Leaves rustled gently under Sky’s feet as she walked a full circle around Fin and Adamma. The sounds of the forest gradually became quieter and quieter, until there was nothing but an eerie silence in the invisible bubble. Fin stood with an idle expression, while Adamma had a wild glint in her eye.
Kasim’s children stood outside the perimeter, and once her proofing was completed, Sky joined them. The air witch had managed to block all sounds louder than a speaking voice so that everyone could hear what was said, but that whatever commotion was caused wouldn’t draw unwanted attention.
“How far do you want this to go?” Adamma asked as she began strolling around the perimeter, her eyes trained on the redhead.
“Either I’ll be unconscious or I’ll say when I want it to stop. My mother is a healer, remember, and not far away. What about you, Adamma? When should I call it off?”
She laughed.
“I mean no offense, house witch, but”—Adamma held out her hand and summoned a long broken tree branch from behind Fin that worked perfectly as a staff, forcing him to dodge in order to avoid getting clubbed over the head—“my element is better suited for sparring.”
It was the redhead’s turn to laugh.
“Perhaps. Or perhaps I’m going to sit your ass in time-out, then get you the best cookies of your life.”
Adamma’s jaw dropped, but the excitement in her gaze turned hungry.
“One way to find out.”
“Indeed, though it is only fair I have a weapon myself.” He nodded at the staff in her hand and held out his hand.
It took a few moments, but suddenly Fin’s frying pan flew into one hand, and his broom into the other. Fortunately, he had placed them in his cottage prior to his vacation, so no one should’ve noticed the unnatural activity.
After an affirmative nod between the two witches facing off with each other, Sky called out: “Begin!”
Roots around Fin suddenly sprang up, knocking him down to his knees; the ground surged beneath his feet as though made of liquid and created hill after hill.
She was powerful alright.
Gritting his teeth with a smile, Fin magically launched his frying pan right at Adamma’s head.
The waves beneath his feet stopped momentarily as she had to duck the missile, though it clipped her in the shoulder when it pulled a U-turn to fly back to Fin’s hand.
“Not bad, house witch,” Adamma called out as she gave him an appreciative nod and rotated her shoulder experimentally.
“We can send a missive for my mother afterward,” Fin reminded her, more seriously.
Adamma nodded in agreement.
The ground suddenly opened beneath Fin’s feet and swallowed him whole.
Enclosed in darkness and dirt, Fin couldn’t breathe, and yet he didn’t panic. This ground was his home; he requested the earth to open a tunnel for him. Not much liking him disturbing the worms and bugs’ work, the earth agreed instantly. The moment it happened, Fin’s pan shot out in a blur. Running after it, he could hear the yelp of surprise from Adamma.
He exploded from the tunnel to see that the exit had come behind the woman who was using her staff to fend off the dogged blows the frying pan was trying to deal.
Kasim’s children were cheering wildly on the sidelines, and even Sky looked more interested in the match.
Before Adamma could do something else to Fin, he sent his broom to join the pan. As soon as that happened, however, Adamma released her staff and commanded it to handle both of his weapons. Freed from trying to battle the pan and broom, the earth witch snapped her fingers, and tree branches snaked down and coiled themselves tightly around the redhead.
The pan was managing to crack and splinter the staff as it struck repeatedly against the same spot.
“Your defensive moves aren’t bad, but you have a relatively weak offense,” Adamma called as she strode around the battling weapons, only to have the broom suddenly snap out and trip her.
“I’m not really trying all that hard.” Fin huffed out the words as more and more branches began to reach for him. Some were beginning to wrap around his throat.
A green aura was beginning to emit from Adamma, her eyes glowing and swirling.
“I won’t stop until you’re unconscious or until you—”
The earth witch stopped suddenly and turned around sharply to stare in the direction of the castle.
“A group is approaching. Perhaps six of them?”
Fin stilled despite the branches still holding him.
Then he heard it.
Or rather, them.
“FIN! FIN, WHERE ARE YOU?!”
