They passed rows of street vendors and shops.

"I almost forgot to pick up a necklace." Solen walked over to a small cart. It held rings, earrings, and strings of jewels. "Marla, go ahead and pick out one you like. We will need it for the ritual."

"Hmm." Marla's eyes wandered until they fell upon a handcrafted embroidered necklace. It was wired with golden lace and braided with pearl and crystal beads. There were many other pretty necklaces of gems and metals, but this hexagon pendant had caught her eye. She pointed to it.

"That one is lovely." Solen gently plucked it from the pile. "We will take this one." He offered three gold pieces, which the vendor graciously took.

Soon they found themselves at the edge of town, surrounded by fenced-in pastures. Many different types of animals filled the grassy plains.

"We tend to keep these animals here. They would cause too much trouble roaming freely in the town. For example," He pointed to the field on their left.

"I don't see anything."

"Exactly. Somewhere in here are camouflaged coyotes."

"That doesn't seem too bad."

"They get anxious when things change around them, and when they do, they like to go steal things. They go wild whenever we build a new structure or host a new event. The coyotes will steal tools, food, and even socks. It gets a bit frustrating. So we have them here. They seem to be more at peace here anyway."

"Do those horses have horns?" Marla looked to her right.

"Yep. They can also shoot fire. The swordsmiths usually use them in the shop, but since they are closed today, they have the horses resting here."

"Isn't it dangerous having them in a field? Won't it catch on fire?"

"That is easy to fix with a simple spell. We now have fireproof grass."

"Fascinating."

"What about in that field?" Marla pointed to a field of cows.

"Those are just cows.

"Can't be too careful about them cows." Marla teased.

"Yes, if you aren't careful, they will look at you with their big eyes."

"No? That's terrifying."

"Truly." They laughed together.

"There it is. Mr. Wessland's Weapon Shop." Solen pointed at a stone building. Billards of smoke slipped from an oversized chimney. "You might want to wait outside until I finish. Coughing coal can be unpredictable. But the place is still standing, so he probably only has a minor case of it."

"What is coughing coal?"

"Right, I suppose you wouldn't know. How do you not find your Kingdom boring?"

"After coming here, I don't know how I won't see it that way."

"There is never a quiet day here. Coughing coal, for example, is coal that spews out fireballs. At first, they have a cough that leaves puffs of smoke. If left untreated, however, they will cough out small fireballs that explode. So we make sure never to let it get to that point."

Marla's mouth dropped.

"You guys can keep that. I don't want that back at the Capital."

Solen chuckled.

"It's very easy to treat. Just toss a few of these homemade tablets into the fire, and the coal will be good as new."

"Nelee!" The owl-cat flew over her head.

"There you are, Nelee," Solen shouted. "Where did you run off to again? You aren't getting into trouble, are you?" Nelee pawed at Solen's scolding finger. "You smell like dirt." He waved his hand in front of his nose. "Perhaps it is time we gave you a bath." Solen reached for him.

Nelee zoomed under Marla's legs in an effort to escape. She tried to adjust her foot so as to not step on Nelee's tail, but instead, her shoe caught a sharp stone's edge. Her balance was thrown off, and Marla suddenly found herself falling forward. An arm gently slipped around her waist, holding her steady.

"Are you ok?"

Marla met Solen's eyes. Their faces were close, and she could feel his warm breath on her flushed cheeks.

"Uh-yes." She struggled to make words. "Thank you." He quickly let go, but not before ensuring she regained her footing.

"Look what you did!" He reprimanded Nelee.

"It's ok, Solen. I'm sure he didn't mean it." She took the owl cat in her arms. "Isn't that right?" Nelee purred loudly.

"Well, as long as you are alright."

"I am." Marla smiled.

"Ok. I am going to head into the shop. You two behave." He turned and went inside the stone hut.

