Mara squinted her eyes as the hard, shiny floor started to come into focus. She could feel the cool slabs under her palms; these were the first things to come back to her in the real world. 

She swayed slightly and through the haze in her mind, realized she was kneeling on the floor. She didn't remember falling, she didn't remember much at all except for the excruciating pain in her head. That was when everything had faded away and he had taken over. Zander had pulled her inside her head. 

She could hear the people around her now, all the hands pressing on her back, her sides, and her shoulders. Muffled voices were talking all around, calling her name, and shouting commands at each other. No one knew what had happened. As the fog wrapped around Mara's body cleared fully, she looked around her. She saw almost everyone kneeling closely around her, only two people were missing from the immediate area. 

She then looked further up and saw them. Makortax was standing just behind the ring of people, and Marx standing directly behind him reluctantly. She could tell he wanted to move closer. 

Mara looked back down at the ground as everyone probed her, trying to figure out what was wrong. A voice, barely audible, whispered across her mind. 

Are you okay?

Mara cringed, thinking it had been Zander again. She could almost feel Marx flinch at her response, at the thought of having hurt her. 

Mara wondered how that could have been possible; Marx had just spoken to her mind. He had not said anything aloud; he wouldn't have risked it - not in front of his father. 

She looked back up through her lashes, meeting his eyes once more. Her aunt had asked if she were able to stand, Mara nodded, silently answering both of their questions. 

Mara had spent the following half hour reassuring everyone that she was indeed fine and that it had only been a migraine. Natalie had insisted she check Mara over to make sure it wasn't anything serious. 

It was something serious, just nothing you will be able to see. Mara thought to herself as her aunt probed her head, checked her pulse and did all of the regular tests one would do in a doctor’s office. When Natalie was finally satisfied Mara asked to talk to Trixle and Emmett in the hall. 

"What the heck happened?" Trixle hissed, turning on her heels to face Mara. 

Emmett stopped next to Trixle, his arms crossed, and staring at Mara intently waiting for her reply. 

"Not to sound like a broken record or anything." Mara began, looking between the two of them. "But it was Zander."

Emmett's stare intensified, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was curious as to how Zander had managed to do anything. 

"Somehow he pulled me inside. It felt the same as the dreams he creates, somehow he managed to do it while I was awake." She said answering both of their questioning faces. 

Trixle was stunned into silence. She was never sure what to say when it came to these situations ever since her first dream of him. 

"What happened?" Emmett asked getting down to business. She knew he wanted to know full details to gather as much information as he could. Mara assumed that even though neither Marx nor Emmett were on the Council, they were still working the situation. She had no problem with that, as long as they were both far away when everything finally happened. 

"There wasn't really much." She said avoiding his eyes. "Mainly taunting. He wanted me to know that no matter what we did, we wouldn't be able to stop him. And no matter what, he will always be able to get to me." At that, she rubbed her arms, trying to wipe away the chill that came over her. 

She made eye contact with Emmett. "I'm assuming you will be telling him all of this?"

Emmett nodded slightly. 

"Tell him I'm sorry. He will know what I mean."

Emmett nodded once more, and after answering the last few questions Trixle had, the three of them slipped back into the room relatively unnoticed. For the time being, the adults were preoccupied with their own conversations. Whether they were about her, or something else entirely, Mara had no clue. One person had noticed though, and he wasn't about to fall for her false claim that everything was all right, that person was Torlak. 

Lillian, Makortax, and Marx were the first to leave once everything had settled down. They had bid Mara a farewell, saying they would meet again at the next meeting. Reluctantly Natalie had left as well, but not before letting Mara know that she loved her and couldn't wait to see her again soon. Natalie had dragged her into a tight hug, one that almost cut off Mara's air before finally pulling back and stepping through the portal. 

Just as Torlak was about to question Mara on the mishap earlier, her phone chimed from her pocket. She pulled it out, glancing at the screen. She had a text from an unknown number. 

                     Potion finished. Ready whenever. 

