The darkness in Emma was moving, shifting, as if being squeezed out of the vessel that was Emma.
“Her sacrifice, our life. Her sacrifice, our life…”
It was taking every last one of us to hold on to Emma. The evil inside her raged as we held and bent it to our will.
My breath quickened as I thought of those pink glasses Emma wore when she had her nose stuck in a book the first time we met. I remembered how she looked on our wedding day and how her smile made me feel.
“I can do this, I can do this.” Gatsby was now shouting as he fell to one knee.
It was working. If only he could hold on a little longer.
Gatsby doubled over, his light extinguished.
The ancient evil in her instantly surged against the rest of us.
“No,” Gatsby cried out as he pounded his fists against the ground.
The tentacles elongated from Emma’s back, reaching toward the circle of people around her. Sophie’s eyes went round, and Mika chanted faster.
Oh gods, this wasn’t going to work. I was going to lose her.
A man walked up to the circle, throwing back a tattered hood from his face. Sharp, light green eyes stood out against brown skin. Heelion. My brother who had been sacrificed to open the tear, presumed dead, was here in the flesh. He raised his hands and his magic joined ours in binding Emma.
The tentacles stopped extending outward, then slowly pulled back into her body. I don’t know how much longer it took but slowly we forced the darkness out of Emma like toothpaste from a tube. My ears popped and the ancient evil emerged from Emma hovering over her head, a black mass trapped in the white light. Emma went limp and I caught her in my arms. I raised one hand at the darkness sending it all the power I possessed while clutching Emma to me. What was a river of power flowing from my soul turned into a raging ocean. I had her. Nothing would ever stop me again.
Dark faces and fangs emerged in the blackness, leering and trying to lunge, threatening to swallow us whole, but it was contained in the bubble of light. I caught a glimpse of Sophie. She’d closed her eyes and wore a blissful smile. The innocence on her face suggested she might have been thinking of puppies and cotton candy. Or maybe a really good memory with her parents.
Sophie stated laughing at the black mass. “It can’t hurt me. It wants to but it can’t.”
Her mirth caused other people in the circle to start chuckling. The evil shrunk.
“Look how scared it is! It needs a safe place to hide.” She continued to giggle.
There were a few skeptical looks and some more chuckles. The circle of people cautiously walked in closer, except for Sophie. She ran toward it, holding Merlin up. Fear froze on people’s faces, but I knew in my heart Sophie had this. No one here was more powerful than her.
The orb of evil shuddered and twisted until I thought it would combust. Then it changed direction striking the heart of Merlin, streaming into the plush toy. It took only a few moments for the stuffed rabbit to absorb the ancient evil, finishing with an audible thunk, leaving only a wisp of dark energy in its wake.
28
Strong, warm arms encircled me and a familiar voice was calling my name, telling me to come back to him, that it was time to wake up. My eyes fluttered open meeting Calan’s cerulean orbs. There was blood smeared across his face and chest where his shirt was torn open. His curly hair was damp with sweat. Lifting my hand up, I touched the course facial hair he had let grow in. I felt his anxiousness through our psychic bond.
“Calan?” I was disoriented and confused. When had I fallen asleep?
He sagged against me in relief, his face nestled in my neck. I skimmed my fingers against his back. A buzzing sensation ran through my whole body like when my foot fell asleep and was trying to wake up. We were in the middle of the road, and surrounded by…everyone. Everyone I knew as well, as a couple people I didn’t know, were staring at me. Phillip and my dad smiled and shook hands, while Astrid watched me with guarded suspicion but after a moment, her stance relaxed. Violetta regarded me with such a haunted, sadness I had to avert my eyes.
I swallowed. No. I hadn’t been asleep. The Reckoning had taken hold of me, and I’d been aware for every agonizing minute of it. I killed Jo, Ylang, and countless others. Calan helped me sit up as my stomach turned, the cold reality washing over me. I had been overtaken by the belief that uniting all the forces of darkness would bring about resolution.
Calan pulled away from me, helping me to a standing position. Grabbing me again, he said, “If you thought you could get out of this marriage, you must now know now there is no way I would let it be that easy.”
“Is that a joke, Terminator?” I asked, feeling some of the tension break.
Sophie ran up to us with Merlin in her arms. I was surprised to see her, it had been years since I saw her last. She grinned at me, a hole in the front of her smiling where she’d lost a tooth. “We saved you and the world. Can we get ice cream now?”
She broke the tension and Calan and I laughed. It felt good to laugh. So damn good. Sophie ran off and Calan pulled me back in, kissing the breath out of me. I clung to him for dear life, never wanting to let go. I could have died in that kiss. He brought me back. No matter how far under I went, Calan was imprinted on my soul.
Our kiss broke, and I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “I killed them. I killed Jo and Ylang. So many more died fighting me.”
“You knew this all would happen didn’t you?” Calan asked. “Before the Reckoning you had a vision of the future, and you knew you weren’t just saving us, you were saving our whole world.” He never stopped touching me and I willed he never would.
