Star

Spikefest Part 2

Stella stepped back as the ground beneath her squirmed and broke open. Enormous snakes began to emerge from cracks in the floor. Stella screamed, and one of the snakes lunged at her. Stella shot out a hand, and the snake erupted into flames. A circle of fire encircled Stella, protecting her from the snakes. She looked around frantically for Emma.

Emma had a snake wrapped around her ankle; its fangs sunk into her leg. Emma screamed in pain and kicked the snake away. Stella ran towards her, trying to catch the girl before she fell, not knowing if she could hold Emma's weight. Emma collapsed, but Stella held her up easily. She scooped up the taller girl and turned to face the shade. The snakes all crumbled to dust around Stella's flames, and Stella began to walk toward the shade. The shade stumbled back, standing in front of Lilly.

Stella felt the energy from Emma flowing into her as well and snapped her fingers. The hood flew from the shade's face, and Stella froze.

The shade was a young girl, about the same age as Stella, Emma, and Lilly, with long black hair and shadowy features. Her red eyes and shadowy skin were the only things that made her look different than a human. The shade grabbed Lilly around the neck, and her fingernails sharpened into claws, piercing Lilly's skin. "One more step and she dies." the girl said, staring at Stella.

Stella froze, frantically trying to think what to do. She felt her strength draining and almost dropped Emma. She gently set the girl down and nearly collapsed with exhaustion. Her abilities were overtaxed already, but she managed to maintain the fire around her.

"Why are you doing this?" Stella asked the shade.

The shade girl stared at the ground. "I don't have a choice," she said. "I have to have the power to keep me alive."

Stella reached for the shade girl, and she shrank back and then tightened her grip around Lilly. Stella watched Lilly's eyes open, and Lilly immediately elbowed the shade girl in the stomach, taking her by surprise. The shade girl grunted in pain and loosened her hold on Lilly.

Stella lunged forward and grabbed the shade by the arm. She felt magic surging under her hands as soon as she touched her. Stella used her magic to gather the energy, pull it out of the shade girl, and shove it back into Lilly. The shade girl collapsed, and a dark shadow rose from her body. The shadow disappeared almost immediately, and Stella felt something in the back of her mind, and everything went black.

Stella opened her eyes and found the seer staring at her. "Ahh, Stella."

Stella sighed. "You again? What's going on?"

"You defeated the shade, but..."

"But what?"

"Look."

Stella looked in the direction the seer was pointing. A short, brown-haired girl was standing there.

"Hey." she whispered.

"Hi." Stella replied, smiling at the girl.

"There's the shade." the seer said. "I'm letting you decide what we do with her."

"What do you mean?" Stella asked, studying the girl. She looked almost nothing like the shade had.

"She's human now. No memories of her past. Queen Idina wants her dead, but you are the one who defeated her, so it is up to you."

"Don't kill her." Stella concluded. "Send her to a foster home or something, but don't kill her. She's innocent without memories or abilities."

"She drained some of your abilities." the seer said. "Don't you want revenge?"