***
Gloria gulped for air and started to choke. A number of people started to run towards Gloria but a ring of blue flames suddenly flared up to surround her, stopping everyone. Mary stood up and allowed a smile to widen her bleeding lips. Her fist was clenched.
“Anyone who crosses that, dies,” Mary announced. “I’m sure your warlock here knows the kind of flame this is.” She gave Deloris a triumphant smile.
“You won’t leave here alive if anything happens to her so you better stop this.” Deloris looked terrified for the first time since the face-off began. “She spared your life when she could have killed you moments ago. I suggest to show her the same respect.”
“Show her the same respect, huh?” Mary’s short laughter was without humour. “At least her death is not going to be instant.” She shrugged. “It’s just going to be slow and painful as you can tell.”
“Deloris?” Ryan breathed, totally confused as to what was going on.
“This is bad, Ryan.” Deloris groaned. “She’s linked them in some way. That’s the only way she could have conjured this deadly circle of flame. We need to figure out what the link is and break it before that flame painfully consumes Gloria.”
“What?” Ryan gasped, as he stood up. “Can’t I just put it out?”
“The stupid thing about this flame is that if anyone apart from the one who conjured it tries to put it out, the victim dies instantly,” Deloris explained. “In fact, should Mary herself fail to follow the required steps when she decides to end the spell, the flame will consume her. I hate to say this but…it’s a shitty situation. We’re at her mercy. We need to find the link.”
“Shit,” Ryan swore.
“Remember that extraction technique I taught you some months ago?”
“I do.” Ryan nodded. “But you said it was dangerous.”
“If we’re not able to find the link, that will be our only chance to save Gloria. Either way, we’re not losing your mother-in-law today.” Deloris rasped. “Not gonna happen. But Jeremy can’t know what’s going on, Ryan.” She said urgently. “Neither does Philip for that matter. If they do anything rash, it will create problems.”
“I’ll tell them to stay put.” Ryan nodded and then threw a withering look Mary’s way.
“I see she’s explained the circle of flame to you.” Mary smiled at Ryan. “You know…you’re the spitting image of our Lord Command, Reynard Wyatt.”
“Is he?” Deloris smiled sweetly. “Well, that’s because he’s Reynard’s son.”
“Oh, my god.” Mary’s gasp echoed that of Sally. “So it was you…” Mary’s gaze was filled with both awe and hate. “So you were the child who vanquished him. Interesting.”
“Yes, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll…”
“Aw come on, Del.” Mary’s laughter was genuine this time. “Stop grasping at straws. You know I’ve got your pack by the balls.”
Mary couldn’t believe she was actually going to have the last laugh. For a moment, she’d felt helpless because it was clear that the pack had been expecting them and therefore had the upper hand. To give her a fighting chance and some time to plan, she’d quickly directed the channeling from the other two meditating colleagues outside, to herself and cut off Mario and Sally. After all, she was the brain behind the attack and therefore needed all the backing.
She’d however still been at a loss as to how to proceed. But when the dog who birthed her son came at her, she’d seen an opening and taken it. That deadly spell she’d cast could be dangerous even for her. But desperate times, they said, called for desperate measures. To cast that deadly spell, not only had she completely drained the powers she’d been channeling from her two colleagues, she’d actually drained their very essence to invoke the spell. The two were definitely dead but it was for a good cause.
“Who’s laughing now?” Mary taunted. “You think…” Her words were cut short by a sharp crack of a whip accompanied by Gloria’s scream.
“Release her,” Paige growled as she brought the whip down on Mary’s back for the second time. But Mary only laughed even though the whip had actually torn her robe.
“Paige stop,” Deloris shouted.
“Stupid wolf.” Mary grinned. “Can’t you see we are linked?” She gestured towards a groaning Gloria. “Whatever you do to me affects her. Well, she feels the pain, not me.” She laughed when she saw the horror on Paige’s face. “So go ahead, whip me all you want. This is fun.” Mary grinned, looking smug.
“Troy?” Philip’s growl carried across the clearing.
“What are you doing, Troy?” Mary gasped when she saw Troy running towards Gloria. “Troy, that circle of flame… Stop…” She looked desperate but Troy kept going. “So stubborn…” Mary breathed even as she waved a hand and put out the fire just as Troy got to it. But immediately after Troy stepped within the circle, Mary relighted the fire, clearly wanting to deter others from following. This time, however, she didn’t make it so high.
“Get out of here, baby.” A wheezing Gloria told Troy who was hugging her fiercely.
“I’m not leaving you, mum,” Troy murmured, calling Gloria mum for the very first time. “Don’t waste your breath.” Gloria couldn’t stop her tears. They were both tears of joy for how Troy had addressed her, and tears of frustration at her son’s stubbornness.
“You need to get out, Troy.” Mary rasped. “Very soon I won’t be able to keep it away from you.”
“So kill us both,” Troy responded, his arms tightening around his mother.
“Troy, please…” Mary pleaded.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Troy asked quietly. “This is my mother and I love her more than you can imagine. I’m in this with her.”
“Hey, alpha?” Mary called to Philip. “Why don’t you order your stubborn mate to get out of there? Surely you don’t want him to die.”
“As you said yourself, he’s stubborn.” Philip shrugged. “You should know that nothing will faze him. Besides, you should know better than to come between a gay boy and his mother.”
“Mary, just let them go and let’s get out of here,” Sally said, but Mary ignored her and went closer to the circle of flames.
“Troy, listen to me.” She said quietly, sheer unhappiness etched on her face. “I know you think I did you wrong but really, I didn’t. I wanted the best for you. You’re all I have right now. Just promise to come with me and I’ll…I’ll let her go.”
“I can’t make that promise,” Troy said. “I’d rather die with her.”
“They are not who you think they are, Troy.” Mary snapped, getting angry. “I’m not the bad person here. I’m only trying to avenge the deaths of our loved ones. They killed my husband. The man was good to you. Don’t you think his death should be avenged?”
“I don’t think it’s accurate to say your husband was good to me, Mary.” Troy retorted to Mary’s shock. “I might have been young at the time but I remember him and others leading me out of the woods. He brought me to you shortly after. The Jackal was part of the people who killed my father. You call that being good to me?”
“Did someone mention the jackal?” Paige asked loudly. “I killed the bastard’s albino arse.” She announced.