it’s been a little over a week since we met the Three and have come to the beach house that they have for us. Bex is slowly making headway with the book he was given. Brie and Avery have had the best luck out of all of us. Brie has come up with potions and spells to help with healing, while Avery has come with creams, ointments, and other things we might need if someone gets hurt. Alice, Ryan, and Carter are coming up with different ideas to get around the Draugr and Mortem. Calder and I are having the hardest time with our task.
Calder can make the Dark Fire, but can’t keep it lit very long, while I can barely get a flame started. I’m frustrated with myself. I need to be able to make dark fire in case I have to kill the Draugr, but I’m having such difficulty. I know I’m angry at the Enchantress, so that’s not the problem, but I’m afraid of letting my dark side show in front of Carter. I’m afraid he won’t love me anymore. My fear is holding me back.
I plop down on the beach in frustration. Calder sits next to me.
“Emmy what’s wrong?” Calder asks.
“I can’t make dark fire. How am I supposed to help you or the team if I can’t even do what I’m supposed to do?” I put my head in my hands.
“You are holding back. You are strong, and I know that you can do this, but something is holding you back. What is it?”
“I think in order to make the dark fire I have to let the monster out. I’m afraid that if I do that Carter won’t love me anymore. He’s only seen that side of me once and it was brief, the same goes for the team. I don’t want anyone to be afraid of me,” I state.
“The only one afraid of you is you. Carter loves you. You have your monster, and Carter has his beast. Hell, even I have a monster inside of me to some extent. You have to stop concealing your monster. You have to show that side of yourself, or it will destroy you.” Calder puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me into a hug.
“You are right. I have to stop being afraid of myself, and what I’m capable of.” Calder lets me go, and we both stand up.
I close my eyes and focus on my monster that I have caged up at the moment. I need to let the monster out. I take a deep breath. As I open my eyes, I know I’ve let my monster out to play. All of the frustrations, anger, and fear is what I focus on as I put my hands out in front of me. I feel the darkness running through my veins, they are black instead of the normal blueish color. With a surge of force that runs through my whole body I make dark fire appear in front me, but this time it’s not a little spark, no this time it’s a full-blown fire. I focus on keeping it going. Calder is encouraging me. The dark fire appears as a black flame with a gray center. It’s not warm like a normal fire, no it’s cold and sinister.
I’m in a trance, and so focused on keeping the fire going that I don’t see Carter and the others walk out onto the beach. I know I’ve transformed into my Mr. Jekyll complex. I know that I don’t look pretty after I’ve transformed, but I don’t care anymore. I have to do this, I have to push my self-doubt away, and know that I’m loved no matter what. I can’t let fear hold me back from doing what I have to do. I will do this, and I will succeed, I won’t let anything stop me. I refuse to disappoint my family, team, friends, and myself. Calder is right, I’m strong, and now I have to let the strength show.
Everyone is cheering me on. I feel my confidence build. The dark fire grows, but I’m having difficulty keeping control over it. Calder must see my struggling because he helps me to contain the dark fire. I make the dark fire despair as I crash to my knees. I’m totally exhausted. Destine wasn’t kidding when he said that dark fire would drain my strength. I feel myself go back to normal.
Carter runs to my side and wraps his arms around me. “I’m so proud of you Emmy. I love you.”
My heart swells at Carter’s words. “I love you too.”
Calder and Carter help me into the house. They help me sit down on the couch in the living room. Everyone files into the room. Calder pats me on the back.
“I knew you could do it sis.” Calder is smiling at me.
Carter is on my onside while Calder is on my other side. Brie hands me a potion that is a light peach color.
“Here, drink this Emmy, it will help restore your strength faster,” Brie states.
I thank Brie, and down the potion. Carter wraps his arm around me, and I settle into his warm body. Lynden stands up to speak. Lynden seems so grown up, maybe it’s because we know she is an oracle now, and not some sixteen-year-old girl. I always thought Lynden was sweet and caring, and now it all makes sense. She might be younger than all of us, but she is like our mother hen that watches over us.
“Emmy, you did well tonight,” Lynden compliments me.
“Thanks. Did anyone else have success today?” I ask hoping that we all made progress.
