An Old Friend.

River.

"Okhul inveniat et magnifilio vortú." I mumbled the locator spell and the map burst into flames yet again. "Dammit!" I heard Chad hiss aswell, his own map in flames. "She's cloaked, and whoever did it, isn't a minor witch, they know how to bind and hide." He asserted looking at me, Brent was pacing in between us, he was frantic, afraid and getting frustrated. "Chad take a break, go with Brent, get some air." I told him and they left me to truly think about our situation, my mate wasn't here, so was his father and the former beta, Kent was out there searching blindly,  Riley was incapacitated, the pack needed to be protected so I needed Kirk to be ready, Brent and Chad were my only capable backup but against an enemy who would attack the pack, they would need to defend the pack, but Zaya and Riley's lives were in danger, he had gotten us exactly when we were vulnerable.

I couldn't give up though, the pack would be okay but Zaya wasn't and I needed to find her soon, I promised myself I wouldn't delve into that part of my magic, but I had no option. I grabbed another map from the ones Kirk had brought over, let a bit of blood pour over it, it belonged to Brent, their connection would help significantly. "I'm sorry Riley, I have to save you, sosvenda qou makhtu solcis demera." I cast the spell and the blood turned to crystal, it began moving over the map, trailing until it circled over one particular place away from pack territory, neautral territory that not even humans dared go into. "River what's going on?" Chad questioned as he barged into the room, he froze with a gasp escaping his lips, no one truly knew my past, it was as terrifying now as it was when I was still the crystal witch, I never lost the power though.

"I found them, let's go." I told him leaving no room for questioning or arguments. "Oh, okay." He whispered as we made it out of the basement of my home, Brent immediately stood up and walked beside us outside. "You found her?" Kirk exclaimed and I nodded. "They are in neutral territory, there is an abandoned fun house there, I've heard stories that its haunted, no sane person would go there." Chad replied as he handed the map over to Kirk. "We have no choice, we need a tactful approach and less people, whoever we're dealing with is super strong and very smart." I explained to them and they all nodded. "We'll go with you, the rest will help the pack guard and some will guard your brother and the ongoing spell." Kirk asserted taking charge and I was grateful some of that burden was off my shoulders.

"I can fly there, but you need a way to get there." I mumbled and they all snickered. "We are lycans, the forest belongs to us, yet for some reason, you witches made us all afraid of the woods and the dark." He jabbed lightening the mood. "I'll get you back for that, Brent can you tell your mate to be ready once we're back." I told the lycan who nodded right then. "Let's go." Kirk announced as he shifted into his wolf, most of them did aswell. "This once I will allow it." Brent stated next to me as he shifted into his wolf and gestured for me to get on. "Thank you." I mouthed the words as I held on for dear life and he took off into the woods, in their lycan forms I knew they were fast but as wolves I was surprised they were just as fast. We reached the boarder of the pack as the sun set, the wolves had been running for almost an hour, at full speed, the pack was huge. "Becareful, past that is neutral ground." I told them all as one by one they followed Kirk's lead.

The air was becoming chilly, or it was me shivering in anticipation, I couldn't place it but nothing good waited for us there, another thirty minutes of running we finally came to an abandoned park, years of decay lay in front of us but only one place had light. "Invisiqué." I whispered cloaking us all. I didn't need to tell them to calm down, they were masters of the hunt. "I can smell Zaya, and a lot of blood, there are five lycans here, including Kara, along with a witch." Kirk exclaimed, explaining directly into my mind.  "Fan out, howl to draw their attention, and pick them apart, Chad you'll get to Zaya and get as far as you can with her, Brent you'll back him up and detain Kara, I will deal with the witch, Kirk back me up." I responded using the link, they all nodded as they retreated back into the woods, the way they did it made me afraid for whoever they would cross.

I nodded to Chad before walking foward, I activated all the spells imbued in my body making it glow with runes and glyphs, as I walked onto the clear path an explosion occurred right in front of me, I held out my hand and absorbed the fire, more booby traps activated and I let loose ice from my palms freezing everything in my way, the last of the traps activated hurling lightning at me, I held out my hand and absorbed it into my body, I wasn't here to play with party tricks. "Hello." I called out waving my hand and blowing the door in front of me into tiny pieces. "Anybody home." I added coming face to face with someone I never thought I'd see again. "Hello old friend." She mumbled looking my way with an impressed smirk. "Only you could absorb my lightning like you're drinking juice." She further added as my eyes moved past her to Kara who held a sai in her hands, the other lodged in Zaya's body.

"Oh, I hit a nerve." Nadia exclaimed as my anger spiked. "Demihter." I cast the spell throwing her back into the wall behind her and past it. "You have a lot to pay for." I told Kara as she lunged for me. "Constó." Chad mumbled from behind her just as Brent appeared, took Zaya and leapt out the window, as I focused my hearing the sounds of a fight going on outside made it to me, focusing back into the decrepit fun house we were in I felt the flames come before they did. "Go!" I yelled toward Chad who jumped out the window, he waved his hand pulling frozen Kara with him, I raised my shield just as the house was engulfed in flames that turned it into a pile of burning wood. "I see you haven't changed, temper temper." I muttered looking at Nadia as she was surrounded by the fire she could conjure at will, a true pyromancer.

