Chapter 11
In the Clearing
We arrived at the great tree's clearing just as Mahon came tearing through. I had not seen him since he was first transformed, when he still held an aura of humanity about him. Now he was every inch the powerful beast that the dwarf, the object of his terrible anger, had transformed him into. His eyes were wild with fury, and to my surprise, nearly all brown. Only a glimmer of our Mother's deep and vibrant blue shone through the veil of the bear. I had not realized that the villain's magic would so utterly transform him.
Lyn and I had skidded to a halt as we came to the entrance of the clearing, shock ran through me as I stood and watched my younger brother violently attack the Dwarf King's terrified men. The villain himself was positioned near the massive oak, his vile weapon in his hands, positioned defensively. Wen was standing rigidly before him, her face astoundingly calm. The Dwarf's beady black eyes were darting from each threat warily, almost nervously, and he seemed at a loss of what to do, the situation having undoubtedly spun out of his control. I smiled triumphantly at his incompetence, wondering at the intelligence of the Dwarven race that such a fool would be their King.
Mahon did not pause in his tirade for a moment. After the underlings had been run off he turned his attention back to the so-called King. Lyn, apparently anticipating Mahon's actions, swiftly approached her sister from behind. As my brother used his powerful forepaw to strike the Dwarf King's scepter from his filth-encrusted hands, Wen was freed from whatever spell the fiend had used and Lyn pulled her roughly back, away from the now battling figures.
I stood idle as these events unfolded, my uselessness engulfing me once more. I had no weapon, no way to protect those that I love. The Dwarf King's scepter had fallen, as useless as I, but I saw Wen pull herself free of Lyn's protective restraint.
Lyn, eyes wide with fear and concern, suddenly spoke to her mirror, "Wen, the Bear, he's not just…" but she was cut off abruptly.
"I know, sister," Wen spoke softly but audibly. An aura of knowledge and assurance seemed to permeate the air around her. Her eyes blazed, blue and clear as a mountain spring, the ribbon that held her nearly white curls back from her face had fallen, leaving them to sway in the breeze that wound its way through the green.
"Thanos! Stop," she shouted to my brother who had backed the Dwarf into a corner of the great clearing and pinned him against a large boulder. Upon hearing her voice he ceased his clawing and growling instantly, heeding her command. She stepped forward, slowly and calmly bending to retrieve the Dwarf King's weapon. She walked to the boulder, brandishing the scepter, raising it high above her head and brining it crashing down upon the skull of the Dwarf, simultaneously fracturing the instrument of death on the solid rock.
Three brilliant flashes of light burst forth, searing my eyes. I felt the blaze surround me as heat enveloped my hands and mouth, closing the wounds, taking away the constant pain. As the light dissipated the linen bandages fell from my hands and I used my restored tongue to lick my smiling dry lips. The Dwarf was dead and I could not wait to speak her name.