Wicked Ones ♛ MAL [✓]

➣ twenty-nine.

029. | BATTLE OF THE WITCHES

"Help me!" Celia cried, her terror evident in her voice.

"Yeah, save your little friend, Mal!" Audrey taunted from above us.

"Freddy, Mal, help!" Celia shouted.

Mal looked at me. "Stay here, I got this."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Mal quickly turned into a dragon and flew up into the air. Flying around the castle, she blew a fireball at Audrey, but Audrey blocked it with her scepter and laughed wickedly. Then Mal began dodging the blasts that Audrey fired at her before flying at her again.

"Careful not to fry your little V.K. buddy!" Audrey taunted her, and I realized that she must've caught Celia and was using the young girl to protect herself.

I turned my head, seeing Uma, Harley, and Harry coming towards me. Relieved, I rushed over to them, and I saw the frantic look in Uma's eyes.

"Freddy, what's going on?" Harley asked.

"Audrey has Celia," I said. "Mal's trying to stop her."

"Look!" Harry said, pointing to the sky.

We both looked up at Mal, and dread filled my stomach when I saw her trying to ignite the ember with her fire.

"She doesn't stand a chance without the ember," Uma said.

I looked up at Mal, Uma's words sinking in. "She doesn't stand a chance without us," I said softly.

Uma frowned at me. "What?"

"Evie's right," I said to Uma. "We're stronger together. In order to beat Audrey, Mal needs both of us."

Uma held my gaze for a moment, then nodded and gestured for Harley and Harry to follow. "Come on."

The four of us ran up to the castle, but while Uma, Harley, and Harry halted at the edge of the lawn, I kept going, running up to the side and stopping at the base. I looked around, frantically searching for a way to get up. Then, my eyes landed on a broomstick leaning against the wall.

"Figures," I muttered. But I grabbed the broom anyway, then infused my magic into it before I swung my leg over it and pushed off into the air.

I got up there just in time to see Audrey blast Mal in the wing with the scepter, causing Mal to roar in pain and spiral down to the ground.

"No!" I cried. "Mal!" When Mal disappeared from sight, I flew over to Audrey and shouted, "Audrey!"

Audrey looked up at me, grabbing Celia again and holding the scepter against the young girl's temple. "Watch it, Freddy. Unless you want your little friend to end up like Mal."

"Audrey, stop!" I said. "This won't solve anything!"

Audrey smirked. "Maybe. But it'll still be fun." Then she fired a blast of energy at me, striking me in the stomach and nearly knocking me off the broom. I gasped, hunching over in pain as I felt the bruises forming on my skin.

"You can't defeat me alone, Frederica," Audrey sneered. "You're not strong enough and you know it."

I slowly looked up at her, regaining control of my breathing as my eyes narrowed. "You're right. I know I'm not strong enough." Then I smirked at her. "But I'm not alone."