Mara was shocked at how quickly Zeldra had been able to put the potion together, although they were her strong suit, it still seemed oddly fast. She had said the potion would take a couple days, but it had only been twenty-four hours. 

"Hold that though, Torlak. Can you get me back in to see Zeldra?"

Torlak had paused with his mouth wide open, about to speak. It was probably the first time Mara had caught him looking less than stately. She tried to suppress a giggle as she waited for his response. 

Sighing, he quickly agreed to get her into Barkall Prep that evening. He left the room, mumbling something about abuse of power as he went to make the arrangements. 

"You have him wrapped around you finger." Trixle said sounding impressed. 

Mara turned to see the wicked smile playing at her friend's mouth. She couldn't help but smile back, she was right after all. Almost anything Mara wanted, Torlak would do, just like he would for Trixle. 

 Within the hour, Mara was back in the same room, waiting for Zeldra to enter so she could get the potion. During her wait, her mind kept wandering back to the dream Zander had forced her into. The way his eyes had looked staring into hers, like there was a fire burning behind his emerald orbs. 

They way his voice had sounded when he had told her there was no hope. Was everything they were trying to do futile? Was there really no way they would be able to succeed in taking him down?

She had decided that couldn't be possible. There had to be a way, there was always a way. 

Her trail of thoughts was mercifully interrupted by Zeldra's entrance. She held a large vial with a milky liquid tightly in her hand. Taking her seat across from Mara she set the vial down on the table. 

"There is enough here for two, but like I told you before - you will most likely only have the one shot."

Mara nodded looking down at the table.

"Zeldra, how familiar are you with the dream weaving?"

"I'm no expert, but I know enough."

"What does it mean if someone can pull you from consciousness into one of those dreams?" Mara asked her eyes concentrated on the table. 

After a long moment of silence, she glanced back up at Zeldra. She was met with a look of dread. The look made Mara feel sick to her stomach. She knew it couldn't have meant anything good, but it was looking like it might be worse than she had thought. 

It took another moment before Zeldra was able to speak again. 

"Did he do that?" She asked. The only reply she got was a small nod from Mara. 

"You need to battle back, Mara. You have to match him at his game."

"What do you mean? I can-"

"Yes you can." She slammed her fist down on the table, nearly shouting. "You don't get it, you can do whatever you want Mara, the power is inside you. You just have to tap into it." Zeldra's eyes were wild now. 

"I-I can't do that though. I can't invade someone’s mind like that."

"This is no time to be standing on top of you moral pedestal. Zander will not hesitate to invade your head. If you have the opportunity, you need to get inside of his. You need to get in there and make him tell you his plans."

Mara shook her head. She remembered the first time she had learned he had controlled the dreams she had about Zander when she first arrived. That he had gotten in her head - on accident at first - but he had still been inside. She remembered the feeling of being violated, how she still felt violated each time he forced his way inside. 

How could she do that to anyone?

Is he even a person anymore? Mara wondered to herself. Zeldra was right; he would do whatever he could to break her. To make her believe their mission was futile and there was no possible way to win the fight. He would torture her every night; he had even brought her to the edge of death on a couple occasions in the past week alone. 

"If I get inside of his head then what?" Mara asked quietly. 

"Then you use this." She pushed the vial of milky liquid towards Mara. "Not only will it help you to switch the dream around if he gets to you first, but I added in extra ingredients to help you probe information out of him."

She was met with a blank stare from Mara.

"Essentially I added a bit of something like a truth serum into the dream potion." She explained.

Mara nodded, watching the vial as the creamy liquid sloshed around the inside of the vial. It was hard to comprehend that something with such abilities could be contained within the liquid in the glass prison. She picked up the vial, feeling the cold glass in her hand. As she turned it over she could see it shimmer slightly. 

The sight of the liquid completely enthralled her. She broke her gaze away when Zeldra's voice broke through the surface of her attention. 

"Remember, you only have one chance. If Zander is able to pull you in at will now, his powers are learning. I wouldn't say they are growing - he is as powerful as he will ever be - but they are learning." 

