Chapter 28: Chapter 28
THEO
Devon stormed out of the sitting room as soon as Luke announced that we were going to battle tonight. She'd gone impossibly pale and I was terrified for her. "I'll be right back" I said to Luke and Liam who nodded in understanding. I found her on my bed when I walked into my room. Her face was buried into the pillow with her fingers clutching the pillow fiercely. She was crying, her body trembling under the weight of her grief. I heaved a sigh and moved over to her side. Slowly, I eased her away from the pillow until she was in my arms, her face buried in the crook of my neck as she sobbed. I slowly stroked her soft hair with my fingers, offering her comfort as much as I could. "It's okay, Devon. We're going to be okay. you don't have to be scared, love" I whispered.She sniffled weakly, then she raised her head to meet my gaze with her bloodshot eyes."I don't want to be scared but there's a sinking feeling in my stomach. Amyra has been ahead of us most of the time. What if this time is no different? I can't loose you, Theo. I-I need you" she rasped, cupping the side of my face."I know, Dev. I need you too. We can't give Amyra the satisfaction of winning. We have to be strong, love. We can't go down without a fight" I said, my thumb stroking her cheek. "Okay" she breathed and leaned closer to kiss me. I sighed into the kiss, my hands circling her waist.
"I love you" I whispered. "Love you more" she replied and rested her head against my chest.
********
DEVON
Theo left the house with Luke later that morning. They were going to find Alba and try to figure out a way we could use the mirror of mirrors without Theo loosing his soul. I grabbed my journal and started to write in it.
Dear Diary,
I'm scared. I'm terrified. But, Theo wants me to be strong and for him, I will be strong. I won't loose Theo this time. I'm going to do anything to make sure Theo doesn't loose his soul. He doesn't know what I plan to do. He doesn't know that I plan to be his anchor. And if things go wrong, Theo and I might as well loose our souls. This is the only way. I know it's a huge risk, but grandma used to say 'there's no reward without risk'. Perhaps, grandma was right.
Exhaling slowly, I closed my journal and placed it on my dresser. I rose to my feet and made my hair into a messy bun. "Devon"
I flinched, looking around the room to see who had called me. When I saw no one, I was convinced that it had been my imagination."Devon"
Narrowing my eyes, I turned to look at my dresser where the voice was coming from. A loud gasp escaped my lips when I saw it.
It was a ghost. A teenage girl who looked no older than fifteen. She had wavy blonde hair and dull green eyes. There was a horrible wound on her chest. Someone had ripped her heart out of her chest. Now, her chest was more or less, a gaping hole. Tears pricked my eyes at the sight of the girl. I'm a necromancer and it's normal for me to be able to see ghosts and spirits but it's been quite a while since I saw one."You're Devon, right?" She asked. I cleared my throat and nodded."What's your name?" I asked."Charmaine" she whispered."Who killed you?" I asked."Amyra" she breathed.I sucked in a sharp breath, my hands trembling."She sacrificed me and twenty-nine other humans today" she sighed.I bit my lower lip in a bid to hold the tears at bay."It's not too late, Dev. You can still beat her. The battle isn't going to take place in the summer court. It's going to take place in the night court. She knows you're afraid of loosing your soulmate and she wants to prey on your fear. Do not let her, Devon. Or we would've died for nothing. Goodbye, Devon. Be strong" she whispered and vanished. I sank to my knees in the centre of my room. I felt so shaken and devastated more than ever. *************
THEO
Nightfall arrived in no time and I felt the doubts and uncertainties set in. My fingers closed around the pulsing golden locket in my hand as I stared at it. Was it worth my loosing my soul? What if in the end, we fail? Devon would be dispirited."Theo"I turned to look at Devon who was standing behind me with her hand on my bicep. Her pale cheeks were rosy and her blue eyes were shining feverishly. There was determination in the eyes of my woman. "We can do this, Theo. Amyra must go down tonight" she rasped. I nodded and kissed her forehead. "I love you" I whispered."Love you too. Now come on, let's kick some ass"
"You ready Luke?" I said to Luke who was standing on my left with Liam."Of course I am" he said and my gaze met Liam's crimson eyes. "Ready?"
