Author Note: Shit is about to go down! I wanted to update earlier, but I caught COVID-19 and became violently sick, making me unable to do anything, even sit upright and type on a keyboard. This is a short but heavily impacted chapter.
"Claire, they're coming," Morgana whispers.
"Claire, they're coming!" Kanjigar warns.
"We're coming for you, Shadowdancer." Bellroc snickers.
"WAKE UP!" Their voices come together.
I gasp and open my eyes, waking from the shock of the voices in my ears.
"Claire, are you ok?" Jim asks worryingly, waking up too.
"Sorry, I-I..." I panted, unable to focus my vision on him.
"No, no, it's ok, it's ok." He says softly, gently grabbing one of my hands and placing it on his chest. "Shhh!"
I catch my breath, snapping out of my daze and rubbing my eyes to see his. "I was woken up by something." I moan, relaxing my head on the pillow.
"What was it?'
"Voices...telling me the same but different things."
"What did they say?"
I bite my lip as my mind struggles to remember, but my mind becomes fuzzy, leaning my head on Jim's shoulder.
"It's ok. Auditory hallucinations happen to me sometimes when I wake up." He says and wraps his arms around my hips.
"Did this happen after facing Bular and others?" I ask cautiously, knowing Jim gets sensitive about mentioning our enemies' names.
"Yeah, but they slowed down as time went on." He sighs.
Another night of passion and bliss has passed, but another dreadful day is here.
"I had a good night, though." He says seductively, making me giggle and look at him.
"Me too," I admit, resting our heads together, and we kiss. "I was worried you were going to keep me up all night." I tease him.
"Hey! I'm not that cruel. I just didn't want you to have any nightmares." Jim laughs, pulling me closer to flesh my naked body to him, making me shiver and blush.
I roll my eyes, and we kiss before getting out of bed to change.
"You sure you want to do this today?" Jim asks as I finish changing, pulling down my shirt.
"Yes! I told you last night. I got this all under control." I reply. I turn to my bag, grabbing my staff and the note with the spell written on it, but as my fingers touch the parchment, a shiver runs down my spine as the warning words of Morgana echo in my ear.
If someone uses The Charm of Making, they will lose something of themselves. Their powers, emotions, memories, or worse, their soul, causing the witch or wizard to die.
"Is that it?"
I snap out of my trance and look at my boyfriend. "What?"
"Is that the spell you're going to use?" Jim asks, stepping close to look at the note in my hand.
"Yes! I found it in Morgana's journal. It's a counterspell, and she agreed it will work." I reply but feel slightly guilty for not keeping my word to her. Screw it! She'll thank me later.
"I can't read it."
"It's in Wizard-ese. It's called The Charm of Making. Douxie taught me how to read it." I explain, making Jim sigh. "Don't worry, Jim, I'll be fine," I reassure him.
"Even though I don't trust Morgana, I trust your judgment of her. If you're confident of this, I'm not worried."
I smile, and we hug, but worry shivers through my body. Suddenly, a bark is heard at the door, making Jim and I jump. I rush to the handle and open it to Nymeria, NotEnrique, and Amber in front of the door, all looking panicked.
"Guys, what's wrong?" I ask with concern.
"Jim, Claire, come quick!" Nymeria replies.
"There's something you should see," NotEnrique adds.
Jim and I follow the three creatures, and Amber leads us to the courtroom door. I opened it and saw all our friends staring out the window. Douxie turned to me, and I ran towards him. "Douxie, what's going on?" I ask, seeing the panic and horror painted on his face.
"We got a big problem," Mary says, staring at the window in horror, pointing to something before her.
We turned to the window, and my blood turned cold as I saw a huge fortress shaped like a haunting skull. Oh no! They found us!
"The Arcane Order is here!" Nari squeaks, trembling in fear.
"How did they find us down here?" Jim asks in horror.
"However they found us; they can't get in here," Veronica says.
"It might not last long, though," Douxie says, making Veronica's face turn pale.
I clutch the note and my staff nervously, my mind racing in panic.
"Then we must fight them off," Aja says confidently.
"Are you nuts?! Don't you remember what happened last time we fought them?!" Jim hisses.
"But this time, we're prepared," Krel says.
"I was expecting this, but not this soon," Darci says, panicking.
"Don't worry." AARRGGHH! says gently, walking next to her. "I won't let anything hurt my wingman's girlfriend."
"Veronica, get Claire somewhere safe while we fight them off outside of the castle," Douxie says, summoning his staff.
"No, I'm staying with you guys!" I protest. "You can't face the Arcane Order without me."