The unmistakable voice of Hannah broke through the trees not far off in the distance, and Fin felt his mouth break into a smile.
“It’s fine, Adamma! They’re friends of mine. They know about me.” He called down to the witches present.
“HANNAH! THIS WAY!” Fin called out, already excited to see his friends.
In a few moments, the four kitchen knights followed by Hannah and Peter skidded into sight.
The knights all wielded either a gardening tool or paring knives as they fixed cold stares onto Adamma.
“She’s a friend! We’re just having a sparring match for the kids,” Fin called out when he realized how it looked.
The group collectively sighed and relaxed.
“Gods, we thought you’d gotten into trouble only two days into your vacation!” Sir Andrews called while relaxing his hold on the rake in his hand.
“Well, get on with it! Things have been pretty boring without you getting into trouble,” Sir Taylor shouted as he slowly meandered over to where Sky and Kasim’s children stood.
Nina was staring up at the bear of a man with a mixture of awe and shock.
“A-Are you a knight?” she squeaked.
“I am indeed. Sir Taylor at your service. That there is Sir Andrews, Sir Lewis, Sir Harris, and then we have Hannah and Peter.”
“You’re friends with knights?!” Urick asked excitedly as he stared up at Fin who was still grinning while suspended several feet above the air.
“They’re not so bad once you get to know them,” the redhead hollered back, earning a few mischievous smiles from the knights. “How did you all know where I was?” he asked suddenly with a frown.
“Hannah snitched your pan the second you left, so when it suddenly flew out of the room we knew something was up. You’re lucky none of the aides who’re helping in your stead noticed!” Sir Harris explained as Hannah shot the knight a look of pure betrayal.
Despite her blatant disregard for his privacy, Fin laughed.
“Come on, get fighting. I’ve been curious about this for ages!” Hannah demanded, her cheeks growing red.
“Yeah! You teach the hell out of these kids and clobber her!” Sir Harris cheered, delighted.
Adamma turned to stare back up at the redhead, her expression far more sober than it had been moments before. “You have good friends, house witch.”
“The best,” Fin agreed, his smile faltering as he admitted the truth.
“Oyy! Enough of this mushy shit! I’m craving some violence!” Sir Harris whined.
Adamma’s demonic smile returned and her energy flared. “Don’t worry, sir. You will have it.”
The branches suddenly tightened their grip around Fin, choking him mercilessly. He managed to command his pan to evade the magical staff and attack Adamma once again, this time knocking her out from the back of the knees. Fin was released immediately, though he stumbled momentarily from the fall.
The pan was back in his hand as the broom and staff continued battling.
Adamma was also back on her feet, only she was glaring.
“You toy with me. I don’t even see your magic essence. I am not going all out on you, but you can release more power than that.”
“Yeah, Fin! It’s for the children!” Sir Harris called out while grabbing Nina’s shoulders from behind and giving her a shake that made her giggle.
It wasn’t her that made Fin pause, however. It was Urick and his hopeful gaze, with its clear need to see … something unexpected. Something to show that even a “weak” witch could become powerful.
A true home gives people hope.
Fin stepped back and closed his eyes.
“Adamma, don’t hold anything back.”
“This might kill you, house witch,” Adamma explained though there was an unmistakable note of curiosity in her tone.
“It won’t.”
“Well … if you’re certain your will has already been drafted …”
Fin’s eyes remained closed, but he could feel the earth rumbling beneath his feet, could feel Adamma’s power, and while it wasn’t quite as strong as Kasim’s … She was charging up for something big.
I will remain safe in my home. Not a scratch.
Fin chanted silently, and when his eyes opened, the roots of the trees were all rushing toward him, the ground was opening, everything was dragging him down, ready to snap his bones and bury him alive.
Then, there was an explosion.
