by C. Elizabeth
“I’m sorry, Saydi...” She yanked against his hold. “No!”
“Mom!” I choked, trying to lung forward.
Nathanael held me. “No, Saydi!”
Braxton had total control of everything. “Adina, my dear, I can easily tell her myself and would be happy to do so right after I snap your neck...”
“Don’t!” Dad yelled.
Braxton ignored him and shook her. From down deep, his voice came. “I’m giving you a choice to live or die.”
“Saydi,” Dad said quickly.
Mom screeched, “No John, don’t! He’ll kill me anyway.”
“Oh come now, let’s not play the hero, Adina,” Braxton patronized.
Dad stood tall and confident. “Release her, Andrew, and I will tell Saydi.”
There was a long silence that seemed to last for days. While my heart pounded in my ears, I started vibrating with fear he’d do the same to Mom as he did to Father Lacombe. My stare was tight on his claws.
“It’ll be okay, Saydi,” Nathanael soothed, rubbing my arm.
Braxton started again, “Oh, very well, I’m feeling gracious with the victory on the horizon and besides, I don’t really care which parent tells her.” With a swift move, he yanked her back behind him and threw her over the wall like a sack of potatoes. She flew way over our heads and screamed.
“Nathanael!” I shoved on him.
He and Dad both leapt at the same time. Dad got to her first, taking her by the waist. They both landed at the exact same time.
“Well, John, you have one second,” Braxton warned.
Dad held Mom to his side while she cried, almost in hysterics. “Saydi...your mother is one-eighth Pyre.”
There was no time for me to take in the information, for within that instant the Pue encased me in a tornado. Yet somehow I was in the eye, not being tossed around. It abducted me from Nathanael’s arms and took me across the wall and caverns of fire to the Pyre side.
“Saydi!” Nathanael cried.
Close your eyes.
Obeying the voice within me, my eyes closed and the whole battlefield was in view. Nathanael flew into the air with his fist poised straight down. He smashed it into the earth; the earth yielded under his power. The caverns closest to him closed up, allowing those with no abilities to cross over—all the elements were in battle once again, all trying to get to me.
The Pue began its descent, gently placing me down and hovering all around me. The earth shattered yet again and knocked me to the ground.
“Saydi!” Nathanael shouted, using Pyre and Tovs’ shoulders as stepping stones to get to me, and when he did, he helped me up.
Behind us you could hear the sound of trees crashing against each other. They echoed against a foreign hollowness, then tumbled away until the sound was no longer there. The destruction of the woods continued until the invader weaved into the clearing. The earth split, demolishing everything in its path, then moved quickly to the water’s edge.
The water thundered against the rocks as it disappeared into the earth and, with no choice, the core surrendered, allowing the cavity to expand in size and swallow the water. The swimming hole was as dry as the diamond mine, but far below the echo of a swish and wave sounded—it got heavier and heavier, silencing the echo as it refilled.
With incredible power, the water shot like a comet toward the sky, twisting and turning until it cascaded into a funnel. A burst of wind blew past us and close on its heels—a fire ball. They drove into the funnel’s core with ease. Nathanael and I turned, unsure where it came from. The thunder roared above as lightning flashed behind the clouds. Wind gusted all around and with another huge crack, the sound of the sky falling ricocheted to the earth.
What the sky delivered split the water in two and pushed them out from the other. The Pue fled from my command. “No!” I screamed.
“Saydi!” Nathanael grabbed me.
I watched as it weaved its way up past the peak of the water tunnels and dove between them into the depths of the hole where the water once was. The battlefield was silent. Nathanael and I pivoted. All eyes were on the water and us. Dad and the Tovs had tears in their eyes.
The Braxtons and Pyre smiled.
Again the earth shook violently. Rocks jumped from the caverns, some shooting up like bullets. Boulders shook easily in the heaps they had been thrown in prior. A faint rumbling penetrated from the hole, getting louder and louder, and as it did the earth shook harder. The tops of the water tunnels leaned away from each other.
