It was quite amazing how she could go from being so exquisitely created to nothing more than a pile of flesh and fangs.
“You see, I cannot.” I crossed my arms. “The protector belongs to my mother and I do not own Wesley’s soul.”
“They belong to me!” she screamed, eyes flaring red.
The stories were true; this woman was batshit crazy!
“No, no they don’t.” I didn’t budge. There was one thing that I learned from her daughter: you cannot be killed on an astral plane.
“I will find a way to get them back.” She pointed at me, the anger leaving her face.
“I don’t think you will,” I pressed. I knew I was pissing her off but what was she going to do?
“You are hard-headed like my daughter,” she growled under her breath.
“You know, I’m seriously tired of being compared to Miranda.” I raised an eyebrow at her but remained calm.
“Her name is Lillianna!” Sheridan screamed at me. Apparently it had been a while since anyone had defied her.
“Whatever. I know her as Miranda, you know her as Lillianna. I’m sure somewhere around the world someone knows her as Nerissa.” I rolled my eyes at her which seemed to piss her off more.
“Same disregard for the prophecy. You two are so much alike it is almost as if you have the same father.” She made a disgusted face.
“I think that is one thing that we don’t share.” I shivered at the thought of having Xic as a dad.
“You just watch, Dawn the fire warden. Watch every corner of the room. We are growing stronger. The next attack will not be so easy a defeat.” She smiled that sweet innocent smile again and I nearly flipped on her.
“I will find you and I will burn you,” I threatened looking at my nails.
“Not if I burn you first.” She touched my face and I felt cold. The vampire blood in her made her touch freezing.
I was going to have to talk to Edmund about the temperature of the vampire body; his did not feel this cold and I knew he was just as old.
“I don’t foresee that happening, Sheridan,” I batted my eyes at her.
“You didn’t foresee the poison on the blade either.” She grinned from ear to ear.
“You sent him with it. You knew I would kill him but not before he could get the weakening agent into my bloodstream.” I shook my head. We had been baited.
“You are not the only one with your own fortune teller. I have one of my own. Not as good as the harbinger, I will admit, but he sure is pretty to look at.” She licked her lips and I wanted to be sick. She was talking about my cousin.
“What was the point of the weakening?” I asked, wanting off the subject she was pushing herself onto.
“It is the only way that I can get into your pretty little head. There is a strong magic that surrounds you that makes it difficult. I had to weaken you in order to push my way inside,” she grumbled, putting her hands on her hips and sucking in her chest.
“That is good to know,” I said, closing my eyes.
“Why do you say that?” She cocked her beautiful face to the side and looked at me through narrow eyes.
“Because now I know I’m too strong for you.” I let a smile spread across my lips.
She stared at me as my body regained control.
“We shall see,” she warned.
“Until then, Your Majesty.” I bowed low just as the world shimmered.
When my soul re-entered my body I felt a sort of disconnect as I forced Prudence from my limbs. When my eyes finally focused I was sitting up on the hospital bed, panting.
Please tell me that you saw that, I asked the other being inhabiting my body.
Hate to disappoint you but I wasn’t there for whatever you saw. The answer was not to my liking.
Tell me something about Sheridan that I don’t already know, I sighed and tried to calm my breathing.
She wasn’t always evil. There was a time when she and I worked together to bring a union between the hybrids and the purebloods. When Xic left her she felt compelled to change her political standing on the whole issue. I tried to stop her but was placed in Purgatory as a warning. Prudence’s voice was calm.
So she’s stronger than you?
I wouldn’t go that far, Dawn. She just happened to catch me when I wasn’t expecting it. Is that what you saw?
It would appear so. She said that there was a poison on the blade.
Weakening agent, huh? Would figure she would use my own creation on you. Then again, she doesn’t know that I’m here. Soon, though, my dear, she will be reunited with her old friend. Prudence did not sound happy at this point. The calm and collected specter sounded resentful and ready for vengeance.
I blindly laid down on the bed again and struggled to find rest. My veins were burning with an intense flame and my heart was pounding. It took a while but I was finally able to find some peace.
Part Three:
Splitting of Two Souls
Chapter Twenty-One: Prudence Gets a New Body
My eyes were burning! In fact, my whole body was on fire as the last of the poison left my veins. I struggled against the anguish, calling out for anyone to help me. By the time the pain subsided and my vison cleared I was staring into the wide eyes of Shawn and Helen.
“What the hell just happened?” Shawn’s face was pale. His mouth hung open while his hands gripped the recently used syringe tightly.
“I have no idea,” Helen answered, the same expression on her face.
I put up my index finger to tell them to give me just a second to catch my breath. I collapsed on the gurney and looked up at the newly installed lighting fixtures. I wasn’t even sure what to say to them. How was I going to explain that it was Sheridan that had done this to me? That the equalizers were working for her?
I think I scared them. I felt my body lurch as Prudence took over my thoughts.
Do what? I asked, closing my eyes.
