“Fine, what should we do to prepare her?” Ameana asks.
“Get her to practice inhaling as deeply as she can. That’s how the Lyris gets activated. After a short while it will take over and give her inhuman breath control. That’s when the Lyris will be at its strongest and will take over her body completely,” Raphael replies.
We take Raphael’s advice and show Bailey what she needs to do. She listens to instruction well enough, so long as she gets a cookie and play time with Uncle Ray.
It’s nearly dawn when we set off for Greenland. Marcus makes Jay promise to take it easy. Miku assures Marcus she’ll stay on top of him. Jay makes a silly joke about her being ‘on top;’ we laugh and take off into the sky.
Redd had done some good when she was here. On the way to Greenland, we do not encounter any Demons. That is until we got to the town of Nuuk. Here, we find what may be the most heavily guarded place on earth.
The clouds here are dark and moody. The sky swears at us with thunder and spits at us with lightning. There is an unnatural frost in the air. It’s the kind that goes right through to your bones and makes you feel like you will never be warm again.
Demons swarm around every inch of the sky, waiting to attack. There’s so many, Marcus makes us walk the last mile so we will not be spotted. We hide behind an unguarded hill and hope we can surprise the Demons and gain the upper hand.
Rage quickly goes over the plan with Bailey.
“Mouse, do you remember what you have to do when you get to the top?”
“Yeah…go like this,” she mimics sucking air in and out.
“Good job and remember to keep your shield up,” Rage says.
“Okay. Can Boo Boo come with me?”
“No, but he’s gonna wait for you, for when you get off the mountain.”
“Are you coming to get me?”
“After you make the bad guys fall asleep, okay?”
She nods in agreement. She surprises him and hugs him tightly. He pauses, taken aback, and hugs her back.
“It’s time,” Marcus announces.
“Bailey, sit on the floor and raise your shields up, okay Angel?” Marcus instructs.
She nods and sits on the ground. Rage gives her a reassuring smile. She raises her shield around her. Everyone is in place.
Rage holds the bubble containing Bailey in the palm of his hand and hurls it towards the top of the mountain. Bailey makes it half way but then she starts to descend. Ameana uses her powers to guide her through the air, past the multitude of power balls and Demons.
Suddenly the bubble is no longer under Ameana’s control. It plunges towards the ground and Bailey screams for dear life. I turn and see Ameana being held down by a Demon. He has her pinned to the ground. I rush over to her but I fear I will not get there in time to enable her to help Bailey.
Thankfully, as I head for Ameana, Marcus dashes off towards Bailey. He gets there in time to stop her fall. Bailey looks at up him through her shield with wide eyes. She’s not sure if she should be excited or scared. Marcus smiles at her and that helps her decide. She’s excited and having the time of her life.
“Are you up to trying again?” Marcus asks her.
“I got this, yo!” She replies with more attitude than a little girl should have.
That’s when I realize she’s spent way too much time with Jay. Marcus laughs, despite himself, and signals for Jay to Glide to the top of the mountain to catch her.
It’s like they are playing a football with Demons and using a child as the ball. I hold my breath when Bailey is tossed into the air in the middle of an onslaught of power balls. I’m weak with relief when I see that her shield holds up. She is headed for the top of the mountain where dozens of Demons await her. Fortunately, they don’t see Jay Glide behind them.
Bailey is only a few yards out when Jay takes to the sky and catches her. Furious that Jay got by them, the Demons attack. But Jay is too quick for them to get a good shot, even with Bailey in his hand.
Rage, pissed that Bailey is in danger, throws a slew of fire balls at the Demons. They are being taken out left and right until finally, the only ones left standing are Jay and Bailey.
Meanwhile, the Demon who pins Ameana down, gets ready to blast a power ball into her face when all of a sudden, his body stops working. He opens his mouth and blood gushes out. He falls to the side. Ameana look up from the ground, confused.
“Guess who finally remembered to carry a knife?” I ask her proudly.