With a final explosion from the earth, the Pue burst out of the hole and surpassed the top of the water funnels, then stopped. It flowed softly back and forth, glowing against the night sky, something cradled gently on its tip.
“Ah ha!” Braxton roared, making us jump. Joshua and Job were at his side, all glaring at me. “Thank you, Miss Gardiner. It’s too bad we will have to kill you once you complete the Rondure.”
Shouting and yelling rang out. Nathanael took my waist and spun around in front of me, hiding Braxton from my view. Within a few seconds, I was completely surrounded, the Pyre on the outside of our protective circle.
Fifty
The Pyre moved quickly against us. The sound of bones crushing coupled with the screams of pain, filled the air again. The Pyre seemed to slice through the line like it was butter.
Mora and Pearle pulled me back. Dad, Zack and André stood with Nathanael in a semi-circle, me enclosed in its middle. Dad maneuvered the wind while André enclosed it in fire. Zack looked to the sky, and with quick-handed movements, as if he were working a marionette, he began to weave lightning through the clouds.
Nathanael snapped his body and thrust his arms out. Boulders tossed out from the caverns all around us yet stayed within our circle, revolving around. Dad and André wrapped the boulders in a blanket of fire wind, then Nathanael pulled his arms in. With a push of the air, his face tightened, eyes closed, and teeth clenched. A low, slow growl seeped from him.
The boulders sped up, continuing to whip around us, then they started to crumble and change color. First they were orange, then their shape shifted. Then red, then yellow, then green and finally a blue. The pieces melted into each other, ungluing, until they were no longer a solid mass.
They were molten rock.
I tried to keep my sights on Job, Joshua and Braxton, but Joshua wasn’t easy to keep track of because he was the one who could bend shadows to conceal himself. He disappeared quickly, then showed up somewhere else. It looked like he was scoping out the line to find a hole in it. He was having difficulty.
All my Magisters and Dad twisted sideways, throwing their arms above their heads, then slammed them out in front of them.
“Move!” Nathanael growled loudly. All allies ducked, and so did I.
The lava dispersed in large globs, finding and sticking to its prey. Loud shrieks of torture emanated the air as the musky sweet smell of burning flesh thickened all around us. My eyes watered from the mixture of the sulphur stench and burning hair. Our allies went to work immediately, using the Pyre’s weakened moment against them.
Covering my mouth and nose to the stench, I closed my eyes, viewing the whole clearing and searched for Braxton. When I spotted him, he was standing on the largest mound of rock farthest from the mayhem...just standing there. It had to be Job at his side, Joshua again escaped me.
My feet left the ground. I was literally plucked from my safe circle and found myself in the air. For a split second, Nathanael’s face was there, then a massive jolt and grunt broke me free from my abductor. I spiraled toward the ground—hands grabbed me, but before any comprehension of where I was could register, Nathanael threw me over his shoulder, leapt onto a rock and with all his power jumped over the circle of fighters.
A massive blow jerked my body away, throwing me down. I could hear screams, terrifying screams. It was me. I hit the ground, my chest unexpectedly sucked air in, the wind knocked out of me. That wasn’t the worst of it... The pressure on
me doubled when the hoof of Braxton bore down.
“Now, Miss Saydi...let’s play!” he thundered, cinching his sharp claws around my neck. They dug into the soft flesh of my throat as he held me up to the Rondure.
“It will be mine!” The laugh that came from him was deep and dark.
What seemed to be a million voices pierced the air.
Nathanael’s was clear. “Saydi! Let her go!” I could feel him. His insides were in an upheaval, scared, sick, hurt, tired, and utterly terrified for me.
Saydi, stay strong, he cried in my head.
I tried to soothe him. “It’s...oka...” It came out a garbled mess.
Even from two feet away, Braxton’s breath was hot, blowing on my back as he talked. “Now that I have your undivided attention, I would like you to meet my reinforcements. I call them the ‘lie in wait’.” His laughter made my skin crawl. “You’re not that bright sometimes, John, you and your troupe. Didn’t you even wonder once why we were allowing this little love nest between our children? Not once didn’t you ask yourself? You would think by now you would know how we fight...dirty, of course. Anyway, let’s get on with it, shall we?”
