A Mother's Story
By Risa
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Author's Notes: Sorry that it took me so long to write this part! I've just been so busy with school… Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far! I only hope that you like this chapter as well.
Also, special thanks to Christina, who's provided me with so much encouragement. This part is dedicated to you. :-)
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Chapter Six
"Again!" Elizabeth shouted at her son.
Cole dragged up all the last bits of energy that he had in his body and let loose a weak energy ball. It dissipated before it even got close to the target. He swayed slightly on his feet. He was exhausted. The entire day had been devoted to practicing throwing energy balls – aiming, learning how to control the amount of energy released and knowing just how great a force to use to get a certain effect. Cole was so tempted to just lie down and rest…
Suddenly he saw an energy ball heading towards him. He quickly shimmered himself to safety at the other end of the room. He glared at his mother mutinously.
"You need to push yourself beyond your own limits," Elizabeth said coldly. "Otherwise you can forget about ever becoming more powerful. And never, ever let your guard slip." Elizabeth had realised long ago just how exhausted Cole was and she wanted so badly to just let him rest and hold him in her arms for a while. But she couldn't. She could not let the front she had put up slip.
Still, she couldn't stop herself from saying, "That will be all for today."
Cole couldn't stop the look of relief that passed over his face. He stood there warily for a moment, worried that it might be another trick from his mother. They stood there for a while, staring at each other in silence. Then, upon realising that his mother was genuinely giving him a brief respite, Cole broke the stare, turned and ran out of the room to his hiding place.
She watched the small figure vanish into the distance and she felt a rush of piercing pain and deep sadness. The pain in her heart never left her now. Her heart ached for the loss of happier, more innocent times. She missed Benjamin terribly; his laughter, the way he held her in his arms, his quiet love and concern, and every moment that they had shared together haunted her every waking moment.
But her greatest source of agony was her son.
Elizabeth watched her son become more evil, more ruthless, more cold-blooded and it was all through her own doing. Deeply etched in her mind still was the image of a normal, human Cole. The sweet little boy, who laughed often, had the quiet mischief of his father and who would fall sleep in his mothers arms in absolute trust. She wanted that boy back. But those were times that were irrevocably gone.
But Elizabeth couldn't carry on with this any longer. She couldn't let her son become evil. There had to be a way out.
The problem was, Raynor still had Benjamin's soul and Elizabeth had no idea how she was going to get it back safely. She didn't know if she ought to take the risk that Benjamin's soul might be destroyed. Her face darkened and her eyes glinted with frustration and anger. She hated being trapped in a corner like this. "Damned if you do and damned if you don't," she muttered to herself, quite unaware of the irony of the statement.
She walked out of the room towards the cavern which Cole used for his own private sanctuary. Cole did not suspect that his mother knew about it. It wasn't that far away from Elizabeth's quarters and was well-hidden. Elizabeth might not have noticed its existence had she not followed Cole there just to check on him.
She stood at the opening to the cavern and watched the young boy who had curled in a corner of the cavern, already sound asleep. She moved silently into the cavern and sat beside Cole, gently caressing his hair away from his face.
Then Elizabeth's face turned determined and grim. There was no other way. She couldn't carry on forcing Cole towards evil. She couldn't allow herself and her son to be used in such a way by Raynor and the Source. She had to try rescuing Benjamin's soul, even if she lost her life doing it.
The question that remained was: how?
Elizabeth's eyes turned icy cold and her expression determined and dangerous. By the age-old method of death threats, of course.
She rushed back to her room and took out a small box made of a deep redwood. In it lay a long silver knife that glinted in the pale candlelight. It was simple and unadorned and yet it was there that its beauty lay. She carefully took the knife out and hid it in her robe before she left for Raynor's quarters.
There, near the entrance of his quarters, Elizabeth waited patiently in the shadows for her quarry.
When he finally showed up, Elizabeth moved with a swiftness and grace that any martial arts expert would envy. Within seconds, Raynor found himself held hostage with a knife to his throat and two steely eyes staring at him.
"Give me Benjamin's soul. Now."
Raynor smiled. "Honestly, I didn't think you'll be this…suicidal. Trite as this may sound, you can't possibly think you'll be able to succeed."
Elizabeth tightened her grip about his neck, drawing blood. "Perhaps," she said. "But I don't think you really want to question my sanity right now, in case I do something mad like killing you. No, that would actually be the sane thing to do."
Raynor laughed as Elizabeth glared at him. "Where is it?" she said sharply as she tightened her grip further.
"In there," Raynor said, still smiling as he pointed into his quarters. They made their way awkwardly into the large, dark cavern.
"Just out of curiosity," he said, "why were you willing to risk the destruction of your husband's soul?"
"Because I know you Raynor," Elizabeth said. "Even if you couldn't use Benjamin's soul against me, you'll keep it in case it might come in useful with my son. You never close the door on any possibility." It was actually simply a hunch and a gamble on Elizabeth's part."
"I've grown transparent with age," he said mournfully. "But you had always been one of the best, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes to stare upwards. "Please. Spare me this drivel."
They finally stopped in front of a chest of drawers. Elizabeth loosened her grasp enough for Raynor to reach into a drawer and lift up a clear glass box with a blue orb glowing in it. Elizabeth gave Raynor a hard and sharp knock on the head with the hilt of the knife backed with a small energy blast, leaving him unconscious and catching the glass box before it fell to the ground.
Then, she shimmered to Cole and, carrying him in her arms, shimmered back to the surface, away from the Underworld. She looked around her and realised that she had orbed the two of them to the park that Benjamin had brought her to so very long ago. Meanwhile, Cole began to stir. His eyes fluttered open and he sat up slowly. As the last vestiges of sleep left him, he realised that he was no longer in the Underworld. He glared at his mother accusingly. "Where did you bring me?" he said suspiciously.
"Hush," Elizabeth said distractedly. She was carefully examining the glass box, searching for a way to open it. She finally found a small button, but as she pressed it, a sudden massive rush of energy went through her.
Pain. Her whole mind was empty except for the pain.
Cole watched in shock as he saw currents of energy surrounding his mother.
Raynor chose that moment to shimmer there. He took the box away from Elizabeth and held it in his palm. The moment he touched it, the flow of energy stopped and Elizabeth slumped to the ground.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?" Raynor scoffed. "You didn't guess that this box is keyed to me only. If you had greater powers than me, you might perhaps have been able to break through. But unfortunately…"
Elizabeth would have cursed if she had the strength to – as it was, at that moment, her vision was rapidly growing dim. She knew then that it was the end. "Benjamin… Cole…" she murmured.
"Don't worry," Raynor said as he pulled Cole, who had been rooted to the ground in disbelief, over to him and held him by his shoulders. "I'll make sure that he gets all that he needs."
"Damn you…" Elizabeth said. She was hanging on to consciousness by the weakest and thinnest of threats.
Eventually, they snapped and all was darkness.
Cole watched as his mother's body burst into flames. But, strangely enough, a white light seemed to surround the fire. If he had looked up, he would have seen the expression on Raynor's face darken.
"The other side's taken her spirit," he said to no one in particular. "Damn them. Didn't know they could intervene like that…" Then he leaned down and once more erased all memory of the incident from Cole's mind. Carrying the unconscious Cole, he shimmered them both to the Underworld and to Cole's new life.
*~Finis~*