“Thanks,” She says quickly.
Ha, I saved Ameana and not by some random stroke of luck. I had a weapon and used it. Whatdoes that mean? It means I’m a bad chick; or at least ‘bad-er’” than when we first met.
Marcus shouts out to Jay to get off the mountain before Bailey uses her power. Jay looks into Bailey’s eyes and tells her something that makes her happy. He then Glides away from the top of the mountain.
Although Bailey is alone at the top, the team has her covered. Miku sings softly to dozen of Demons. They beg for mercy as they meet their death. Marcus and Jay battle in hand to hand combat with several Demons and get the upper hand.
Rage and Ameana make a great team because while Rage is blasting the Demons that dare get close to Bailey on the mountain, Ameana is redirecting all the Demons’ power balls. I’m at the base of the mountain and call out when I see a Demon try to sneak up on them.
I’m so busy watching for the team, I don’t notice the Demon behind me. He knocks me to the ground and bashes me in the face. He stands over me and tells me that he won’t even waste a power ball on me. Then he covers my face with his hand and tries to suffocate me.
I panic, kick my arms and legs in the air but it does no good. I’m not getting any air. My lungs start to burn and the pressure builds upon my chest. I feel like I’m going to implode at any second. Everything in front of me starts to blur. All I hear is the Demon laughing as my life is draining from me.
“That’s why most Demons are single; they have no idea how to treat a girl,” I hear Ameana say.
The next thing I know the Demon is being thrown to the other side of the city, hitting a power line along the way. Right before he fades from our sight, his body twists in agony.
“Thanks,” I say, trying to catch my breath.
“Look,” she says.
I follow her gaze to the top of the mountain. It has begun. Bailey places her hands around her little mouth and pretends like she’s inhaling juice through a straw.
The change is almost immediate. The tornados and earthquakes that surround us begin to lose ferocity. The gray winds of madness are being sucked in by Bailey. The team encourages her to keep going. She takes a deep breath and inhales again. The earth slowly begins to come back together.
Just as soon as the weather begins to settle down, the team and I behold the Goumy. After everything I’ve heard about them, I thought I was prepared for how frightening they would look.
I was wrong.
They don’t have bodies anymore. There’s only a shadow of what was once a face. They are swirls of destruction, rooted in the earth, and reach well beyond the sky; a mushroom cloud of all consuming death.
We are frozen in awe at the sheer size of the Goumy. There are dozens of them and they are coming for one thing: to stop the little girl who is getting in their way.
The Goumy do not discriminate. They destroy. They lift up Demons, Believers, and Angels alike. Inside the giant swirls of torture, I spot severed body parts and debris.
Rage tells Bailey to keep going. She inhales again and the Goumy whips around and heads straight for her. Rage bolts off to help Bailey. Marcus stops him and reminds him that she was chosen to do this. Rage is about to argue when Miku signals for us to look towards the mountains.
Bailey is sucking away the furious funnels of evil. She is working harder now because her face is turning red. The Goumy get so close to her, I also want to run and help. But then something remarkable begins to happen.
Bailey somehow no longer needs air. She inhales as if it’s natural to do it without end. She raises her arms and suddenly, she is airborne, shield and all.
The Goumy lose power with each passing second. They are unraveling like thread from a spool.
Bailey continues to levitate high above the mountains. The Lyris turns her around in circles.
Each time she turns, the Lyris gains more power while the Goumy’s powers diminish. She is now so high up and so powerful, she is a magnificent supernova.
The Goumy, now drained, are more like a windy day than forces of nature. But Bailey isn’t just killing off the Goumy. The Demons nearby fall out of the sky, drained of power too. Seeing this, Ameana tells Rage to get clear of the area. Rage reluctantly takes off.
The deep cracks in the earth begin to reassemble themselves. The lightning is fewer and further away, and soon disappears all together.
“Oh my Omnis, it’s working!” I shout at the top of my lungs.