He paused, his breathing heavy. “Let’s start at the beginning.”
“If you...hurt...Back off, Joshua!” Nathanael yelled.
“Now, now boys, let’s not have a family quarrel in front of our guests.”
“I’ll kill you myself,” Nathanael bit out.
Braxton’s voice discharged with authority. “You can’t! So let’s move on.”
He was imperious and mocking. “Where was I? Oh yes. John, the Tovs’ interception of the scroll was a little too late. We had already been enlightened to the fact the vessel could destroy it. As a matter of fact, you did us two favors at that time, your fellow Tov giving us the information and you relieving us of our duties to have to kill him. It saddened us to know the Rondure could be destroyed. That information should have been known to us right from the beginning. However, it was also wonderful news, when...” He trailed off, pausing as if to give effect.
Braxton held me high with nothing in my sight except the Rondure and the sun coming up over the horizon. I could hear weeping from all around me.
Then a deep, gruff voice came from my left. “Father, you will die!”
“Oh son, it is finally nice to see you in your true colors. What? Is this the second time in your life you changed? And all in one day. It’s really too bad it will be your last. Now let me continue...”
Something bumpy that felt like sandpaper stroked up my neck—Eww! His tongue! A very weak demand left my lips. “Don’t.”
“Don’t touch her!” Nathanael’s deep voice commanded.
“Come now, I already am. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, this battle, in essence, was a farce. It had to be so the truth would be revealed. Without it, that truth never would have been told. Mind you, it was fun murdering some of you, but alas, I grew tired of the charade.”
He snorted and tightened his claws. A gurgle rippled in my throat as the taste of blood trickled down.
Gasps could be heard, along with one very weak plea. “Father, please!”
He ignored them. “As I said, we knew all along she could destroy the Rondure. It played well for our side. Yes, we took a chance her Spirit Light might be strong enough to destroy it, however...” He shook me like a rag doll.
A sharp, tangled pain shot up my neck and a small moan fell out of my mouth. There was nothing left in me even to cry out.
More gasps and sobs erupted from the clearing.
Again Braxton paid no heed. “We also knew the only choice for her would be to release her Spirit Light willingly with the very hope of destroying it. What a wonderful twist, don’t you think?”
His voice went darker, deeper and raspy. “When we saw her, we knew her Spirit Light was not strong enough.” He ran his long, pimply, tongue up my neck, putting his sour breath on my ear and whispering, “I love the taste of your blood.”
I dangled from the end of his claw and for the first time in a long time, felt the wind caress my face. I no longer had control nor command, and even when I closed my eyes, the battle was lost to me. A warm liquid trickled down my back as the diamond around my neck floated out toward the Rondure, and with each breath I took, it sharpened the brilliance of the light in the middle.
“Ah! See Nathanael? Watch the light of the one you love be snuffed out.”
“No! Saydi! No! No!” He began to cry.
I’ve always believed the soul connects us together. Being able to feel emotion, love one another, hurt one another, laugh, cry...all the things that make us human. Did I believe my soul was an actual physicality of my human make-up? That it could be whisked off into the darkness by a demon? No. To me, life held enough hurt and pain without having to worry there were forces of evil crouched in the shadows—waiting for me to swear, or something along those lines.
There was nothing more humbling than to be wrong.
As the warmth of the morning sun brushed against my face, I heard the cries and whimpers of the ones I loved. Truth be told...dying would be better than the alternative. The darkness descended within me. An abyss of torture lay waiting as I prayed for death to take me rather than let me live with what lay at the bottom of an empty soul. And with that prayer, when it was close to the last lighted breath, I thrust my hand out, releasing the light from the diamond, handing it over to the Rondure—it penetrated with ease and at first it was bright, then began to fade.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha, it’s working!” Braxton roared.
“Nathanael,” I whispered with a few last wisps of breath. “I wasn’t strong enough.”
