Ifi walks back to the kitchen, beaming. "I told you. Best chef ever."
"Can we work on the presentation?" I ask, avoiding direct eye contact with the green goo while I eat.
"I'll see what I can do."
We visit for a bit before I pull out the sketch I made for them. This one was a bit tricky to create, and I actually used my magic for the first time while drawing. I hand them a piece of wood with their portrait burned into it. In it, they are looking at each other with such love and devotion, you can feel it in your heart.
Ifi starts crying the moment he sees it, and Elal pulls his husband into his arms.
"This is just the most touching gift we've ever gotten," Ifi says. "And I look hot!" Then he looks to Elal. "So do you, of course."
Elal smiles. "Of course."
Our goodbyes are bittersweet, and when I hand them their Memory Catcher, they know what it contains, but Elal pockets it anyways. "This isn't the end," he whispers as he hugs me. "You may be a Fate, but you're also a Phoenix at heart. You will always rise from the ashes to be reborn."
His words stay with me long after I leave.
Over the next few days I wait to hear from Lilith. I have a portrait for her as well, drawn with blood, which was… an interesting medium. In the picture, she’s at the tree of knowledge licking blood off an apple while a snake slithers around her ankles. I am eager to show her the gift, but Lilith is still not back from her trip.
And then finally, the day has come. We have run out of time, and our plan is iffy at best.
"One hour," Liam says, staring into the dancing flames of the fire.
"Lily and Kaya will be here soon to take the kids away," I say. We decided it would be best for them to be out of the world ahead of time, just in case. I wish I could convince the Night brothers to go as well, but without them to help me, we don't stand a chance, and we need to try at least. Too many lives are at stake.
I walk over to Alina and pull her from the crib, cuddling her against me. I try not to cry as I imagine what will happen if we don't succeed.
The Night brothers surround us, forming a group hug with me and the baby in the center. Their power flows through me and I soak it up, hoping it will be enough.
Lily enters the room, Kaya at her side. "We're ready," she says.
I hand Alina to Kaya and Lily goes to pick up Zara who instantly starts screaming. She shifts from baby to dragon form, and her screams become the shouts of a dragon in distress. They echo throughout the castle and reverberate in our bones. Water begins spewing from her mouth, and Alina joins in, screaming, crying, thrashing and throwing fire balls indiscriminately.
"What the hell is going on?" Liam shouts over the noise.
"I have no idea," I say, scrambling to catch Alina's fire and neutralize it before she burns the damn castle down. "They were fine a second ago."
"Maybe they know we're trying to take them away," Lily says, nearly dropping Zara when the baby dragon spreads her wings and tries to fly.
The pitch of the dragon scream changes and nearly splits my eardrums, and then my flash buzzes and I clutch my head. "Oh, shit."
Outside, thunder rattles the rooftop as a new storm brews from a previously clear sky, and the sound of dragon wings fills the air.
A loud roar shakes the foundation of the castle and a dreadful cracking sound is the only warning we have before the entire top half of the castle is torn off to show a giant golden dragon looking down at us, lightning pouring from her. "Give me my grandchild!"
The Storm
“Love makes the ocean boil like a pot. Love grinds mountains down to sand. Love splits the heaven into a hundred pieces. Love shakes the earth with a mighty shaking...If not for pure love, why would I give existence to the spheres? I raised the Celestial wheel on the high so that you might understand love’s elevation.”
~Rumi
With the lower level of the castle now exposed to the elements, rain pelts us, soaking everything. Lily backs away, still holding a screaming baby dragon.
Everything is chaos.
Before the Night brothers and I can scramble to protect the kids, the queen of dragons shoots a bolt of golden light at Lily, hitting her in the arm and knocking her down. Zara attempts to fly unsteadily, then drops to the ground crying. Kaya looks frantically between Alina in her arms, and her unconscious lover on the floor. I try to distract the queen to give the dryad a chance to help them both.
"Amora!" I say, filling myself with power, my voice projecting into the heavens. "Stop! We have not harmed your grandchild." I think quickly, trying to mitigate the damage. "We were about to bring her to you at the meeting time. Why are you attacking us?"
“You lie,” roars the queen, flames flicking from her lips. Her golden eyes look past me, to Matilda on what remains of the balcony, who is dressed in her Fate robes for the first time since I've known her. The Queen sneers, “Another Fate. I remember you, though you now deign to show your face. Your kind has brought me nothing but pain. This world ends now!" She begins chanting, her voice echoing on the wind, and her body begins to glow like the sun.
Callia appears by my side. "You must kill her. Now. It's the only way," she says.
"No.” I’m not a murderer. We can still execute my plan.
“Elijah.” I call out. “Sebastian. Liam. Derek. It’s time.”
The Night brothers snap into action, rushing to my side as we discussed. We all clasp hands and form a circle. The earth druid to my right. The water druid to my left. Fire and air across from me.
I channel my powers, seeking to create a barrier like the one I did to hold Ana. I only had a few of the brothers lending me their strength that time. With all four it should be enough to hold even the Mother of Dragons. It must be enough. The elements swirl together, creating an intricate web of white light that covers the giant dragon. Magic seals, runes that I once knew in a past life, begin to appear around her. The barrier is forming. Her glow diminishing. She is trapped.