By the time the Lyris allows Bailey to descend slowly back down to mountain, The Goumy are reduced to decrepit, shadow-like beings. Their bodies melt into a sticky black substance and seep into the earth.
Evil is dead.
YES! YES! YES!
I leap into Marcus’s arms. Miku and Jay scream their heads off with excitement. Bailey is on top of mountain jumping up and down too. We clap for her like she just saved the world because, well...
“We did it!” I shout to Marcus as I wrap myself once again around my Angel.
I can feel his body finally, finally, begin to relax. He holds me tight and whispers in my ear that he loves me.
“I love you too; I can’t believe we did it!!!” I say, placing his face between my hands.
I wish I could kiss him.
Damn Bianca!
Whatever, she’s not going to ruin this moment for me. We faced the darkest of the dark forces and we won! We won!
We look out into the sky and see Rage heading toward Bailey. Ameana is right behind him. I turn to Marcus with tears in my eyes.
“What is it?” He asks.
“Happiness; I know it’s a new emotion for you and me, but here it is,” I reply, grinning like a fool.
“Okay well good tears or not, don’t cry,” he says, embracing me.
“The world is not going to end. Do you know what this means?” I shout, playfully punching his chest.
“You should start going back to school?” He says in a parental tone.
“No, it means that all of this was for a reason. And we’re gonna be okay.”
“Well we don’t have the Shoma yet and—”
“—don’t you dare add any negative thoughts to this moment, Marcus Cane. We won, we beat the bad guys. That’s all that matters. We won!” I bellow.
“Hell yeah, baby girl, you know how we do!” Jay says behind me. I turn and leap into his arms.
Miku kisses Marcus on the cheek and the two of them embrace.
“Rio would have been so excited,” she says.
“I think he knows we won, hell, Lucy knows we won,” Marcus replies.
The team is elated. All our work and effort is finally paying off. And the Sage couldn’t destroy us. We held on to each other and not only did we survive, we prevailed.
YES! YES! YES!
Marcus laughs, takes me up in the sky and whirls me around. I can’t remember being this free; this happy. I’m practically glowing.
“I’ve never seen you like this; it’s nice. And a little scary.” Marcus tells me.
“We’ve been through so much and even though everything has not been straightened out, we saved the world—again. We. Are. Awesome!” I yell to the whole world.
The glow of victory shines on all our faces. This was long overdue. After all the death and horror we’ve witnessed, victory is not only welcomed, it’s well deserved.
I look up and find the sun is breaking through the clouds. Light bursts through and shines down where once only darkness lived. Even though we struggled and lost a great deal, we accomplished our mission. And thanks to us and Bailey, millions of people will see tomorrow.
I no longer feel the exhaustion of the past couple of weeks. I even get a break from the grief of losing the ones I love. All I focus on is this moment; right now.
And right now, Marcus and Emmy are happy.
Write it down, make a note of it.
Marcus Cane and Emerson Baxter are happy.
And to make it even sweeter, the team is triumphant and for once, all is right.
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN:
A MESSAGE
I turn to face Bailey on top of the mountain. I marvel at the enjoyment on her face. I know to her this was just a fun game, with good guys and bad guys. I’m thankful for her innocence. She is not only excited; she’s being a good girl by keeping her shields up like we instructed, just in case there are Demons hiding somewhere.
I look into Marcus’s face eagerly, because I’m certain for the first time in a long time, it will be stress free. But when we make eye contact, his are filled with panic.
He’s in such a hurry; he accidently knocks me down. He leaps into the air, spans the length of the mountain range in a few swift flaps of his wings. He tackles a Demon that had dedicated his last breath to sneaking up the side of the mountain to attack us.
The Demon hurls a power ball at Marcus with full force. Marcus dodges it and breaks the Demon’s back; his death is instant. Marcus looks at me to see if I’m alright. I look back at him with shock and dread.
“I’m sorry Em., are you hurt?” He asks.