"Sure" he said. I opened the portal leading us to Tir na nÓg which is also known as the Winter Court where Alba and her warriors were waiting for us. Alba approached me with a small smile on her face. She clasped my forearm and bowed. "Well met, Daeron"
"Well met, Alba"
"We will be with you all the way, your majesty" she said. Among the warriors, a familiar raven haired fairy walked up to me and clasped my forearm. "Well met, your majesty. It's an honor to be at your service" he said, his magenta eyes glowing. "Tyrenn. Good to see you too" I said, giving him a half smile. Tyrenn had been the one to lead Luke, Devon and I to Orion when my darkness was taking over. "We've lost our loved ones, our friends in wars passed. And tonight, we face a greater threat. Tonight, we fight for peace. Tonight, we avenge our losses! Tonight, we fight to finish!" I said and the warriors roared in response. I opened the portal leading to the night court and we all stepped into the night court. The whole place seemed even more eery than the last time I'd been there. From a short distance, I saw Amyra and her partner leading thousands of warriors towards us. She was wearing a proud smirk on her face with her silver hair being blown about by the wind. Beside me, Luke stiffened with his silver eyes burning with hatred and rage. "The bitch goes down tonight" he growled, his hair turning silver. His wings made appearance and his silver eyes burned as bright as ever. I closed my eyes, feeling the energy in the air. When I opened my eyes, my black hair had turned golden, my eyes glowing so brightly. My gold and black wings, stretching out behind me. I flew upwards, my wings beating the air lightly.The other warriors followed suit. Amyra launched herself into the air with Ric beside her. They both had marching silver hair and crimson eyes. Beside me, Luke growled. "Tonight, I'm taking all of you down. The throne of the four lands belongs to me and with you gone, no one will ever challenge my authority" Amyra said, unsheathing a silver sword.The soul sword. Ric sent the first blast of magic, then the war began. Luke transformed into a six-feet red wolf and attacked Ric head on. They both crashed to the ground below. Six of Amyra's warriors, headed towards me, brandishing their magic-laced swords. I unsheathed my golden sword to defend myself. I slashed, parried and ducked but they kept coming. As soon as I got rid of one, two others joined the fight and it was starting to piss me off. Soon, I was surrounded by twelve men. I released a golden magical blast that sent every one of them crashing to the ground in dead heaps. Liam was basically tearing Ric apart, limb by limb. Amyra on the other hand, seemed to have vanished. So, I landed on the ground beside Devon who was exceptionally good with her bows and arrows. "You okay?" I said, with my back to her as I fought off Amyra's dark warriors."I'm okay, you?""I'm okay if you're okay" I said. "Find Amyra. The bitch is buying herself some time. Go, I'll find Allen" she said and I took off. I still couldn't find Amyra and it was clear that she was using some sort of cloaking ability to hide herself. 'The blood moon has appeared' said Luke, through the mindlink. I looked up and sure enough, the moon had become the color of blood. It's reflection turned the whole place red. The wind was blowing harder and the power of the night court seemed to have increased.'It's time' I told myself. Lightbearers started to collapse on the blood coated ground. I could feel my energy slowly going down the drain like last time. But this time, I was determined not to go down without putting up a good fight. "Daeron, over here!"I turned immediately to see Amyra holding Devon in a firm head lock. My heart sank. "Watch me! Watch me as I snap her neck in half!" She yelled. Fury and fear reared up from deep within me. I started to move towards her but was tripped by something I couldn't see, the locket fell from my hand and slid a short distance away from me. As I reached out to pick it up, a glistening sword came crashing down on it, shattering the locket into pieces. I was dumbstruck."No!!!!" Devon's tortured cry reached my ears and I turned to see her running towards me with anguish in her eyes. I stared at her, confused. She had been struggling against Amyra's grip, how the hell was she so far away?I looked up to see Amyra standing in front of the broken locket. When her gaze met mine, I understood.She had fooled me using the power of illusion. Anger so deep started to overwhelm me and I was overcome with the sudden urge to rip her apart. But, all of a sudden, pain hit me. I sank to the ground, resisting the urge to scream. Stars above, the pain was driving me insane.Amyra chuckled and started to move the sand away from the area where I was. Apparently, she'd hidden something in the sand. It was a triangular shaped trap and she'd trapped me with it. She leaned closer to me, careful not to step into the triangle. "How does it feel, your Majesty? It's designed to cause you nothing but immeasurable pain. It will most likely make you loose your mind. It'll kill you slowly. Anyone who tries to help you will end up with the same fate as you" I glared at her, sweat sliding down the side of my face. She moved away from me and looked towards Devon who was still running towards me."It's such a shame, though" I looked at Luke who was being overpowered by five dark warriors. Liam on the other hand lay on the sand, covered in blood and dust. We were loosing.The reality hit me like a gunshot. My muscles were screaming, I couldn't breathe. Ric walked up to Amyra and smiled at her. They held hands and nausea swept through me. They were about to bond and there was absolutely no way I would let that happen. I cried out in pain when my shoulder dislocated. My vision went black for a split second. Panting hard, I felt the bone in my left arm start to crack. The pain was unbearable. 'We have to get the locket. Allow me take over' the demon in me said. I bit back a scream as my wrist dislocated. 'Do it now!'Taking a deep breath, I released my hold on the demon. Devon was close by now. I reached out, my fingers brushing the locket. Ric and Amyra were laughing. They didn't know what I was doing and it only fueled my determination. Black spots danced around my vision but I didn't stop until the broken pieces started to join together. "Theo!" Devon cried reaching out to touch me."Don't" I hissed, still concentrating hard.She moved her hand away and knelt beside the trap, watching me with awe. The locket was back whole and through the haze, I could see the pendant glowing brighter than ever. I could only imagine what Amyra's expression would be. "Twin moons bathed in silver, I call you forth" I muttered and the locket clicked open. I looked up to see a pale Amyra staring at me. I closed my eyes, my body trembling hard. I could feel the tug on my soul. I struggled against it's hold but it was too strong. When I thought it was finally going to pull me away, I felt something else pulling me back. Terror lanced through me, my eyes flying open.
"No, Devon. Don't" I croaked. She had tears on her face."I'm not letting you go. Not now, not ever" she rasped. The blood moon began to divide. The trap holding me loosened and I rolled away from it's hold. Devon held me in her arms, careful not to inflict more pain on me.Amyra screamed and I forced out a smile despite the fact that I was hurting everywhere. Devon stiffened and a bright glow started to take over the whole place. Something was happening but I was too out of it to care. Before I passed out, I heard Devon say a single word that sent shivers down my spine.
"It's her. The moon goddess. Selene".