The Tiger Prince's Witch
Chapter 72 - Battle Begins

Elsie's eyes met Anna's, and she gave her a tiny smile to let her know she knew who she was. She didn't want to alert Marcus, who was holding a knife to her throat. As everyone stood still, Elsie pulled her energy from deep within herself. She knew she had to act fast before Alice and Marcus had time to react.

Melita glanced toward Elsie, waiting for her signal. They'd made a plan. Elsie was going to cause a blinding light while Melita shifted into her tiger. They would then move to the side of those at the palace before Marcus and Alice knew what hit them. She looked toward Anna and could feel the power radiating off her. It made Melita feel even more ashamed for what she'd done to her. This was her time to make it up to all of them.

Anna looked between Melita and Elsie. She could feel their changes and knew they had fought against the evil inside them. When she saw the glint in Elsie's eyes, she knew what she was going to do. Anna looked at Kamryn and whispered in his ear.

"Mindlink everyone and tell them to cover their eyes." He didn't question her as he did what she asked. Everyone behind them shielded their eyes except for those from Spirit Energy.

When Elsie saw what the others were doing, she pulled all her energy forward and opened her arms. A blinding light came from within her that made all the evil ones behind them scream in pain. Melita quickly shifted into Asha before shoving Alice away and leaping into the air. She landed directly in front of Anna and Kamryn at the same time as Elsie. When the light faded away, Marcus and Alice held each other with knives at each other's throats. They quickly let go once they realized they no longer had their prisoners.

"You will both pay for that. You can't fight our magic. It's within you now." Alice spoke in her cracking voice, but those across from her just laughed.

"You do not scare us. We're stronger than you. Haven't you heard that good defeats evil?" Anna moved forward slightly, resting one hand on Asha's head and taking Elsie's hand in her other one. She wanted to show a united front while letting the other two know she had their backs.

"We'll see. Astaroth has plans for you. Once your family is killed, there will be no hope for you." Asha began growling at Marcus' words. They didn't go through this mess for everyone to end up dead. Anna continued stroking her head, and she felt herself calming down.

"What are you waiting for? We're ready. I know you didn't expect us to lay down and submit to you." Anna asked calmly. She could feel the fear radiating off everyone behind her. However, she acted as though she was talking to an annoying neighbor. Alice glared at her before she spoke.

"It would be in your best interest to come to us so unnecessary lives will not be lost. All you're doing is sacrificing those around you. If you turn yourself over to Astaroth, everyone else can live." Anna felt the worry from those around her that she would sacrifice herself. She wasn't a fool; they would kill everyone there no matter what she did.

"Nice try. I won't be giving up, and no one else here will either. It's you that needs to leave. No matter what you do, none of you are going to walk away from this. You will all be going to hell tonight. It's time for you to meet Satan." Anna knew enough about Astaroth to know that he'd fallen out with the devil. When the ground shook below them, she smirked. The demon obviously didn't like what she'd said.

"Prepare to die," Marcus said while raising his hands in the air. There was a loud growl from all those around him. Anna saw Melita and Elsie getting ready to lunge into the fight, but she stopped them. This first wave would be defeated before anyone even had to break a sweat. Everyone on the palace side stood unmoving, just as she had instructed them to do.

Her eyes met Kamryn's, and she gave him a slight nod. Both he and Micha leaped into the air. They used their new powers to drop large boulders that they'd placed around the palace on the heads of those coming toward them. While everyone's attention was on the two men, Anna and Jaz went in separate directions. Anna threw fireballs, and Jaz threw bolts of lightning. The warriors were taken down in minutes causing Alice and Marcus to yell in anger. "Is that all you have? That was nothing. We're just getting warmed up." Alice said with her cold dead eyes looking even darker.

"Oh, honey, we have a lot more than that. Astaroth should have known better to send a few kittens to feed the tigers." Anna answered with a smirk as Melita came to her side in human form after going into the palace to put on clothes.

"With Santi and Astaroth, there is no path for you to win. Evil is too dark for good to get through." Marcus walked a few steps closer but stopped when everyone started laughing. He and Alice gasped when Santi emerged from behind Anna. With one look, they could tell that the darkness had left him. He looked stronger and better than ever.

"As you can, I am no longer under your wicked spells. You and Astaroth can go to hell where you belong and face the wrath of Satan." Santi knew he was getting under their skin by talking about Satan.

Alice and Marcus were furious. They raised their hands so the next round of fighters could attack. There were more of them, and Anna knew their little group of four wouldn't be able to take out all of them, so she raised her hands. Everyone ran and flew out of the palace to fight.

Astaroth may have taken the souls of many, but they were no match for the force from the palace. It was obvious that Alice and Marcus were not expecting all the different species there. With multiple werecats, werewolves, lycans, and witches, the palace side was able to defeat the second wave of fighters in no time. A few of their fighters were injured, but no lives were lost due to their speedy recovery abilities.

Melita and Elsie had not hesitated to go out and fight with the rest of them. Anna observed them to make sure there were no signs of deceit, but when they returned to her side, she was satisfied. They both had minor injuries healing quickly, but both looked ready for the next round.

"Do you need a break? Your fighters seem like they're depleting quickly. We'll even give you a head start if you want to tuck tail and run." Those behind Anna snickered at her words. They knew she was scared about what was still coming, but she was doing an incredible job of riling up the opposition.

"Why would we run? We're not scared of you. We have many more soldiers that can take care of you without me having to break a nail. We just wanted to go lightly so you would have a chance to admit defeat. Since it appears you don't care for your well-being or the well-being of the others, we're done playing nice." Alice looked behind her and nodded. Anna and the others followed her gaze.

Out of the forest behind them, something large and dark was moving in their direction. Anna felt a moment of fear when she saw the being was even bigger than she had first thought. It was neither male nor female that she could tell. It was in the shape of a human, but it appeared to be made of something else as it had a black smokey essence around it.

The ground shook the closer it got, and it made a snarling noise that chilled them all to the bone. Once she could make out the face, Anna saw it had large tusks like an elephant that reached higher than its head. Its hands had claws that looked at least two feet long. While the others started shaking and crying in fear, Anna turned toward them and winked. She knew exactly what this was and how to defeat it.

"Oh, you poor evil beings. If you thought this was going to be all you needed to kill us, you were sadly mistaken." Anna raised her hands and began chanting rapidly. When the others from Spirit Energy heard what she was saying, they began to do the same. All of them together sent their spell to the evil being getting closer. Just as it reached the palace steps, it suddenly stopped and knelt before them. The former palace guard Lucas was left kneeling when the evil surrounding it faded away.

Anna changed spells and directed her energy into him, pulling out the darkness. She knew it worked when he looked up at her with his blue eyes shining.

"Lucas, which side do you wish to be on?" She asked with her hands still raised in case he chose wrong.

"I choose to fight for my king and my kingdom." Lucas bowed to Anna with a sense of relief. He felt like a mountain had been removed from him.

"Please join us." She replied as he stood up and ran to her side. Anna looked toward Marcus and Alice, who looked as though they were ready to blow, and smirked.

"You will pay for that." As soon as Marcus finished speaking, the ground started shaking so badly that people began falling. There was an earsplitting scream that seemed to pierce their souls. No one could see what was coming, but the darkness surrounded them, causing them to feel dread. As cries of despair rang out, Anna knew the real battle was now beginning.