Zodiac

12

We pulled into Willow's driveway silently, making sure the lights were off. "So what's the problem here, exactly?" I asked Michael.

"An unusually large magical anomaly." He pulled a tablet out of a dashboard compartment and started tapping and swiping randomly. "Aries, this is a class three. You know what to do. Take the Gemini with you."

Aaron snapped to attention,taking a small red earpiece from his father and equipping it. "Jackson, take the gold one." He opened the door and leaped out. I grabbed the earpiece and followed him.

As I clipped it on, Michael's voice broke through. "This is Polaris. Polaris to Aries, do you copy?"

"Read you loud and clear, Polaris." He sounded like he was mocking his father's codename. I confirmed that my comlink was on as well before Aaron snuck to the edge of the porch. I followed him, a little less stealthily. He held up a closed fist before whispering into the comlink, "Alright, Polaris. What are we looking at here?"

"It lacks a heat signature, so your fire will most likely have no effect. It also seems to be semi-ethereal, so physical attacks may not work either. Our only foolproof option is psychic abilities, and neither of you have very strong ones." Aaron cursed. "Though, the Taurus may be able to deal with it physically. Get her on your side and you may win."

"Roger that," Aaron responded, "over and out." He took a deep breath and turned to me. "From this point on, I am not Aaron. I am the Aries, nobody else. Understand?"

I nodded, feeling a rush of foreign energy. "Yes, we understand." My voice split again, and I smiled.

"Let's go."

We rushed into the house, where lightning flashed from the kitchen. We ran inside, where a black cloud of smoke and toxins circled, flashing bolts at the family, who hid behind an island counter in the center of the room. "Hey airhead!" Aries shouted, "Don't you have better targets?"

The cloud shifted into a raven and bolted at the offender. Aries dodged nimbly, a smile on his face. "Polaris, we got a Hala."

"Of course! Just a moment while I research how to take care of it." Static followed as the raven launched bolts mid-flight at everyone. I barely managed to dodge the bolts, despite my heightened reflexes.

"Not sure if this is the best timing judging from the flashes, but you need to wait until she has a corporeal form before you can attack her."

The raven changed tactics, diving to the ground in front of me. Before it had landed, it started to swell. Feathers melted away to reveal adamant scales. The wings moved further up and it grew two more, thick legs. Finally, the beak shifted into a scaly, toothed snout.

I was standing face-to-face with a dragoness.

It growled and launched itself at me, pinning me to the ground. I pulled my legs up to my stomach and bucked it with all of my strength. Miraculously, it moved enough for me to spring to my feet.

Aries charged at it headfirst, curled red horns glistening on the side of his head. His hands erupted in flame as he whaled on it with all of his force. "She's corporeal! You can hit her!"

I saw Willow out of the corner of my eye. Her eyes glowed a soft orange as she watched. The Hala took advantage of my distraction and threw me to the far wall. "F**k!" I growled and pushed off of the wall, charging the beast.

Aries released a huge bellow as his body erupted into flame. His horns glinted red as he struck again and again, only faltering when the Hala let out an splitting screech. As he stopped, the demon threw him away effortlessly.

As it turned to me, my mind split. Suddenly, I was vaulting over the creature while simultaneously sliding under it. I became whole again on the other side, fists clenched. Envisioning a a sword, I pulled a blade out of seemingly thin air. I slashed down onto the demon's scales-

But the blade shattered on impact. Without missing a beat, the Hala threw me to the wall. She opened her giant maw, an otherworldly glow coming from her throat. As she spit the lightning at me, everything in the room froze.

I blinked, and in right front of me was Willow, a large orange shield glowing at her fingertips. She deflected the lightning like it was nothing before charging the dazed Dragoness. Orange sparks flew as she attacked repeatedly, the Hala's cries becoming more and more distressed, until its carcass took up most of the floor.

Willow stood over it until the body dissolved into a dark cloud and evaporated away. As soon as it dispersed, she sat down and began to cry.