Blue lightning cracked around the entire area, and errant twigs and leaves began to hover off the ground from the electrical charge in the air. The blast had been Fin’s shield encircling him and holding him in place while incinerating anything that sought to bind him. The ancient symbols that crackled in a perfect sphere prevented him from being moved anywhere without his consent—including into the gaping hole that had opened up to consume him. Hovering above the hole, his eyes were filled with nothing but blue lightning; Adamma’s skirts were beginning to hover as electricity touched down around her. Fin strolled forward as though his feet were on land; any branch that tried to pierce the shield was immediately singed to a crisp, and Adamma began backing away.
Fin lifted his hand, prepared to blast her clear out of the forest (albeit safely), when a bloodcurdling scream rang out.
Both Adamma and Fin turned and saw Sky shrieking and crying with her hands over her ears as she shook. The knights around her had jumped away, while Nina and Urick tried to touch her, but her shaking only grew more violent as a result.
All magic from Adamma ceased as she rushed over to Sky and wrapped her arms around her. As if this broke the final thread, Sky collapsed into a crouch on the ground, but the Lobahlan didn’t let go for a single moment.
“It’s fine, love, I promise I’m not hurt. See? We’re just sparring. It’s okay,” she whispered against Sky’s hair, rocking her back and forth. Fin had dissipated all lightning, and with his feet safely back on the ground, stepped forward worriedly. He crouched down to be within eyeline of the air witch.
“I’d never hurt Adamma, I promise,” he whispered as misplaced guilt began to bloom in his chest.
Sky’s eyes rose at his voice, only when she saw him, it was suddenly very apparent it wasn’t Fin she was seeing.
She was seeing a ghost from her past. Or rather … a demon.
A burst of air flung Fin backward and would’ve sent him flying back into a tree were Adamma not quick in having a branch snag down and grab him.
Only Sky wasn’t through facing the past. A fierce wind began whirling around Fin, one that was too strong for anyone to get near.
Then he felt it. The air being forced out of his lungs.
Gods, she will kill me. The second the thought entered his head, Fin’s shield returned. Dropping to his knees in the safety of his lightning, he gasped for breath.
He then realized that his sphere was beginning to be lifted off the ground. He rose higher and higher, Adamma’s shouts to try to calm down Sky barely audible over the roaring wind. It wasn’t until he was a few feet from the tops of the trees that Fin realized the true jeopardy he was in.
If she raised him high enough, he wasn’t at home anymore. He was in the sky, his shield would fail, and if she held him there, she could easily suffocate him.
“Godsdamnit!” Fin realized that Adamma probably wasn’t considering this when she was trying to calm the woman down.
Sky needs to stop. She needs to …
The redhead had an idea, and even though he wasn’t sure whether or not it would work, he had to try. He just needed to try something slightly different than when he’d faced Hilda … Back then he never would’ve believed he’d have the strength to do it, but … there was a chance … maybe.
Fighting against the wind was nearly impossible, but with a last-minute dive, Fin was able to grasp one of the last branches to be passed before he hit the open skies. Using all the strength he had, he hauled himself down, the tree becoming engulfed in his shield, and thus stopping the winds from touching it. Clambering down as quickly as he could, Fin eventually came to the final problem of the long ways to the ground where there weren’t any branches. Desperately, he scanned around and spotted his broom plastered to a nearby tree trunk by the gale force winds. Summoning with all his might, he managed to draw it into his shield and held it level.
Reaching out, Fin grabbed hold of its shaft and hung beneath it as he gently lowered it down to the ground while keeping his shield intact.
He was starting to run low on energy. He could feel his burning magic inching closer to his life energy. He couldn’t stop, though. If he did, he’d be killed.
Sky was still trying to blow him far away, and so, with heavy steps, Fin stepped closer to her. He forced his shield wider and wider to cover the ground around him to keep him anchored. When he stood face-to-face with Sky and Adamma, his eyes were still burning with his lightning. As she stared up at him, the fearful shine in Adamma’s eyes was not lost on Fin.
“Stop it! You’re making it worse by scaring her!” she screamed over the howling wind.
