Bearly Bewitched (Mystic Hollow #4)

Chapter 46

FORTY-SIX

T he eclipse’s shadow crept across the sun like spilled ink, each passing moment dragging the temperature lower. Vail’s breath frosted in the unnaturally cold air as she studied the academy’s ward matrix. Corruption spread through the magical lines in geometric patterns that made her eyes ache.

“The energy flow’s all wrong.” Sabine traced her fingers through the air, following invisible currents. Her dual nature—witch and tiger—let her see layers of magic others missed. Ancient power shimmered around her, a reminder of the strength she’d carried through past lives. “It’s like the wards are being... inverted somehow.”

“Not inverted.” Neve’s silver hair stirred in a phantom wind as she wove detection spells. “Redirected. Look how it spirals toward the ritual chamber.”

Thunder cracked overhead as Romi reinforced their magical shields. Lightning illuminated the growing darkness, revealing shadow creatures that writhed at the boundaries of her storm magic. “Whatever Ledger’s planning, he’s certainly not being subtle about it.”

A massive explosion rocked the academy’s foundations. Through the window, Vail glimpsed Ren’s dragon form breathing streams of golden fire to hold back waves of corruption. His ancient magic blazed against the unnatural dark.

“The students.” Clover pressed her palms against stone that trembled beneath corruption’s assault. Emerald energy pulsed outward, stabilizing crumbling walls. “Their magical cores are resonating with something. Like they’re being tuned to a specific frequency.”

Before Vail could respond, reality... twisted. The air itself seemed to fold, revealing Ledger stepping through tears in space. But something was wrong with his form—it flickered and blurred as if he existed in multiple places simultaneously.

“Very observant.” His voice echoed oddly, each word carrying harmonic undertones. The crystal pulsed in his hands, casting toxic light across features that wouldn’t quite stay solid. “Would you like to see what I’m tuning them for?”

He raised the crystal high. Power exploded outward, darkness so dense, it felt like drowning. Only Sabine’s instantaneous shield, tiger grace flowing into ancient witch strength, kept them from being overwhelmed.

But the assault was just beginning. Shadow creatures poured from every crack in reality, their forms twisted into grotesque shapes by the crystal’s corruption. Romi’s lightning carved burning paths through the darkness while Clover’s earth magic created barriers of living stone.

“The wards.” Madame Zephyrine’s hands glowed with centuries of accumulated power. “He’s trying to reach the original anchor point before the eclipse peaks.”

Vail gathered her magic, fire blazing around her hands. “Then we stop him. Together.”

The battle erupted in earnest. Lightning and dragon fire lit the darkening sky as corruption fought ancient protections. Sabine flowed between forms, tiger strength amplifying spells learned across multiple lifetimes. Her magic wove seamlessly with Ren’s dragon-enhanced barriers, creating shields of unprecedented power.

But Ledger’s crystal seemed to drink in every attack, growing stronger with each spell it corrupted. Shadow creatures moved with terrible purpose, herding them away from the ritual chamber’s entrance. Time stretched like taffy as the eclipse crept closer to totality.

Then Vail saw it—a pattern in the crystal’s pulses that matched Daisy’s curse exactly. Understanding hit her like lightning. “He’s using the crystal to amplify curse magic. To corrupt the very foundation of?—“

Darkness exploded around her. Pain lanced her chest as corruption burned through her magical shields. She hit the ground hard, the taste of blood sharp in her mouth. Through blurring vision, she saw Ledger approach, the crystal’s light painting everything in sickly shades.

“I truly am sorry about this, Headmistress.” He raised the crystal, darkness gathering around its faceted surface. “But some prices must be paid for magical purity.”

A roar of primal fury shook the very air.

Kaine felt Vail’s pain like a physical blow. His bear surged forward with protective rage as he charged through the academy’s halls, shadow creatures scattering before his fury. The scent of her blood drove him nearly mad with the need to reach her.

But Daisy’s voice cut through his rage: “Uncle Kaine, wait! The patterns—they’re showing us something.”

He forced himself to focus, to see what his niece pointed out. The corruption wasn’t just spreading randomly. It followed routes that resonated with Daisy’s unique magical signature. Almost like...