If I didn’t take over you were going to die. I didn’t want to scare you last night when we were talking. I made some corrections to your DNA. She sounded upset.
I didn’t understand why she wasn’t elated by the idea of my soul leaving the vessel so that hers could permanently take over.
On the bright side, you would have been able to keep my body, I laughed in my head.
I knew a smile had spread across my face by the way the other two were looking at me.
I don’t want your body. I want mine. Never mind that, though. I will let you tell them. I already know. She disconnected from me.
“What just happened there?” Shawn asked, glancing down at me. “One second I hear a thought and the next it goes black. Have you learned how to block me out?”
“No. Prudence does that.” I looked up at him and grinned. “You guys are not going to believe this.”
I told them everything. From the way she looked when I first ‘arrived’ to the point when I departed. They listened to me with intent stares. Helen’s face never changed. She stood there with her mouth open, frantically nodding.
“So it was a weakening poison,” Shawn finally said, putting his hands in the air.
“Yes, it would appear so at least,” I nodded.
“So there is a magic surrounding you that she can’t penetrate,” Helen said in a low tone. She reached up and ran her fingers over the amulet on her neck.
“Crazy, isn’t it,” I laughed. “She had to weaken me because the power was too strong for her to call me on her own.”
“Why do you seem so excited by this?” Shawn shook his head. I could tell he didn’t understand why, instead of being afraid, I was finding the whole thing amusing.
“She showed a weakness,” I smiled.
“Well yes, I suppose that she did,” Shawn said, accepting my explanation.
“Now tell me something.” I struggled to sit up.
“What?”
“Why did you guys look like you had seen a ghost?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Well,” Helen let out a nervous laugh. “We sort of met Prudence,” Shawn cut in when Helen couldn’t get the words out.
“Oh? And how did that go?” I attempted to control my emotion. I had no idea how anyone would take to meeting her now.
“She’s a talker,” Helen said, her eyes getting wider. She looked towards the ground.
“Just wait till she has her own body. I’m not sure how that is going to work.” I looked down at my arms. The wounds had completely healed.
“So those two sacrificed themselves in order to get the poison in your veins?” Shawn seemed to be impressed by the loyalty of the equalizers to Sheridan.
“It would look that way,” I frowned.
I heard feet pounding on the linoleum outside the door. Sneakers made a squeaking sound as they stopped in front of the door. Wesley’s face was horrified when his eyes met mine.
“Hey, handsome,” I said brightly.
He stormed across the room, grabbed me by my shoulders and looked me square in the eyes.
“They said you were hurt.” He didn’t seem too pleased to find me sitting upright on a gurney with a shit-eating grin on my face.
“I was.” I held out my arm. “But see, I’m all better now.”
“Will someone please explain what the hell happened today?” he demanded, looking at the other two in the room.
The story came out in a rush. It seemed everyone had a take on what had happened that morning. Wesley looked overwhelmed by everything. He put his hands on his temples and massaged them.
“All right, so Sheridan knows that I’m with Dawn?” Wesley asked, looking at Shawn for the answer.
“Think about it, man,” Shawn laughed. “Who else would you be with?”
“Point taken.” He took a breath. “She also knows that Chase is here. Now that is not a good thing.”
“Why is my stepfather so important to her?” I was starting to wonder why we were still in the damned hospital.
“The protector is like a super-hybrid. She duped him into thinking that what he was doing was for good. Being without him means there is nobody to run the safe house,” Wesley groaned. “Your mother better be willing to fight for him if she doesn’t want to lose him to her.”
“Are you saying that this isn’t as good as I thought it was?” I eyed him. He was raining on my parade.
“No, it is great. It’s nice to know that she has to come up with a plan to weaken you enough to call to you. I just wonder what this magic is.” He looked lost.
“What about our amulets?” Helen said, holding up the brown stone that hung between her breasts.
“They are a form of protection but I’m not sure if they are strong enough to protect you from Sheridan,” Wesley grumbled.
“So what is?” I asked.
“Think, Dawn. You have the power of two people. I think Prudence’s power is what she had to get around.” Wesley looked up quickly and looked at Shawn.
“I know what you are thinking. A large box arrived a few hours ago. The blessed ones have been working on incantation spells since its arrival.” Shawn shrugged when Helen smacked him on the arm. “I didn’t know what it was. I don’t have a direct line to the blessed ones.”
I stood up and looked towards Wesley. A smile slowly spread across my face.
Do you really think that they have it? She sounded excited.
Very well could. You could be back in your body sooner than you think. I felt a strong emotion surge through me. Yeah, it had only been a few days, but I felt like I was attached to this spiritual hitchhiker.
“There is only one way to find out.” I jumped off the gurney and fell directly on my ass.
“Yeah sis, one of the agents in the weakening poison causes temporary paralysis of the appendages. I’m surprised your arms work at all.” Shawn was muffling a laugh as I shot him a death stare from the floor.
“And you failed to mention this, why?” I demanded as Wesley bent down and picked me up. He put me back on the gurney.
