“What? No!” Josi shook her head. “No. You can’t die! I only just found you!”
“I know,” Josslyn whispered, squeezing Josi’s hand. “Which is why I need you to continue my legacy. I need you to continue to fight this battle. I need you, to tip the balance back to the good side.” Josslyn closed her eyes, her head starting to float. “I need you, to do what I could never do. Defeat Elijah.”
“I can’t believe they did this,” Elijah said, crossing his arms across his chest as he stared at the image on the wall. “Why would they cut his wings?”
“Sky was never really known for playing by their rules. None of us were,” Julie said, walking up to him and staring at the image of Sky. “I’m guessing one of the Gods snapped.”
“But he has all of his memories still,” the demon said. “Of us, of the witches, and now he’s teaching the humans how to fight.”
“Which means he needs do be dealt with.”
“How?”
“Release the Hydras.”
“The Hydras?” the demon asked, his eyes widening. “But they’ve been kept captive for centuries!”
“We need to teach everyone a lesson. That we are not to be trifled with, and that we, are the new order around here.”
“And Julie?”
“What about Julie?” Elijah asked, putting his arm around her shoulders.
“Can she be trusted?”
Julie snorted. “Can I be trusted. I’ve chosen to stand by my husband, Credo. He’s my family now.”
“I hope that’s true,” Credo said, turning and disappearing out of the room.
“The demons really don’t trust me yet, do they?” Julie asked, glancing over at Elijah. “What’s it going to take?”
“Once I’m coordinated, and you’ve fully converged to the dark side, they’ll have no choice but to trust you,” Elijah told her. “Now come on. We’re going to be late.”
“Late for what?”
“Our fitting for the coordination tonight,” Elijah said. “You really meant what you said, Julie? About standing by me?”
“Yes, Elijah” Julie said, glancing over at him. “My sisters might have been my family of the past, but you are my family of the future. You and the little girl or boy inside of me.” She rested her hand against her belly. “I was angry at you, Elijah, for what you did. Taking away my memories, not telling me who I really was. But it let me understand you. It let me understand the darkness inside of me, and I understand now, that humanity is a weakness. That the only way for this world to grow stronger, is to take away the humanity.”
“I’m so glad to hear you say that,” Elijah said, as they walked around the corner. “And I promise, you won’t regret the sacrifice you’re making, Julie. You will always be taken care of.”
“So let me get this straight, we have to fight through waves of ogres, giants, gargoyles, and vampires in order to get to the castle?” Jessi asked, propping her hands on her hips, and eyeing her aunts. “That’s insane!”
“We don’t have a choice, Jessi,” Jorja said, as she opened the door to the treasure room. “We need to get to Josslyn. Who knows what they’re doing to her in that castle. Who knows what that evil queen is up to.”
“Who is this evil queen?”
“The vampire queen. Talia.”
“Talia?” Jade’s mouth dropped open. “Jorja! Couldn’t you have at least lead with that? We all know what Talia’s capable of. Don’t you remember what she did to Julie in the underworld? How she just looked in her eyes and told her what to do? Or the fact that she almost killed her!”
“Elijah would never let that happen,” Jasmine said. “As much as I hate the man, I think he really does care for Julie, Jade.”
“I think Jasmine’s right,” Jami said, following behind them. “He would have never come to the house, looking for us, if he didn’t have feelings for her.”
“But he’s still a demon,” Jade said. “And he must be dealt with! Now come on. Let’s get going!”
They hurried through the treasure room, and Jami took a moment to stare at the piles of gold surrounding them. The jewels lying on the pedestals, and her eye caught sight of a white diamond glimmering at her in the pile of gold. I can take this, can’t I? she thought to herself. It won’t hurt anything, right?
She reached a hand forward, grasping the diamond, and a loud roar suddenly filled her ears.
“Jami! No!”
The ground shook underneath them, as the doors around them flung open. Giants, Ogres, vampires, and Gargoyles surrounding them. Each aiming a spike at them.
