It's been about twenty minutes, and Jesse had shown no signs of coming to.

Lukas sat on an old mattress he and Petra found in one of the storage rooms, with Jesse lying on it beside him. He had her head in his lap, and was gently cleaning the wound she had. Every time she'd groan or shift in her sleep he would hold his breath, praying for her to wake up. But she didn't.

He wanted to get out of that fortress, he wanted to get back to the safety of Beacontown, but he couldn't for two reasons. First, the most obvious, Jesse was still unconscious. Secondly, only about five minutes ago, Petra had turned. It didn't surprise Lukas, with all the stress and excitement she'd been through.
However, he wished he wasn't alone with her when it happened. Usually Jesse would be there to comfort her through the agonizing transformation. Lukas felt so useless, not knowing what to do or say as he watched his friend painfully turn.

Lukas looked up at Petra, who was pacing up and down on the other side of the room, her ears pulled back flat against her head. He sighed heavily, looking down at Jesse again. Her face was still pale, white as a sheet. Her hair was swept to the side, revealing the large cut on the side of her head.

Lukas bit his lip. He had been so worried about the magic blast Soren had given Jesse, he didn't even consider how bad her injuries might be.

He heard a soft whimper, and looked up to see Petra standing at the edge of the mattress. She looked up at Lukas, whining again softly. Lukas knew she was trying to tell him something. Maybe she wanted to know how Jesse was doing?

"There's been no change." He said softly.

Petra whined again softly, before stepping onto the mattress and lying down beside Jesse.

Lukas watched as she gently licked Jesse's pale hand. Petra was becoming more... more canine every time she turned. It kind of made him wonder how much time she had left.

Suddenly Petra lifted her head and pricked her ears. She looked around her, slightly confused.

"What do you hear?" Lukas asked, aware of the fact that she was picking up sounds he couldn't.

Petra stood up slowly, her ears turning sideways and back as she listened intently. A low growl sounded from deep in her throat. Even though Lukas knew and trusted her, this action made him shudder slightly.

Petra glanced over at him. Even though she was a wolf, and it was hard to tell her expression, her blue eyes were laced with worry.

"What is it?" Lukas asked, wishing she could answer him. Petra whined softly, looking at the staircase that lead down. It was clear that she could hear something below them.

"Let's go look." Lukas decided.

He gently supported Jesse's head with his hands, before lowering her to the mattress. She groaned lightly, making him freeze in hopes that she would wake up. But she didn't.

Rolling up his jacket, and putting it under her head to serve as a pillow, Lukas stood up.

Petra instantly started walked towards the staircase, her nails making light clicking noises on the brick flooring. The sound changed every time she walked over one of the wooden boards that patched up holes.

Lukas reached over to take the diamond sword that was propped up against the wall. He wasn't going down there unarmed.

Having never used swords more advanced than iron ones, the diamond blade felt a little strange in Lukas's hand. But he didn't really mind. His mind was focused on what might be laying ahead, as he carefully followed Petra down the stairs.

She stopped at the bottom, pricking her ears and listening intently before also sniffing the air. The she started walking again, deeper into the rundown hallways. As Lukas followed her, he started to hear it too. Distant voices.

As they went deeper and deeper into the hallways, he was able to tell the voices apart – a male and a female. They were arguing. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying though.

Petra suddenly stopped in her tracks, tilting her head as she listened. Lukas was about to ask her what was wrong, when she broke into a run, instantly disappearing into the darkness.

"Petra, no!" Lukas hissed. But she was already gone. Lukas stopped in his tracks, trying to pinpoint the direction of the voices.

This became significantly easier seconds later, when both of them squealed, and called out.

"A wolf!" The female voice called.

Great, Petra found them. Lukas thought to himself, breaking into a jog, then running in the direction the voices came from. There was an old, rotting wooden door. It was hanging off it's hinges, the voices coming from inside.
Lukas gulped hard, before creeping through the gap.

The room was lit up by a very dim light, as well as filled with a foul smell. Probably rats. Lukas thought to himself, as he pulled up his nose.

He stayed in the shadows, carefully scanning the room. He could see the shape of Petra, standing in the middle of the room. What she was looking at, made Lukas' heart skip a beat, and his stomach lurch.

Cages. Cells. Call it what you like, iron bars were blocking sections of the room off.

"Who's there?" Lukas asked, as he stepped into the light, Jesse's sword raised.

"Louis! It's you!" An awfully familiar voice called.

"Ivor?" Lukas asked in surprise. He swiftly walked forward, until he was standing right beside Petra.

Sure enough, two of the cells had prisoners in. In one cell was Ivor, standing right at the front, clutching the bars. Beside him was an open cell, and then one with another prisoner in. A woman, who was standing a bit away from the bars, her eyes still fixed on Petra. Lukas recognized her as Ellegaard.

"Why is there a wolf here?" She asked, looking at Lukas with wide eyes.

