by Ross Turner
Great waves roared out in all directions over the now pristine blue water and crashed down with white foaming froth, clapping thunderously as they did so for miles around and the great bore within which Cole and Rose still stood deepened yet even further and spun yet even faster.
Cole’s eyes widened in shock and his body convulsed horribly as the vast amounts of energy rushed through him, the fabric of his very existence barely remaining as one, clinging together desperately at the seams, trying to contain the colossal power coursing through him.
Faltering, Cole almost lost control, and stumbled down towards the storming waters below. Isabel and Zanriath screamed as they too fell from their invisible perch, and plummeted down through the sky. But then their alarming descent halted abruptly, as Rose dove to Cole’s aid, rescuing him from his waver.
She supported Cole resolutely, and they endured the surging swells of energy together as they continued to barrage the pair. The energy did not cease however, and it continued to race, raging on, until, finally, after an unknown amount of time, it flickered, faltering, and began to dwindle.
There was one final surge as Cole poured the last remnants of his will into his efforts and, though he was successful, Cole’s awareness and soul were dragged away with it.
Rose chased desperately after him with all her might, determined not to lose him. But in her efforts, she too struggled to maintain her grip on physical reality, losing her own soul too to Cole’s surging power - limitless and out of control.
Tears coursed down Isabel’s cheeks as she sensed them both fading away. Her son’s strength and simply been taxed too greatly, and in her attempts to rescue him, Rose too was in danger of being overwhelmed. Isabel was losing them both to their task; it was too difficult, too arduous, they were not going to make it.
But Rose, thankfully, gifted with more than simply a demonic awareness, her will fused directly with Cole’s, clung desperately to him, unwilling to let him go, no matter the struggle. Slowly and gradually, with unrivalled determination and selflessness, she dragged him back, resolute to no end, refusing to lose him to his own self-destruction.
It was only Rose’s steadfast resolve that saved Isabel’s son from destroying himself. Without her, Cole would have been lost. With self-determination that can only be witnessed in the defence of a loved one, Rose categorically refused to let Cole die. And consequently, after much toil, his young mind and soul were returned to Tamarack, and to the physical world.
They emerged victorious, the surging energy finally spent, along with Cole and Rose’s will. What little that had remained of the demonic realm was gone, removed as if it had never existed, unmade in a fashion that is impossible, but because of Cole, came about regardless. The only lingering traces of its presence were the deep scars left upon the face of Tamarack, which would, over time, as they had done before, recover and heal.
Isabel had no way of knowing how much more damage had been done to her home in the short space of time before Cole had taunted all of the demons back into the ocean. She hoped and prayed that the damage was only minor. She was certain that, working together, the people could sew back together the remains of all that had been torn and broken.
Now, at last, those wounds finally had the opportunity to heal and fade into history, because Tamarack, and indeed the universe, was free once and for all from that which had plagued them.
Cole and Rose had surrendered themselves as the vessels of fate, submitting to the task that all those before them could never have hoped to fulfil.
It seemed that even the Souls of the Ocean had at last found a purpose in their distraught and tortured existence. Without them, it would never have been possible to remove the demonic blight from the universe, and now, in one fell swoop, both lustful and vengeful races were gone: never to be seen or heard from again. Vanquished, and forever quelled.
It was both a terrible tragedy, and a great relief, for such an occurrence to have taken place.
For a moment, nothing changed, save that the ball of seething energy that Cole had been holding ceased to shine and glow and, eventually, exist.
Cole and Rose returned to Tamarack, and Isabel’s heart caught in her throat, relief coursing through her body like new life surging through her veins.
The maelstrom still churned and the storm still raged. The wind and the rain still lashed violently through the sky, cracking and breaking it with thunder and lightning, and the waves still crashed down atop one another without mercy.
But then, all of a sudden, as Cole and Rose returned, their concentration eased, and their eyes finally opened. Their will, however, was entirely spent, and they were drained beyond belief.
All in an instant, the storm’s fury was released from Cole’s careful control, the rain and wind, and the thunder and lightning all ceased, and he, Rose, Isabel and Zanriath, all plummeted rapidly down into the bitter, lashing ocean.
The last thing Isabel saw before she was swallowed by the icy swells, was her only son and his demon, unconscious, plunging down and crashing through the broken surface of the water, engulfed by the ocean, freed finally from its relentless torment.
47
Choking and spluttering, inhaling salt water with every attempt to breathe, Isabel and Zanriath clung to each other yet again for dear life, as they were tossed and churned amidst the freezing waves. Thrown thoughtlessly back and forth as the waters swelled and rose and plummeted down with explosive crashes, they were helpless to resist. Very soon they were, for the second time that day, on the verge of drowning, besieged pitilessly by the, even still, emotionless fury of the ocean, for that was something that will forever be unchanging.
Cole and Rose too swallowed horrendous amounts of water, in their unconscious state catching only very brief glimpses of light as the freezing cold hit them repeatedly like a brick wall, churning them over and over.
