"No!" I wailed, running so fast my feet slid in the snow and I tripped to land at Constance's side. She was still warm.

Tears were pouring down Dallas's face, freezing on their way to the ground. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." He was repeating it like a mantra, over and over.

His voice grew quieter and quieter, but I don't think it was because he was talking lower. Everything around me was becoming silent.

Constance's body shuddered as life left her. Her mouth was gaped open, her palm on her throat. She picked up her bloody hand and put it in my hair. She went limp, her red fingers trailing down my face to eventually fall into the whiteness below us. There was no fear in her expression, no anger. Just... sadness.

An angry howl ripped through the air, firing up something in my bones.

With a tight stomach, I looked death in his eyes and took the dagger from Constance's side, gripping it. Death was getting a lot more than Constance's soul tonight.

"I am God." Konrad rolled his shoulder back, popping his neck. "Bow down, before I make you."

"Don't listen to anything he says!"

Only three of us charged to him.

Becker, who was human, who's skin was freezing and eyelashes were stuck together from tears.

Arlis, who's Wolf was black and deranged, a Rogue. But oh that wolf knew what it wanted between his teeth. It was defiant, deadly. Arlis managed to somewhat make his Beast side listen to him. 

And me. The girl who was never supposed to be here. I held my cousin's dagger, her blood on my face, and her name on my tongue.

When Konrad died, whoever it may be to kill him, he would see the same fire in their eyes the other 2 held.

Ralph stared at the dagger in his hands. I watched as Anaforo appeared and set a hand on his shoulder. Together, they focused on Becker.

Becker fell, dropping back.

It was me and Arlis now. Just us.

Arlis was faster, which was probably for the best. He attacked first, his yellow teeth snarling as he nipped the air in front of Konrad as Konrad pulled back.

I sliced with the dagger, sliding on my knees. I cut the back of Konrad's leg. I thought I had done something great, something to help, but no blood sprouted from his wound. He couldn't even be touched by this dagger.

"My turn." He growled. His mouth was shut as he put his hand up, facing his palm towards me.

The dirt opened up beneath me, trapping. I tried to claw my way out of it but I just kept sinking.

It was up to my knees, and then waist faster than I thought it could go.

"You can't fight magic, without magic." He laughed.

Above us, storm clouds rolled in, thunder howled across the sky, lightning snapped against the ground in short bursts, melting the snow and sizzling.

The dirt was up to my stomach now. "I killed your wife!" I screamed. "She died so she could raise me!"

Konrad faltered for a minute before the dirt started sucking me in faster. He knew I was telling the truth.

Someone grabbed my arm And tried to pull me up. Colin. "I got you." I felt the burning sensation as he held on, the action stretching my skin, he was holding and pulling so tightly.

"No you don't." Konrad was full of pride and ecstasy as he waved his hand. "Occidere eum."

Colin smacked the side of his head as he let go of me. He fell onto the ground and screamed into the snow.

The ground around me loosened. I climbed out and took a breath of fresh air.

Konrad's cocky look had been wiped off. "Oh you're back now, Beckerann?" He was excited, a masochist ready for to give and take pain.

"Should've killed me when you had the chance." Becker's nails turned black, his eyes turning the same shade. Crows flew in from around us, landing on his shoulder.

Dividus. Atrax. Whatever you wanted to call it, Becker had let go of his human side much like Arlis.

"I can say the same." Konrad and Becker held their hands out. They stood there, Becker's magic black and grey. Konrad was bathed in white light, his clothes burning and ripping.

Arlis tried to go in and stab him, but one swish of Konrad's hand and Arlis was thrown back. I watched the dagger bathed in his blood fly from his grasp and land a couple feet away from me.

I scrambled to get to it but someone tackled me down from nowhere. I elbowed them in the side of the head, bone meeting flesh.

They moved back. Colin's mother, moved back. Konrad picked who fought for him very carefully. We couldn't kill any of them, but they could kill us. It was fucked up.

I needed to get that dagger before she did. I needed to. Without the dagger, they were fighting to die.

Arlis was trying to come help me, but every step he took, he was fighting against Konrad. He couldn't get here soon enough.

It was up to me.

I couldn't fight her though, could I? I couldn't kill her. I couldn't win against her. Behind her, I picked out two wolves holding down Colin, who was screaming bloody murder.

Behind me, I saw King Anaforo and Ralph fighting Dallas, both not using any magic. They were losing, slowly.

Nobody could help me.

I was alone.

"Alex." I greeted. Something in her leer told me she wasn't compelled. She was here on free will. She was here to kill.

I looked around again, Clay was nowhere to be found. I was shocked he wasn't here.

"My husband isn't here. He was too weak." Alex swung at me and I bucked back. That was close.

She clicked her tongue as we held our fists up. "My son fell in love with a cun—"

I tried a roundhouse kick, something I never mastered but it was effective. It came from nowhere and she stumbled over. "I don't appreciate that word."

Alex managed out a laugh as she wiped her face on her forearm. "I don't appreciate you, never did. All you've caused is trouble!"

"You're talking too much." I tried to go for the neck, but she grabbed my fist.