"You pissed me off." She hissed shooting several fireballs my way, I waved my hands raising walls of ice to combat her flames, the walls held long enough for me to make sure Chad and the others were clear, if there was anything Nadia liked, it was collateral. "Vertaru magnu vollko." She cast the spell summoning red clouds that rained fire on me and the surrounding forest. "Somre dhevantu crystamo." I countered her spell blowing sharp shards of hail toward her, then summoning a void to absorb her attack, it all came down to power as we both pushed and an explosion occurred throwing both of us away in different directions of the burning woods. "Your spell craft has gotten better." I commented as I shoved away the dirt and wood that fell on me. "Thank you, He, opened me up to the numerous possibilities of my magic." She asserted with a grin and the mention of He, caught my interest.

"Why— why would such a powerful witch like you Nadia, be involved with a killer, He, has gone above and beyond to ruin my pack, why would you help him, and on top of that, you hurt Riley's mate." I accused looking at her and the mention of Riley brought some emotion into her. "I—I didn't know, the others were instructed to lure you and your mate out and kill you, they failed, that idiotic little girl found me, and offered a way to get to you, it was to get a wolf you cared for, if I had known it was Riley's mate, things would've been different." She explained and I snickered. "Only you could cast a meta transfusion spell that not only hurt one person but intensified the pain on the other bonded mate." I expressed as both our eyes hardened. "River, I never meant to hurt Riley, only you and your mate, if I had known that delicate little flower was his, I wouldn't you know that, and for the record I put her through emotional pain your pack member was sadistic in her ways of torture." She argued adding on to my fury.

"For the record, as well, none of that, made me feel better." I hissed narrowing my eyes on her. "Crystal impaler." I call forth and shards of sharp crystal shot out of the ground and raced toward her, before she could dodge several had been plunged into her. "I'm sorry about your brother, but I must defend myself." She responded pulling away from the crystals, she spun back a few times before summoning flaming whips into her hands. "Come, lets end this once for all."  I whispered summoning two blades into my hands, she lunged for me lashing out her whips in a frenzy, I shot up into the sky then came down to slash at her neck, she dodged that blow and used her whip, wound it around my hand and threw me into the burning trees, I underestimated her, so I shot up again but this time I threw my blade first, she dodged it and used her whip to attack.

I grabbed the flaming vine and drained it of magic, reversing it to make ice branch out and overtake her arm, I threw the second blade which sliced through her arm cutting it clean off. "Fuck!" She hissed as I ported behind her and round house kicked her into the flaming trees, she used it to her advantage and wove the flames toward me, but I could control fire as well and mine was pure, I let loose white flames that overtook hers, absorbing them and growing till they exploded right where she was, a shrill scream escaped her lips as I raised them higher and burnt her even more. "Burning Purge." I cast the spell and my flame began coming together concentrating into a small sphere of vibrating energy. "Burn." I ordered as it combusted into an explosion that incinerated the area Nadia stood in and a beam of light was shot into the sky.

"What the hell." Kirk muttered in my mind in absolute shock but I didn't pay attention to her as Nadia staggered back to her feet her skin was peeling off from the fire and the spell I cast. "I'm the pyromancer and yet my fire is overcome by yours, how pitiful." She chokes out coughing blood. "You came for Riley, knowing or not, you hurt him, and you know I'd never allow anyone to live if they did that." I told Nadia as she nodded, she amassed the last of her mana into one shot, I could feel it charging above me. "I know, I also know why you're called the crystal witch, the impaler, you're ruthless, I wonder if your family knows that, how you alone burnt down a whole town just because your brother's feelings got hurt." She was stalling, but I'd indulge her.

"I'd burn down the world Nadia and wouldn't care aslong as the people I love were safe." I told her just as she clenched her fist and bolts of black lightning hurtled toward me, if I were any witch, they would vaporize me instantly, but I wasn't, I was named the crystal witch for a reason. "River!" I heard Kirk scream as Brent held him back, I knew because my mind was set on them, it all trickled back to me as I held out my hand, Nadia watched in confused just as time sped back up, the moment the lightning touched my palm it turned into black crystals, my magic pulsed, rolling out in powerful waves that turned the bolts of lightning into crystal. When the attack dissipated Nadia fell to her knees. "I too, am not the same witch." I inserted walking toward her. "Crystal morpho." I placed her whole body in a crystal and she struggled because she knew what came next. "Crystal devourer." I further added as shards much like razor teeth impaled her as she was inside colouring the whole cocoon red.

The crystal slowly ate away at her physical being, then her soul, it's what it was made for, Kirk made his way towards me, as he found himself next to me, the cocoon burst into sparkling little pieces of glass, Nadia was gone. "The fire can you stop it?" The lycan asked just as the sky rumbled, I had conjured the rain as I stood with him and it soon poured down extinguishing the flames. "Let's go home." I held out my hand and he took it without hesitation. "Yes, luna."

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Y'all know just how bomb a$$ River is now.

Saint_Jay