"It's a funny thing," said Lily looking down at the moonstone ring on her finger.
"What is?" said Anne. They were sitting in the garden in the courtyard. The duel would be happening in mere hours.
"This ring," said Lily. "My parents left it to me and ... well, it's silly really. But when I was young I used to dream that it would someday have some kind of magical power that would make me stronger and protect me."
"Maybe it will," said Anne.
"No," said Lily. "It's just a ring. It's just funny now to see it again knowing... well knowing that I'll ..be fighting for my life soon really."
"Not your life Lily," said Anne. "Not really. It's your freedom that you're fighting for. You're fighting for Ryan's life though. You're fighting for the freedom of not just your kind, but the millions of shifters living in servitude because of the faulty leadership system."
"...no pressure then," said Lily with a slight laugh. It felt good to laugh. She knew that no matter the outcome of the duel, her world was about to change forever.
"It can have magical properties if you decide for it to have them," said Anne, touching the shiny surface of the stone which glowed a warm blue in the late morning light.
"How?"
"Think about what it stands for," said Anne. "Your parents died for the survival of your childhood pack. A pack that then pushed you into servitude and abused you with cruelty. Surely that stands for something?"
"It wasn't right," Lily agreed.
"And now you can fight for your freedom and for what's right," said Anne. "The ring is a symbol of that. And whenever you see it, or feel it against your skin it can remind you of what you are fighting for. It can remind you that it's time for a change. And you can bring that about."
"Assuming I don't die," said Lily. She thought to laugh again but she didn't seem able to suddenly. She knew the duel was fast approaching.
"I believe in you Lily," said Anne in a quiet voice. "I've believed in you for such a long time now. It's time you start believing in yourself."
Lily didn't know she could do it until she knew she could do it.
The duel wasn't what she'd be expecting.. a noisy hustling crowd of leering students... but it wasn't like that. It was just her and Ryan, not much different than when they'd been in the clearing at the bottom of the mountain listening to the symphony of the world.
Except.. it was entirely different. Ryan stood in his panther form. His piercing eyes were not Ryans. Not really. He'd been consumed by the magic used to bind him. And recognizing this Lily felt even less inclined to attack him.
Her body shifted smoothly into that of a golden eagle. Just like the one she'd seen so recently. The flight came naturally. She hadn't expected this. And yet somehow it seemed to be a part of her. The air was cool through her feathers as she circled. She felt so alive.
Power seemed to ripple through her like wind rushing under her wings.
She thought about the class she'd walked out on. Was that only this week? It somehow seemed like longer. She remembered what she'd decided that day. About being herself, and not running from the things she must face.
She understood now that that was believing in herself. Believing in.. who she would be. And if she believed in that, she'd have to believe that she had the power now to become that person.
Ryan sent a bolt of energy towards her. But she flew right to avoid it.
'this is ok', she thought to herself. It was an odd thing to think at the start of a fight to the death battle... but it gave her a sense of calm and control. This is ok. She could dodge these kinds of attacks, and maybe he'd get tired.
Just as she thought it, he shot at her again, and again she dodged. What she needed was time. She dove lower gathering speed and pushing forward to where she could fly above the trees. The trees would make it harder for Ryan to get a clear target on her.
Far below she watched as the panther followed after her.
She could overcome the mind magic... But how? 'It's not sealed,' Anne's words from the night before seemed to echo in her mind. 'So?'
'Think Lily! Think!' But nothing came to her, she dodged two more attacks. She knew Ryan was likely to try something new soon. Was he able to use other forms? She couldn't be sure... Why hadn't she asked him before now?
She could feel the mind magic. It felt like a kind of block in her brain. And yet.. what was it? Some witch's magic. A witch's magic that probably wouldn't even work unless the victim believed that it would work.
Lily thought about the situation with the school officials. How they pressured her to sign the document. How obvious it had been. Maybe it was done that way intentionally. Maybe they needed to tell their intended victim for it to work at all...
And even though it does seem to work in some measure... a lycan is stronger than a witch.
Lily was pulled from her thoughts when a ball of flame launched towards her. She summoned an image of water and believed it into existence. It seemed to work.. but not as well as she'd hoped. It had blocked the flames, and extinguished some of it, but what remained fell back down to earth and caught on some nearby brush that licked at the bark of a tree.
But she didn't have time to worry about that because more energy was being fired at her. This time in short bursts like a barrage of arrows.
She thought about transfiguring them to water.. something that would be harmless if it hit her, but she'd never done that kind of magic before, and it would be devastating if it were to go wrong. She needed to be able to maintain her flight. It seemed clear that Ryan hadn't yet managed to access a secondary animal form that would allow him to get closer.
She instead created a shield of metal large enough for her to fly behind. The streams of energy hit the shield with the sound of a gunshot. The shield turned white hot, but the energy wasn't able to pass through.
'I am free,' Lily chanted in her mind. 'I am free. My mind is my own.'
'I am free. My mind is my own.'
She flew higher and higher. She could see the domed glass ceiling of the courtyard. Ryan was what seemed like miles below. His next attacks fell short of their target.
'I am free. My mind is my own.'
She felt.. free. She felt ..calm, and aware. It seemed weird that they were set to duel. Why would I duel? I don't want to kill my kin. Despite his attacks, she knew Ryan didn't want to kill her. Not really.
And maybe in this way, there was never really any risk of him killing her. Was that true though?
'Ryan?' she called out from her mind. The black panther seemed like little more than a house cat from this height. It paced in a circle as if trying to figure out how to get to her.
'Ryan..' She called to him again from her mind. 'You're free Ryan. The mind magic is flawed. Look for the flaw and you will find it. Once you do, remember you're stronger than the ones who placed the curse on you.'
A bolt of energy was shot at her in response. But she only laughed a laugh that came out as an eagle call.
The attacks stopped then. The sound seemed to remind Ryan of their time in the clearing.
'Remember Ryan?'
'We're free now.'
She called out again as an eagle, and the sound seemed amplified by the glass dome above her.
Far below she saw the black cat turn once again into the man she'd come to care about so deeply, and she knew the fight was won.
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