Part 14
*Okay, that didn't go as planned.* said the Sleeping Spirit to herself. Her host was not responding to her, so she half-separated her body from Aly's, forming a ghostly apparition, and looked to see what was wrong. Both Aly and Griffin were knocked unconscious, and it looked like Drakosa was about to do something nasty to their prone bodies. She quickly threw up a pulsing blue shield around the two. Aly might be out of the fight for now, but that didn't mean that the Spirit couldn't use her body as a conduit for the kind of Power that could destroy the dragon. It might have some strange side effects though, after all, a human body was rarely subjected to the kind of Power the Spirit possessed. It was one thing to allow Aly to use the Power, but it quite another for her to be the Power. Also, through the strong link that they shared, the Power flowing through Aly might just spread to Griffin as well.
*It must be done. When all is weighed and considered, the elimination of Drakosa is more important than two witches. And I really doubt that the Power will kill them; it just doesn't work that way.*
"Drakosa, hear me! You have been judged by the higher powers, and you have been found guilty of unbalancing the natural order of the universe. For this crime, I will destroy you!" screamed the Spirit in her half-corporeal form. Despite being intangible, her voice still held the weight—and the fury—of centuries.
"I told you before, and I'll tell you again, you can't do anything to stop me, you fool!" said the dragon with false bravado. The Spirit could tell he was shaking in his, well, scales, so to speak.
"We'll see about that, won't we dragon?" she responded.
The Spirit opened her being to the harmonizing Power of the universe, and allowed it to be channeled and purified in the blood of the two witches. It cycled through their systems a few times, fueled by their psychic powers and their vital essence, building strength. The Spirit called it together in a focused, nearly visible, shining blue orb of pure balancing energy, then unleashed it toward Drakosa.
The dragon screamed, a high pitched wailing scream that seemed to get louder and higher as the seconds passed, before finally passing out of the human range of hearing. When the scream ended, there was no trace of Drakosa, the so-called Dark Dragon of Fire. The Spirit knew better though. He had not been vaporized or anything so base as that. No, the dragon had instead been turned into pure energy. The energy that makes up the universe can neither be created nor destroyed, to do so would violate the natural order of things. Instead, Drakosa had been reduced to the pure energy he was created from, neither good, nor evil, but just there, waiting for something to be done with it, for something else to be created from it.
The Spirit sighed, as human a sound that ever came from her ethereal lips. Her task was finally ended, and now it was time to sleep again, until the balance slipped once more towards good or evil. The Spirit disentangled herself from Aly's body and psyche, and returned to her home on the currents of energy that flowed through everything. She left both mortals lying on the rubble, unconscious, as she became the Sleeping Spirit once again.
***
Griffin stirred, still groggy, his head throbbing as if he'd been trashed out of his mind last night. His first thought, besides, of course, the obligatory realization that he was alive, was to see if the same was true of his soulmate. He looked around as well as he could manage, but every time he moved his head it started to pound harder. Finally he gave up, and resorted to the mental connection they shared.
*Aly?* he called.
*I'm here, surprisingly enough.* Her mental voice carried an edge of hysteria, tempered by relief. *I can't believe we're alive.*
*Yeah, me neither. Are you okay?*
*I don't really know. Everything hurts, but I don't think anything is broken. I don't know about you, but I feel…different. I mean, I know the Spirit is gone, and Drakosa too, but maybe some of the Power remains, or something like that.*
*Maybe, but I think I'm still too numb to notice anything like that,* he said with a smile in his mental voice. *You know, when we're strong enough to move again, what are we going to do? Go home? I mean, after all that's happened?*
*Well, what else can we do?*
*Good point.*
***
Edie paced. She hadn't heard from Aly in hours, and she feared the worst. Really, two witches against a dragon? What realistic chance was there? She regretted all the things left unsaid between her and her erstwhile daughter, and regretted that she hadn't been more a part of her life. She regretted never telling Aly that she'd been adopted. It was just…she'd wanted Aly to be her real daughter, and for Aly to think of her as her real mother. She sighed. Too much had been left unsaid. Surely fate would allow her time to say it…wouldn't it?
Every time she heard a noise, she thought it was Aly coming home, saying everything was fine. That there was no need to worry anymore. She loved Aly like her own daughter, so of course she was going to get the necessary motherly venting after Edie made sure that she was unharmed. Except that she needed to be sure that Aly was okay before she started yelling. And so far, there was no sign that she was okay. Which, of course, left her right back where she started from. Pacing.
Edie was jarred from her thoughts by a light knock on the door. *Aly!* she screamed in her own mind, hoping against hope that her intuition wasn't failing her. This time, it was her daughter at the door! She opened the door to see a much-bedraggled, but definitely alive, Aly and Griffin, hanging onto each other for support.
"Thank the Goddess!" she exclaimed. "Come in, both of you, I'll get some hot chocolate and marshmallows for you. I'll be right back," she said, escorting them to the family room couch before dashing off to the kitchen to prepare the promised beverage.
The phone rang just as she was stirring in the hot chocolate mix to the warmed milk. "Hello?" she answered.
"Ms. Roze?" asked the voice on the other line.
"Yes, this is she."
"This is Gavin Aquila from Circle Daybreak. We were wondering if you still needed reinforcements down there? Sorry about the delay and all, but with everything that's going on with the Council and all…it's been pretty hectic."
"No, we don't need any help anymore, my daughter and her soulmate just finished taking care of the dragon that a coven of local Circle Midnight witches were nice enough to awaken…and feed. It would be awfully nice of you to send to a medical team however, since they seemed to be banged up pretty well," she said shortly. How dare they call now and offer assistance? It seemed almost petty, to offer help now, after it was over.
"Yes ma'am, we'll do that." Edie could almost hear the fear that crept into the young man's voice at the mention of the word 'dragon.' "We're very sorry for the inconvenience, but would you please have Alyson Roze call us when she is available?"
"Yes, I'll let her know that you called."
"Thank you ma'am. Have a nice evening then."
"Good-bye, Mr. Aquila," said Edie, and hung up the phone. Damned Daybreakers. Always trying to save the world from every corner at once, never mind that their own operatives were dying left and right from dangers they let them take on by themselves. She was so angry she could throw something, but instead, she just took the hot chocolate and marshmallows over to Aly and Griffin; of course, they were sound asleep in each others arms.
Edie sighed. Not quite a perfect ending, but her daughter was alive, Aly's soulmate was alive, and the dragon was very, very dead. No, not perfect, but certainly good enough. Edie pulled a blanket around the sleeping teenagers. *Let them rest,* she thought. *They've earned it, after all. And I have a feeling that there will be many more battles still to come.*
END
