When Max tried to ran to her, he couldn't. He added telekinesis to the list of shit he hated about the Oracle.

"Hey, bitch!" he shouted, hoping he'd catch her attention with his boldness and she wouldn't just twist his head off his shoulders. "You know, for wanting that baby, you're not being too gentle with the mother."

"What happens to the wolf does not concern me, only what happens to the child she carries, and it is in no danger." The Oracle turned back to Bella. "My daughter is strong in you."

"She is not your daughter," Bella shrieked, pushing herself up with her arms. "She will never be yours!"

"You presume to correct me?" The Oracle laughed. "I, who know all?"

"For knowing all, you sure don't have much common sense," Max shouted, desperate to get the Oracle's attention off of Bella. "Why would you hook up with the Soul Eater? He'll double-cross you faster than you can come up with one of your stupid prophecies."

The Oracle crooked her finger and pulled him forward, his feet tangling together as he resisted her. She brought him to within inches of Bella, smiling cruelly. "You doubt the legitimacy of my prophecies?"

Trying for bravado, he laughed. "I do. Hell, half the time we can only figure out what they're about after the thing happens. That's not a real handy skill, making general observations and then pinning them on an event after the fact."

"I have never done such a thing. It was your Order of the Brethren that decided I spoke of a future that would include them." She closed her eyes, hands clutching the carved arms of the throne. When she looked at them again, her eyes were obscured with a haze of blood. "Their time is over."

"Yeah, kinda got that when you toasted the place." Max tried to move his arms, and when he managed, there was nothing to do with them. It wasn't like he could fight the Oracle. It was a losing battle before it even started. "But you're still asking for a world of hurt teaming up with the Soul Eater. He's not a real trustworthy guy."

The Oracle laughed. "He is a pawn. He has no power over me. He has my heart. He could have killed me at any time. But he doesn't, because he is weak, and he does not know how to proceed without my help."

"But you sent him your heart," Bella said, wiping a trickle of blood from her split lip. "He has your heart."

"He does." She gave another eerily knowing laugh. "He does."

Max shook his head. "He's totally going to kill you."

The Oracle leaned back, her eyes fading slowly back to normal. "He desires power above all else. He will not kill the source of it."