Carpathian 18 - Dark Possesion

you get out of there ?
    I cant leave Manolito's body unprotected. I don't think I have very much time before the mage breaks through. He seems to know what he's doing.
    Manolito will have woven in a few surprises, but he most likely was looking for privacy, not expecting an all-out attack against the two of you.
    "Just hurry." She whispered the last aloud.

    There had to be a way to distract the mage. She concentrated on him, focusing wholly on his face, his expression, the way his lips moved as he mouthed the reversal of the safeguards Manolito had set. How could she stop him? Slow him down? What she needed was a way to get the earth beneath his feet to open, a big wide crack that would follow his every step if he tried to escape it.
    The tree shook. The ground below undulated, throwing the mage off his feet. He glared at her as he crab-walked backward hastily, trying to avoid the crack widening in the earth. Her breath caught in her lungs and she went still. Was she doing that? Was it possible? Could she really have broken a branch from above the first mage and dropped it on him? The thought both sickened her and gave her hope. But how was she doing it? What else had she done? What else was she capable of doing?
    For the first time she felt a twinge of hope. The agitated movements of the monkeys caught her attention.
    They were throwing leaves and twigs not only at the jaguar, but at the mage, as if they were firmly aligned with her. She let her breath out slowly. Had the animals been following her? Had they obeyed her when she told them to go? And the jaguars, even the shifters, had stopped when she'd given the command. She hadn't held them for very long, but for one instant they had obeyed her as well.
    She rubbed her pounding head. It was about to split open. Her chest felt too tight, as if everything inside her was expanding and she was contracting, getting smaller and smaller. Her body felt as if it didn't fit, and hard knots appeared beneath her skin on every muscle. It was distracting and just plain freaky. For a moment she was shaken, wanting to run, but then she glanced at Manolito, so still, so alive looking, his eyes vacant when his body seemed so strong and virile. He wasn't running from trying to protect her, and she wasn't about to leave him behind.
    Her spine stiffened, and she looked up at the animals in the canopy. So many of them. The sheer numbers were reassuring. We really don't like that bad man, do we? He's trying to hurt me. Throw things at him. Big things. Drive him away. Don't let him put his arms in the air like that .
    The monkeys went insane, jumping up and down on and shaking the branches of the trees, running back and forth, showing teeth and beating on their chests as their agitation built. She was beginning to get a feel for the flow of energy. It was small at first—she could only guess at what she was doing—but as the animals responded and the energy swelled around her, she became very aware of it. She took a deep breath and tapped into the seething cauldron of power, directing it this time at the snarling jaguar.
    That man doesn't belong in your realm. They have tried to enslave you. They've taken everything from you and are driving your people to extinction. See them for what they are. The vampire has put his mark on you.
    You were once a proud man; now you do another's bidding. They don't belong here.
    The jaguar shook its broad head continually, looking confused. It took a few steps toward the tree as if it might come after her again, but it stopped, trembling.
    The mage snapped a command to it and waved one hand, gesturing toward her.
    Why should this man tell you what to do? Is he your master? Does he own you? You are jaguar. You own the rain forest. Whoever walks in it should walk with your leave, not the other way around.
    The jaguar gave a coughing grunt and swung its head toward the mage, eyes blazing with fury. It crouched low. The mage froze. He began to talk quietly, chanting something while his hands gestured in rapid patterns before him.
    Look out! He's trying to use power against you. Look at him. He's trapping you with a spell. Attack before he finishes . She put alarm and urgency into her thoughts.

    The jaguar snarled at the mage, showing its teeth as it took several slow steps toward the mage. The mage gave way, backing up, this time holding out one hand to stop the large, menacing cat.
    The thick hedge of ferns withered and turned brown, lacy fronds rolling