The Last Harmon [Complete]

Chapter 37

The battle has begun. I used to imagine what my first ever battle would be like. Not like the attacks on the bridge, but a bigger battle—myself and Amara. One-on-one. I was naïve back then, thinking that I would 'magically' acquire some kind of extraordinary power to fight her if I just kept practising. If I kept my mother's spirit alive. I imagined putting my hands out and screaming so loud that Amara's body would turn to dust in front of my eyes. That image was realistic to a grieving fourteen-year-old. Over time I got smarter, better, logically prepared. I knew a potion would be stronger than a spell, and when I thought about that final battle, throwing said potion at Amara at the Summit, what I didn't imagine was that it would be nothing compared to this.

This is a real battle. Watching her footsteps, fighting back against her dark spells, knowing that only one of us will leave alive. Natalia is ten times more experienced than I am. The odds are against me. I merely beat Amara because I had the amulet, and I'm close to defenceless without it. My manifestation only helps with blocking her attacks, and she's starting to catch on quickly to the very few defence spells I know.

She pushes me back into the woods and knocks me off my feet. I roll for a while on the ground before I stand up and I run. I take cover behind a tree, quickly observing my bruised and bloodied limbs. My hand is damaged badly, part of the tissue is ripped open, exposing a bright red sore underneath my skin. I tear off the end of my sleeve with my teeth and I tie it tightly around the wound, wincing at the pain.

"You didn't strike me as the hiding type, Theresa!" Natalia yells. She sounds close, almost behind me and I hold my breath for a moment. "What's an inexperienced teenager got to be afraid of, huh?"

"Is it done yet?"

That voice paralyses me. Amara's arrival puts everything and everyone in jeopardy. But with no way to communicate with the Slayers and warn them, I can't do anything except hide behind this damn tree.

"There were complications," Natalia says. "You could have warned me that she's a manifestor."

"Is she?" Amara mutters. "How inconvenient."

"I understand why you don't want that news getting out," Natalia hisses. "But a heads up would have been appreciated."

"Did she protect him?"

"He would be dead if not and you wouldn't be here breathing over my shoulder."

"Careful, Natalia. I might have freed you and your coven but you haven't earned that freedom yet. I might have no choice but to send you back to the dungeon if you aren't adequate enough for the job."

In the corner of my eye, a face appears. My body jumps for a moment until I realise the face is friendly. Megan puts a finger to her mouth as she peers around a tree to my right, her eyes drift back to Amara and Natalia.

Where's Sam? she asks.

I bite on my teeth as my head aches with a drilling dread. He's with Sophia. Helping the others. Where's Jo?

We got separated. These witches are good. I managed to take mine out, barely. Is that the leader?

I nod.

Let's lessen her odds. Wait for my signal, she says.

Signal? But Amara's-

The connection cuts off and my head is spinning. Does she not know that Amara's right there? Can Megan not see her? She leaves the tree with her invisibility shield shimmering around her body. I can see it. I don't know how but that's the least of my worries.

Megan's as quiet as a mouse, she moves like a part of the wind, but it's not enough. I watch helplessly as Megan's body soars through the open air and lands lifelessly on the ground beside my tree. I cover my mouth as I look at her still and unmoving chest, her eyes are pinched closed and she's barely breathing.

"That's the last one," Amara says. "Put her with the others."

Others?

"What about the witch?"

"She's wounded and weak, limping through these trees without a plan or a lifeline. I can sense that she's close, but she's scared. Her fear is masking her location. In time, she'll come to me."

"But what if-"

"Stop questioning me and take the Slayer to the location. I'm getting tired of cleaning up your messes."

"Yes, Elder."

When I hear Natalia move, I move too. I don't know exactly what I'm doing but I can't let them take Megan. I jump down onto Megan's body as Natalia gasps and I cast the portal incantation, enclosing it around the both of us. I grip tightly to Megan's shoulders as the portal transports us back to where we started, outside the Red Camp entrance.

It's silent. Deserted. There's no sign of the team anywhere. Where the hell are Sam and Sophia? Where the hell is anyone? Just anyone. Anyone. I place a finger to Megan's throat and I feel no pulse.

I begin compressions on her chest, followed by rescue breaths. I sense Amara and Natalia before I see them. They charge towards me from the trees. I'm barely surviving and my energy levels are dropping by the second. Using anything I have left; I hold out my hand and I put a force field between us and them. I've never done it before and I can only assume my manifestation is to blame for the lifeline.

I restart the compressions as Amara attempts to figure out a way to break through it.

"Come on, Megan. It's not your time yet. Do you hear me?" I cry. "Your team needs you."

Even when blood starts dripping down my nose and my hands begin to shake; I continue to pump.

"I just conjured a force field," I say frantically, laughing to myself. "You're going to want to be alive when Curtis hears about that. He's definitely going to dissect my blood now. Come on. Breathe!"

Over her body, I glance at the building of humans. I cry for them. There's no way we can get them out now, not with Amara here and this close to the refugee camp. They'll never know how close they came to being saved. They'll never know how badly a collection of brave and fierce warriors fought for them. We failed. I failed.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

I finish the last compression on Megan's chest before my knees give out and I collide with the ground. As the darkness comes, I hear Megan take her first breath, as I take my last.