Matilda manages to make her way downstairs and joins our circle as Kaya manages to take Lily, Alina and Zara outside the castle. The barrier strengthens, becoming almost blinding with its light, fueled by the power of two Fates and four druids.
But as the queen fights against her captivity, I can feel my magic stretching, pulling, and tearing apart. For a moment, I connect with the Queen, with her power, and I feel an energy so hot, so overwhelming, it burns like an inferno. A heat so blistering even a fire druid could not resist its flames. There is so much power here. More than I have ever felt. The blaze grows. The queen screams.
And the barrier shatters.
A shockwave erupts from the golden dragon, knocking all five of us to the ground, breaking our circle as wooden furniture splinters apart and stone cracks to pieces.
“I killed a Fate once,” roars the queen. “You think I can’t kill more?” She resumes her chanting, and the ground beneath us begins to crack as the world is undone piece by piece.
The northern wall splits in half, crumbling under the weight of its own stone, and then it falls, leaving us in only a partial shell of a castle, our library now extending into the side garden.
I think of all the lives that will be lost and wonder if I could have done more. If I should have tried to save as many as possible before it came to this. But I don't have time to second guess myself.
I channel all my power, my body glowing white, and I float into the sky and summon lightning at my fingertips, flinging it at her, but the bolts bounce off her golden scales like pebbles.
I try fire next, and it slips off her like oil. Nothing is working.
Below me, Sebastian tries to hold the earth together. Elijah and Derek work as one to keep the storm from tearing us all apart. And Liam launches his own useless attack.
It’s over.
Unless…
I tap into my Darkness, using the tracking spell Cole helped me to perform, and search for the unicorn dagger. It should be somewhere below. Amongst the rubble.
But it’s not.
It's above me.
Close to the queen.
I don’t understand.
Until I see the dark mist.
See his body appearing midair, black cloak flapping in the wind, unicorn dagger in hand.
Cole.
He materializes at her chest and plunge’s the dagger toward her heart. It breaks through a scale, and the queen roars in agony, golden blood spilling from her wound, her wings flapping erratically. Cole places both hands on the hilt, driving the dagger deeper. Deep enough to pierce her heart.
But then she swipes at him with one of her massive talons, hitting him in the side. And like an insignificant mosquito, he is flung through the air, dagger slipping from his palm as it falls into the shadows. I create a pocket of wind to catch him, slowing his descent to the ground. His face is bloody and purple, but he manages a grin through scarlet lips.
The queen of dragon roars, holding a claw in front of her chest to protect her gaping wound. "I should have destroyed this cesspool without warning. It is over. You cannot defeat me. Give up!" Her voice carries through the sky and the destruction continues.
But then she glances behind us and her eyes widen. Her words stop. Her glow fades. For the first time, I see the dragon queen afraid. "No. It can't be. I killed you a millennium ago. You cannot be here. You're supposed to be dead."
I follow her gaze behind me, to the garden.
To the creature that is now free. A black and golden monstrosity, with wings that look crooked and torn, and a venomous drill-like horn. Ana. In her true form. She grows in size, flying towards the Queen—her mother.
How did she get out? But then I realize… the Queen freed her child herself when she tore apart the earth. It must have broken the magical seal we created.
The two clash in the sky, the dragon queen moving desperately to avoid her daughters horn, striking out with her claws, cutting into the hybrid-creature’s shoulder. Ana cries out into the storm, a hideous sound of pain and anguish and fury.
And in that moment, with the Queen of Dragons and her abandoned child fixed completely on each other, I see my opportunity. I use my Darkness to track the dagger once more, and with my Air, I retrieve the blade, hovering in midair before me, and aim it at the Queen's heart.
That’s it.
I have the shot.
All I need is a push.
But something shifts within me.
A struggle at my very core.
I’ve taken a life before. But my past self was in control then. The ancient Maiden Fate. But now… Now I am in control. The dragon’s blood will be on my hands.
I can’t take another life.
But I can't let her take my world.
“In lumen et lumen,” I whisper.
And with flick of my wrist, the dagger flies true.
And penetrates the Queen's heart.
She screams and drops from the sky, but as she does, she shoots one last golden arch of lightning at Ana, hitting her in the heart.
They both land hard on the wet crumbling earth, creating a wave of earthquakes that is felt across the world.
I lower myself from the sky and race to them, praying it's over, that we are safe.
As I approach the Queen, she shifts into her human form, clutching the dagger in her heart. Golden blood seeps out of her wound and mouth, but still she smiles. "At least I will die knowing I am taking this wretched world with me. It is over. It is done. I have completed the spell to end the Otherworld."
I reel back, terrified, sickened, my soul feeling as if it's being sucked from my body. "What did you do?" I scream at the dying dragon. "What have you done?" I can't control my tears, or my rage, as her life fades away and my world continues to crumble.
Near her, Ana lies still. Too still. Her body now that of a little girl, but not as before. A small unicorn horn protrudes from her forehead and delicate dragon wings span out behind her.
