Eva had no idea what to do. She couldn’t catch Axis. He was dead meat for sure. A whoosh of air next to her said that somebody had joined her.

        Gawain placed his hand on her shoulder. “Use your infrared. Remember, fire is the shapeshifter’s weakness.”

        “Gawain?” Eva glanced at him. “My infrared?”

        Gawain nodded. “Yes. This is who you are, my dear.” It was strange to hear those words coming from him. Despite that, they gave Eva strength.

        She closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Evangeline’s Flame. My infrared, give me thy strength to thrive.”

        The setting sun heard her. Rays from it whooshed across the sky, over the village, and right into Eva’s hair.

        She remained calm. She felt the fire surging through her body. None of it burnt her to a crisp. She endured it. Again, her hair extended like Medusa’s snakes. Flames left each strand. They crashed into Axis, Elaine, and the rest of the Meraki Clan, including Elaine’s mother.

        Within minutes, an infrared glow overtook the whole village. It pulsed out. Right when it did, shadows of supernatural beings left the shapeshifters. The blackness, the villain, twirled into the sky. Each shadow crashed into one another. With one last pulse, they disappeared, and red sparkles rained down from the atmosphere.

        Axis landed gently on the muddy ground, as well as Elaine.

        Bewildered, the Meraki Clan checked their arms and hands, even the children.

        Elaine’s mother could not believe her eyes. She caught a few sparkles on her palms, and then her eyes rolled over to Elaine.

        “Mother?” asked her daughter. “Are-Are we free?”

        A grin stretched across her mother’s face. She held her arms out to Elaine. “We are.” Her daughter rushed into them. They shared a long embrace.

        “Oh, I get it!” Gawain crossed his own arms. He smiled at exhausted Eva, whose flames calmed down. “This whole thing was a test, Eva–a test of who has the true infrared power. The clan was cursed.”

        “We were.” With his hand on his arm, Axis rose to his knees. He met Eva and Gawain’s eyes. “By a witch, long ago. She told us that a girl from the future, who has flames in her hair, would save us. So you see, Eva? I did end up training you. I trained you in the ways of the infrared.” A smile on his face, he scratched his nose.

        “Ugh! You are so bad!” Eva laughed. Hurrying to Axis, she helped him to his feet. She playfully swatted his arm.

        “Ow!” he yelped.

        “Oh, sorry,” Eva said. She took a step back when Elaine and her mother approached her.

        They grabbed hold of her hand and gave it a gentle shake. “Thank you for saving us,” Elaine said. “You are worthy of those gold coins, Evangeline’s Flame.” To Eva’s surprise, the young girl hugged her, too. “I guess my brother did his job, huh?”

        “Wait, your brother?” Eva’s eyes rolled over to Axis.

        He grinned with all his white teeth. “Surprise!” It was that moment Eva realized what a beautiful smile he had.