Next Mage

I felt all the previous warmth and energy drain from my body, my skin growing cold and pale as I felt myself swerve towards the ground, arms and legs going limp as I faded into unconsciousness...

The last thing I heard before blacking out was the painful thump of my body landing on the hard black ground, and Marilla's panicked cries as her soft fingers caressed my face. ~Marilla's POV

I didn't care if I had just woken up from unconsciousness.

I didn't care if the Ragnarok was about to break out from it's obsidian cage.

I just cared about Oliver.

Watching as the crimson glow dissipated into the air with flaming red sparks, I felt my stomach drop as Oliver's irises turned from the strange bright red to their usual calm blue.

He then sank to the ground, his limbs flopping weakly by his sides as his head nodded to one side, his sky-blue eyes rolling back into his head.

I crying out worriedly, I stumbled over to his side my head pounding. I ignored Emma's exclamations and, stroking his pale, freckled cheeks, his skin like icy cold marble, I weakly summoned a small water bubble, hands shaking.

"It's okay...you're going to be okay..." I gasped, the black water glowed a bright blue, and I placed the liquid over Oliver's head, carefully brushing away his soft blond hair beforehand.

After a few moments, Oliver stirred, muttering and murmuring, but then going limp in my arms once more. I sighed, the hope that budding in my chest wilting, and continued attempting to heal him. I gazed anxiously in the direction of the black dome, loud thumps and crashes sounding from inside.

I could already see a small crack appearing on the side of it.

Shuddering, I closed my eyes and tried to focus on healing Oliver, but dark thoughts penetrated into my mind:

Is Oliver going to survive now without any power?

How long until the Ragnarok breaks out?

What's the creature going to do once it breaks out?

Are any of us going to survive?

I winced at the thought, knowing that if we failed, we, and the whole of planet Earth, would perish. Earth was counting on us. The mages were counting on us. "Mhmm...Marilla?"

I gasped and looked down to see Oliver gazing up at me with his glittering blue facets, giving me a weak, lopsided grin.

I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

"You're okay," I gasped, getting lost in his bright blue eyes.

"Of course I am," he joked. "I'm invincible," I laughed quietly, stroking his hair as he lay against my arms, weak and feeble, but alive.

He's strong on the inside, I thought fondly, smiling. Then my face fell as I thought about his power.

"What're you going to do now?" I breathed, and the laughter disappeared from Oliver's eyes in an instant. He looked at me doubtfully.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, and for a few moments, we sat there in silence. The whole clearing was devoid of any noise; even the Ragnarok mages didn't move or talk.

Crack!

The noise cut through the soundless, listless silence, and everyone turned in shock to see the Ragnarok appearing from it's obsidian prison like an ugly butterfly emerging from it's cocoon.

Growling, it's red eyes glowed in the fading light, crimson like the foggy evening sky stretching far and wide above us. I followed the Ragnarok's cutting gaze, and it landed on one person with such intensity and hatred I was afraid it would cut right through him.

Oliver.

Fear and worry choked up in my gut, my head telling me to run for my life but my heart ordering me to stay and fight.

Don't waste what Terra and Oliver have given up, I told myself firmly, before turning to gaze down at Oliver's pale, frightened face.

"We have to get you out of here," I hissed, taking his cold, limp hand in mine. He gazed at me, his blue eyes now dark and cloudy, raging and thundering with so many mixed emotions that he looked like he had a thunderstorm trapped in his eyes.

Pulling Oliver up with me, I threw one more look at the Ragnarok, turned towards the forest, and ran.

Loud crunches and cracks followed behind us, the sound of hundreds of footsteps chasing after us in a stampede of mages.

The Ragnarok was following closely behind as well, it's breath billowing up in steamy clouds and into the cold night air.

Wind rushed past my face as I gripped Oliver's hand tighter, sweat dripping down my forehead and my lungs burning as we ran. My limbs ached for me to stop, but we continued to dash towards the coast, not daring to look backwards and risk getting caught.

Then all of a sudden, two shouts rose above all of the others, calling for us to stop, their panicked voices sharp and desperate.

My eyes widened and Oliver pulled me to an abrupt stop; my chest heaving for fresh air and my warm, sweaty palms in his cold and clammy ones.

I could hear the sound of waves breaking on the shore, indicating that we were near the beach where we had started. Black, sand, glittering like dark diamonds, crunched against our shoes.

The two shouts still erupted from the crowd of mages, and everyone stopped right in front of us, the Ragnarok shouldering his way past his servants and hulking towards us menacingly...

Then a cold wind began to rise, billowing around us and causing my hair to fly ad whip out of its ponytail.

A bright, silver glow erupted from the crowd, and people and mages gasped as the Ragnarok gazed at the light in horror...

Two people stood, a boy and a girl, eyes closed, bodies glowing like the pale, waxy light of the moon just peeking out overhead.

The boy had glasses, slightly lopsided and the girl had long auburn hair tumbling down, the ends dancing at her waist, but both were light-skinned and slightly freckled. Their hands were clasped together, and when they opened their eyes, their usually normal grey orbs were now glowing silver.

Then I knew who had been the two shouting so loudly earlier on.

It was Cam and Carissa.