"Now, what should we do?" Marla sat down on a soft patch of grass. Nelee landed next to Marla and tucked himself under her arm. It took a deep breath before closing its eyes. "That's a good idea." A summer breeze rustled the nearby grass. Its warmth surrounded her like a blanket. Marla couldn't help but yawn. Slowly she closed her eyes. She started to dose, but Marla felt Nelee jump from under her arm. Its hairs were on end. "What's wrong?" Marla looked around. She could see nothing out of the ordinary. A scream echoed in the distance. Marla jumped to her feet. Maybe it was just a coincidence? Another scream echoed, then another. What was happening?

Nelee bounced into the air and began flying away from the town. "Where are you going? Shouldn't we tell Solen?" It didn't listen. Scream after scream came from the city. She didn't want to be alone. Marla hesitated. She knew she didn't want to be alone, and going towards the yelling sounded like a bad idea. "Wait! I'm coming with you!" she chased after Nelee, who made no effort to slow down for her. Marla followed Nelee into some nearby woods. Eventually, though, she lost sight of him. The sun had begun to dim, and the shadows from the trees made it difficult to see.

"Nelee? Where did you go? Nelee!" She shouted for him. Tall foliage surrounded her. She had no idea where she was. Following the owl cat initially sounded like the safest idea, but she didn't realize Nelee would leave her alone. Where had it gone in such a rush? She paused. A whisper tickled her ears.

"Help. Please help us."

"Is someone there?" Marla called out. She looked around, but her eyes could only see variating shadows. Who had said that? Something told her to keep walking. "Hello? Anyone there?"

Hiss! It had come from ahead of her. There, in a tree, were two owl cats standing over a dozen babies.

"Nelee?"

It looked over at her and chirped. He was trying to protect his young. But from what?

Bright green eyes appeared around her. Deep growls were followed by white fangs and black snouts. Wolves. But these were different. Though Marla could see the shape of their bodies, they were made of some kind of dark mist. The one closest to Marla nipped at her. She jumped back. Her body was frozen. She didn't know what to do.

"Nice doggy."

It snapped again.

"Run." It was the same voice from earlier. About five wolves were staring at her. There was no way she could outrun five wolves. But, then again, there was no way she could outfight them either. "I will distract them."

Marla looked around for the owner of the voice. Her eyes drifted until they came to Nelee, who stared back. Was the owl cat speaking to her?

"Now." Nelee screeched loudly before flying off through the trees in the other direction. Marla's heels dug into the dirt as she turned and ran towards where she came from. Trees flew by in blurs. Marla was running as fast as her feet could carry her. The sun had vanished from the forest. All that remained were outlines. If Marla was going the wrong way, she couldn't tell. She just had to trust that, at some point, the forest would end.

A black mist snaked alongside her. Teeth emerged and snapped at her. Another set of green eyes appeared to her right. The wolves were closing in.

Marla caught a glimpse of light through some bushes.

"Please be a way out; please be a way out." She begged beneath her breath. To her luck, the trees parted, and the familiar plains greeted her. The stone hut Solen had gone into earlier lay just ahead. No smoke came from the chimney. No light poured from its windows. Had Solen left her?

"Help!" Marla screamed as loud as she could. "Somebody help!" She felt tears well up. "Please." Her legs had started feeling heavy, and her breathing had grown dry.

Growl. A wolf lunged at her. Marla cried out. A sharp pain pierced her ankle as she fell to the ground, tumbling several times. Marla felt blood dripping down her leg where the wolf had bit. Hesitantly, she felt her ankle. A quiet moan escaped Marla's lips when she tried to move it. She couldn't tell if it was broken. What was she supposed to do now? Where had Solen gone? Was she alone with these wolves?

The green eyes circled her. One wolf licked its jowls. Was it going to end like this? Surely it couldn't, not after being this close. The Magoia believed in her. She couldn't let her down, but what could she do? She had no power. Wait- Marla still had the power given to her by the Magoia. What was it? Her mind raced. She wasn't strong or fast. She had no magical weapons or magical intelligence. Did it have something to do with her connection with the Navaji? Her thoughts jumped to Nelee. Perhaps she did have a connection magic. Was that how she could speak to Nelee? It couldn't hurt to try.

