wore a cruel smirk upon her bitter face.
She was right. My magic was not going to be strong enough to fight her.
Every attack I repelled only seemed to feed her. When I missed blocking one of
the bolts, I found myself struggling to stay standing, again, as sharp pins vibrated
through me.
Eliza laughed. “Goodbye, Marina.”
This time, she held the magic in her hands until she formed a large orb that
sparked with green fire. When she released it, the ball grew as it sailed towards
me. Realizing I was not going to be able to stop it, I braced myself for impact.
Meg's screams resonated through the air, and I realized why when my
grandmother shoved me out of the way. Crashing into the wall of the nest, I regained my composure and rolled over. Moments before Eliza's magic struck, I
watched Gram cast a ball of white light at her estranged daughter.
Eliza was not prepared with a counterattack and was, unexpectedly, struck in
the chest. It sent her flying backward. She landed outside of the circle, on top of
Cedric. She shrieked in pain and rolled off of him.
Cedric stood up with a panicked look on his face. The knife he clutched
dripped with blood, staining his hands. A spot of red grew around Eliza’s
midsection while the white glow of Gram's magic continued to pulse through
her.
“Cedric, help me,” she rasped. As she tried to stop the blood that flowed from her, the blackness of her eyes melted to a soft green.
Cedric cut a strip of fabric off his shirt and drove the knife into the ground. “I
can't stop the bleeding, Liza,” he whispered, his voice now breaking with
emotion. “We are so close to having it all, baby. Hang in there. You can't leave me. We can stop her.”
Eliza touched his face tenderly. “You still can. Don't let her control your future.” Her hand slipped away, leaving a bloody imprint in its wake. Her eyes
closed, and her breathing slowed.
Cedric began to scream and pounded on the ground. “It's not your time.
You're not meant to die.”
Cole took the knife from the ground. “Let go of her, Cedric.”
“She can't die!” Cedric cursed and dove at Cole.
Gram opened her blue pouch. Small tendrils of smoke slithered from the bag
and blew towards Cedric. The strands wrapped themselves around his hands and
feet. When he fell to the ground, the strands of silver entered his nostrils and open mouth. Soon, his cursing and cries ended. Cedric was silent.
Miles ran to Eliza and knelt down. He took her hand into his. The
devastation in his youthful face was heartbreaking.
I went over and crouched down beside my little brother. I took our mother’s
hand from him and slipped the ring off her finger. Then, I handed it to the small
boy. “This is yours now.”
Unsure what to do with the ring, he slipped it into his pocket. He leaned forward and kissed our mother on her cheek. Then, he whispered something
inaudible into her ear.
Her eyes opened, and she looked at us. In a faint whisper, she said, “You will