“Dammit, Jami! I told you not to touch anything!” Jorja shouted, her eyes narrowing on the teenager. “Now look at us! We’re surrounded with no way out! The Ogres will eat us for dinner!”
“Jorja! Stop yelling at her!” Jade shouted. “She’s just a kid!”
“Just a kid or not, she’s going to get all of us killed!”
“Oh my God, will you just shut up!” Jasmine cried. “Dang, you definitely are a Morgan!”
“Anyone have any bright ideas?”
“I do,” Jade said, glancing over at Jessi. “You ready for another ride?”
“Oh hell no! No! No! No, and no!”
“What are they talking about?” Jorja asked, glancing at Jasmine.
Jasmine shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
“This.” Jade grabbed their hands, and grinning at them. “And hold on tight!”
“Who are you?” One of the young men asked as they walked through the sewage, glancing over at Sky. “Back there, you weren’t scared at all! You just went after those monsters like it was nothing!”
“Let’s just say, I’ve lived a very, interesting life,” Sky said, as he walked through the dirty water of the sewer, narrowing his eyes, keeping his eyes peeled as they walked. Who knew what could be living in these sewers.
“What were those things?” a young boy asked, glancing up at Sky. “They kind of looked like vampires!”
“There are no such things as vampires, Kid,” Sky said, lying to the kid for his own good. He didn’t need to know about the dangers that lurked in the shadows. None of them did. If they did, they would just be afraid. Afraid to sleep. Afraid to walk outside. Afraid of their own shadow.
They turned the corner, and he thought back to what the vampires had said. What was Elijah planning? It was like the demon had two sides to him. One good, and one bad. On one side he seemed to care about Julie. After all, he had come to them, when she’d needed help, hadn’t he? On the other hand, he was the reason all of this was happening. If he hadn’t married Julie, they wouldn’t all be separated. The world wouldn’t be broken, and they damned well would not be in this freaking mess! Plus, he wouldn’t have lost his wings. He would still be an angel.
He sighed, taking a step forward, and a loud clang sounded from the other side of the sewer. He stopped, holding his hand out, and glancing at the people behind him.
The men nodded, raising their weapons.
“What is that?” a young girl asked.
“Shh!”
Sky scanned the sewer, glancing at the walls to his right and left, and he felt something swim between his legs.
“Everyone! Get back!” He shouted, jumping back, as a long, black serpent appeared out from the water. “Holy crap! It’s a freaking Hydra!” He shouted, as the black serpent lunged forward, it’s three heads snapping forward.
“A what?”
“A serpent, from the underworld! Its breath is poison, and its sharp teeth can cut a man in two. There’s only one way to kill it!”
“How!”
“Grab the torches!”
The men around them grabbed their torches, and Sky stumbled back. Watching as the large creature rose from the water, hovering above him. It opened its mouth, and he swung the sword in his hands around, slicing it across the creature’s neck. It’s three heads flopping to the ground.
“Now!”
They lunged forward holding the torches to
the spot its heads had just been. It’s body wreathing in pain and falling to the dark water with a loud splash.
“Holy crap! That thing was huge!”
“You have no idea,” Sky said, leaning back against the wall and blowing out a long breath. “That thing has been held captive for years!”
“How do you know?”
“I just do. Come on, let’s get going. I need to find a way home.”
“Where’s home?”
“Minnesota.”
“That’s a long way from here,” a young woman said. “How did you get here?”
“That’s a long story,” Sky told her, stumbling along the path, feeling suddenly faint. A hand wrapping around his ankle and pulling him under the water.
“What the— “
“Sky!”
A shout sounded. Screams filled his ear, and Sky struggled against the arms around him. His body falling into the dark, murky water. His head dunked underneath the water, filling his lungs, and a moment later all he saw was darkness.
“Whoa!”
Jasmine, Jorja, Jessi, and Jami all gasped as they appeared in a reign of electricity on top of the mountain of snow. Sliding, and falling right on their butts.
