“Are you asking, or do you know?”
“Tell me! I need to know!” I pound my fist on the damp lawn.
“I cannot tell you your truth.”
“DO IT!” I scream. I struggle again to stand, but I can only get to my knees. “Do the spell on me. The real one. The one that works. Make the demon in us disappear entirely, and make us so we are only a human girl with no powers or anything. Make Lucky disappear!”
She moves closer to me, and I can see the sparkle of her eyes. “Is that what you really and truly want?”
Weeping, I cover my face and nod.
“Impressive. So my sister was right. She knew you’d figure out the truth and step up. I wasn’t quite as sure.”
I look up at her, my eyes drenched with tears. Tattie. I’ll never see her again.
But that’s a small price to pay for setting her free and keeping her safe.
Anastasia beckons me with a finger.
“Follow me.”
********
For the first time I enter Anastasia’s castle, but the magnificence of it is completely lost on me. As we walk up the stairs to the third floor, I know that each step I take is bringing me closer to my last. I’m amazed, though, at how happy I am about that. I’m not afraid. If anything, I welcome the thought of going to sleep and waking up somewhere with Bones and leaving this cursed existence behind me forever.
Anastasia pauses briefly outside a narrow door. “Are you really sure you want to do this?”
I nod. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life.”
She looks at me solemnly and opens the door, and when I step inside I can’t help but gasp and stare in awe. The room is obviously under a deep enchantment, and the power of its magic is abundantly clear. Candles float aimlessly beneath a clear night sky. High above us, the triple moons of Illyria hang side-by-side, casting a soft glow over the lush, mountainous landscape. I can see for miles it seems, and the scene is one that brings me great joy.
It is Dryndara. My home.
If there’s one place I’d want to be at the end of my life, other than with Tatiana or in Bones’s arms, it would be here. Fresh tears spring to my eyes as I soak up the magnificent surroundings. I know this isn’t real. But right now it’s enough.
Anastasia points to a large pentagram on the floor. “Sit there.”
I take a deep breath and oblige her, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the star. She walks around the outside of it, setting a black candle on each of the symbol’s five points. She turns to me. “Tell me exactly why you are here,” she says.
I gulp. Is it my imagination or did the room suddenly get darker? I glance up and see that the three moons above me have dimmed considerably. I take another steadying breath.
“I want you to rid this body of its demon,” I begin. “I want you to send me, ‘Lucky’, wherever it is I’m supposed to go. Because it sure as hell isn’t here. I want you to make this body be human and give it to Liora. I want my existence, my personality, my spirit… whatever it is… to be sent where I can be with Bones forever, and we can have the life together we were destined to have.”
Anastasia nods. She turns and picks up a golden box, and retrieves from it what looks to be a diamond the size of a small grapefruit. Then she fixes her eyes on me, as the diamond begins to glow. “You must relinquish your ties between this world and that of Demonia. You have a link, a very powerful connection you wear as a talisman.”
“You mean this?” I retrieve my Boumeaux from beneath my tank top and hold it up. Somehow it makes perfect sense.
Bones had placed the onyx stone around my neck when I was a young demion, and had told me how it would be the most important thing I could ever hope to possess. For not only would it grant me access to my ancestral home of Thiberoux, it would also serve as a warning against danger from our most mortal enemies, the Light-angels. Having the bloodline of demonia angelis gave me the ability to touch this stone and bear its great powers. Others, humans and Light-angels alike, would turn to ash.
“You must destroy it.”
I close my eyes. This is all becoming too real. Can I actually go through with it?
But I have no choice. There is no other way. Now is the time to end it.
With a trembling hand I gently take off my necklace. I hold the stone in my palm and give it a final kiss. Then I lay it down beside me.
“Okay, I’m ready. Do it. Hurry,” I whisper, fighting to hold back the tears.
Anastasia hands me the glowing diamond, and the room grows suddenly dark.
One by one, the candles around me ignite, as Anastasia again walks around the pentagram, chanting softly. I take several deep breaths to steady my nerves. But my blood is on fire, and I’m screaming inside. All my most passionate emotions… my anger and guilt, my jealousies, fears and resentments… all rise to the surface in this very moment.
The room begins to spin, and my heart is pounding in my ears. I can’t breathe. Suddenly I’m more afraid than I’ve ever been in my whole life. Ever. What if this is it? What if there is no ‘next’? Anastasia’s chanting becomes faster, more frenzied, and the flames on the candles burn higher.
