The Cold She-wolf

Chapter Ninety-nine: the future

Krystal's POV

   "Lend me your scales," I said, my tone irrevocable.

   He sighed. "Very well. But her body is mine to feed on,"

   "Thank you," my body tingled as the scales grew on me. I retracted my wings and stood up. A ray hit me hard, but it caused no damage. I ran towards her. She backed away as she released move blasts but it wasn't enough to stop me. I countered her ice attacks with mine, and the spectrum destroyed hers as well as mine.

   Icy screeched as I slammed her on the ground, making sure her head ram hard into the ground. I swiftly grabbed her hand and twisted it, causing the scepter to fall from her hand. I pushed the scepter away from her reach and slammed my elbow on her face. Icy, as well as the guardians of old, didn't have combat skills, so once they were pinned down, breaking free was almost impossible.

   Her black energy suddenly encased us, attacking me with viper-like movements. I ignored the strikes and focused my mind on gathering my energy into my hand. My vision slowly blurred as the venom spread inside me, weakening my limbs. I slammed my hand on her chest. It wasn't strong enough. I growled and hit her chest again, screaming with frustration. My attacks weren't going through and her malicious laugh made it clear that she did something to prevent me from doing what I am supposed to do.

   "That's enough!!!" Altan barked. "You are running out of time!" Light exploded from my body, blowing off the dark energy. The light purged through my system, pushing out the poison and returning my energy to me. He wrapped his tail around me and lifted me, then threw me away.

   I fell on the ground, next to the scepter. I groaned as pain shot through my body. I sat up and looked at Altan. My goodness! He was huge. His body covered almost half of the field and his height was like a tower. He had Icy's held up over his large mouth by the edge of his tail. I watched as my lifelong anger and pain ended within three seconds. He swallowed her whole.

   I was dazed at first, staring at what transpired before me in a few seconds, my mouth agape. I didn't know how to feel seeing the genesis of my problems and the ruin of my family disappear before my very eyes after how many years? Without knowing when I sat on my legs and wept. She was finally gone but she took so many years of my family's happiness.

   Frost might have grown up with Dad but I'm sure he must have been sad. Dad tried to raise him with love but he couldn't succeed completely. Dad, he'd spent the last thirteen years in sorrow, struggling to push through every day because of Frost and the pack. Then, he finally gave up and sentenced himself to a slow death. Not just any slow death, a painful one. I thought about all the times he must have endured the pain of the poison eating through his organs. It was like being burnt alive only that the pain was never-ending, increasing each day. He intentionally showed that poison to punish himself, blaming himself for our death. He suffered the most among us.

   What about me? I'd lived thirteen years of my life in lies, bitterness, hatred, and rage. I loathed everything and everyone and I almost lost myself because of it. If I didn't reunite with Frost and met Lynn, I would have gone too far and Mother would never have forgiven me. Thirteen years, I'd been away from my family and felt the pain of losing a family I didn't remember. For thirteen years I thought I was alone. Her death might be the end of it but it wasn't going to delete the painful memories, the agonizing longing, or the scars inflicted on our hearts and minds. It wasn't going to bring back the lost times or completely fix us. We might never be like before.

   "It isn't about being like before, young one," I raised my head, tears dripping down my face and my vision blurry. It was difficult to breathe. My chest was tight, my throat was clogged, my stomach was unsettled, and my heart was heavy. Even my mind was clouded with the possible pain my family must have been through when they thought I died and retrieved Mom's dismantled body. How did Dad feel when he saw the pieces of his unborn child? How?

   "It's okay to cry, Young One, it's alright. You have held on long and fought a strong battle—"

   "I didn't fight a strong battle," I wailed, "I didn't remember much of my memories. The ones who suffered the most are Dad and Frost, especially Dad. He lost his mate and two children in one day. You might not understand but do you know how it feels? I saw her rip out her heart and I still feel the pain in my chest when I think about it, let alone running to save your mate only to meet her dismantled body. How is he still alive?"

   "Witch of winter, might I remind you that you were just five when you witnessed that?" Altan asked, crawling closer to me as his size reduced. "You might not have suffered like they did but you still fought. Do you know that when a guardian witch/lord loses his or her purpose or encounters a tragic incident that leaves a scar in his or her heart, he or she is automatically invited to the dark side?"

   I stared at him with confusion. "There are two sides to a guardian, the good and the bad; ying yang. When a guardian is born, he or she is born with the positive energy outweighing the negative, and to maintain that balance, they must keep a clear mind and avoid every emotion that would lead to the overtaking of the bad energy. It's pretty difficult because even the slightest provocation can tilt the scale in favor of bad energy. Your maternal grandmother, Crystal, is an example of a witch whose scale tilts slightly,"

   I looked at his body as he wrapped it around me, still confused. "I don't get it. What does she have to do with this?"

   "After she ran away, she was bitter and revengeful toward Icy and ventured into the dark side, even if hers wasn't as bad as Icy's. Fortunately, she met someone who helped her tilt the scale enough to stop her from losing her sanity until she had your mother and ran to the same place you grew up. Icy, on the other hand, is an example of one whose scale tilted over completely. My point is that without Raquelia helping you, your spiritual body built a resistance to the negative energy, refusing to allow even a bit of it to seep into the light. The result of that inner battle was your cold heart."

   "So you're saying the reason why I turned cold was because I was unknowingly fighting a greater source inside of me? Are you sure Raquelia didn't—"

   "No, and that is the reason I chose you. You are the second witch who has ever been able to fight off the dark side even with how deep your scar is. It wasn't because of your powers but because of your heart. It knew what it had to do and for whom it should do it and did it. That alone, is its own incredibility. And yes, I know it doesn't change what has happened in the past," I looked sadly as he handed me the scepter. "But now it's in your hands and that of each other to decide what the future will be. You can either choose to weep and dwell on the past, or you can think about your future and how to make it better."

   My future, our future. We might never be the same again, but isn't it better than being completely ruined? I might have lost years with my family, but we can still create new memories. We have enough life to do that. My future. I had Frost back, I had Merlynn and every other person that holds a place in my heart, and soon, I'm going to get one more.

   "I won't fail," I said with determination, clenching the scepter in my grasp. My powers cleansed the darkness in the scepter as I squeezed it tight. I finally had the last item I needed to bring my mother back to life.