In some ways now, after everything that had happened, even though Cole’s power had grown and surged to unbelievable levels, because they were so exhausted, he and Rose were in much more danger than ever before.
As the water roared and seethed, it spat them out and swallowed them over and over again, time after time, giving them all tantalising glimpses of freedom and safety, before tearing it from them once more.
At least in these moments Isabel and Zanriath could take advantage of the few precious seconds of air. For the most part Cole and Rose were not even aware, and so their chances of surviving were reduced to virtually nil.
They were utterly spent, and it seemed to be a terrible, ironic fate that, after everything they had endured and accomplished, they would simply drown, alone and abandoned.
Isabel’s mind raced madly as she drowned, considering exactly that notion. Surely this couldn’t be the end - after everything they had been through, after all their tasks and all their suffering?
They had even been successful. The Souls of the Ocean, and the demons, along with their realm, had been destroyed. Not even just that - they had been wiped from existence entirely. All that remained of them now was the terrible memories that would, over time, fade away into the recesses of the past.
Rose had managed to endure, and to save Cole from losing his soul to his own destructive task. With effort Isabel could only imagine, Rose had clung to her son for all she was worth, and now, it seemed, she would not even get the opportunity to thank the young demon for her trials and tribulations.
What a cruel end by a pitiless twist of fate this would be, after everything they had given for Tamarack, for the Gods, and for the universe even.
But then a strange and very familiar voice struck up chorus in Isabel’s mind, for she had heard it so many times now. Its words had even passed through Cole’s lips, less than an hour ago.
At first, she could not comprehend that the voice that was not of a God was speaking to her for one last time. She only thought that her slow and torturous death was playing tricks on her. But sure enough, as the words of the voice of fate rang true,
she realised exactly what had to happen.
‘Indeed you are correct Isabel.’ The voice told her lightly, and even with a slight chuckle, which, when she finally understood what was happening, surprised her. ‘I am glad I gave you your intuition. It has indeed been most useful at times.’
Emotions swelled in a great flurry then as Isabel finally realised what the voice was telling her. Relief, happiness, worry and concern, all coursed through her simultaneously. But, thankfully, doubt and confusion were not amongst those feelings, as now, as she had done for the whole of her life, never once up until this point knowing how she had done so, she knew what had to be done.
She understood finally how her strange and seemingly random intuitions had been given to her, for no other reason than because they were things she needed to know, things she needed to act upon. They were the necessary pieces of knowledge that enabled her to complete her tasks. But also, in this case, they were the pieces of the puzzle she required in order to help Cole complete his.
They had simply come to be a part of her fate.
She sensed the voice of fate’s satisfaction in her comprehension, and heard the strange voice ring in her thoughts one last time.
‘Congratulations Isabel.’ It said to her, speaking much more personally than it ever had done before. ‘You have all done well. Now you and your family’s tasks are complete, and I shall bid you all a fond farewell. Thank you.’ And with that simple act of gratitude, the voice faded away and disappeared forever from Isabel’s thoughts.
Perhaps over the years she would even come to miss its presence, but with its departure, Isabel was left with a renewed drive and vigour and purpose, something that, maybe now the hands of fate were leaving her be, was indeed finally her own.
She grabbed her barely conscious husband, reaching out blindly, but knowing instinctively he was there, and pulled him close to her, never wanting to let him go. With, not for the first time, strength she did not know she possessed, she kicked at the stirring water with all her might.
Holding her eyes closed tight, Isabel’s breath remained precious and limited in her water-filled lungs. Her body screamed for relief, but as of yet, there was none. She kept kicking, the pain building unbearably in her chest. But she kept her legs churning and she surged upwards with everything she had left, clinging to the hope of those last few moments of freedom.
After what felt like yet another torturous lifetime, she and Zanriath eventually broke the calm surface of the water, and they coughed and spluttered and breathed the clean, free air greedily, laughing uncontrollably at their own fortune.
The mist that had once hung all around was nowhere to be seen. The surface of the ocean was calm and steady and gloriously blue, and the storm that had raged overhead had dissipated almost entirely.
The sky was now clear and streaked with the golden and orange rays of the sun, though that light was still cold. The sunset on the western horizon, just touching the unmoving body of blue water across the ocean, was magnificent, and Isabel revelled delightedly in their success.
Still, concern did not touch her, even though she could not see her son or his demon, for she knew they were safe. And in almost immediate response to her assumptions, Rose broke gracefully from the perfectly calm surface of the ocean, once again in her amphibious form, with Cole clutching wearily, but gladly, to her back.
They all felt light and contented in their newfound freedom, the heavy, pressing weight and burdens of responsibility having finally been lifted from their family’s shoulders.
Isabel sighed deeply and laid her head back thankfully on the clear surface, the relief coursing from her with that single breath enough to last her the remainder of her lifetime. She clung tightly to Zanriath and, within moments, Cole and Rose were there too.
