Battle of Powers

Battle of Powers
Elara's POV

The metal dragon's roar shook the entire forest, and I felt my bones tremble from the sound.
"Get behind me!" my mother shouted, shoving me backward as the dragon breathed a stream of liquid fire that melted the altar stone like butter.
But I couldn't hide anymore. This thing had come through the barrier because of what I'd done, which meant it was my duty to stop it.
"No, Mom," I said, stepping forward. "I caused this. I have to fix it."
"Elara, you don't understand how dangerous—"
"She understands perfectly," a familiar voice interrupted.
I spun around and saw Sabrina walking toward us, but she looked different again. The evil form was gone, replaced by something even worse. Her skin was now made of what looked like black metal, and her eyes were glowing with the same fire as the dragon's.
"You're working with that thing?" I gasped.
"Working with it?" Sabrina laughed, and steam came out of her mouth. "I AM it. Or part of it, anyway."
The dragon behind her started shrinking and changing shape until it looked like a giant suit of armor. Then the armor split open, and Sabrina stepped inside it like it was a second skin.
"The Shadow King wasn't my only master," she explained as metal plates covered her arms and legs. "I serve the Forge Lords - beings from the land of metal and fire. They've been waiting for someone to break the barriers so they could attack."
"Forge Lords?" my mother whispered. "But they were banished centuries ago."
"And now we're back," Sabrina said, her voice now booming from inside the metal armor. "Thanks to your daughter's little ritual."
I felt sick. First the Shadow King, now this. How many terrible things had I accidentally let loose on the world?
"Don't blame yourself," my mother said quietly, reading my thoughts. "You couldn't have known."
"But I should have been more careful," I said, tears starting to burn my eyes. "What if I've doomed everyone?"
"The only thing you've doomed," Sabrina growled, "is yourself."
She raised her metal-covered hand, and it changed into a cannon that started glowing with orange fire.
I barely managed to throw up a shield of silver light before she shot. The blast hit my shield and burst like a bomb, sending me flying backward into a tree.
"Elara!" Alaric yelled, running toward me even though he was still hurt from the earlier fight.
"Stay back!" I warned him. "This is between me and her!"
Sabrina's armor got bigger and more weapons sprouted from it - swords from her arms, spikes from her shoulders, and what looked like a flamethrower from her chest.
"You have no idea what real power looks like," she said, throwing herself at me like a rocket.
I rolled to the side and came up in a crouch, silver light sparking around my hands. But when I threw a bolt of Luna Priestess power at her, it just bounced off her armor like a rubber ball.
"Silver light can't hurt metal forged in the fires of another realm," she taunted. "You're completely helpless."
She swung a metal fist at my head, and I ducked, but her other hand caught me in the gut. The contact sent me skidding across the ground, and I tasted blood in my mouth.
"This is pathetic," Sabrina said, walking toward me slowly. "The great Luna Priestess, beaten by someone she used to serve."
That's when something inside me snapped. Not anger - something deeper. A memory that wasn't mine, flowing through the link I had with my mother.
I saw Luna Seraphina as a young woman, facing a similar enemy. She hadn't won by being stronger or using more powerful magic. She'd won by being smarter.
"You're right," I said, getting to my feet and wiping blood from my lip. "Silver light can't hurt your armor."
"Finally admitting defeat?" Sabrina laughed.
"No," I said with a smile. "I'm just realizing I don't need to hurt your armor."
I reached out with my Luna Priestess senses, feeling for the life force inside the metal suit. Sabrina might be wearing armor from another realm, but she was still a live being underneath it.
"What are you doing?" she asked, taking a step back.
Instead of attacking her armor, I sent my silver light straight into her life force. Not to hurt her, but to separate her from the Forge Lord's control.
"No!" she screamed as the link between her and the metal armor began to crack. "You can't! I need this power!"
"You don't need power that comes from serving evil," I told her. "Nobody does."
The armor started coming apart, piece by piece. Sabrina tried to hold it together, but my silver light was stronger than her link to the Forge Lords.
When the last piece of metal hit the ground, she collapsed, back in her standard human form. She looked small and scared, nothing like the monster she'd been pretending to be.
"Why?" she whispered. "Why didn't you just destroy me?"
"Because destroying things isn't what Luna Priestesses do," I said, kneeling down beside her. "We heal. We protect. We give people second chances."
She stared at me like I'd spoken in a strange language. "I tried to kill you. I tried to kill everyone you care about."
"I know. But you were being managed, just like my mother was. The real you is still in there somewhere."
I held out my hand to her. "You don't have to serve the Forge Lords anymore. You can choose to be better."
For a moment, I thought she was going to take my hand. Her fingers moved toward mine, and I saw hope in her eyes for the first time.
But then her face changed. Not to anger or hatred, but to pure fear.
"Behind you," she whispered.
I turned around and saw something that made my heart stop.
The parts of Sabrina's armor weren't just lying on the ground anymore. They were moving, flowing like liquid metal, coming together to form something new.
Something much, much bigger.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" a voice boomed from the rising metal shape. "I am Vulcan, Lord of the Forge. That armor was just a small part of my true form."
The metal continued to grow and change until it looked like a giant robot made of fire and steel, with glowing eyes and guns covering every inch of its body.
"The girl has freed my servant," Vulcan continued, "but in doing so, she's also freed ME."
He raised one huge hand, and I could see energy building up in his palm - enough to level the entire forest.
"Now, little priestess, let me show you what happens to those who interfere with the Forge Lords' plans."
But before he could attack, something unexpected happened. The young witch who had been helping us all night suddenly appeared between me and Vulcan.
"Wait!" she shouted. "There's something you all need to know!"
"What?" I asked.
She turned to look at me with eyes full of fear and guilt. "My name isn't really what I told you. I'm not just a witch who was forced to help Sabrina's group."
My stomach dropped. "Then who are you?"
"I'm Vulcan's daughter," she said quietly. "And I've been playing both sides this whole time."