Somewhere from deep in the corner of my mind, just before the darkness took me, I heard, They will be of both. Saydi, Nathanael, you are of both. To be of both, you must be one, the warrior.
A growl roared, echoing so far off in the distance it pulled me up for a split second. As I drifted back down, I felt light as air, being lifted up to a place that was calm and peaceful. Take me...
Warm hands feathered down my arms and a warmth surrounded me, interlacing through my fingers. It was wonderful. I succumbed to its wishes, and out of a darkness came his soft, sweet voice. “Saydi, feel me.” A small light pushed me forward.
“Feel us,” he murmured. Then wrapped his arms around my waist, completely immersing me into him—it was only us, our hearts beating as one, gently kissing, our souls united, his filled mine completely and a faint light glittered in the depths. Slowly at first, he glided our hands through the air. I lay my head on his chest, listening to our two hearts beat together for the last time. Then the darkness once again took hold. A spark flickered. I took a quick breath. It ignited into a perfect white flame and the darkness cowered against it.
It filled me, all of me—Nathanael’s soul was mine. Behind my eyes, the sight expanded. It was beautiful. I could see the whole clearing. The water of the swimming hole swished as it rolled within itself. I saw the battle as Tovs fought to keep the Pyre away. My eyes opened to a whole new world, part Pyre, part Tov.
Then I saw it. The diamond around my neck illuminated with a pure white mass. Its rays, brighter than the sun, danced on the breeze.
Nathanael whispered, “Do you feel us?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Feel us, Saydi. Fight for us.” He swayed our bodies softly and elevated our arms, brushing them across the sky. The Rondure spun softly on his command.
“You are mine,” he breathed.
The clouds broke, allowing the morning sun rays to flow as he said, “I love you.”
The last glint of light in the Rondure quivered, fighting to stay alive. With a sudden move, Nathanael pitched our hands toward it. The diamond disbursed from the chain and at the speed of light, shattered against it.
I watched in horror as it dimmed. “Nathanael!” I cried.
“Faith, Saydi. Faith,” he encouraged.
Then it grew brighter and began
to feed, swallowing the vile blackness. The evil shrank against the pure power it held. The pureness of the light expanded until there was nowhere for it to go except out. It started to burst through the walls and rays of light filtered out of the Rondure. The cracks got wider and wider.
“Nooo!” A deep dark voice growled.
And when there was no space left, an explosion ricocheted against the sky. Nathanael threw himself over me, ducking us to the ground and covering our faces. With my eyes closed, I could see the beauty, everything on the earth was touched by it. The dark clouds dispersed in every direction. Trees bent toward it, craving it. It moved onward, its reflection leaving a glow on every branch, every leaf, every piece of soil it touched. It was there and would stay in everything it kissed.
Nathanael lifted himself up, then helped me. A tear ran down his cheek when he reached out and without touching the gouges in my neck, he waved his hand over me as Dad did earlier.
“Nathanael?” My voice broke.
He choked back a rough sob. “I can heal you, too.” Touching my neck. “They’re gone.”
Reaching up, I felt where it hurt before. I tenderly took his hand in mine and turned his palm onto my cheek, smelling his skin. He was mine.
“He broke through!” someone yelled.
We turned a second too late. I was ripped from Nathanael’s arms, my neck seized, my body jolted away with such force I could feel the muscles in my shoulders tear...literally hear them tear. “Ahhh!” I screamed. I was again dangled off the end of Braxton’s claw.
Nathanael crouched, ready to strike. Dad and all the rest who could, stood behind him in the same stance. I closed my eyes. Job, Joshua, and a handful of others stood behind Braxton.
Braxton rolled his arm above his head. The earth shook, the sky closed in.
I snapped my eyes open. Nathanael and Dad, along with the others, were glancing at each other, some giving nods here and there.
Braxton’s voice was barely audible with how deep and raspy it was. “This...time...I will...not...be...kind.” A deep terrifying laugh came from deep in his nonexistent soul as his claws clenched once again, tearing at my skin.