“It’s trying to balance itself,” she said, watching darkness curl through the air. “The curse isn’t destroying magic. It’s trying to heal something that was broken.”

A child’s understanding, but with ancient wisdom behind it. She reminded him so much of her father in that moment that his chest ached.

More shadow creatures emerged from corrupted walls. But this time Daisy didn’t flinch. Power gathered around her small form as she reached out to touch patterns only she could fully see. The curse magic responded, twisting away from its corrupted purpose.

Xabir’s wolves moved in perfect formation around them, the alpha’s tactical precision creating safe corridors through chaos. “The pack’s reporting similar patterns across the grounds. Like ripples in a pond, spreading from the ritual chamber.”

“Then that’s where we need to be.” Kaine shifted back to human just long enough to organize their approach. “Rook, take your pride east. Clear us a path. Xabir, your wolves west. Box them in. Daisy?—“

“I can help.” Her quiet certainty reminded him of Sabine’s strength. “The curse shows me the way.”

They moved as one unit through darkened halls. Shadow creatures lunged from every corner, but coordinated attacks drove them back. Rook’s pride moved with lethal grace while Xabir’s pack maintained defensive formations. Through it all, Daisy walked with strange calm, her small hand trailing through corrupt energy like it was water.

When they reached the ritual chamber’s entrance, the sight nearly stopped Kaine’s heart. Vail lay crumpled on the ground, blood staining her shirt where corruption had burned through. Ledger stood over her, the crystal’s power gathering for a killing blow.

Kaine’s roar shook dust from the ceiling as he charged. But it was Daisy who stepped forward first, her voice carrying quiet authority: “That’s enough.”

Power exploded outward—not destruction, but the same rebalancing force that ran through her curse. The crystal’s light faltered as she touched corrupted patterns and... adjusted them. Sabine was there instantly, her ancient magic supporting Daisy’s efforts while Ren’s dragon fire purged tainted energy.

Ledger staggered, the crystal’s perfect geometric patterns beginning to crack. “Impossible. The curse cannot be?—“

“Cannot be controlled?” Sabine’s tiger grace flowed into spellcraft learned across centuries. “Or cannot be understood? Children often see truth more clearly than adults.”

The crystal pulsed once, desperately trying to maintain its hold. But Daisy simply reached out and twisted something in its underlying pattern. Corruption turned to cleansing force, racing back through the academy’s wards. The change rippled outward like a stone dropped in still water.

Kaine barely noticed Ledger’s final attempt to flee, or how Rook’s pride and Xabir’s pack ensured he wouldn’t escape justice this time. All his attention focused on Vail as he gathered her carefully into his arms. Her skin felt too cold, but her heart beat steady against his palm.

“That,” she managed, voice hoarse, “was not how I planned to spend my morning.”

Relief made him almost dizzy. “At least it wasn’t boring.”

“If you two are done being disgustingly cute,” Romi called down another lightning strike to clear lingering shadows, “we should probably check on Ames.”

They found him unconscious but alive, the crystal’s corruption purged from his system by Daisy’s intervention. As Clover’s earth magic and the twin elders’ experience worked to heal both him and Vail, Kaine watched his niece examine the academy’s restored wards with fascination.

“You did good, kid.” He rested a hand on her shoulder, bear warmth chasing away lingering cold. “Your dad would be proud.”

“We all did good.” She leaned against him, suddenly just a tired child after showing such extraordinary strength. “That’s what family means, right? Being stronger together?”

Kaine gathered her close, his bear’s protective instincts finally beginning to settle. Through the windows, they watched the eclipse’s shadow retreat, leaving renewed warmth in its wake. Vail caught his eye from where Clover treated her wounds, her smile carrying promises of later privacy.

They’d need time to fully heal the academy’s magical foundations, to understand everything they’d learned about curse magic and hybrid power. But watching their found family work together—Sabine and Ren reinforcing wards, Romi and Xabir coordinating cleanup efforts, Rook and Clover tending the wounded—Kaine knew they’d face whatever came next the same way they’d faced this crisis.