The Fire Within

Chapter 35

*Third POV*

The next couple of weeks seem to fly by, especially since nothing has jumped out to kill Stiles and the pack yet, although Stiles is very wary of Owen potentially coming back to kill his friends and family before somehow taking Stiles' powers and then kill Stiles as well. Schoolwork seems easy enough, compared to all the supernatural threats that Stiles and his friends face. Scott and Stiles' relationship continues to develop and grow stronger, the two becoming closer than ever. Within only two weeks of their first date, they have already been on another two dates. Their friends and families are really happy for them.

Stiles still does feel really sad about Malia sometimes and will have a bit of a cry about it, but he also knows that Malia would want him to keep going and find some happiness, not falling into despair. That doesn't change the fact that he misses her. He misses her a lot. Stiles' friends and family continue to help him through the difficult times and they know it will take a lot more time for Stiles' pain to subside enough. Scott also knows that the pain won't ever fully go away, but he will always try his best to make it the least painful.

On this particular Monday night, Kira is staying over at Lydia's house, the two of them studying for a biology test that is supposed to be next week. They are chatting away happily as they work through their revision. Biology seems to come easily enough to the two girls, particularly Lydia. Then again, Lydia seems to be amazing at everything.

As the two girls continue scribbling out answers to revision questions on Lydia's bed, a sudden chill washes over Lydia, causing her to shiver. She sits upright and stares straight ahead, the light smile fading from her face. Kira glances over and notices her friend's strange reaction. "Lydia? Are you okay?" Kira asks as she sits up, moving over to Lydia a bit more. She waves her hand in front of Lydia's face to try and grab her attention, but even that doesn't work. Lydia continues to stare off into seemingly nowhere.

There is a bad feeling in the pit of Lydia's stomach that seems to grow, especially as she hears a faint whisper echoing around the place. She can't quite make out the language, which is unusual. It sounds like some sort of ritual or spell. Lydia slowly gets up off her bed and walks forward, no longer seeing her room, but instead sees the very familiar stump lying before her. It almost seems to call her closer. Lydia sluggishly walks forward and reaches her hand out to touch the stump, the voices in her head getting louder and louder, causing Lydia's heart rate to start accelerating. It gets to a point where the voices become screams, making Lydia's head hurt.

Suddenly, Lydia is pulled back into reality as Kira yanks Lydia backwards onto the bed again, away from the open window. Lydia gasps and turns to look at Kira. "What the hell was that?" Kira asks fearfully.

"I saw something..." Lydia answers, still sounding distant, her eyes unfocused. All she can think about is the Nemeton and the overwhelming sensation that something bad is going to happen. "What did you see?" Kira questions the banshee. No reply.

"Lydia, what did you see?" Kira asks with a bit more force. Instead of answering, Lydia gets up again and walks out of the room, almost like a zombie. Kira stares after her in shock for a moment. She knows that this must be some sort of banshee trance. Kira decides that she needs to go after Lydia to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. She also needs to find out what Lydia saw. It probably wasn't a very good vision. Kira quickly pulls out her phone and sends Stiles a text, deciding that it is probably a good idea to text someone about what is happening. Once she has finished her text, she puts her phone away and rushes after Lydia.

They continue walking further and further away from the heart of Beacon Hills and end up in the woods. "Uh, Lydia? Where are we going?" Kira asks nervously. She knows better than to be in the woods late at night unprotected, especially in Beacon Hills. Once again, Lydia doesn't answer. Kira sighs and continues to follow after her friend.

Eventually, they reach a clearing with a large tree stump right in the middle of it. Lydia walks towards it and kneels down in front of it, finally snapping out of her banshee trance. She frowns at the Nemeton worriedly. "Why did I bring myself here?" The banshee whispers to herself. Kira kneels down next to Lydia.

"What is it?" The kitsune asks in a curious voice.

"I don't know... I just feel like something bad is going to happen here. Something powerful. I think it is going to happen on the next full moon." Lydia eventually replies, staring at the stump, hoping it would give her some answers. She slowly reaches out to touch the ancient tree stump that has been known for dark magic. It lures all sorts of supernatural creatures here. This is a literal beacon for this town. Bad things have happened here. So many deaths have happened around here. Lydia can feel it. She can barely describe the feeling of it to herself, but she does know that she doesn't like it, her skin seeming to itch and crawl as a result of all the darkness and death surrounding this place. So many voices seem to be whispering to Lydia, all of the  begging for her to help them. Sadly, Lydia doesn't know how to do that.

Suddenly, Lydia hears a couple voices calling out for help that really makes her heart drop.

"Help us!" Kira pleads desperately in Lydia's head.

"You're going to die. We are all going to die!" Lydia's voice echoes through her own brain. She sounds desperate and scared. Lydia gasps slightly, fear starting to course through her. This is bad, very bad. The air seems to get colder around her.

"Get out, get out!" Stiles' voice warns Lydia, causing goosebumps to appear on her arms. She immediately retracts her hand away from the stump, the voices finally coming to a stop. Now the only problem is that it seems too quiet. Lydia turns to a frightened looking Kira.

"Lydia, what is going on? Why did we come all the way out here?" Kira asks, though it seems to Lydia that the kitsune has already tried asking this question, judging by her expression and tone. However, Lydia must have been too lost in her own mind to hear Kira's question. "Something terrible is going to happen here. I think it's more than death... It felt like all of my energy was draining out of me, so I think that is a part of what happens. Some sort of weird soul extract ritual maybe. I don't know. Whatever it is, we need to get out of here. You, Stiles and myself were whispering to me that we need to get out of here and get help." Lydia answers, her voice sounding very worried.

"Get help with what? What does this all mean?" Kira frowns and bites her lip slightly, her heart pounding against her chest. Once again, a cold shiver runs down the banshee's spine.

"Kira, we have to get out of here. We have to get out of here right now. We have to get to the others." Lydia warns in a serious tone, grabbing Kira's hand quickly, pulling them both to their feet. As Lydia is about to drag the very confused kitsune away, a soft female breath can be heard around the clearing that seems to silence everything and make everything come to a stop, including Lydia and Kira. They look around frantically, trying to see if anyone is around in the area.

"Hello? Who's out there?" Kira demands, trying to sound brave, even though she's scared. Both girls know that they should run, but for some reason, they can't.

"What do you want?" Lydia adds in a harsh voice, glaring around at the seemingly empty clearing. That is until a sweet laugh echoes around the banshee and the kitsune. "What do I want? Why, that would be you two." The voice answers in a soothing and calm tone. The last thing that Lydia and Kira remember is the bright glow of purple eyes that quickly get closer and closer.