Mara nodded, Zeldra's words sinking in. 

"Also, I may have found you some backup."

Mara tilted her head slightly, puzzled by Zeldra's words. 

"I'm in a group, Sisters of the Moon, it's a lot like the Ladies of the Night." She started rambling. "Most of the girls in the coven are from powerful families, each one specializing in different areas, but all fully accustomed to all powers. The girls may not be able to help, but if you were to talk to their families..." Her voice trailed off, letting Mara finish the sentence in her mind. 

She may be able to talk to the families and get their help when it was time to go against Zander. Mara almost hit her head at not thinking of the idea before. The Ladies of the Night were small covens in each school, but they were part of a much larger organization. Apparently there was another coven like them. 

Each group was extremely selective of the members, only picking those who would benefit the coven to advance their abilities. They came from families that proved to be perfect candidates. They would know how to wield their powers in nearly any situation, and some may even agree to help the cause. After all, who would want to stand by and let their world be run by the evil that lurked between the shadows when they could step forward and do something about it?

Mara sat back, rocking in her chair as the scenarios played out in her mind. Even if only a small percentage of the people agreed to help, it would be better than nothing. To add even a handful of witches onto the growing army they were preparing would do wonders for their odds. 

But was she really willing to put their lives in danger? If they decided to step out there, Mara would not be able to protect them. They would no longer be in the shelter of their homes with their families, they would be out on the field, fighting to protect their families and the rest of the Realm. 

She decided it would at least be worth it to approach the people. Even if they all declined, at least she could say she had tried. 

"Can you send me a list of names to get in contact with?" Mara asked sounding hopeful for the first time in days. 

"Sure, anything you need. I can even talk to them if you-"

"No, I can do that. The names will be enough for now. Thank you for all of your help so far." Mara said, smiling kindly at Zeldra. 

Zeldra nodded. "Okay, I can get them to you by tomorrow night." She paused as if still considering if she were going to say the next words. "There is a male coven as well. It's a rare one, but even more selective than the Ladies and the Sisters."

"What is that?"

" The Brothers of Darkness."

What is it with all of these names relating back to all things dark and creepy? Mara wondered incredulously. 

"Okay. If you can give me names for them, I can try to contact those families as well." Mara nodded as she thought about all the potential men and women she could recruit. 

Mara got up suddenly, making her way to the door. She paused for a moment with her hand on the knob, staring at it intently. 

"Thank you again for all of your help with everything."

She pocketed the vial with the potion and made her way back to the portal where Torlak was waiting for her. 

She walked straight through, with Torlak on her heels. 

"Did you get what you needed?" He asked when they were standing back in the family room. 

"More than I needed." Mara said, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "I just may have found a way to get us more numbers."

"How is that?"

"The covens in schools. They are full of talented witch families. There have to be some out there willing to help our cause."

Torlak didn't seem overly fond of the idea. After all, they had agreed to keep the situation relatively under wraps. 

"I can travel to the different schools this week. That is if I am excused from classes." She looked pointedly at Torlak. "And I can call closed meetings for the families of students in these covens. I will make it perfectly clear that what is discussed remains in that room. They will be informed on the most basic information, and I can ask them to join our cause. 

"They do not have to commit right away." She said guessing his thoughts by the look on his face. "It can merely mean they would like more information on the matter at hand. Once we have weeded out those who actually wish to know more, from those who are completely uninterested, then we can start gauging numbers."

Torlak stared off into the distance, rubbing his chin deep in thought. 

"I honestly think we could get at least a handful of witches. And a handful of witches who can do defensive spells and potions to back up our already substantial troop can't do any harm."

Torlak chuckled softly, looking down at Mara with adoration. 

"You're already thinking strategically." He said. "You really are a quick study."

Mara took those words as a verbal go ahead on her plan. Starting Monday, she would tour the Realm in search of witches to help back them up. But she had a lot to do to prepare for her adventure before then.

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