“No, not me…” I reply, tuning my attention to the three figures at the top of the mountain.
The stray power ball missed Marcus but hit another highly desirable target: Bailey.
She was told to keep her shield up and she did. But then she must have seen Rage and lifted up her shield. The power ball hits her in the neck.
I watch the events unfold in utter disbelief. Rage runs and catches her before she hits the ground.
She falls into his arms. Ameana kneels down beside her, too shocked to understand what is taking place.
Jay and Miku take me up to the top of the mountain with them. The whole time I’m begging Omnis not to let Bailey’s injuries be too bad. Marcus gets there about the same time we do. Rage places his hand by her blood soaked neck and tries to stop the bleeding.
“Mouse, we’re gonna get you help. It’s gonna be okay. It’s gonna be okay,” he repeats over and over until the words have no meaning.
Ameana takes Bailey’s pulse and looks up at us. Her face is grave and pained. She shakes her head slightly, indicating there is no pulse to be found.
Rage carries her in his army and begs us to take her to the hospital or, better yet, a healer. We all look at each and the dread and sadness is etched on all our faces.
“COME ON!!! HELP HER!” Rage roars at us.
But Rage knows the same thing we do: Bailey is gone.
He turns his focus to Marcus.
“You, Guardian, we can take her to the Para, right, he can fix her,” Rage pushes.
“She’s not fighting for her life, Rage, she’s…” Marcus can’t bring himself to finish.
“One of you Angels can fix her,” he begs us.
We don’t answer.
“So…that’s it? She dies?”
We all remain quiet, not sure what to say.
Suddenly Rage attacks Marcus. The team takes to the air to defend their leader. Rage fights the whole team, including Ameana but Rage’s attack lack focus. He’s too emotional to aim at anything. He takes a swing at everything and everyone. He pouches the mountain side and tries to take it down with his bare hands.
“Fuck you, Omnis, fuck you!!! ARGH!!!”
He screams so loud it echoes throughout the mountain range. When he’s done, he crawls over to Bailey’s body, takes his jacket off and places it on top of her.
“This’ll keep you warm, Mouse.” Rage says.
He p
auses like he’s waiting for an answer. It doesn’t come. Rage is learning what I’ve long since known. Death doesn’t negotiate or compromise; death just takes.
It takes incredible moms who don’t deserve to die.
It takes Guardians who are secretly in love with you.
It takes brothers who died for you.
And yes, it even takes beautiful little girls, who love cookies and worm their way into the hearts of Akons…
Rage won’t let us take the body. He just lies there beside it. Ameana asks us to leave the two of them alone. We fly back down on to the ground.
Miku buries her head on Jay’s chest. I just sit on the ground and cry. There’s really nothing else to do. I hear her giggle in my head. I recall, in a flash, her brilliant smile and her perfected pout.
Then I cry harder. She was only three and it was our job to make sure she didn’t get hurt; we failed.
Just once, why can’t the people we love be spared?
“Something’s wrong,” Marcus says.
“She was just a baby, why would Omnis let this happen?” I scream at him.
Only seconds ago we were insanely happy. Now I can’t remember what that feels like. I’m back to the soul crushing reality of death and loss.
“The Sage wasn’t here,” Marcus says.
“Who cares? Bailey is dead because she helped us and all you can think about is the Sage?” Miku snaps.
“I cared about Bailey, like all of you did. But I don’t want her death to be for nothing. We have to get the Sage. Or he’ll come after us and the humans again. Then Bailey’s death would have been in vain,” Marcus explains.
“This was the final battle, why wasn’t he here?” Jay asks.
“He must know he’s lost, by now,” I reply as I wipe my tears.
We try our cells and the connection, while not perfect, is better than it was before. We call Wolf and he tells us they have won the battle at their end. Since the weather madness ceased, they could focus on the Believers. They were able to kill many and imprison the rest.
“That’s great. Is Winter there?” Marcus asks him.