"I thought you were planning on breaking your family curse today? Do you want to save them or not?" He asks, turning to me. "Once you do that, you will be too weak to fight. We'll hold them back long enough for you to cast the counter spell to break your family curse."
"But when she does that, the protective force field will disappear," Veronica comments with worry.
I sigh and look down. I want to save my family and might not get another chance if I stay here. I need to trust my friends. If the spell works, I will be too weak to fight, and it will push the Arcane Order back. That's how powerful the spell will be. "Alright!" I agree, nodding my head.
"I'm coming with you too!" Jim says, standing beside me.
"No, Jim! You need to stay down here. If the Arcane Order notices you're gone, they'll know you're with me." I argue.
"But I want to protect you!" He protests.
"You can by staying here, fighting off the Arcane Order, and helping Nari." I counteract, but he shakes his head. I see the worry and panic in Jim's eyes and squeeze his hand. "Jim, you need to trust me. Everything will be ok. You'll push them back, and we'll destroy the Genesis Seals together later." I reassure him. He tries to smile but can't move his lips. He pulls me close, and we share a short but intimate kiss before resting our foreheads together.
"Alright." He agrees, making me smile with reassurance.
"Come on, Claire. I know a safe place inside the castle." Veronica says behind me.
Jim transforms into his Daylight armor, and after one more reassuring look, I let Jim's hand go and follow Veronica deep inside the castle. The fairies come out of the walls and join us, flying beside us. After running past halls and rooms and going upstairs, Veronica and I arrive in a small room similar to the library, overlooking the outside of the castle, including seeing the skull fortress and my friends walking outside the castle, ready to fight. We look up and gasp in shock as the skull mouth opens, and we see Skrael and Bellroc walk out and begin attacking my friends, making my stomach flip.
"This is a good place to cast the spell." Veronica gulps, not taking her eyes from the window.
"Thanks!" I say and place my staff down on the floor beside me. "You need to get somewhere safe."
"No, I'm staying with you! I'm not leaving my great-granddaughter alone up here!" She protests, turning to me.
"Once I cast the spell, the force field will get dropped. Stay in the place where you were born, and in a flash, you'll be able to leave wherever you want. You can go to the land of the dead to find your husband and children or wait for your mother. It will be ok." I explain.
Veronica bites her lip and glances at the window. She sighs and kneels to my level. "Claire, the little time I've spent with you was the best thing to happen to me after I woke up here. You remind and give me hope for my future in the afterlife. You are an amazing woman, and I wish the best for you. I'll miss you so much, but I'll always be there to answer if you ever need me." She says and lays a hand on my chest, but this time, it feels real.
I smile and nod my head, tears coming to my eyes. I touch her and wrap my arms around her, feeling her warmth. She wraps her arms around my back, pressing me closer. I close my eyes and nestle my head against her shoulder, making the tears fall from my cheeks. "I love you!" I mumble.
"I love you too, my dear." She replies, and we let go.
Veronica kisses me on the forehead and smiles again before disappearing, allowing me to do what I'm here for. I hear the ringing of shouting and roars of explosions. I look to the window and see my friends fighting hard and strong against the two Demi-Gods. I turn to the note in my hand and take a deep breath, wiping away the tears on my face. I memorize the words and let the note go, opening and holding my hands. "Anáil nathrach, Orth' bháis's bethad, Do chél dénmha." I say in a low voice, my heart pounding and head flowing. "Obumbratio et spirituum, Voco super te! Anáil nathrach, Orth' bháis's bethad, Do chél dénmha. Frange maledictionem super familiare!" I add, and spirits circle me, whispering words of encouragement. The pendant on my necklace glows bright while my head begins to spin. "Anáil nathrach, Orth' bháis's bethad, Do chél dénmha."
The air around me begins to turn cold, and I feel knives shooting me everywhere, but I won't stop. "Anáil nathrach, Orth' bháis's bethad, Do chél dénmha!" I shout and move my hands, causing purple mist to form and circle me. "What was lost, come back. What was cast, undo. What was said, erased from the past. Obumbratio et spirituum, Voco super te! Frange maledictionem super familiare!" I cry, and everything begins to spin in a flash before exploding. I close my eyes but see the sighs of the past from people before me, moving fast through the history of my family line. From Spain to Mexico, war to peace, Mexico to America. My family's trials, coming from where we were to where we are. Births of babies, children playing, adults working, marriages between couples, and deaths of people. Families coming together and bonds being broken. In the blink of an eye, I see Abuela as a child, growing up into a woman, getting married, and having my mother. The same thing happening to her: a child turns into a woman, moves out to college, marries my dad, and gives birth to me. I blink and see myself graduating high school, going to college, training to become an FBI agent instead of performing as an actress, and walking down an aisle. I can't see the image of the man I'm going to marry, but an exciting sensation crawls in my heart, and then I see an image of me holding a baby in my arms. Is this my future? Suddenly, everything becomes black, and I collapse, fainting, exhausted, and cold.
