PART 12

PART 12

The world was on fire. The flames leaped and curled around Drakosa's body as he walked untouched through the blaze. In human form, he looked like a child of only fifteen years old or so, and hardly a threat to anyone. But his eyes were ancient, black and shiny as obsidian, just like the rest of his dragonic kin. They reveled nothing, but reflected everything, and right now, if one were to look into Drakosa's eyes, there would be fire, untamed and destructively wild.

He'd caused it, of course. His world had ended in fire, why should the end of the human world be any less spectacular? True, it was more than the pesky vermin deserved, but Drakosa loved to watch them scream in agony as the flesh blackened and fell from their bones. Destruction could feel so good. He unleashed another burst of dark power toward a group of fleeing humans, and watched them fall to the pavement quivering in terror, paralyzed by his power and their own fear.

"Pathetic," said Drakosa, more to himself than anything.

"Drakosa…I know you…." The voice came from behind him. He whirled suddenly and saw the form of a small vermin girl-child outlined against the flames. "I remember you from a time when there was no light, and your kind were worshiped like gods. But you don't deserve to be gods."

"And what would you know about it, meat? You are nothing but food."

"I am more than you could ever be, and it is your weakness that prevents you from seeing it. I have seen eons pass, and I remain unchanged. I am the Sleeping Spirit, but your actions have awakened me. Your evil has called to me, and as much as you revel in the destruction of beauty, I shall revel in the destruction of you!"

"Am I supposed to be frightened, meat? You are nothing but a human, a weak and pitiable waste of life. Be thankful that I am blotting your kind out of existence. Only the strong deserve to live."

The young girl merely smiled. "You have been warned, Drakosa. If you make no attempt to cease the destruction you have begun, there will be disaster waiting for you."

Drakosa turned his back on the girl and continued his walk through downtown Worcester, hurling dark energy and the vermin stupid enough to cross his path. He was invincible, and no human girl-child could ever convince him otherwise, even one claiming to be the Sleeping Spirit.

***

Aly was drifting. All around her was darkness, except in the distance where a bright blue light was shining. She didn't really want to move, because she was so comfortable in the velvety dark, but some force seemed to compel her to go toward the blue glow. She was being led, and she didn't like it. There was something about being denied free will that really angered her, that was perhaps the only reason she'd been apprehensive about finding her soulmate.

*Well, it you can't fight it, go along with it until you can fight,* thought Aly, who wasn't about to throw in her free will without a battle. But the blue light surrounding her was so comforting, so relaxing. So much nicer than the dark emptiness she had been existing in. Somehow, with the blue light encompassing her, she didn't mind being led. She also sensed urgency not her own behind the comfort of the light.

And suddenly she was at her destination. She didn't know how she knew this, but it was a certainty. The light had intensified and was now so bright that she had to cover her eyes for fear of blinding herself. If she had a form, she would have walked toward the source of the light, a long slim shape in the distance.

*Hello, Alyson Roze,* said a voice her mind. It reminded Aly of tiny, tinkling bells, yet carried the weight of millennia. *Welcome to the inside of yourself.*

"How did I get here?" she asked in a voice that demanded an answer.

*I have guided you here, of course. I am the Sleeping Spirit.*

"The what?" asked Aly, confused.

*Well,* said the seeming small child, *you can think of me as a part of everything. I am human, vampire, shapeshifter, animal, and plant. There is a piece of me in everything alive. I have existed since life first began.*

"So you are the Goddess?"

*No. Not by any means. I am no creator, and certainly no nurturer; I haven't the power to create. I am the…balancing force. When a creature slips too far from the delicate balance the Earth exists in, I awaken and set things right.

*Now, however, I am afraid I need help with my task. A dragon named Drakosa has been awakened. He is one of the most evil among his kind, and he is loose. He will destroy the world if he is not stopped. I cannot balance his mind, so I must take corporeal form to defeat him.*

"So what does all this have to do with me?" asked Aly pointedly.

*I am requesting permission to use your body as a vessel for my power.*

"But why me? What is so special about me?"

*I doubt now is the proper time to tell you why you are special, but suffice it to say that you are the most compatible being for me. Our Power will mesh and grow until we are strong enough to destroy the evil that is Drakosa, and set things to balance once more. When my duty is complete, I shall leave you.*

"So what do I have to do?"

*Nothing at all. Just stay very calm for a moment. This may feel a bit odd….* And, with only that warning, Aly experienced the most disorienting feeling she could have ever imagined. She would later describe it as a nuclear reaction in her mind, half explosion, and half fusion. Before, she was one. After, she was two. Two minds, and multiple times the Power she could have ever dreamed of. She felt strong and capable, an instrument of justice and balance ready to set events to right.

After the figurative dust had settled, Aly realized she was awake, and a very worried looking Griffin was kneeling over her.

"Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded in response, then slowly got up from the couch and walked over to her worktable across the room. On it were various bottles and gems, but Aly was after only one thing: the gold and sapphire necklace she had initially created for her mother. Now it would serve to focus her immense power in the battle ahead. She gripped the amulet tightly, then turned to face her worried mother and her equally worried soulmate. When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of eons gone by.

"Gabrielle and the other members of the Circle are dead. They were killed by Drakosa, the dragon that the were foolish enough to awaken. He's destroying the city as we speak. I am going to go stop him. Any questions will be answered later if there is time." Aly looked at Griffin. "Are you coming?"

He looked dazed for a second or two, then nodded his head in assent. He knew that this was not just his soulmate, she was much more now, somehow. "I'm with you, Aly. Always."

"All right then. Mom, I love you. I'll be home when this is finished, trust me."

Her mother started crying. "Oh, Aly-bear. Promise you'll be careful."

"I promise."