I feel more and more terrified, as I begin to gasp for air. I’m almost ready to jump from the pentagram, when Anastasia stops circling and commands, “Now!”
With a blood curdling scream, releasing years of torment, I slam the diamond against my Boumeaux with every ounce of power I possess.
Chapter 35.
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Chapter 36.
Slowly I open my eyes. I feel like I’m awakening from a long, deep, deep slumber. It takes me a moment to realize where I am, and a few more to convince myself I’m not dreaming.
I’m on my bed, in my room, at the cabin in the woods. And there, sitting on a rocking chair in the corner, is Tatiana. The late afternoon sun streams through the window pane, catching speckles of dust as they float in the air.
But how…?
“Hello, sweetheart.” Tatiana beams. “I’m very happy to have you back. How are you feeling?”
I sit up and shake my head, confused. Last thing I remember, I was going into some strange room in Anastasia’s house. What happened? How did I end up here?
“Did the spell not work?” I croak. My throat is scratchy and raw, and my voice sounds funny. Different.
“You tell me,” Tat replies.
I close my eyes and shake my head again. Everything is a blurry mess. “How long was I asleep?” I ask, looking at her again.
She gives me a cryptic smile. “A very long time.”
I glance around my room. “How did I get here?”
“I do believe your friend is a teleporter. He and the others have been patiently waiting for you to come around.”
I blink slowly several times and stare at her. “Am I really here?” I whisper. “Or am I actually dead and dreaming?”
Tatiana rises and comes over to take a seat on the bed. She places a soft hand on my cheek.
“You are really here, sweetheart. And I do believe you are more alive than ever.”
My heart swells, and I catch my breath. She is real. I’m not imagining it.
I spot a glass of water on the nightstand and chug it down eagerly. The liquid feels strange, but good.
“I feel weird,” I mumble.
Then a memory flashes through my mind. I gasp and grab at my chest in panic.
Whew! Good… must’ve just been a bad dream.
Tatiana is looking at me intently. “What is your name?”
I chuckle. “What is my name? Is that a joke?”
She tilts her head. “Are you the human child we call Liora?”
“Yes, you know I am. Why are you even asking me that?” Maybe she’s the one who’s confused?
Tatiana takes a deep breath. “Are you the demon child we call Lucky?”
“Of course I am. What a silly question. Who else would—?”
My eyes open wide and I gasp again, covering my mouth with my hand.
She is me. And I am her.
I struggle to catch my breath, as chills race up and down my body. Suddenly, a barrage of memories flood through my brain, like thousands of movies all playing at the same time.
“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” I cry out.
Tatiana quickly puts her frail arms around me. “You’re okay. Just stay strong. Let it happen.”
Tears flood down my face, and I struggle to breathe as everything falls into place like an enormous explosion in reverse. Liora’s life— all of her feelings… hopes… fears…, merging with Lucky’s powers… her knowledge… her strengths…
I place my hand over my belly. “My babies!”
Tatiana’s face softens into a smile. “Strongest I’ve ever felt. Just like their mother.”
I put my arms around her now, sobbing openly. Everything suddenly feels so surreal… so different.
Yet, at the same time, exactly the same.
“How… h-how did this happen? I thought… I thought I was gone… I was going to let myself die!”
“You each sacrificed yourself so that your other half could live. And in doing so, you were able to survive. The only thing keeping you apart all this time was you. Once you forgave yourself, all of yourself, and accepted who and what you are, for better or worse… when you stopped hating yourself and began loving yourself instead, your soul was finally able to heal.”
“Wait, you knew what I had to do this whole time?”
“It made no difference what I knew. It only mattered what you knew. What you could see. What path you took and what decisions you made. This was a journey for you and you alone. It was not something anyone could tell you. You needed to realize it for yourself. There was no other way.”
I close my eyes and breathe deeply, letting her words sink in. “I’m good,” I whisper several moments later. “I care about people and their feelings. I want to do the right thing. I want to love and be loved.”
“Yes,” she murmurs.
I open my eyes and look at her. “But I wield a dark and terrible power that takes great responsibility. I am born of an ancient force bigger than any man or creature. And I must be here in this world because I have a duty to protect the balance of life.”
Tatiana nods, her milky eyes glistening.
I turn my face to the window and smile.
“I think I need to go outside for a while. I really need to feel the sun on my skin.”
