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this, but in the sudden flurry, he didn't have the necessary pause to do a full banishing. Kiyo reached us, throwing himself on me and pushing me away from Roland. I fell hard to the ground, Kiyo's weight pinning me there. As quickly as he'd turned fox, he transformed back into a man. Still displaying amazing speed, he pulled me up by the arm. I didn't know if his intentions were simply to cart me out of the house or to attempt a world-jump then and there, but I didn't give him the chance. I'd recovered my senses and took hold of my magic. The air grew thick, and a hurricane-worthy gust blasted him away - along with a substantial part of my parents' furniture.

Kiyo grimaced as he regained his footing and agonizingly took one step at a time toward me.

"Damn it!" he yelled over the roar of the wind. "Stop this!"

"You stop this!" I shouted back. The magic burned in my blood, and no matter how annoyingly weak the pregnancy had made me, my power hadn't diminished too much. "We don't even know that this prophecy's real! I've already met one fake seeress. It could all be for nothing." Roland and my mother had once told me that prophecies were a dime a dozen in the Otherworld, and I'd seen that to a certain extent. Until now, I'd never wanted to take the chance that mine wouldn't come true.

"But we don't know!" Kiyo countered. I could see the irritation on his face. I was keeping a storm raging around me, one that held him at bay while hopefully Roland began a banishing. "We can't risk it. Please. Please come back with me to Maiwenn. We'll fix this."

I didn't answer and instead kept the storm going. My gaze stayed on Kiyo, but I felt the tingle of shamanic magic - human magic - beginning to glimmer. Roland was indeed performing a banishing spell.

Kiyo transformed into a fox again, and with that extra strength, he managed to push through the storm-shield around me and knock me to the ground again. He stayed as a fox this time, holding onto that strength. His teeth bit into my shirt, through to my shoulder, and I yelled out in pain. My magic wavered, and to my astonishment, he began dragging me - slowly - across the living room.

His progress was halted when a small end table slammed into his back. I tell you, those things are lethal. Instinctively, he reared up against his attacker: Jasmine. He shoved her away, and she stumbled back. Snarling, Kiyo returned to me, and I had the uneasy feeling my odds were getting worse as to whether he'd cart me away or just kill me. He could hold on to human thoughts in fox form, but they became increasingly influenced by animal reactions the longer he stayed transformed.

He suddenly looked away from me, gold eyes on Roland, who stood planted firmly across the room with his wand extended. I'd sensed the banishing earlier because of my training. Now, with the spell in full force, Kiyo could feel it too. Abandoning me for the new threat, Kiyo raced toward Roland. I screamed as all that animal power slammed into my stepfather, pinning him against the wall. The wand flew from Roland's hand. The banishing spell disintegrated.

Kiyo shifted to human form again, still trapping Roland. Roland was strong but couldn't match Kiyo's strength. Struggling was useless.

"Stop it," cried Kiyo. "Both of you."

His arm pressed against Roland's neck. Roland managed a gasp as the grip cut off his air. Immediately, I let the storm magic around me drop. As I did, I felt that Jasmine had been lending her strength to me without me even realizing it. She too ceased her wielding and struggled up from where she'd been knocked down, coming to stand with me once again. The room fell eerily still.

"Let him go," I growled, moving slightly forward. I knew I couldn't win against Kiyo in a physical fight, but I also couldn't let him harm Roland. "This isn't about him. Don't hurt him."

"Believe me," said Kiyo, "I don't want to." His eyes were dark and human again, but there was still some feral glint in there. "Come with me, and I'll release him."

"Come with you," I said flatly. "To Maiwenn's?"

"You'll thank me later," said Kiyo.

My mind raced frantically. Roland was struggling for breath. How much longer did he have? Would Kiyo really kill him? I wondered if I could