Twobble pointed wildly as more figures poured from the trees behind him.
Stonewick was uniting and putting away our differences for the greater good. The exact thing that the Priestess hadn’t counted on.
A pulse of bright magic shot from the end of Nova’s staff and ripped through the nearest cluster of shadows as two of them tore apart midair, and the clearing exploded into motion.
Bella leapt into the air again, slamming another shadow into the dirt.
Stella raised the skillet like a warrior queen and smacked a shadow straight out of the air.
“I knew this thing would come in handy!”
Skonk cheered.
“Skillet skills!”
The battle was no longer a desperate circle around me.
Stonewick had arrived.
And Stonewick fought.
Nova’s green magic surged across the clearing in a rolling wave that forced several shadows back toward the treeline.
“Push them!” she shouted. “Don’t let them regroup!”
Ardetia stepped beside her, calm even in the middle of the chaos. Her magic flowed like water—quiet, controlled bursts that shattered shadows whenever they tried to slip past the front line.
The witches from town joined them, their spells weaving together in quick flashes of light.
The orcs held the ground, and every time a shadow dropped too low, a hammer or axe swung through it.
The shifters ran the edges of the fight, cutting off anything that slipped through.
And Keegan—
Keegan moved through the middle of it like a dark storm.
Another shadow dove toward him.
He leapt, twisting in midair, and tore it apart before it reached the ground.
A second shape lunged for one of the witches behind him.
Keegan slammed into it shoulder-first, sending it spinning into the hedge, where the thorns shredded it into drifting smoke.
The shadows began to thin.
Not gone.
But pushed back.
The swarm that had choked the sky earlier was breaking apart now, forced outward by the sheer stubbornness of half the town fighting back.
Twobble darted around the glowing barrier, throwing small bursts of gold magic wherever he saw an opening.
“Strategic goblin assistance!” he yelled.
Skonk swung the broom again and accidentally clipped a shadow that had been sneaking up behind an orc.