********
I’ve been wandering around the woods outside the cabin for about an hour, just taking it all in, and I haven’t stopped smiling for one second. I hear the crunching of leaves and turn to see Corrine headed toward me. I smile even wider and race over to give her a big hug.
“Whoa… hey, now. Don’t forget you have that freaky supernatural strength, girl!” she says, laughing and coughing at the same time.
I pull away and give her a sheepish look. “Sorry.”
She grins, and then glances down at her feet. “I really hope it’s okay that I came out here. I know everyone is sorta giving you your space right now, but I just needed to check in on you and see how you’re doing. Make sure you’re all right.”
“Thank you… I’m glad you came. I’m doing okay. Adjusting.” I chuckle under my breath. “Come on, let me show you this cool place over by the pond. I just can’t get over how gorgeous it is out here this time of day! I mean, I know I’ve seen this all before, but at the same time, it’s almost like I’m seeing everything for the first time! It’s so freaking surreal, like really vivid déjà vu or something. Everything is just so… beautiful.”
“Well, I’m happy to hear that. But I’ll just have to take your word for it, ‘cause I’m blind as a bat without my glasses. Stupid Belith broke ‘em. Now I need to get me some new ones.” She grimaces.
I smack my hand to my forehead. “I thought there was something different about you! Ugh, I’m so sorry! I’m all wrapped up in my own world here. How are you?” I give her arm a gentle squeeze, and suddenly I’m understanding the horrors she witnessed.
She shrugs. “Well, other than not being able to see for squat, I’m great. Maybe I’ll just—”
“Wait, stop. Don’t move.” I place my hand over her face, letting the heat from my palm radiate over her eyes. A moment later I pull away. She gasps.
She blinks several times and looks around, astonishment all over her face. “Oh my God,” she whispers. “I can’t… I can’t believe it. How did you…?”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I never healed you before. I really should have – oompf!”
This time it’s Corrine throwing her arms around me in an exuberant, bone-crushing hug, and I laugh again.
We continue on our way to the pond, and I try to take in and absorb the wondrous beauty all around me. The leaves are so much greener, the sky is bluer… even the air is fresher. But as we continue along the winding path back to the cabin, my heart begins to feel heavy. I don’t want to spoil her happy mood, especially after all we’ve been through lately. But pretending that nothing happened isn’t fair to her either. She deserves better than that.
“Corrine, I need to apologize to you,” I begin as we head around a bend. “I want to tell you how sorry I am for everything that’s happened. Everything you’ve been through.”
She stops walking and reaches for my arm, holding me back. “Wait— What? I’m not! I mean, at the time, sure it was no picnic. But we survived! We won! I mean, come on… how badass a
re we?”
I frown and shake my head. “You went thought a lot of shit on my account. You have more horrible memories in your head than any human should ever have to endure. But I can make those memories disappear for you… make you forget the kidnappings, the demons trying to rape you, the Belith torturing you—”
She holds up her hand. “Are you crazy? No way! I earned those memories. Don’t you see? All those awful things happened, and I survived! I got through it, and I’m okay. Better than. Puts a lot of things in perspective if you ask me. Please don’t take those memories away. They’re mine. Even the horrible ones. They haven’t broken me… they’ve only made me stronger!”
I smile at her, amazed that this is the same girl I used to hide out with at lunchtime ‘cause no one else wanted to talk to us. Because we were weird. Because we were freaks.
Or maybe it was because we were just a little more badass than everyone else…
“You just can’t fully appreciate the awesomeness of life until you’ve been tortured by a mob of angry, blood-thirsty demons,” she continues with a grin. “Please tell me how anything will ever seem like a problem after that!”
I can’t help but laugh. “Good point.”
She suddenly becomes serious and peeks over at me. “How are you? Really. Everything that’s happening with you… the changes… how are you really?”
Just then the crunch of more twigs and leaves beneath heavy footsteps has us both glancing over our shoulders. Vincent is coming around the bend behind us.
I give Corrine a quick wink and whisper, “Really… I’ve never been better.”
She nods, her eyes wide. “I know, right? That guy is the hotness. And he cares about you so much. He really does. He’s been so concerned this whole time. You definitely have my seal of approval.”
“Hey. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He almost sounds a little shy.
“Hey, Vincent. No, we were just stretching our legs a bit,” Corrine says. “I think I’m going to go see what Demetri is up to. He was saying something about pizza earlier.” She gives Vincent a quick pat on the arm as she passes him.