"Claire, wake up! Behind you!"
I groan in pain and open my eyes, trying to get up, but my entire body is stiff as rock. I slowly reach out for my staff and use it to get on my feet, but I wobble and shake like 100 lbs are on my back.
"I found you, Shadowdancer." I hear a low voice snickering, causing a shiver up my spine.
I turn around and see the Half-Troll walking towards me. "Stay back!" I hiss and prepare to fight, but nothing comes out of my hand when I try to shoot a spell. I try using my staff, but even with my most powerful emotion, it doesn't react, causing me to collapse to the floor. "What?"
"Looks like I have an easy prey." The Half-Troll chuckles and walks forward.
Before they touch me, all the fairies flew before me and swarmed, making the Half-Troll growl with annoyance and try to swat them away as the fairies poked and distracted him. I take the time to get back on my feet and run to the door.
"You're not getting away from me again!"
I turn my head and cry in agony as the Half-Troll launches at me and grabs my neck, throwing me to the wall. I try to fight the Half-Troll's cold stone arm, but the more I struggle, the more exhausted I become, losing all my energy. They squeeze my neck, and the oxygen decreases from my brain, making me roll my eyes back. They let go, and I collapsed to the floor.
"You're mine now, Claire Nuñez." It is the last thing before I lose consciousness
A massive explosion is heard, and everyone's attention turns to the noise. They watch the highest part of the castle's glass shatter into a thousand pieces in a flash of purple light.
"Watch out!" Blinky shouts, and everyone ducks for cover as the glass shards fall from the air.
The light expands and hits the force field, causing it to disappear and allow Bellroc and Skrael to enter with their army of monsters. The Guardians fight off the creatures as they keep coming, not letting anything past them, but one slips by from the shadows and heads to the destroyed tower.
After a while of fighting, Jim's heart drops when he hears Claire's screams. He turns to the tower, and something leaps from it, landing on the ground before them, showing it's the monstrous Half-troll. Jim's heart stops when the Half-Troll turns around, showing his girlfriend passed out in their arms.
"Let her go, you monster!" Jim shouts, boiling with rage.
"'Monster' you call me?" The Half-Troll laughs and looks down at the sleeping girl in his arms. "No way. She looks so beautiful when asleep. I think I'll keep her for myself." He teases seductively, smirking, making Jim more furious.
"You're not taking her!" Douxie shouts and shoots a spell at the Half-Troll, but Skrael defends him.
"Careful there, you don't want to hurt your precious girlfriend, do you?" The Half-Troll chuckles, looking at Jim.
"Let her go! Please!" Nari begs, standing next to Douxie. "Don't hurt Claire!"
"Come with us, and no harm will come to her." The Half-Troll replies.
"No! We're not letting you take either of them!" Douxie hisses, shielding Nari.
"Then you have sealed your friend's fate," Skrael replies coldly, shooting a spell at them. They duck, but at the speed of light, a purple force field forms around them, redirecting the spell to Skrael. He deflects it, making ice shatter to the floor.
"Let her go!" Zoe shouts and tries to shoot a spell at the Half-Troll, but Skrael deflects it again.
Douxie, Nari, Archie, and Zoe try what they can, but the Arcane Order deflects all their spells. They try to hit them, but the force field keeps appearing, blocking everything in its path.
"Let's go! We'll deal with them later." Bellroc hisses, making Skrael fly to them.
"Say goodbye to your girlfriend forever, Trollhunter." The Half-Troll laughs at Jim.
"No!" He shouts angrily.
"Give me back my familiar!" Nymeria growls, running to the Half-Troll, and digs her teeth in their leg as tight as she can, tugging them back. Bellroc shoots her in the chest, making Nymeria let go, push away, and hit hard on the ground on her back.
Jim runs to try to stop the Half-Troll, but they leap to the opening of the fortress. Jim reaches to the cliff's edge, watching as the Arcane Order joins the Half-Troll, closing the opening. The last thing Jim sees is his girlfriend, pale and exhausted, in the Half-Troll's arms before the fortress disappears. Jim cries out and collapses, his screams echoing throughout the cavern walls.
Author Note: Now that the Arcane Order has finally captured Claire and is halfway to their goal, what will happen next? Please review!