I was on the ground in a second, having to roll away from a kick she threw way to fast.

I jumped up and blew my hair out of my face, running to the dagger. She chased next to me.

I could hear her panting, I could hear blood rushing through my head. Neither of us slowed down.

A punch to her gut, a kick to my side. Quick slaps or scratches, mostly from her end.

I hadn't been in a fight like this.

I liked it.

I grabbed her shirt, tearing the fabric, and pulled her to me. My elbow went straight to her ear. She tripped over to the side.

"Quit! Doing that!" She yelled, her fangs elongating.

"Make me."

How could I do this to my mother in law? The woman who raised Colin? Guilt overcame my anger.

She ran to me and I swerved sideways. She was faster than I thought, faster than my siblings even. Her hands were on the back of my head and soon the bridge of my nose was connecting with her knee.

Block spots where the sun was.

Ringing in the air, following me like rain.

Metallic and copper filled my mouth. My shirt clung to my body with sweat and blood. My nose was shattered most definitely.

She spat in my face.

I wiped it off and laughed.

She took a step too close to me and I got a clear hook from the right. Her head turned sideways. Before she could look back I punched her chest. She heaved in a breath.

I jumped, kicked her side, and used that momentum to kick her face to the left.

She fell into the snow. Not dead, but out for sure.

I spit blood onto her body. "Here's a drink for when you wake up, bitch." I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and turned to find Arlis. He was side by side with Becker, both fighting relentlessly against Konrad.

Arlis had a stab wound in his side, a broken leg for sure. He wasn't in great shape when I got here earlier. And yet here he was, fighting like it never happened.

I picked up the dagger and screamed Arlis's name, throwing it too him. He caught it and I had never seen a person be so thankful in their life.

Just when I felt like I had saved the world, hands wrapped around my neck and I felt my back get thrown into the snow. Alex looked over me.

"You're not good enough for my son." Her nails came forward. They grazed my neck and I knew her intentions were to literally rip out my throat.

But a wolf jumped over me and bit into her stomach, tossing her back. The wolf turned to me, human brown eyes watching me, looking over me, checking to see if I was lethally hurt.

Colin was still being held down by the other two wolves, and this certainly wasn't Arlis.

"Kate?" I asked. She took a step to me and then fell, her front legs collapsing and then her back legs.

She shifted back, her naked body lying in the snow. Her log hair covered her skin, the hair matted from the blood still coming from her wound.

Why wasn't she healing completely?

I grabbed her arms and drug her away from the fight, propping her up against a tree. I didn't like her but... she did save my life.

I took off my shirt, painfully wincing at every move, and sat down next to her, out of breath.

My body was black and blue all over. I threw the blood and sweat soaked shirt over her, hoping it would at least keep the snow from falling on her.

I tried to stand up but collapsed, my eyes shutting.

I couldn't feel my face.

I couldn't feel anything.

I watched Arlis shift to human, make eye contact with me and nod once. What were him and Becker doing? I tried to call out his name but my throat was dry and sore.

I changed my view to Colin. He had returned to himself. The two other wolves were now marching over to me.

The smaller brown wolf separated away from the bright blonde one, heading to Ralph and King Anaforo.

The giant blonde one, Jonah I assumed, came over to me. He wrapped Kate up in his fur and licked my side.

If I had any energy I'd make some snappy remark. Maybe. I wasn't sure.

Across the field, Colin was looking at me. I thought he'd come this way too, but he didn't. I tried to stand again, and failed, again.

My eyes shut as he ran to Konrad.

???
He was planning on dying. One of them had too. He had to make sure it was him, the other two had too much to live for.

Sure, he did as well. But someone he cared about died, and no matter what happened he wasn't leaving this unscathed. He looked over at the tree, someone he loved was under that tree. He'd die for them.

He'd die so they could live.

They'd understand. Why he did it. He hoped.

He was too tired from fighting to do anything grand. He had to save energy, to do what he needed. He made eye contact with the person across from him.

"I was always going to die! For her. For my loved ones. I was never going to live!" He yelled.

Konrad rolled his eyes. "A speech, really?"

Konrad didn't need to speak anymore to cast a spell. He barely needed to blink. But even he had grown tired. Konrad was back to speaking out the spells.

While making a mistake against fighting Konrad, he felt his clothes light up in flames. He dropped, rolling in the snow and soaking his clothes. Eventually the fire went out.

Konrad was fighting three battles, against Arlis, Becker, and Colin. All three of them managed to get a couple punches in. Magic burns, flesh ripped out in the form of a bite, and purple and black bruises tattooed Konrad's skin.

All three of the boys had burns, rips from where rose vines scratched them, or stabs from different sharp objects shooting at them. One of them had been buried under ground for a minute before they had a chance to pull him up.

Pain went back and forth.

He took a deep breath. He had lied to the person he loved most, he had been weak and almost gave up. But he was fixing everything now.

Every lie.

Every betrayal.

So what if it hurt her? If it hurt his family? They'd learn to carry on. She was strong, stronger than she thought she was. She had a new family, she didn't need him.