"Don't worry about her." Lukas said, stroking Petra's back to prove that she wasn't hostile. "I'll explain later who she is."

"I must say, I wasn't expecting to see you in here, Louis!" Ivor said in his normal, loud voice.

"It's Lukas, and the feeling is mutual." Lukas replied, folding his arms.

"We heard stuff earlier." Ellegaard explained, coming to the front of her cage. "It sounded like Soren was talking to Jesse, soon followed by the sound of swords. We were just talking about whether it was actually happening."

Ivor quickly interrupted her. "Which it of course wasn't! Jesse would never be taken down by someone as small-minded as Soren. Confirm that, Louis- uh, blonde guy?"

Lukas sighed heavily.

"Lukas?" Ellegaard asked, noticing that he was hesitating.

"Jesse's not dead, if that's what you're thinking." Lukas said quickly. "But she didn't win."

Both Soren and Ellegaard inhaled sharply.

"Is she alright?" Ivor asked, his voice quiet for once.

"Not sure." Lukas admitted. "She's hurt. Badly."

Ivor and Ellegaard exchanged shocked glances.

"Wait, I think I can get you out." Lukas said suddenly, stepping up to the cages.

"How?"

"I have Jesse's sword."

-----------

Jesse's eyes slowly opened. As bright light shone into them, she shut her eyes again, groaning softly as pain pulsed through her skull.

Where am I?

Jesse thought weakly, remembering the duel. She couldn't quite remember how it ended. She just remembered stabbing Soren... She remembered that he was somehow immune to the damage of the sword....

Jesse opened her eyes again, shielding them from the sunlight. Then she started taking in her surroundings. She was laying on an uncomfortable, stiff and filthy mattress. Her head was propped up on a black leather jacket.

It took all of Jesse's strength to pull herself upright. She was feeling dizzy by the time she was sitting straight. She looked down at herself; she was wearing the clothes she was wearing underneath her armour before, the light green sweater and the black jeans. She noticed that somebody had taken off her boots along with her armour, leaving only her socks.

Jesse blinked hard a few times, trying to focus her slightly blurry vision, and hoping the consistent hammering in her head would come to an end.

Then Jesse just sat there, looking around her, a million thoughts and questions exhausting her already-tired mind. She was under the impression Soren would kill her. Why was she still alive?

Jesse didn't have to puzzle over it for long, distant voices interrupting her thoughts. However she couldn't focus enough to recognize the voices.

Jesse looked around her, trying to find where the voices were coming from. They were coming up the stairs and Jesse looked directly there, not wanting to be taken by surprise.

Despite everything, her hands starting shaking. She couldn't help, but be scared.

The first figure to come up the stairs, was obviously walking a bit ahead of the others. And it wasn't even a person.

Jesse's gaze met that of the grey wolf's, and Petra yelped in surprise. At the sound, the other voices quieted down.

Petra shot forward, running towards Jesse. In only seconds she was on the mattress beside Jesse, nuzzling into Jesse's chest. Jesse hugged the wolf tightly, leaning her aching head against Petra.

"Jesse!" Another familiar voice gasped.

Jesse looked up to see Lukas standing at the top of the stairs. His face was flooded with relief. Two more people came up behind Lukas. Ivor and Ellegaard.

Jesse opened her mouth to call out to them, but couldn't find her voice.

Lukas rushed to her side, embracing her tightly. "I was so worried you wouldn't wake up." He whispered softly into her ear. Jesse's heart ached at the sound of sorrow in his voice.

Finally Lukas pulled away from Jesse, looking her in the eyes. "How are you feeling? Are you OK?" He asked her, his blue eyes filled with concern.

"I'm not feeling too great." Jesse admitted, speaking for the first time. She found her voice was hoarse, almost inaudible.

Petra whined softly, pressing her nose into Jesse's pale hand.

"At least you're still alive." Ivor said in a gruff voice. "I'm surprised that maniac, Soren, didn't didn't kill you."

"I'm surprised too." Jesse joked lightly, although she couldn't even find the strength to smile weakly.

"You said Soren hit her with something?" Ellegaard asked thoughtfully, kneeling down by Jesse's side.

Jesse felt a little awkward with everybody fussing over her, but she didn't really care. At that moment, all she wanted to do was close her eyes, and sleep. Jesse leaned her head back against Petra's as the others continued talking.

"Yes." Lukas said. "Are you guys familiar with the spell that brings out somebody's true form? Like turn them into an animal?"

Ivor nodded. "Yes, quite familiar with it. It's what Soren's been wanting to cast on Jesse since the start. You think he cast it on her now?"

Lukas nodded. "He tried it in the past." He explained. "Only, Petra leaped in front of Jesse at the last moment, saving her." As Lukas said that, he gestured towards the wolf who Jesse was still huddled up against.

"That's Petra?" Ivor asked in surprise, lifting his eyebrows. Lukas only nodded.

Everyone was quiet. Jesse appreciated the silence. She closed her eyes, burying her face in Petra's long fur.