“That is definitely one way to travel,” Jasmine said, holding a hand to her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You know, a thank you would be nice,” Jade said, propping her hands on her hips and glaring at the women. “After all, I did just save all of you from being eaten by Ogres!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jade. Thank you, for saving us,” Jorja said, rolling her eyes. “Even though, I’m pretty sure I could have fought my way through them.”
“And you would have probably gotten yourself killed,” Jade said, pulling Jami and Jessi to their feet. “Come on. Look. There’s the castle.”
“By all means. Let’s go into another scary castle,” Jasmine said, sighing. “You remember the last one we were in, Jade?”
“How can I forget,” Jade said, as they walked down the mountain. “The evil witch of all Hallow’s eve.”
“Do you think Elijah’s the one who sent her after us?” Jasmine asked. “Remember he did say that she planted that false memory in Julie’s head. About killing that man.”
“I guess anything is possible,” Jade said, softly. “Especially when it comes to that demon. I just want to see her again, Jasmine. I know her! I’ve grown up with her. She needs to know that she doesn’t need to be evil!”
“We’ll get to her,” Jasmine said. “I know we will.”
“Someone’s become optimistic since I first met her.”
“What other way is there to be?”
They descended the mountain, and Jessi shivered as a gust of wind whipped through the air. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms, as she stared at the snow blowing around them.
“Brr! It’s freezing out here!” she cried. “Where are we?”
“Almost to the castle!” Jami cried, pointing ahead of them. “Look, there it is! We just need to cross the bridge and go through the trees. That doesn’t seem too bad!”
“Please don’t jinx us,” Jorja said, glancing over at Jami. “It seems, no matter what we do, something always goes wrong.”
“I can attest to that,” Jade said, as they started over the bridge, staring across the ice-covered lake.
“It’s so pretty,” Jessi whispered, as she stepped off the bridge. Trudging through the deep snow, and a hand wrapped around her ankle.
“Ahh!”
“Jessi!”
Jami rushed forward, grabbing her hand, pulling up along with a snowman.
“Whoa! Look at that thing!” Jami cried, jumping back as the black snowman swung his branch arm toward her. “What is it?”
“An evil snow man!” Jorja cried, swiping her sword, and slicing the snowman in two. “There’s dozens of them!” she cried, gesturing to the snowmen as they rose from the snow. “Jasmine?”
“Don’t worry. I got this,” Jasmine said, glancing at the snowmen around them. Clapping her hands together, the noise echoed through the area, and the snowmen crumbled to the snow.
“Thank God! You’re a lifesaver, Jasmine!” Jade cried. “Now come on! Let’s get to the castle. Who knows what they’re doing to Josslyn. For all we know, she could be dead!”
“She’s not,” Jessi said, cocking her head to the side.
“How do you know? Can you hear her thoughts?”
Jessi shook her head. “No, but I can feel her. She’s in a lot of pain. Lots of pain. I think we’re losing her.”
“Wait. You can feel her?” Jami asked. “Jessi, you’re supposed to just hear thoughts! Are you telling me besides being a telepath, you’re also an empath?”
Jessi shrugged. “Maybe?”
“Well, either way, we have to get going!” Jade shouted. “Come on!”
They raced across the snow, weaving through the trees. Snow men popped up from the snow, and they weaved around them. Avoiding their branch arms and headed for the door of the castle. Pulling open the heavy, black door.
“I don’t want to go in there,” Jami said, peering inside. “It’s dark.”
“We don’t have a choice, Jami,” Jessi said, softly. “Josi might be in there, and Josslyn. If we don’t get to her, she’ll die!”
“But where is she?”
“Probably in the dungeon,” Jade said, pushing ahead of everyone, and walking into the castle. “Jasmine, can you give us some light?”
“Of course.” Jasmine held out her hand, white light reigning from her hand, and lighting up the castle.
“Oh. This place is creepy,” Jessi said, glancing next to her, at the picture of Talia. “Looks like this is definitely her castle.”
