24. Amma

Chapter 24

Amma

A mma raced to the predetermined market stall and yanked Shelly down to a cross-legged position on the grass with her. Gone was the cocky young witch and a wide-eyed, scared girl stared at Amma.

"Amma, what do we do?" Shelly's voice shook. "I'm scared."

She squeezed her little cousin's hands. "I know you're scared, but we have a job to do. I know you don't have a lot of training, but the drive to protect the innocent is in our blood. I have a connection with one of the birds you were controlling. I will get an eagle's view of the area to see exactly when help will arrive as well as reinforcements for the bad guys. I need you to cast a battle circle to protect us. Do you remember how?"

Shelly straightened her shoulders. "Yes. My mother has been working on it with me." She slipped out of her shoes and wiggled her toes. "I'm finished panicking."

Amma cupped her little cousin's face and kissed her forehead. "I trust you with my life," she said, and sat back. "Let's make this battle fair." Amma closed her eyes and relaxed every muscle in her body as she took deep, calming breaths. She found Flix sitting in a tree, watching the battle with the other birds Shelly had controlled. Amma wondered if her cousin was unconsciously still sending a flow of magic to the birds. It was something she would have to check when the battle was over.

The merger with Flix was easier the second time. She thanked him for the use of his body and flew over the battlefield. There was so much blood and gore that she had a hard time telling foe from friend. The enemy warriors were falling under the expertly wielded weapons of Ru and his warriors. She could almost see the subtle flow of magic from the evil bitches to the warriors they controlled. The same evil reached towards Ru's warriors but was unable to find a weakness in the strong-willed fighters. Long blades, hammers, fists, claws, and horns tore into flesh, and hooves stomped the fallen to pulp. In the middle of it all, Jo stood back-to-back with her mate and threw her magic at any who dared approach. Amma chuckled at the blues, greens, and other colors as Jo yelled obscenities and chants. She was one hell of a witch. If she had been on the receiving end of her cousin's magic, she would have turned tail and run. It seemed the other witches weren't as smart.

She continued to scan the battlefield until her vision landed on her mate. Suni was swinging his morning star and moving so smoothly that Amma wanted to land and watch him. His fighting style was such a work of art, as graceful as a well-practiced dance. Another male was thrown into the air by a blast of magic and dropped to the ground. Amma watched as his friends hurried to cover him as they continued the battle. She needed to see if reinforcements were on the way.

Before banking to the north, Amma saw a group of warriors racing toward Ykot from the direction of the covered mountain. If what Ru had said was correct, they were from his home village, rushing to help. If they arrived in time, they could divide the witches' attention and end the battle before too many good warriors were killed. Mavuto had warned of another group of witches and their warriors approaching from the north. She wanted to see just how big a force it was. Amma shifted Flix's sight to see better through the trees and quickly found what she was looking for.

The group was larger than she ever imagined. Leading them were four witches, each with a large animal by her side. The animals towered over the females even while running hunched over. She flew lower to get a good look at them and sucked in a surprised breath. They were minotaur's but reminded her more of bulls from earth down to the ring through their noses. Their horns were curved and broken, their claws sharp, and their eyes red. They were completely taken over by the witches. Dark magic. Evil magic. The type of magic that destroyed the wielder and the affected. She had to warn the others. With a quick thank you, she gave control back to Flix and slowly came out of her meditation.

She coughed as thick smoke swirled through the air. Amma jumped to her feet and almost stepped outside the battle circle before stopping. She turned to find Shelly trembling with wide eyes, staring into the courtyard.

"Shelly," Amma grabbed her cousin by the shoulders and turned the girl to face her. "Shelly, what's going on?"

"Two of the witches made it into the village," Shelly sobbed. "They were coming at you, and I couldn't do anything. I froze."

"I'm here, so what happened?" Amma put steel into her voice. Shelly needed to get control, or her magic would start running amuck.

"Your mate." Shelly shuddered from head to toe and took a deep breath. Slowly, she started to break out of her frozen state. "He came over the wall like an avenging angel and hit one of them so hard with his morning star that her head exploded. The other didn't take the hint, and she also died badly."

Amma fought back her smile of pride. She wished she had been around to see such power. "Shelly, while we are in this circle, we are safe, but I need you to listen to me."

"I'm sorry I keep panicking." Shelly shook the tension out of her hands. "What do we do?"

"I saw the other group of witches coming this way, and they not only have more warriors but also transformed warriors. They are more like animals than warriors, and we will need to find a way to control them."

"But we can control animals," Shelly cried. "I have never tried to take over a human's mind."

"That's what we have to remember: they are not human, and they are not minotaur's," Amma said. "They have been broken down to their basic instincts, and that we can control. We will need to break the connection from the witches and try to calm their minds. I don't want to kill them."

"Why not?" Shelly asked with the simple mind of a child. "They are out to kill us."

"Yes, but if we can save them, we have to," Amma said. "Remember we are good witches, and we are the ones who save others. If they can be saved, we will save them."

She looked up just in time. Her mate was backing up toward them. If he hit the circle, he could be hurt. "Suni, stop! The circle!"

Suni skidded to a halt and swung his weapon, taking off the head of an advancing enemy warrior. "My heart, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Go fight. I need you to tell the others the second wave is going to be upon us in less than five minutes. They have warriors who have been twisted and are no longer minotaur's. Shelly and I will try calming their minds and turning them to our side."

"No," Suni growled, facing them. "You both have done enough. The warriors of this village are strong and can take whatever comes."

"This is what my family has been training all our lives to do," Amma said. "The warriors from Ru's home village are also on their way. Stay safe."

Suni suddenly swung his morning star backwards and knocked a female warrior to the ground. She snarled and kicked out, catching him in the chest. Amma tried to muffle her cry, so she didn't distract her mate. She would die if she was the reason he was wounded or killed. Suni charged and with his single horn gouged the female's abdomen. She slid to the ground. Suni spun around and smiled.

Amma rolled her eyes, then smiled. "When I said stay safe, I didn't mean to show off. Go fight. We need to get to work."

"I will continue to fight where I can see you." Suni said firmly. He stepped to the right and raked his claws across another warrior's face, slicing it open to the bone. "No one will get past me."

Amma blew him a kiss while hiding her worry. If she was being honest with herself, she was happy he was staying where she could see him. She'd be more distracted if she couldn't. "Shelly, I'm going to check the battlefield one more time." She reached out to Flix again and observed the battle from far overhead. A roar pulled her attention to the left and her heart sped up. The mutated warriors had arrived, and the witches controlling them had sadistic smiles on their cruel faces. They believed they were going to turn the tide of the battle, but Amma would make sure they didn't.