Fin noticed that she and everyone else had their legs holding them to the ground by roots. However, Sky also wasn’t focusing her efforts on them so much as a particular redhead.
“If she gets me above those trees, she can kill me! I have a plan, trust me!”
Adamma didn’t look at all convinced, but Fin could feel himself getting too close to the end of his reserves to wait. He reached out and grabbed Sky from Adamma, hauling her into his shield.
Both women screamed bloody murder at him, but the moment Sky was in his shield, her powers ceased like a candle snuffed out. It wasn’t easy to smother her magic, and a few of the symbols in the sphere shifted and glowed gold, but it worked.
Fin wrapped his arms around her so that she wouldn’t see the lightning in his eyes begin to turn gold and white.
“I’m not my father, Sky. I will not hurt you. You just need a time-out.”
Alone in his shield without her powers, Sky collapsed on the ground sobbing and shaking.
Crouching down and scooping her into his arms again, he rocked the woman slowly.
“You’re safe in my home, I promise,” he whispered, his throat aching.
“This isn’t good!” Adamma shouted over her shoulder to the knights and children. Outside the shield everything had fallen into a calm, but the earth witch was watching Fin’s eyes through the shield and saw that he stared blindly ahead of himself as he held Sky and soothed her.
“Why not? Our cook has the situation in hand. He’s lettin’ her cool down. What was that whole windstorm about anyway?” Sir Taylor asked while brushing dirt off his clothes.
“No, look at his eyes. He’s hit the end of his magic; if he keeps up like this, it’ll kill him.”
All four knights snapped to attention
“What do we need to do?” Sir Harris stepped forward immediately.
“I-I-I don’t know! He’s suppressing her powers somehow, but if he releases her and she tries to kill him again, I don’t know if I can stop her. I’m almost tapped out, and worst of all, she might hurt all of us if we try to stop her.”
“So we’re just going to let him die?!” Hannah shrieked, her hands balled into fists.
“Aunt Adamma, I … I can knock her out,” Nina spoke up softly then, her eyes wide and terrified.
“I-I-I don’t know. I—” The woman was clearly torn between caring about the safety of her niece and Fin.
“THERE’S NO TIME!” Hannah cried out, pointing as the shield surrounding Fin began to turn white.
Rounding on Nina who was growing paler by the second, the largest of the knights took charge.
“If that witch tries to blow him away again, you club her hard, got it?” Sir Taylor addressed the girl with a growl, but with a swallow she nodded.
“FIN! YOU CAN STOP! WE CAN HANDLE HER!” Sir Taylor roared through the lightning.
At first they weren’t sure if he’d heard, but then, bit by bit, the shield dissolved.
Fin immediately collapsed onto the ground unconscious, and there was nothing but quiet and the soft sobs of Sky filling the deathly still forest.
Everyone was beginning to relax, when Hannah screamed.
“SHE’S SMOTHERING HIM!”
Everyone’s spine stiffened as they stared wide-eyed at the unconscious redhead.
Sure enough, Fin’s pale face was beginning to turn purple, and yet he didn’t stir.
Sky continued hiccuping over him, uttering the words: “Never again, never again will you hurt me. No. No. Never again …” Her eyes were closed as tears ran down her cheeks.
Nina stepped forward and summoned the club Adamma had been using, only she was suddenly propelled backward by another thrum of air. She would’ve been thrown into a tree trunk if Sir Taylor hadn’t caught her in time.
The winds were starting to gather again, though markedly weaker than before, when suddenly an iceball the size of a man’s fist careened into the back of Sky’s head, knocking her unconscious.
Everyone waited to make sure the woman was truly asleep and watched with bated breaths to see Fin’s chest resume its usual rise and fall.
After several terrifying moments, a slightly raspy gasp escaped the redhead’s mouth. He didn’t wake, but the most imminent danger had been dealt with.
It was then that all eyes turned to Urick who stood wide-eyed and shaking with his fists clenched.
“M-Mr. Ashowan w-was right, t-that is useful.”