“It’s so black,” Jami said, tracing a hand along the walls. “And blood is splattered everywhere!”
“Don’t pay attention to it,” Jade told them. “It doesn’t matter. We’re just here for one thing. To get Josslyn.”
“Right.”
They continued through the castle, turning the corner, and disappearing through the door. They jogged down the steps, brushing cobwebs out of the way, and nearby they could hear someone crying.
“Josi. Is that you?”
“Jessi?”
Josi jumped up from where she was sitting, wrapping her hands around the bars, and staring at her sisters. “Oh my God! I’m so glad to see you!”
“Us too,” Jasmine said, waving her hand, the door to the cell flinging open. “Where’s Josslyn?”
“Over there, but she’s not doing very well,” Josi said, pointing to where Josslyn was laying against the wall. “They took a lot of blood from her, for this potion Talia is trying to make. She’s dying.”
“What?”
Jade rushed forward, Jasmine and Jorja close behind her. “Josslyn! Open your eyes!” she cried, gripping Josslyn’s face in her hands, willing her to open her eyes. “Please! You can’t die. I can’t lose you!”
“Isn’t there something we can do?” Jessi asked, wrapping her arms around herself, tears filling her eyes. “She’s our Mom! We can’t just let her die.”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Josi whispered. “It’s not like we’re healers. We can’t just heal her.”
“You can’t, but maybe I can,” Jami said. “I can self-heal, what’s to say that I can’t heal others too?”
“Even if you can, won’t that take a lot out of you?”
Jami shrugged. “Who knows, but I have to try, don’t I?” She stepped forward. “Jade, let me try something.”
“What?”
“Let me see if I can tap into my power, and heal her,” Jami said, kneeling next to Josslyn. She took her hand in hers and placed the other over her heart. “I’m going to do whatever I can to save you,” she whispered. “But you have to do your part too, okay?”
She closed her eyes, and a reign of yellow appeared from her hand.
“Do you see that?” Jessi asked, glancing over at
Josi.
“I do. It’s pretty incredible, isn’t it?”
They held onto one another, watching, as the reign of light hovered over Josslyn’s wound, healing the hole in her stomach.
Josslyn groaned, her eyes snapping open, staring at Jami. “What happened?” she asked, glancing down at her stomach. Her eyes widening when she saw the wound completely gone. “What did you do?”
“She healed you!” Jade cried, lunging forward, and wrapping her arms around Josslyn. “Oh my God, Josslyn! You scared me! I can’t lose you. Not again.”
“Well, now that we have a healer on our hands, maybe we won’t have to worry quite as much,” Josslyn said, pulling out of Jade’s grasp, and taking Jami’s hand in hers. “Thank you. No matter what anyone tells you, you are amazing!”
“Well I wasn’t going to just let you die! You’re my Mom!” Jami cried, tears streaking down her cheeks. “I’m sorry I was so mad at you.”
“You were?”
Jami nodded. “I was so mad at you, for giving us up. I didn’t care why, but the truth is I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the whole situation, and the only thing I want is for all of us to be a family again.”
“It’s what I want too, Jami,” Josslyn said, wrapping her arm around Jami and pulling her close. She glanced over her head, staring at Jessi and Josi. “Hi girls. It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, Mom,” Jessi said, racing forward, and wrapping her arms around Josslyn.
Josslyn laughed. “Mom?”
“Well you are!” Jessi cried. “And I couldn’t stand losing you, before getting to know you! Plus Jorja told us about how you were trying to get back to us, before the earthquake hit. It made me think of all the time we’ve lost, being away from one another. I don’t want to lose any more.”
“I ditto that,” Josi said, walking forward. “I might not be ready to call you Mom yet, but I do want to get to know you.”
“Before you can do any of that, we have to find Talia,” Jasmine said. “Josslyn, Josi, what is this about some potion she was trying to make?”
“She was taking my blood, because she wants to break the protection spell Elijah has on the underworld,” Josslyn said, rising to her feet. “Elijah banished her, after she nearly killed Julie.”
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