GRETCHEN

The Witch of the East wasn't sure when her hair had turned to snakes. They were noisy and moved constantly, tangling and pulling on her scalp as they reached for everyone around her, eager to strike both friend and foe.

She was finding it difficult to tell which was which, truth be told. The Earth Mother had coloured the lens through which she saw the world, and things she thought she knew appeared wonky and distorted, more threatening than they truly were. It had taken an immense effort of will to pry free of her influence long enough to stop Rana's bleeding, though she ran out of time to finish the job. In the end all she could offer was shelter in the midst of the grisly battle, which she afforded with a sweeping hand motion that coaxed a wave of rock to curl over her form, right in the middle of the killing field.

Some of the Earth's most ancient creatures lay in pieces on the floor. Only some Kirin bled in the traditional sense; many were dry inside and crumbled like rock, while others sprouted mushrooms from their severed heads. The Earth Mother mourned them all, for they were her first; the ones she had been most anxious raising, who'd kept her company in the long years before Gretchen came to be.

The Goddess's rage was astronomical. It ate through Gretchen like acid, bubbling in the bottom of her rib cage like hot lava. The witch opened her mouth to let the noxious fumes escape and a swarm of bees poured out instead, wreathing the nearest fellwyrm and stinging it out of the sky. The swelling obscured its features before it even hit the ground, and it died twitching and blind, a cruel departure from the world to match its entry.

Gretchen's finger whipped up as a glimmer of silver caught her eye, driving the Earth Mother to madness. Her whole arm trembled as she fought against the urge to strike Sebastian down; he was doing such an excellent job of fending off anyone who came too close to Rana's unconscious body, protecting her with a fierceness that belied their petty rivalry. "He's my friend," she whispered, a bloody tear rolling down her cheek.

The Earth Mother squeezed Gretchen in a spectral fist. It felt like her organs were going to explode. He is your enemy, she insisted, willing Gretchen to crush him to a pulp.

So far she'd been able to defy the Goddess's influence in little ways; by writing a note to Gordon in her journal, under the pretence of recording vital intelligence for the Kirin. A rescue party had been sent, but she was hapless to stop herself from slaughtering them, as the Earth Mother made a flesh puppet of her body and tugged on all her strings. Gretchen's mind was still her own — though the Goddess's feelings were overwhelming at times, bleeding into hers and amplifying every jealous insecurity she'd ever harboured — as the Earth Mother's domain was the flesh and not the soul, but now she was locked in a direct battle for control of her limbs.

Why do you resist your destiny? the Earth Mother asked, excitement peaking as the white wolf turned its back. Behind Sebastian, the midnight wyvern with Hunter's saddle still strapped to its back had turned on its own, butchering fellwyrms left and right. Was it trying to spare them the agony of living in that twisted state? You can have everything you ever wanted. A world to rule, adored by each and every one of my creatures. You need never feel alone and unloved again.

"That is not love," Gretchen whispered, shaking as she curled her fingers into a fist. For she had found the seeds of it in her new companions and planted it. Some of the sprouts were healthier than others; her relationships with Rana and Eddy, for example, were hale and looked to grow strong with the right amount of tending. Sebastian's was timid but promising, and Oriana's shoot was wilting, but only because Gretchen had neglected it out of baseless envy. She felt confident that she could bring it back if she worked hard enough.

You would dare to defy me? the Earth Mother hissed. Your own mother, who laboured to bring you into this world? Who gave you everything and continues to provide?

"All you do is take," Gretchen spat, her whole body starting to convulse with the struggle taking place inside her.  She sensed a name behind the motherly role and teased it out, surprised to find how much that personalised diminished the Goddess in her eyes. "It's my turn, Gaia!"

The witch's knees buckled as Gaia backhanded her, an angry bruise spreading from her cheek and down her neck from the phantom blow. Gretchen let out a small cry as the bones in her hands popped and crackled, forced into place by a force beyond even her comprehension, and a bolt of wicked green lightning shot from her palm. It arced towards the silver wolf with alarming speed and accuracy, aiming for the base of his skull, where it would fry all of his nerves through the conduit of his spine, the residual heat cooking his brain.

Eddy stepped between them at the last second, catching the bolt on her horn. It was stronger than she was used to and sent her flying across the cavern, tumbling over the edge in a limp daze. Gretchen screamed as her companion fell into the void, beyond everyone's grasp.

Even so, Gretchen tried to catch her. She reached. She pulled.

Gaia was so stunned by the defiance and loss of yet another treasured child that She unwittingly relaxed her grip on Gretchen's body. The Witch of the East screamed with the pent up grief and rage of all her lifetimes, stolen and endured, and tapped into the glittering web of life all around her. She left the silver soul alone, along with the golden souls of the two wyverns who were remarkably alike, tapping into every last Kirin and fellwyrm in the gaping rib cage of the mountain.

Their life poured into her like heady nectar, soothing her throat as it trickled into her system, nourishing and restoring that which she'd starved for as long as she'd lived. The fellwyrms she extinguished utterly; she could sense their madness and their pain, the sentience they had been denied, and all she could do was spare them the horror of life. The Kirin she brought to their knees, and Gretchen couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction at the sight of the War Queen on the ground, straining to lift her neck for the very first time, after years of feeling light as air.

The Wraith's ears flattened against his skull as he turned, not quite able to believe his luck. The midnight wyvern dropped to the ground, regarding Gretchen with what she thought might have been wary gratitude.

Release them! the Earth Mother demanded.

Gretchen ignored Her, turning to her friends instead. "Get out of here," she said. "I will not take their lives, and I can only hold them for so long. Gaia is too strong."

"Come with us," Sebastian said, after returning to his human form. He needed it to pry Rana's unconscious body from the protective overhang of rock. "I can help you find a way to cut Her off."

Gretchen merely shook her head. "Just go. And take this," she said, pressing the phoenix feather quill into his hands. The Earth Mother refused to let go of the journal, but that wasn't the important part, unbeknownst to Her. "May we meet again on better terms."

Sebastian nodded. "I won't forget this."

The enormous wyvern lowered its head, dark eyes swirling hypnotically as it looked pointedly at the open saddle. Sebastian paled a little and hoisted Rana into place, strapping in her legs for extra security before climbing into place behind her and grabbing hold of the silver reins. Gretchen thought she heard him mumble an apology.

The wyvern opened its leathery wings, and the Witch of the East smiled sadly as she called up the wind to lift them with speed, carrying them all the way to the top. She let the only friends she'd ever made go, even as she pinched tight on the Kirin in her thrall, already anticipating the horrors Gaia would unleash upon her the moment Her vessels were free once again.