CHAPTER 111: THE TIDE TURNS

Chapter 111: The Tide Turns

The figure rising from the trees was impossible. Liana’s heart should have stopped.

Her breath should have caught. But the ancient magic flowing through her blood made her feel nothing but cold calculation. "Hello, daughter."

Alpha Marcus stepped into the clearing, very much living despite being dead for six months. His appearance made the Harvester retreat several yards, tentacles writhing nervously.

"You’re supposed to be dead," Liana said, her voice booming with silver power. The words came out flat, lifeless.

Why don’t I care that he’s alive? "The Council kept me in stasis," Marcus answered, his eyes never leaving the massive creature above them.

"They needed someone who understood pack dynamics to help control the supernatural population."

"You’ve been working with them?" Death growled from below. "Not working with them," Marcus amended. "Planning their destruction from the inside."

The Harvester suddenly lunged toward the trapped children again. Liana moved without thought.

Silver fire exploded from her hands, forming a wall of pure energy that slammed into the creature’s bulk.

The impact sent shockwaves across the region, flattening trees for miles. But she didn’t stop there.

The ancient magic whispered plans in her mind. Weak points. Pressure points. Ways to cause greatest damage. End this quickly, the power pushed.

Show them all what real strength looks like. Liana raised both hands.

Energy built around her like a miniature star, getting brighter and hotter by the second. "Liana, wait!" Jace’s voice cut through the magical chatter in her head.

"You’re going to kill everyone down here too!" She stopped, looking down at the captured supernatural beings. They were cowering behind the barriers, afraid of both the Harvester and her.

Good, part of her thought coldly. Fear makes people loyal. That thought should have terrified her. Instead, it felt... reasonable.

"Move them," she ordered, her voice carrying absolute authority.

Death and Darius quickly began herding the captives away from the battle zone. They didn’t fight. They didn’t question. They simply followed. This is how leadership should work, the magic whispered.

Clear commands. Instant compliance. Marcus was suddenly beside her, floating on his own power. "The children first," he said softly.

"There are three more facilities holding kids within fifty miles of here." "How do you know that?" Liana asked.

"Because I’ve been mapping their locations for months." His eyes glowed with barely contained anger.

"They took pack children, Liana. Babies as young as two years old." Something cracked in the ice surrounding Liana’s heart. Children. Innocent children.

"Show me," she said. Marcus pointed toward the horizon. "Northeast site first. It’s the closest."

Liana turned back to the Harvester, which was still hovering uncertainly above them. With casual motion, she wrapped bands of silver energy around its massive form.

The creature struggled, but the old magic was too strong. It couldn’t move. "Stay," she commanded, like she was talking to a disobedient dog.

Then she and Marcus shot across the sky toward the first facility. The High Council compound appeared below them within minutes.

It looked like a military base - high walls, guard towers, electrified fences. But Liana could hear them. Dozens of small voices crying in fear and confusion.

The magic inside her turned molten with rage. "How many guards?" she asked Marcus. "Forty-seven. Plus twelve Council members."

"Not anymore." Liana descended like a falling star. The first guard tower exploded before anyone could sound an alarm.

The second and third followed instantly after. Guards ran out of buildings, guns raised.

Liana didn’t even slow down. Silver fire swept across the property like a cleansing wave. Buildings crumbled. Vehicles melted. The electric fence turned to slag.

But she was careful. Very careful. The buildings holding children stayed untouched.

"Surrender," her voice boomed across the building, "and you die quickly." Some guards dropped their weapons instantly. Others kept fighting.

Liana dealt with the attackers first. She didn’t kill them - the part of her that was still human wouldn’t allow that. But she made sure they would never threaten children again.

Broken bones. Shattered guns. Fear that would follow them for the rest of their lives.

Efficient, the magic accepted. Merciful but determined. Marcus landed beside her as the last guard fell unconscious. "The children are in Building C."

They found thirty-two kids ranging from babies to teenagers. All supernatural.

All scared. But when Liana approached them, something strange happened. Her silver fire faded. The old magic retreated slightly.

And for a moment, she felt almost human again. "It’s okay," she whispered to a little girl who couldn’t be more than three.

"You’re safe now." The child looked up at her with big brown eyes. "Are you an angel?" Liana’s throat tightened. "Something like that." They removed the children quickly.

Marcus had called in pack allies who were waiting at a safe spot twenty miles away.

But as soon as the last child was gone, the coldness returned. "Next facility," Liana said. The second compound fell even faster than the first. This time, Liana didn’t bother with threats.

She simply tore through their shields like they were made of paper. Forty-three more children saved. The third location tried to run when they saw her coming.

Liana caught their convoy on a mountain highway and stopped every car with a thought. Sixty-one children freed from mobile jail units.

By sunset, she had destroyed eight High Council facilities and saved over two hundred supernatural children. But the wins felt hollow.

Each use of the ancient magic made her more distant from her own feelings. The faces of the children began to mix together.

Their thanks sounded like background noise. This is what power really means, the magic whispered. Results matter. Feelings are weakness.

When she finally returned to where her friends were waiting, their responses told her everything she needed to know.

Death took a step back when she fell. Darius’s hand moved automatically toward his weapon.

Even the floating babies seemed nervous. "You did it," Celeste said slowly. "All those children are safe." "Yes," Liana answered. The word came out flat and lifeless.

Jace limped forward, his chains finally broken. "Liana? Are you... are you okay?" She looked at him. Handsome face.

Green eyes full of worry. He had been important to her once. She could remember that much. But she couldn’t remember why.

"I’m fine," she said. "Better than fine. I’m quick." Rowan appeared beside his brother, moving carefully like he was approaching a dangerous animal.

"You saved all those kids. That was amazing." "It was necessary," Liana corrected. "The Council was using them as pressure.

I removed the power." Kael stepped forward, his alpha power radiating from every line of his body.

"Liana, you’re scaring people." She tilted her head, studying him with detached interest. "Am I? Good. Fear breeds respect."

The words hung in the air like a curse. Her friends traded worried glances. Marcus looked grim.

Even the ancient Luna spirit appeared beside her, face full of sadness. "Child," the Luna spirit whispered, "do you remember who you were before the magic?" Liana took the question seriously.

"I remember being weak. I remember being forgotten. I remember feelings that served no practical purpose."

"And now?" "Now I’m strong enough to protect what matters." "But do you remember what matters?" the Luna spirit pressed.

Before Liana could answer, alarms began wailing across the landscape. The sound was coming from everywhere at once - every remaining Council facility within a hundred miles.

Emergency broadcasts crackled through abandoned radio equipment: "Code Black. Code Black. Priority target has achieved Level 10 threat status.

All units converge on these coordinates immediately." Jace grabbed her arm. "Liana, we need to run. They’re coming for you."

She looked down at his hand on her arm. His touch should have meant something. Should have made her feel... something. Instead, she felt only minor annoyance at being grabbed without permission.

"Let them come," she said, silver fire beginning to dance around her fingers again. "I’ll destroy them all."

"That’s not you talking," Rowan said desperately. "The magic is changing you into something else." Liana smiled, and it was the coldest look any of them had ever seen.

"Maybe it’s changing me into what I was always meant to be." That’s when the sky above them began to crack like broken glass.

And through those cracks, something much worse than the Harvester began to push its way into their world.