"I am going to make you pay for the wrong that you have done to me. I was supposed to rule the Wizard Kingdom and you came in way out of nowhere!" Ziu muttered. He stared at the orange beam of light that was flowing through his wand. He clenched his jaw in tension. He knew that the light ray would penetrate through the shield he had created around them and this could make them vulnerable. But there was no way that Adrianna would come above the bubble and attack them. He increased his focus to collect the energy from the forest fire and direct it in his wand. Ziu wanted to create so much lethal energy that it would blow up the wizard flying above them. "Die, you bitch!" He shouted.

What he didn't realize was that the fire was extinguishing at a fast pace. It was not only because he was drawing power from it, but also because the witch flying on the top was creating a large number of icy crystals, which were showered around his shield of protection.

​​

---

For Enya, the sea of flames beneath her was so intense that it was difficult to make out where Ziu was. She was using her inner manna to create the crystals and drop them wherever there was fire. Her aim was to snuff out the flames that were spreading rapidly. Once she created the first ice chunk, the rest of them fell into a pattern of coalescing and all she did now was to glide above the flames and guide those coalesced particles to the blazing ground beneath.

Enya was thankful that Adrianna was creating a lot of rain and thunderstorms. Black clouds sprawled throughout the sky as they billowed from the Wizard Realm. The scent of rain made Enya feel at home. She was comfortably creating her magic. The sound of the fire crackling beneath her was mixed with the growl of the thunder overhead and the splatter of heavy rain. In the stormy winds her hair was a complete mess, some blowing around and some sticking to her cheeks. The flames had begun to reduce slowly.

The ferocity of the winds increased and the sky was split with a streak of hot, silver band of lightning. It lit the black sky brilliantly.

Unexpectedly, there was a loud boom behind the white witch and a large ice rock exploded into a million pieces. The explosion was so loud and so near that it was deafening. Enya's mind became numb. Her eyes became wide with shock and for a moment she lost balance. Her broom shook violently and Enya passed out. Her broom struggled to keep her stable. She tumbled from her broom and began to fall rapidly, her limbs splayed in the air like that of an eagle. Gravity was pulling her down at a rapid speed and soon she touched the highest swirl of flame. Her broom dived with her. Enya kept falling, as the red and blue fire burnt around her. As she fell, a trail of white smoke followed her.

It was the explosion created by the light coming from Ziu's wand. And it was a chance that it hit a boulder that was right behind her.

---

"What is that?" shouted one of the soldiers pointing in a direction in the sky.

Everyone except Ziu looked in that direction. "It seems a comet is about to hit the earth," said another soldier watching the trail. It was so white in between the flames around it that it almost looked ethereal. All soldiers were mesmerized at this display of power, and now the trail of white smoke. This was something they would never forget in their entire life. This was even better than the real battles they fought in their realm.

Ziu stopped creating the magic and followed the line of their gaze. He was ecstatic. He had finally struck his nemesis. She was falling dead on the ground. His joy knew no bounds. He removed the protection sphere and immediately flew in the direction. "This is going to be my prized possession!" he announced joyfully. There was no need for any war now. If his opponent were dead, he would simply take her to the Wizard Kingdom and declare his candidacy for the throne. If she were unconscious, he would make her his prisoner for life. So many thoughts passed his mind that for a second he couldn't believe that victory was so near.

He rushed to the trail of white smoke speedily to collect his prize. The fire around him was dousing slowly. He chuckled with excitement thinking that the fire must have charred the body by now.

Ziu was about fifty meters away from his bounty when a broom emerged from the flames. It was diving at a high speed towards the ground very as though trying to reach its owner. Yes, he recognized that this was an attempt to save her. But he wouldn't let it happen. He pointed his wand in the broom's direction and whispered, "Intissaah." An iridescent green light emerged from it. The spell was to break the broom of a wizard. And this wasn't just any broom. This was the broom of the Wizard Queen. It needed special treatment. It had to be shattered into a thousand pieces according to Ziu.

The brooms of the wizards were created from the trees that were nurtured with spells and potions right from the sapling stage to understand the wizards and read their minds. Those trees were grown in a special environment. Once a wizard needed a broom, a tree would automatically start drying up. There would be a match of the wavelengths between the wizard and tree, which the wizard would be unaware of. A single broom would be crafted from one tree. For the broom of the king or the queen, sometimes the trees grew up to hundreds of years. They would refuse to wither away even if there was paucity of brooms for the wizards who needed it urgently.

Adrianna's broom was crafted from a tree that was almost as old as Isidorus. It was Isidorus who had planted the tree. Unbeknownst to Adrianna, it had withered the moment she was announced as the Queen of the Wizard Realm. There were so many stories that revolved around it but it was Ziu who knew the truth. He hated Isidorus and breaking the broom would be his revenge upon him. He increased his speed further. A large ear to ear smile formed on his lips.

But what happened next stunned him.

Sensing the light, the broom wiggled its way. It spun avoiding the light.

Ziu was only thirty meters away. He threw another spell at it. The broom dived down and suddenly it was below the trail of the white smoke.

The fire around her burnt her skin a little. Enya felt the growing heat around her. She opened her eyes. The broom swished by her side. She grasped it with her hands and it raced upwards with its owner avoiding the near-death impact only five meters away from the ground.

Ziu's eyes bulged. He was stunned. The witch in front of him wasn't Adrianna. His mouth fell open. He stopped casting the spell. This was someone else. His mind couldn't decipher what was happening. He had come there to collect his prize and this wasn't even what he thought. This was the white witch. He had read about her long back. His facial muscles became slack. His breath became shaky as he watched the white witch climbing high up in the air. This was impossible.