The four of them, as strange as it may have looked with a demon amongst them, huddled together beneath the evening light hanging low over the ocean, free at last.
It seemed everything would be alright after all.
Only this time, with any luck, not that luck had any part to play whatsoever, it would remain that way forever.
Epilogue
The years that followed that day were perhaps, in some ways, even more vital than the removal of the demons and the Souls of the Ocean had been.
It had taken some time - a good few years in fact, but eventually, after Cole and Rose and Isabel and Zanriath had succeeded and returned to Rilako, the peoples of each island had begun wandering out over the waters of the ocean, as it was now freed from its terrible plight.
Upon a suggestion made by Ayva, She and Her brothers agreed not to impede such exploration, as now such a thing was not dangerous, since the Souls of the Ocean had been vanquished. They did, however, return guards to Compii Tower, and its function remained unchanged, should the time arise that they needed to separate their peoples once more.
Returning home to Kalaris, Isabel and her family were greeted with great joy, as they had yet again prevented terrible strife from befalling the kingdom.
Cole however, though now he was regarded by all with the highest respect and gratitude, as the story of his great victory spread throughout Tamarack, returned to Kalaris to find precisely what he had been expecting, and also dreading.
Rosynn, though she had in the end not been harmed by the demons, had been badly weathered by her task and by recent events. She had grown weary and weak in Cole’s absence, and had fallen terribly ill. Upon his almost immediate visit to see her, he felt like a stranger in her company, for he had changed and grown so dramatically.
She greeted him warmly and with as much kindliness as she always had done, but their bond, though tough, had been battered and shaken by Cole’s task, and the young boy she had once guided, and even protected, no longer needed such aid.
Though this saddened Cole, knowing that he had returned safely strengthened Rosynn’s resolve and fortitude, and she eventually recovered from her ailments. Whether she was aware that Cole had secretly helped her recovery, strengthening her will with his own, he was not sure. He imagined she had some idea, regardless of whether or not she would admit it.
Either way, it was of no matter.
Rosynn recovered and, though their relationship would never be as it once was, she and Cole remained close for the rest of their lives. Rose too took very strongly to the blind, young woman, and the three of them spent much time together over the years still to come.
It remained so until the saddening time of Rosynn’s passing, only a few years after Cole’s success, her task having apparently taken a much greater hold of her than anyone had realised. The mysterious young lady once again fell dreadfully ill, at still a very young age, barely even thirty.
Her condition consumed her weakened body and, over time, her heart could take the strain no longer. Able to do nothing but watch her deteriorate, all of his mighty and limitless strength and power proving useless in the face of death, Cole’s sorrow was great.
He, and indeed the rest of Kalaris, wept severely on the day of her passing, and the young man, having accomplished so much in his short life, never again regained that piece of himself that was lost with his Rosynn.
Rose too shared in Cole’s pain, as still she remained very much a part of the young man himself, and she had also loved Rosynn dearly.
The rest of the villagers, though tentatively at first, also took kindly to Rose, as the tales of how she and Cole had saved the kingdom were told and spread and elaborated, woven and re-woven and then elaborated some more.
It was not long before the entire kingdom was in awe of Cole and Rose’s combined power. And, in a sense, the people of Tamarack were correct, as the limits of their ever-growing strength would most likely never again be reached. Or so they hoped, for should that extent of power ever again be required, it would surely only be following, and likely for the amendment of, dreadful suffering.
In those glorious and painful years that followed Tamarack’s new independence, though they were
at times stricken with hardship, the feeling of freedom that Cole had found liberated him from his own trapped longing.
He no longer searched for something greater, something better, something more to his life, for his awareness was free to spread out across the universe and touch every particle of being that had ever come to exist.
He could see far in to the past and learn of every detail of anything he desired and, if need be so, he could even learn of the future. He did, however, retain that particular skill fervently, for he knew its power could be far more devastating than anything even he could possibly ever set his hand to.
Hopelessness no longer served to detain him, and he, like his parents, devoted the remainder of his life to aiding those in Tamarack to recover from the demonic strife they had yet again, but thankfully for the last time, suffered.
But, just as boys inevitably grow into young men, soon enough young men mature into adults. It felt like no time at all before yet another decade had passed and Cole reached his twenty fifth year.
By now, much of Tamarack, save its population, had been healed, or at least its wounds had scarred over.
Though he had lost Rosynn quite some years ago, Cole took great satisfaction and pride in the work he and his fellow people had accomplished. The community they had built was now stronger than ever, and continued to grow and bond as one.
Rose too aged and matured, now the only demon remaining in the whole of the universe. It was entirely possible, though Isabel had no plausible way to confirm her notions, that her son was the only one capable of raising any further demons, and she doubted he would ever try again.
Though, of course, how was she to know what was still yet to come?
Perhaps in years still to unfold, more would be asked of her son and his demon. Or, maybe, just maybe, their family had finally sacrificed enough.