But death didn't come. It pushed and tried to force itself to the wizard, but it couldn't do it. He had closed his eyes before putting up his hands, but when he didn't feel anything, he looked upward and saw that he was keeping it at bay—with his magic! He looked behind, and saw that Molly was still holding on tight. He was determined to keep it away from her, and relieved that something within him still worked. He gathered whatever strength he could, and with one push, he forced the darkness off of them. He could hear a moan of pain from the cloud, and was ready to try something to keep it off of them for much longer.

He breathed heavily and looked to the skies. With whatever power he could muster, he raised his hands upward, knowing that he had the advantage now, and gave one big shout of "NO!"

A great purple beam emanated from his arms that was headed straight for the eye of the cloud. It made hideous shrieks and noises. The wizard and the farmer watched as it slowly began to dissipate, with the wizard feeling it slipping. Then, in an instant, it was gone.

The skies returned to their sunset colors. He didn't realize the darkness had taken him out for so many hours, but was relieved that it was gone, at least for now. He turned to Molly, who watched what had happened safely from the shelter of Wizard's back. She said, "Thank you" in a soft voice, still amazed by the kind of raw power he had seen emanate from what seemed to her a simple fortuneteller. She looked to her house, now roofless, and back to her. The wizard stared at her, a little amused by just how enchanted she seemed by the events that unfolded, but understood completely. He walked up beside her and said calmly "There's magic that can help fix your roof, too." She giggled, of course, assuming he meant it as a sly comment, but he meant it seriously.

He lifted each piece of the roof, no matter how big or small it was, and arranged it on the roof, hands waving and fingers working on the intricate details of the roof. When it seemed that it had finally been fixed, he turned expecting to see her enchanted face once again, but seeing nothing. At first, he was a little surprised, but understood why with one look. The roof of the barn had collapsed.

He ran in there after her and saw Molly on her knees, choking small sobs. There was blood leaking and a single hoof sticking out of the rubble. When he was knocked out, he saw her with that cow, and it looked happy. It seemed to be the only animal she wanted to own. He knelt down to reach her shoulders and told her sympathetically, "I'm sorry." She sniffled and tried to look away so he didn't have to see her cry, but he didn't care and put his arm across her shoulder. She looked at him, her eyes red and puffy with tears. He acknowledged it, but couldn't care less, and hugged her. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could do. The sobs she tried so hard to fight were coming out louder, and it felt healthy. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could have done something." Her sadness was contagious, but he stayed strong. She let go of him gently, touching his shoulders instead. She made her best attempt to smile and stared at him while her eyes were still glistening with tears. "You did everything you could have done and more. You saved my life", she sniffled out.

"I can at least fix your barn roof, but we would have to go outside."

She looked at him and nodded with understanding, then turned her head toward what remained of the roof and whispered softly, "I'm sorry, Bessie."

They left the barn gravely, and the wizard prepared her barn roof as he did before. He walked inside and saw the mangled remains of the bovine corpse. He enchanted it so Molly couldn't see how Bessie looked and lifted it with his magic next to the barn, laying it down gently. He prepared a grave to properly pay her respects, and so they did, taking five minutes to say goodbyes.

She walked next to her house, and sat down, hugging her knees. It seemed the reality of everything that happened began to hit her, and not very well.

"You saved my life, so at least let me help you. I think you're going to do something to make sure whatever that… that… THING was… doesn't come back, and I want to help." He was obviously shocked by this, but before he could say anything, she said. "Please! I owe it to myself to gain some closure." "Are you sure it's closure that you want?" She replied, "Every living thing that has ever been on this farm has been family. That cow was family! I need to do something for that." He wanted to argue, but started realizing arguing was now pointless. "… and I think this affects me just as much as it does you. I think I'm the only one who could see it that doesn't have any magic powers. If that's the case, I need to fight it just as much as you." She made a fair point. It doesn't seem that any mortal would have seen it; otherwise, surely they would have come to help. The town respects her, and if they saw something like that, it would have led to some clamor. "Please, just let me come."

What he said went against every fiber of his being, but regardless, it was said. "Okay. But please, just follow my lead. I can't say with confidence, but I think I know what just attacked us."

He concluded, "We need to see the Harvest Goddess, Molly.