“I didn’t think you were going to jump off the bed.” Shawn stopped laughing and looked at the floor. “Hey, Wesley?”
I watched my brother’s face fall as he looked up at my boyfriend.
“What’s up?” Wesley looked back at him. I knew they were passing thoughts back and forth but they didn’t once say a word out loud.
“Can I speak with you outside?” Shawn kissed me on the cheek. “Helen, stay with her.”
“What was that all about?” I asked as Helen walked up beside me, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Your brother is one hell of a man,” she purred.
“Ew.” I made a disgusted face.
“I mean that in a good way,” she blushed.
“Still. Ew,” I groaned.
***
I was able to leave the hospital an hour later. My legs still felt like I was walking on water but at least I could walk. I had no clue what my brother and Wesley had talked about. When they came back into the room they were rather secretive.
The call came about half an hour before I could walk. Edmund, not knowing where we were, let us know that Prudence’s body had arrived. The blessed ones were able to come up with an incantation that they thought would work. To test the spell they needed me.
So, that is where we were heading. Max had the box in the second entertainment room in the other barn. This was not going to work in a similar way to bringing Krista back from the dead.
I was going to have to lay on the floor next to Prudence’s mummified body and pray that they were successfully able to pull her from my core to complete the swap.
I figured you would be happy about this, Prudence said, feeling the sadness wash through me.
I had just got used to you being in there. I had to kill you once; I really do not want to do it a second time. I tried not to make the inner conversation noticeable to the others.
Dawn. If my body is not in the same state as it was when that bitch sent me to Purgatory then I will just have to find another body. She made it sound easy.
Still. What if most of the power I was able to use was yours? Again a wave of sadness hit me. I couldn’t even fathom the pain I would feel if I could not help the vampires anymore.
Trust me. You never tapped into my powers. I just occasionally gave you a thought or two on how to unleash your own, she laughed.
You will stay with us, right? I asked. We were nearing the barn and my heart was racing.
Till the end of time, darling. She went silent after that. I had an image of her packing tiny little bags and locking up her room with a heave of her chest.
“What are you thinking?” Helen asked, looping her arm with mine.
“I’m thinking that I’m scared shitless.” I let out a nervous laugh.
“It will work,” Helen promised.
“But what if it doesn’t? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself I killed her again.” I heaved a sigh as we entered the barn.
“It’s the moment of truth, Dawn,” Shawn said as I entered the room.
My pulse rate increased as I entered the candlelit room and felt my body start to shake. It was one thing to realize that magic was real, it was quite another to have to have it used on you.
The blessed ones stood in a circle around the room, their white hoods drawn over their eyes. Max approached me with a huge grin on his face. Taking my hand, he led me to the center of the room. They had opened the box and placed the mummified corpse of Prudence next to the empty spot. I turned to run but Max held me tight. I stepped closer to the body and looked down. There she was; blonde hair, eyes closed, wearing an extremely outdated dress. Someone was going to have to take her shopping after this. That would probably be a good job for Mona because I would be absolutely no help.
My God I look ghastly, I heard her voice shriek through my mind. Couldn’t they have at least bought me a new outfit?
I l
aughed out loud and the blessed ones all looked at me like I had just screamed in the middle of a library. I blushed and snapped my mouth shut.
“You OK?” Max whispered and I nodded at him, afraid to say anything. “Good. Please lie down next to the body and close your eyes.”
I managed to get to my knees and lay down. I glanced over at the body and shivered. This was just too surreal.
See you in a few. I felt the smile spread across my lips.
I closed my eyes and I waited. The blessed ones were speaking in unison, with Max at the head. He, however, was uttering a totally different chant than the others around the room. I felt his hand on my head and I could only assume that he had one on hers as well.
I admit I wound up drifting off into darkness for a short time. Nothing extraordinary happened until colors started to flash behind my closed eyelids. I had to fight the urge to open them because I didn’t know if I was supposed to keep them sealed shut. So I just squinted, trying to block the colors.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Max spoke.
“It’s over now. You can open your eyes.” He said this softly.
I opened one eye and then the other, seeing the candles in the room flickering as if there was a breeze flowing freely in the enclosed space. I slowly turned my head and looked at the body next to mine.
Prudence? I asked, half expecting her to answer. Instead I received no response.
I felt alone again in my own head. Though it was a relief in some aspects I was concerned that, with her departure, her power to protect me was also gone. Then the terror hit. What if she hadn’t made it through? The eyes on the girl next to me were still closed. Though her hair looked healthy and her cheeks were pink there was no other sign of life in the girl’s body.
“Did it work?” I choked as I tried to get to a sitting position.
“It takes time, Dawn,” Max explained. “She won’t be able to have access to her human form until she has reorganized the brain.”
“But she’s in there?” I asked. I wanted to feel relief. I wanted to know that I had not killed my alter ego.
“She is indeed in there,” Max said, smiling at me.
“So what happens now?” I asked, looking at the blue-haired wizard.
The Wardens Boxed Set Page 100