134 She's Gone 3

She lifted her hand a little and a huge wall was erected from the ground, as the magic balls came landing on the wall.

Each strike from the magic balls was a heavy hit. Astrid could feel the wall threatening to collapse under the intense power of the balls. 

Little White-Fire roared and spat a huge ball of flames at Lorelei, interrupting her onslaught of magic balls. 

Her feet twisted and she dodge just in time, to her sides. Immediately she created a flame of her own and sent it hurling at the little beast. 

By now Astrid had let the wall crumble and quickly controlled water from the surrounding trees and shot it at the flames coming their way. 

As they collided, a sizzling sound could be heard as the water evaporated and quenched the flames with it. 

Lorelei half smiled as she got ready a bigger wave of attack. 

"Het merch sier, God of storms, aid me to conjure weatherly form. Winds that sweep, make them swarm!"

As she chanted her spell, a wave of storms surged out from her hands and she directed it at Astrid. 

"Not on my wattttcchhhh... " Astrid said with a new found determination. 

The force from the storm was pushing her back as she struggled against it. 

"I am one with the elements, you cannot use them against me."

She closed her eyes and let her hands spread wide. As she opened them again, a bright light in her eyes and disappeared almost instantly. 

She stopped struggling and the storm encircled around her stretched arms. She brought them together and pushed forward, sending the storm right back at Lorelei. 

All these while, Lorelei's face was hidden well behind her cloak. By the time the wind came rushing like a mini tornado at her, it swept her off her feet and flung her some distance away as she wasn't prepared for the outcome. 

Her back hit a tree behind, causing her to spit out blood and fall forward. She staggered a bit before gaining her footing; standing straight back up her hood fell backwards revealing her face and what a stunning beauty she was. 

******

On the other hand, Jareth and White-Fire faced off the remaining beasts without noticing Astrid and the little beast gone. 

By now countless beasts were sprawled on the ground and some others still stood strong. 

"Astrid, can you create a wave of energy to blast them off at once? I know its tasking but we really need it right now," he said to her. 

He fought the next beast that attacked him and when he successfully wounded that one, he didn't hear her reply till then. 

He turned his head to see what got her so busy that she couldn't utter a word to acknowledge she heard him, but he was shocked with what he saw; she was nowhere in sight. 

"Astrid!!"

He yelled her name and still got no reply. He ran up and climbed up the nearest tree in sight. 

He scanned down below and around, but she was gone. White-Fire took the initiative to protect him lest any beast attacked him while he searched for her. 

"White-Fire!" He called out to the beast as it fought on, spraying flames on any beast who dared move close. 

"Jareth!"

"White-Fire, Astrid is nowhere around. She's gone," he replied as his eyes still searched frantically about. 

"And so–so is... " he began to say but White-Fire cut him short with her question. 

"Where is my cub?"

"I'm afraid they are both gone." 

He tried to stay calm as he spoke but his emotions were betraying him. White-Fire could tell the fear through the mind link and it had got to admit, it too was scared. 

What had happened to Astrid and its cub? 

"Search some more if you can see them around?"

*********

Astrid's hands fell to her side when she saw her face. 

There was something about this lady, it just didn't feel right. She looked awfully familiar. 

Lorelei took hold of her distraction and launched another attack at her. The little White Tiger-Phoenix beast jumped right in and flared its wings, taking a defensive stance against Lorelei. 

As her magic came hurling at it, it flapped its wings hard and the next thing Astrid knew, a very strong wind force, like a vortex repelled Lorelei's magic. 

"Pestering beast. You should just die already," Lorelei said and brought her hands close together. 

Lightning and frost began to form into a ball and expanded whenever she moved her hands apart. 

"Right back at you," Astrid yelled back at Lorelei. 

She had played with this sorceress for a while, since she wanted to kill little White-Fire, then she wouldn't be so wicked if she repaid her back in her own coin. 

Her hands moved in the air and a heavy wind surrounded her, she kept on moving her hands and water and earth formed around her as well. 

The three elements merged together and soon a dark frost was formed into a cannon like weapon. 

As Lorelei released her hold on her lightning frost, throwing it at Astrid, she also released hers, hurling it with all the strength from the air around at the incoming frost ball. 

When their powers collided, the force pushed everything back.  Astrid's dark frost disintegrated Lorelei's and what was left came flying right at Lorelei. 

Quickly, she disappeared just before the came crashing down on her. The force threw Astrid and the little White Tiger-Phoenix beast away to different sides. 

Astrid quickly engulfed herself in an air ball shield before she hit the ground. The air ball shield bounced several times towards the mist and when she finally let go, she fell right in the mist.

At the opposite direction, the little White Tiger-Phoenix Beast got up from the ground and ran towards where it last saw Astrid, but she was nowhere to be found. 

It saw the marks left by her air ball on the ground and rushed to where the air ball last hit the ground and disappeared. 

What faced the little beast when it raised its head, was a thick white mist.