"Please, I am not your enemy." She spoke to the wolves. "I mean no harm." The wolf in front of her bared its teeth and dove toward her.

A bolt of fire appeared. It slammed into the attacking wolf, knocking it clean out of the air. It whimpered as it ran around burning. A large horse charged toward her. It stomped its feet, trampling a wolf as it arrived. A figure hopped off and knelt down next to Marla.

"Talking to wolves, are we? How much blood did you lose?" It was Solen's voice.

"I thought I would try to convince them I wasn't tasty." She tried a joke.

"You must have lost a lot of blood then." He tore off his shirt sleeve and tightly wrapped it around her leg. She winced. "I was looking everywhere for you. When I came out of the house, you were gone. Then I heard the screaming and the wolves."

"I followed Nelee into the forest. He has a family." Marla explained.

Solen gently lifted her into his arms.

"A family? You don't say?" With a heave, he raised her onto the horse.

He hopped on after. "Hold on tight, alright?" He took her hands and put them on his waist.

"You are warm." Marla hummed. Solen laughed.

"Thank you."

The horse began galloping in the direction of the castle. Blurs of people passed them by. Screams echoed through her ears, but she could still hear distant howls. Marla caught a glimpse of a spirit wolf in the distance. It stopped and stared at her.

"We can smell its fear."

"Who's?" Marla asked.

"What? Did you say something?" Solen asked. The wolf disappeared with a blink.

"Nevermind." Maybe Solen was right. Perhaps she did lose too much blood.

"What happened?" Remalyn appeared. "She's bleeding."

Solen dismounted.

"She's fine for now. Help me get her down." The two lifted Marla off the horse and led her into the tower.

"Get her in here now." Illias paced around his room. "Did you get everything I asked?"

"Yes."

"We must do this ritual now. Before the wolves destroy my town." Illias took out a green lizard from a cage behind him and knelt down. "This is a healing reptile. It will heal the cut on your leg." The small lizard began to glow. Marla felt a warm sensation rushing through her wound. It was uncomfortable but did not hurt. Illias began drawing a circle with the transmutation salt. A bright light flashed in the room. The Great Magoia materialized in front of them.

"I have done all that I can. The people can handle the rest."

"What are those creatures?" Remalyn asked.

"Spirit wolves." The Magoia explained. "They have a deep connection to the Navaji. They can feel what it feels. They sense it's fear. It is what is making them so aggressive."

"Does that mean the Navaji is near?" Marla's heart dropped.

"Yes and no. The Navaji will not sense us until the ritual takes place."

"Then how do these spirit wolves sense it?" Marla asked.

"I should have anticipated it. It is my fault. But it has been so long since I created this cursed power that even I forgot that the spirit wolves would sense this."

"Sense what?" Remalyn growled.

Illias pulled out the wrapped object Vayne had them deliver. Carefully he undid the cloth. The smell of rotting flesh hit Marla's nose like a wall.

"What is that?" Remalyn asked before Marla could.

"This is part of the Navaji."

"Part?" Marla's head tilted.

"Some piece cut from the Navaji itself." Illias brought it to her. The smell grew louder. He dropped it into her hands. It oozed green goop. Marla gagged. "This is what your nullifying power was made of."

"That is disgusting." Remalyn held her nose.

"Ansellus stole bits from the Navaji as well. Dividing the Navaji's power destroyed its soul. It is what brought him to madness." The Magoia bowed her head.

"Yes, and to think, no one has learned after all this time. Using the Navaji's power like this only makes it angrier and stronger." Illias scolded.

"If that is the case, why are we doing this?" Marla wondered aloud. "We shouldn't be using its power if it only worsens the situation." Why was she the only one thinking this?

"I fear it is the only way."

"I don't understand. Why give me back the power the Navaji took once before. It will just retake it." Marla didn't want to fail again, and she didn't want to make matters worse.

"I don't want you to use the nullifying magic on the Navaji."

"What?" Now Marla was very confused.

"You are going to use it to take away everyone's magic."