“We did,” Ryan answers. “We split the team up into two groups. Air support and ground support. Brie, Avery, and Carter are the air support since their weapons don’t have to be close to the target and they can easily cover ground support. Bex, Alice, Emmy, and I are ground support. Our weapons deal with being up close to our targets. Alice and Emmy can go after the Draugr, while Bex and I go after Mortem. Air support will cover us from the treetops.”
“Yes, the forest is right near the castle. That could actually work. What about me?” Calder asks.
“You just worry about getting inside the castle to get to the phoenix. We will worry about Draugr and Mortem,” Ryan replies.
“I made some headway with that book Destine gave me. I’ve consulted with Brie about some potions and spells we could use, and I also talked with Ryan, Alice, and Carter and gave them some ideas for our battle strategy. I’ve been reading up on the history of the Enchantress and the Death Forest. Getting into the Death Forest is only part of our problem, the hardest is going to be getting out of the Death Forest. Thanos gave us the ability to go there in our physical form, which will greatly help us, but still, if the Enchantress figures out we are in her domain, it’s going to create hell for us. Our best bet is to keep the Enchantress busy, and out of the Death Forest.”
“I think I can help with that. Well, I can get the Reapers and Warriors to help with keeping the Enchantress busy,” Lynden states.
“Yes, but the Enchantress isn’t stupid. We have to be very smart with this. If she even suspects this is a diversion we are screwed. Trust me when I tell you we have to make sure she is very well distracted, because if she shows up to the Death Forest while we are there, we are going to be very fucked,” Calder warns.
“I agree with Calder. The Enchantress isn’t stupid. She is suspicious of everything. The Reapers have informed me that the Enchantress has been trying to grow her army in numbers and strength. She is fairly distracted by that at the moment. I say we use that to help shift her focus away from the Death Forest while you all are there,” I inform everyone.
My grandmother has been sending me reports from the Reapers and Warriors. They are trying to track the Enchantress’s movements without her figuring out what they are doing. She has been taking souls to grow her army. I guess she isn’t thrilled that we are finding ways to take out her army. At first, we had no idea what we were doing, but slowly we’ve learned things about her army, and are able to take them out much easier than before. I doubt the Enchantress was counting on us being so efficient, but then again, we’ve had plenty of help from my mom and Calder, both know a lot about the Enchantress and how she operates. I know she wasn’t counting on them helping us. If we can get the phoenix then we will truly have an advantage over her, but if I know the Enchantress she won’t go down without a fight, and I know she will have some hidden tricks up her sleeve.
We spend the rest of the night talking about how we are going to keep the Enchantress busy while we are in the Death Forest. While I’m not thrilled to be going back to the Death Forest, I also want to get this mission done and over with. This mission is going to take a lot of planning, and even then, we are still going to run into problems.
I’m completely spent. I have Carter help me take a shower, and then we curl up with each other. I’m happy that Carter didn’t freak when he saw me transform. I don’t know why I was so worried. I know Carter loves me, but I guess fear is sometimes irrational. I’m thankful for Calder, and his help with everything. Calder and I have become very close, and with our mom back, the four of us have been spending as much time as we can together. We have missed so much time together. It’s hard with the war going on. The Enchantress isn’t making things easy, not that I thought she would, but it would be nice if she wasn’t around causing issues.
It’s still weird to think that the Enchantress is my grandmother, and it’s even weirder now that she is in Tori’s body. The two of them together is my worst nightmare come to life. Tori seems to be loving her newfound power and abilities. I get so angry when I think of the hell Tori has caused, and how she hurt Carter. I know Carter is still having trouble with losing his friends. I can’t blame him. None of us can.
I snuggle close to Carter and breathe in his scent. I think about our future and what we will do when this war is over. I can’t wait to start a family with Carter, and I know he feels the same way, but it feels so far away with war surrounding us at every turn. I know that we have kids because Destine revealed that much to us when we met him and the others. I’m excited thinking about our future, but I know I can’t get ahead of myself, we can’t plan or do anything till after the Enchantress is gone. I close my eyes, and let sleep take over my body knowing how much I need it.