Hold him down. The message flew into the other 2 boys' heads. Becker has set up a link for all three of them.

They were in a triangle around Konrad, all scared to die.

"I'm sorry, Everly." He whispered, taking the blade from the holder of it.

Everything was slow motion.

Time.

Stood.

Empty.

The other two boys grabbed Konrad's hands, pulling him. Konrad tried to speak, but he found he couldn't.

A spell kept his mouth shut.

At a final attempt to last, Konrad screamed as bright white light exploded from his mouth and eyes.

Everything within thirty feet of Konrad was blown back. Snow had melted, revealing mud and dirt under them. Trees had bent backwards, snapping and roaring.

When Konrad's yell ceased, the fighter's eyes were wet when he opened them. His ears were ringing from the back of his head to the front as he looked at Konrad.

But the dagger was already plunged into Konrad's chest. And somehow, he had managed to not get blown back, his hand was still on the handle.

"I'm sorry, Kate." He sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't have more time with you."

He cried, cried and cried. He had done a lot of that in secret, when nobody could hear him. He wished he had done more for the people he loved. He wished he wouldn't of lied as often.

The people he loved deserved better than that.

"I'm sorry."

He whispered out his last spell.

His last two spells to be exact. One of them was new, a spell his dead mother helped him forge by the laws of Salem.

One, to kill Konrad in the most painful death they could think of. Two, to bound his DEAD soul to Hell.

Becker was low on power. His mother told him he would die if he performed both.

He didn't care.

Everly could live without him. She was strong.

"I'm sorry, Arlis." He looked over at Constance. He was most sorry for her.

She should have been here.

Becker sweated, salt dripping down his face.

Konrad took her child, her love, her father, her mother, her uncle, raped her cousin. Konrad tortured Constance even after he was gone. Constance should be killing him. But instead, she was gone.

"Hil egingo naiz. Beraz, zuk ere. Lotu zaitut. Infernura." Becker smiled as he felt the Salems touching his shoulders, empowering him as much as they could. Konrad wailed beneath him, making an awful noise. There was thunder in his eyes, lighting in his ears. "I am not weak." Becker's voice was course, low, strong.

Thorn branches wrapped around Becker's arm, ripping his flesh and pulling at his veins. Lotus sprouted from one of his eyes, blinding him on one side.

He didn't cry. Not anymore.

The sky's dark turmoil wafted away, leaving behind a sunset in the distance. The lightning ceased its strikes, making the dusk quiet.

Konrad stopped screaming, light left his cold eyes. His skin turned grey and his lips turned blue, the sign a Salem witch had fallen.

Becker fell to the ground, his heart stopped the moment his skin touched the snow. An envelope flew from his pocket, landing next to him.

There was no pain.

There was no blood.

Just Becker, calm and peaceful.

EVERLY
I'm not sure why, but we had decided that under the tree was the best spot to regroup.

Nobody said anything.

Konrad's body was laying the snow, ten feet away from Becker. We knew he was dead. Both of them.

Arlis ran a hand through Kate's hair, she was finally starting to heal.

Colin was standing behind me. I knew he wanted to talk, but right now and right here wasn't the time nor place. But he was alive, and he knew I was alive. That was enough. For now.

Dallas was the only one not here. He was hunched over Constance's body, mourning. his fingers were deep in his hair as he rocked back and forth.

Jonah and his mate were still keeping Kate warm, sleeping next to her. They weren't as beat up as the rest of us.

Anaforo was laying in the snow, his arm over his forehead to block out the setting sun. Ralph's head was on his stomach, his feet facing the battlefield. A small fire lit up in both of their hands.

Colin's mom had left, she tried to get Colin to go with her. He refused. She glared at me and Kate and then ran.

I yawned.

I expected a lot of tears. But nobody was crying. Not Arlis, not me, not even Dallas. Dallas was just silent as he hung his head over Constance.

I blinked and, for some reason, began laughing.

Everyone faced me, either annoyed or confused. "He's dead. Becker did it. We did it. What do we do now?"

Arlis couldn't look up, he couldn't see the dead bodies of his best friends.

"I get Konrad's body. I'll rip it to shreds and spread him out in the woods where maggots and ants will eat him until he's nothing but bones. With his bones I'll mash them up and feed them to pigs." I wasn't shocked Arlis was the one who wanted his body.

It was only fair.

"And after?" Ralph sat up. "The world is still going to be in chaos. There will always be someone who supports Konrad."

Arlis shrugged. "Send them to me. I'll clean them up."

"We send them to Hell. Where they belong." I grabbed Colin's hand and let him pull me up.

I think all of us needed some alone time. I think all of us needed time to regroup and talk.

"Arlis. I'm sure I'll see you again." I nodded.

Arlis stood up and gave me a surprising hug. "You will. Take care of your family."

I squeezed him back. "I will."

We separated. "Ralph? Can you teleport me to Konrad's home?"

Ralph laughed. "Nope."

Anaforo waved his hand. "Mugitor."

And suddenly, I was alone with Colin.

Just like how it used to be.

:}

Song is caught in the fire by Klergy