Marvela Mystic | ✔️

Chapter 17 ✨ Up in Flames

Marvela fell to the earth, landing on her feet in front of a stunned-looking Asra. It appeared that very little time had passed—if any time had passed at all—since the witch had cast the kitten into the Spirit Realm. Asra stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, at the kitten who had appeared in a flash of light, her hand still resting on the restrained Slight.

"Asra!" yowled Marvela, puffing out her star-spotted chest. "Release Slight and give up! This is your... final final warning!"

Asra blinked in mute surprise. She withdrew her taloned hand from the spirit's skull, red lips curling up in distaste. "How did you return from the Spirit Realm? Just who do you think you are?" she sputtered. "You're just a scrawny kitten who's no bigger than a bug!"

The kitten narrowed her eyes at the fiery-haired human. "That's true," she meowed in response. "But I'm also about to be the one to take you down."

Curious cheered from the shadows, tail wiggling in joy at Marvela's return. "Get her, Marv!"

Sparks shot from Asra's green, glowing eyes. She stepped away from her spirit captive and slashed her fingernails through the air.

All at once, the trees circling the crater the quartet inhabited went up in flames.

A sweltering, suffocating heat swept over everyone as the flames rose higher and higher above the tree tops.

Marvela arched her back as a serpentine whip of fire writhed into existence, spawning from the forest fire Asra had conjured. Spines and spikes, all made of flames, grew from the massive form that wriggled in the air. Then, two fiery bat-like wings sprouted and flapped, and finally, two eyes like emeralds opened above a flaming maw of sharp teeth.

Beating its wings furiously, the dragon stretched its fanged mouth open wide and unleashed a roar upon the trembling kitten below. From the back of its throat, a brightness swelled.

The dragon was about to spew a torrent of fire down at the witch cat.

Marvela stood frozen, her paws unwilling to obey her. But her heart remained calm, for the surplus of magic stored within her embraced the kitten from within, keeping her calm—assuring her that it would be okay.

Despite her scorched whiskers curling from the heat and the deafening din of the inferno, Marvela smiled up at the dragon.

She stood on her hind legs and raised her forepaws in the air.

She unleashed her overflowing magic in the form of a cloud of orange butterflies; a cloud that was big and bright enough to fill the night sky and turn it to midday.

At Marvela's direction, the butterflies stifled the forest fire and swarmed the dragon, just as it began to vomit flames. With the help of a chubby caterpillar flapping profusely with the tiniest of butterfly wings in order to stay alight—Curious' attempt at offering his assistance—the butterflies thronged the dragon, making it sputter and choke on its own smothered flames while it thrashed and beat its wings, struggling to rid itself of the pesky insects.

With a wheezing roar, the dragon crashed to the ground, smoldering and motionless and barely able to be seen under the butterflies that swarmed it.

Marvela ducked away from the wind and embers that were kicked up by the dragon's fall. An almost inhuman screech demanded Marvela's attention. She turned and spied Asra snarling at her.

Marvela smirked in return. With a flick of her tail, ghostly, glowing orange crickets crawled out from under the leaves that coated the ground. Chirping happily, the bouncy little bugs threw themselves at the fuming witch.

Asra kicked them all away, making the crickets evaporate into thin air. She tossed a few of her misplaced ringlets of her hair back over her shoulder. "Is that really the best you can do?" she growled, her eyes glowing a poisonous shade of green behind her messy hair.