I was still pinned down by Victor.

His red eyes glowed in my direction and I felt a force rush through me. It was a gush of wind, that ran through my body and messed my hair around. I guess I was going for the wild look today, whether I liked it or not. But this wasn't just my bad luck sparking a hurricane on my day of rebellion.

This was magic.

When the wind stopped, I was sure that I'd suffer from paralysis or something even more torturous, but I felt no different.

I had however, been watching Malvin throughout the entire experience. I noticed that by the time the wind stopped, his eyes were glowing their golden-yellow. Usually he refrained from that (unless he was in crazy mode). Unfortunately, before I had time to piece the puzzle together, I was knocked out of the mystery.

Quite literally.

One of Danielle's plant vines had surreptitiously managed to wrap itself around my waist. It flung me through the air and pinned me down against the nearest wall.

The force from the blow almost knocked me out of my senses, and I started to see doubles of the figure
around me.

But I had to pull myself together.

I was literally at the top of the second story building, waiting to be dropped.

When I glanced around, I noticed that several other humans, (the one's that had been brave enough to linger), had suffered the same fate.

"What are you doing?!" I called out to Danielle. She was too busy with her arms up in the air. An uncharacteristic vicious look consumed her golden eyes, as she controlled the plant vines.

She definitely wasn't herself.

I wrestled with the branch that was curled around me but it just squeezed tighter and tighter. While I was wriggling around, I remembered the tazor that Jake had given me the night before.

That could work.

I tried my best to shift my arms to get into my pocket. The branch ripped at my body again and I ignored the shooting pain, suddenly finding myself wishing that I had Veera's scrawny figure.

I had just barely been able to reach it. But I did. And once it was in my hand, I immediately pressed the button.

You see, I had two theories, one was that the plant was technically a living organism and it would at least flinch at my touch. The other, and more obvious one, being that Danielle was so connected to the plant that she would feel the shock and let go. Yes, I realized it would shock me too, but that was a small price to pay.

The latter theory proved efficient and I fell to the group with a loud and painful thud, possible breaking something in the process. Luckily the pain from the high electricity voltage was so overpowering that I barely noticed.

At least I could breathe again and I enjoyed the relief that typically came after attempted strangulation. I was lucky enough to revel in the dirt for a moment before a loud roar of pain, knocked me out of my small success.

I sprinted in the direction of my loyal pet. She was cradling herself on the floor, while Jake held a rock in the air. His target seemed to be her head.

My only advantage was that Jake didn't see me coming, when I threw myself onto his back. I know, it's not terribly original but my one night of training left me with  a limited amount of battle strategies. Besides, why not use what works?

Jake stumbled slightly and with one bite to his arm, the rock dropped to the ground. He squirmed around like a dying frog but I refused to let go. I watched as the plant vines grabbed Shir and restrained her from helping me.

She did, however, let out one foul roar, in efforts to warn me of my attacker behind.

(A little late, I might add)

Someone threw me off Jake's back and threw themselves on top of me. I was trapped under the body of a human toothpick and I knew it had to be Veera. The last person I expected to be holding me back was her. Yes, she hated me but now wasn't the time.

Was she on Victor's side?

Was this all just one giant conspiracy?

No.

Veera's eyes were... glowing. Her eyes never glowed. She made a point not to ever let them.

And then it hit (literally and figuratively). The Karnoi hadn't gone rogue. They were all being controlled by Victor. It was his Karnoi superpower and he was showing me just how strong he was. That's probably how he'd gotten them to follow them into war in the first place. The one weapon any dictator would want up their sleeve; mind control.

Veera slapped me across the face and I was sure her sharp nails had drawn blood. I glanced to the side where Jake's rock had dropped and reached for it in hopes that my short arms would actually get there.

No such luck.

I let her hit me a couple of times while I pushed my body in the rocks direction. Just as she was about to hit me hard enough to leave what I was sure would be an irreparable scar, I got a hold of it. Without hesitation I gave sharp swing to the head and she flopped over to the dirt next to me.

I have to admit, I was dabbing my face to check for damage when somebody grabbed me by hair. I probably should have gotten up quicker but my vanity got in the way. What can I say? No girl wants a black eye.

The hair-pull caused me to slide quickly across the floor while I reached for my abused locks and yelled out in pain.

Would somebody give me a damn break?

Luckily the pain didn't last long.

I opened my eyes to see Jake. He had used my stands of hair to pull me underneath him and was now crouched down towering above me. I didn't break the eye contact (even though he had a terrifying look on his face). I thought, with the slightest ounce of hope, that he might just remember me. So I held his gaze in both terror and wonder and I was relieved when he didn't move right away.

Suddenly the fury in his expression transformed into something else... Recognition.

Was it true? Did he recognise me?

"Pacem-"

I didn't let him finish. I had no time.

Instead I lifted my injured face up to his and kissed him. He was resistant at first, tensing up. The animal inside him was unsure of how to respond but eventually he relaxed into it and I felt the touch of the man I had fallen in love with.

I had to force myself to pull away. All I wanted to do was bury, my face into his and hide in the caress of his body. But I couldn't. This wasn't finished.

"Wake up the others. I'll get Victor."

I was up on my feet before he could even think up a response. Without hesitation, I jumped up onto the pedestal of vines and reached for Alluna's gun. It had been poking out Malvin's pocket, uneasily.

I pointed it at Victor, as if I had done it a million times before.

Confidence is key.

He laughed at my escapades, displaying no indication of fear, despite the show convincing show I had just put on.

"Poor little girl." He laughed, diabolically. Apparently Malvin had gotten his giggles from him. "You won't pull the trigger. You're too weak."

I stood there for a moment like a statue. Mostly because I realised that he was right. Not about being weak, of course, but about my inability to take his life. How could I kill a man standing before me like this?

Wouldn't I be the monster?

Before I could decide how to proceed, Malvin grabbed the gun out of my hand. At first I thought it was another act of pure betrayal, but I noticed that his eyes no longer glowed as wildly as before.

A long bang followed his actions, as he aimed the gun at his father and pulled the trigger. I flinched covering my ears and closing my eyes. I heard the body drop and I finally built up the courage to look at the limp corpse. A pool of blood already cradled his floating head.

With a gush of wind, I felt the magic retract.  The Karnoi glanced around in confusion, slowly coming back to their senses and soon the humans being held from above were dropped by the plants confining them.

Before I knew it, Malvin had released his gun. He came in for a hug, apologising over and over again like a lunatic. I looked down at Victor's body which was now completely drenched in blood. His red eyes were open and for once, fear overcame them.

"It's okay Malvin." I finally hugged him back, putting him out of his mystery. "I understand."

"I shouldn't have ever followed him, Pacem. You are my family. You always will be. Not like him and certainly not like her."

I paused, pulling away from him in stern confusion. "Her who?"

My question was answered seconds later, when Alluna's voice consumed the space,

"Oh no, did I miss all the fun?"

Whoa! Does that mean Alluna and Malvin are related?
And apparently it's not over yet!
What does Alluna have in store for Pacem?