I crawl over to the motionless form, my body hurting as if it too is being torn apart.
I am dying.
As the world dies, I too am becoming undone.
I take Ana's hand, and her eyes flicker open. "I remember now,” she says, words barely a whisper. “But I didn't mean to. You have to believe me. I didn’t mean to. My friend… she made me… " Her eyes flicker closed again, and she goes still. Her hand goes limp in mine.
I can't see through my tears. Through my pain. Through my rage.
And then the Night brothers, all five of them, surround me. They hold me, support me, and give me strength.
And a thought begins to form.
"What if… "
I look at them all. Each representing the elements that live within me.
I glance at Amora, whose body remains.
And I wonder.
"We can save the world,” I shout over the storm. "But we have to work together."
I look to Cole, the prodigal brother, the lost soul. "We need you," I say.
Tears fill his dark eyes and he nods.
I glance at the rings on my fingers and trace the symbols of darkness and earth in the air. The Night Brothers and I form a circle once more, all of us holding hands, but this time Cole is with us. Six elements. Like the six dragons who first formed this world. I recall the spell Ava'Kara taught me. The one I used to expand the Otherworld. But this time, I’ll use Amora, the Mother of the Dragons, as the focal point.
"It won't work," Ra'Terr says, his body wrapped in his dark wings as he lands from the sky with Brock by his side. They glance quickly at their mother’s corpse, and for a moment I see a hint of sadness in their eyes, but it is quickly gone, replaced by a hard resolve. "The sacrifice has to be from a living dragon." He clutches the poisonous wound at his side, leaning on his sister for support. "Use me," he says simply. "I can be the sacrifice."
Brock turns her head, auburn hair wild in the storm, emotion clouding her eyes. "No. You…”
“It’s the only way,” he says. “I’d rather die like this, then live a moment longer knowing I have failed my people. Use me. I will be the sacrifice. Let me amend for any harm I may have caused those I swore to protect.”
I nod, tears streaming down my face and flying away in the wind, and I resume the spell, this time focused on Ra'Terr. Brock stands away, and they maintain eye contact with each other as I channel all the power the six of us have, into the body of Ra'Terr and into the body of this world.
The storm rages even stronger.
Wind nearly blinds me.
Debris flies through the air.
Still I scream out the words Ava'Kara taught me, infused with every ounce of magic I have left in my body.
"Terry autumn usque ad terram!"
Everything around the Darkness Dragon turns dark, like a black hole spreading from his body, consuming him. Within, a small spark of light begins to glow, growing brighter until it explodes like a dying sun, creating a shining dust that falls to the ground and dissipates into nothing.
Instantly, the storm dies down, the earth stops shaking, and the world becomes eerily silent.
The Friend
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant –
Success in Circuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth’s superb surprise
~Emily Dickinson
Two Weeks Later
The days pass like a dream. I am weak for many of them, drained from my spell, and nearly helpless when the people begin to rebuild what was broken. Two weeks pass before my strength returns, and it is time to go.
The Night brothers and I arrive in the grove early, but already it's crowded with Otherworlders of all kinds. Lily and Kaya are already there waiting for us, and hugs are exchanged as we take our places near the front. Matilda insisted on staying behind to care for the children, but I honestly think this was too much for her. She has kept her identity a secret for so long, I think it's hard for her to be known and to face her past. Healing will take ti
me for everyone, but there is enough love to guide us through.
There's a sense of solemn festivity that often accompanies funerals, which are inherently strange, I've always thought. They are a blend of celebration, mourning, and socializing that lends itself to a singularly unique experience equivalent to an emotional milkshake. Throw every feeling you've ever had together and blend.
Brock'Mir stands on a platform built for this event. There are no bodies left of her siblings, so she asked me to paint portraits of each of them for the service. Those are placed around her as she addresses the crowd.
"Today we come to honor the sacrifices of my brothers and sisters, and to say goodbye to the Age of the Dragons."
A murmur spreads through the crowd as everyone wonders what that means.
"Ava'Kara was the first amongst us to die. She gave her life willingly to expand this world so that there would be room for everyone who needs sanctuary and safety. For all those who share our bloodline and our magic. We honor her."
There is a moment of silence as I use my magic to bring water up from the land, creating a natural fresh water source. It will flow always, giving refreshment to weary travelers in Kara's name.
"Lyx'Ara spent much of her later life living amongst you, helping you, leading many of you into what is called the New World. She believed in a system that recognized everyone as valid, as belonging, as deserving, and we honor her."
There is a moment of silence and I create a ball of pure white light that brightens the forest around us and will remain there always as a symbol of the light Lyx brought to the world.
"My brother, Ventus'Arak took his own life. In his final message to us, he expressed his deep grief over the unraveling of our world and our family. My heart breaks for his life, and I honor him."
This silence is the most painful for my heart. Suicide cuts twice as deep. But I pull my air magic out and allow a gentle breeze to caress the crowd. Anyone who ventures into this forest will feel the touch of the wind in the Air Dragon's memory.
I Am the Night (The Night Firm Book 3) Page 15