Memories of Midnight

Part 14 *Novae*

I watched her carefully as she paced the perimeter of the cage. If she was as strong and powerful as we thought she was, then there was a big possibility she could easily bust through the cage. I didn't want anyone to know she was awake yet. I wanted to at least talk to her first, before they all started to interrogate her. I stood next to her cage when she started growling at me. I quickly put my hands up in surrender, to show her I wasn't going to hurt her.

"Baby, I just want to talk. That's all."

"I'm not your baby."

She had spit the words out like they were poison. Anger burned in her eyes. I needed to get through to her before Miracle came down here. All of a sudden Vixen wasn't in the cage anymore, but a large wolf. On all fours it stood to be five feet tall and almost took up all the space in the cage. It was getting low and low growl was forming deep inside its throat.

I looked into its eyes and realized that it was in fact Vixen. The floor started to shake, the remaining pictures of the walls began to rattle. The manor was creaking violently. I looked at the she wolf, hoping she'd recognize the pleading look in my eyes. Footsteps sounded down the stairs and everyone was looking at the cage terrified. Miracle was getting ready to cast a paralyze spell on the rabid creature, but before the words could escape her mouth Vixen let out a loud howl.

Everyone took off outside, hoping to avoid the house collapsing on top of them. I grabbed Miracle's hand and ran out into the courtyard. The ground was quaking beneath our feet. As we headed toward the tree line the ground opened up around the house. Slowly the manor collapsed into the hole. The howl was louder than anything I had ever heard.

Just as the manor disappeared, Vixen jumped out and landed a couple yards in front of us. She stared at us intently. Her body was low to the ground and she was snarling. Miracle grabbed my hand and began yelling to the others.

"We must hurry! Everyone escape to Physical Realm! If she howls again the magical energy here will amplify her sound and destroy Spirit Realm!"

Quickly everyone began opening portals and running through them. Miracle and I were the last ones, but Vixen wasn't even moving. Miracle was desperately trying to open a portal, but it wasn't working. That's when a thought hit me. Vixen was watching Miracle and it looked like she was smirking. She wasn't even crouching toward the ground anymore.

Her eyes were glowing brighter and brighter with each of Miracle's attempts. I looked toward Miracle who's face was loosing color. She looked tired and weak. Vixen was draining Miracle's magic and energy. I ran toward Miracle and grabbed her as I opened a portal. We jumped through and I looked back into Spirit Realm.

Vixen was standing up and back in her human form. Her ears laid flat against her head and her tail hung low in between her legs. Her eyes were filled with sadness as she watched me leave. My heart dropped when I looked into her eyes and heard her whisper softly in confusion.

"Novae..."

Then the portal closed, cutting off my connection to her.