruel smile. "We were just about to start the final phase of our plan."
"What final phase?" I asked.
The old woman laughed. "The one where we use your stolen life force to open a portal to the demon realm. Once we have an army of demons under our control, no one will be able to stop us from taking over every werewolf pack in existence."
My heart stopped. "You're planning to release demons?"
"Not just any demons," Sabrina said happily. "The most powerful ones. The kind that eat werewolf souls for breakfast."
I felt Alaric and Kaiden tighten up beside me. This was so much worse than we'd thought.
"But don't worry," the old woman continued. "You won't live to see it. The spell we put on you is about to hit its final stage. In about thirty seconds, you're going to lose control totally and kill your two friends here. Their deaths will give us the last bit of power we need to finish our ritual."
I could feel it happening. The darkness was taking over, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
Twenty-nine seconds and counting.