"How are you doing, Jesse?" Lukas asked again, seeming to notice that she wasn't feeling well at all.

"I'm really tired." Jesse muttered, not opening her eyes. "And I have a really bad headache."

"She should rest." Ellegaard said softly. Jesse was relieved to hear those words. Rest. That's all she wanted to do.

"Are you nuts?" Ivor snapped at Ellegaard. "We're in Soren's flipping lair! This isn't a place to be resting!"

Jesse winched slightly, it feeling like Ivor's loud voice was cutting right through her skull.

"We can't expect Jesse to just go on like this." Lukas said to Ivor, keeping his voice low and calm, much to Jesse's relief. "She needs to rest first."

"But-" Ivor started.

"He's right." Ellegaard interrupted him. "Jesse's too weak, and injured too badly to travel right now. We need to give her a few hours at the least."

Ivor only muttered something under his breath.

"Come, Jesse." Lukkas whispered softly, gesturing the the mattress. "Sleep. It'll help you feel better."

Jesse didn't argue. She leaned into Lukas' arms, allowing him to gently lower her to the mattress. It wasn't the most comfortable bed, but it was better than nothing.

Instinctively Petra nudged Jesse's arm, until she lift it high enough for Petra to crawl in underneath.

Jesse instinctively knotted her fingers into the grey fur of the wolf, feeling somehow protected by the presence of her friend. It wasn't long before she promptly fell asleep.

Lukas watched Jesse as her eyes closed, and her breathing grew rhythmical almost instantly. She had both her arms tightly wrapped around Petra, as if she was cuddling a giant teddy bear.

He tried to remember exactly how long after the first incident, Petra turned for the first time.

Wasn't it just about a day? It happened really early morning, didn't it? And then just about all of them, slept for mainly the rest of the day. She turned late the next afternoon for the first time.

Lukas bit his lip. That meant, Jesse didn't have too much time on her hands. Would they be able to destroy Soren before Jesse's first transformation? Lukas didn't want to see Jesse go through the same pain Petra went through.

He was so deep in thought, he hadn't notice that he and Ivor were the only two still standing by Jesse's side.

"Guys..." Ellegaard said warily.

Lukas looked up to see that she had walked to the other side of the room, staring out one of the big windows.

"You might want to take a look at this."

----- Back in Beacontown -----

Olivia didn't even seem to notice, as Axel put a plate of steaming hot food right in front of her, on the coffee table.

"You should eat." Axel said, his brow furrowed in concern.

Olivia looked over at him blankly for a few seconds.

"Look..." Axel said, holding his hands up in the air. "I know I'm not the best cook, but I did follow the instructions this time. I refrained from using my imagination, like last time. Nobody should end up in the hospital because of this."

Olivia didn't even smile at his statement, she only sighed heavily, and looked away again.

"I know you're worried about Jesse." Axel said, sitting down beside her. "But you need to get something into your system. It's the only way you're going to get better."

Olivia didn't say anything. She seemed to frown as she stared into the distance.

"Come on, Liv, don't tell me I went through the painful process of cooking, in vain?" Axel said, trying to lighten her spirits up as he nudged Olivia's arm.

She didn't even seem to hear him. Her frown only increased and she opened her mouth slightly, forming an "o" shape.

"Olivia?" Axel asked, a bit more concerned this time.

Olivia ignored his voice, as she stood up, walking a few feet away from the couch, still staring out in front of her.

Axel stood up too, starting to worry.

"What is it?" He asked.

Olivia whispered something, however it was too quiet for Axel to make out.

"What did you say?" Axel asked, reaching out to touch Olivia's shoulder.

"Look." Olivia said again, her eyes still glued in front of her.

Axel looked up, following her gaze, right out of the window. His mouth dropped open at the sight.

The snow was melting. Rapidly. The street was almost completely cleared and soaking wet. Slushy, melted snow was starting to drip off the leaves of the trees and various plants.

The thick layer of frost on the grass was seeping away, allowing the dead grass blades to see light again for the first time in weeks.

Axel and Olivia watched in awe through the window, as Beacontown thawed out in front of their eyes.

One question hung heavily in the air. Even though it was unspoken, both of them wondered;

Did Jesse win?

___

Ok, these five days are flying by XD It literally felt like I posted the previous chapter a day ago.

So, here we are at the aftermath of Soren and Jesse's small battle. Soren and his workers seemed to have disappeared from the temple, leaving behind the prisoners, as well as Jesse and her friends. Jesse is not only injured, but now also carrying the same curse as Petra. On top of everything that has been happening, she is heading towards and agonizing experience.
Unless they make a plan soon.

Soren has even gone as far as lifting his seasonal curse, he is that certain that this battle is over.
But is it really?

Aaah, I hate how close we're coming to the ending of this book XD We've still got quite a few chapters to go, but wow... it's been a long road leading up to here!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Be sure to leave any theories you may have :)

I'll see you in five days with chapter 35!