So this is the last chapter, not counting the epilogue. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers, even if you didn't review. And also, I'd like to thank my best friend (well, one of them anyway), Aerith4you, for reading this entire trilogy on paper and telling me what she thought. Thanks, girl! You're the best! Well, here it is.
Chapter 11 (I told myself I wouldn't cry…too late)
Ophelia
All my emotions over the course of the last year come out; my frustration at not being told what was going on, my anger at having to spend an entire year with Chloe, and the pain of having her overshadow me every single night.
Yeah, that was one tough year. Before I know it, ice is everywhere, and I realize that I no longer have any control over it. I turn to Chloe. "I thought you said that I mastered my power!" I exclaim.
"Well, like any power, you can't let your emotions take over. As long as you keep those in check, you won't lose control. It's as simple as that."
By now, a huge blizzard has taken over. "Okay, so how do I stop it, now that it's out of control?"
"Stop it?" she repeats, a puzzled look on her face. "Why on earth would you want to stop it? Look how much damage and destruction you're causing!"
I look. Trees are getting knocked over, lights in nearby houses are flickering, and my mom…she's thrown her hands in front of her face to protect herself from the blizzard. My blizzard.
Chloe puts a force field around the two of us, but the others have no protection whatsoever. I briefly hear Mom's voice yelling, "Matt! Neriah! Can't either of you do anything about this?"
Aunt Neriah yells back, "No! The only one who can do anything now is Ophelia!"
I see a fire start – probably Blaze – but the force of the wind is so strong that the fire keeps going out. Suddenly, I hear Ambrosine's voice whisper in my ear, "Ophelia, please! Call off this storm! We're all freezing, especially Kyle and Kevin, your baby brothers!"
It takes a few moments for her words to sink in. My baby brothers… Desperately, I try to call the ice and snow back to me, but with no luck. "I can't!" I whisper frantically back to my cousin.
She moans, and I hear her rush back to tell the group. So far, at least, nobody's gotten seriously hurt by the ice. Or so I thought. At that moment, I hear a piercing scream, and then cries of "Rochelle!"
I run out to see what's going on, ignoring Chloe's cries. Everyone is crowded around Rochelle, who's lying on the ground, motionless. If it wasn't for the fact that I see her breath rising into the air, I could swear that she's dead.
Isabel (I'm sorry that I had to switch half way through the chapter, but there's no other way.)
As soon as Rochelle falls, Ethan comes over to me and grabs the front of my shirt, "Isabel! You've got to do something! And don't tell me you can't this time, because we can all clearly see that she's still alive."
I nod, unable to speak. Kneeling down in the snow beside my friend, I place my hands on her stomach, since I'm not sure what happened exactly. Of course, if I knew what happened, I wouldn't need to even touch her, but I need to figure out what's going on.
Just as I'm getting a visual of what's happening inside of Rochelle, and I'm close to where the problem is, some strong force pushes me out, and I get physically thrown backwards.
I hit the ground with a thud, and Rochelle regains consciousness. She looks at everyone, and then at me. She sort of half grins before saying, "I'm going to die, aren't I?"
"No," Ethan cries. "Isabel will heal you, and you'll be fine! Right?" he shoots a worried look at me, and I shake my head.
"Whatever's killing her won't let me inside. It threw me out last time, and I'm scared to think of what might happen if I try again."
We all notice Ophelia standing awkwardly outside of the circle. Blaze's hands go on fire, and he runs over to her, slapping her and pushing her. "It's your fault that my mommy's dying!" he screams, tears streaming down his cheeks.
I pull him off of my daughter. She runs and hides behind my leg, something she hasn't done since she was 2. "No, it's not. Even if it is her power that caused all this, she didn't know what she was doing!"
I turn around and heal Ophelia. Rochelle clears her throat. "Hello, dying woman here, trying to tell you all something!"
We turn our attention back to her, and she begins. "6 years ago, when you all found out that I came back, you asked me how. I couldn't tell you because I was sworn to secrecy. If I told anyone, even in my thoughts, that Lorian brought me back, then my life would be taken away again."
Ethan looks confused. "But…you just told us."
Rochelle half grins again. "Yes, but I'm already dying. This way, it'll be much quicker and less painful. Can you even imagine how painful that was before?"
Through my tears, I smile weakly.
Rochelle continues. "So, Lorian brought me back. Apparently, when an Immortal dies," she looks pointedly at Matt, Neriah, and Ambrosine, "they get to choose one person to bring back from the dead. Lorian chose me, I guess so that all this could happen." Now her eyes are swimming with tears as well. Her voice is starting to fade, so we all have to get closer to hear her last messages. "Ethan," she says, "I love you more than anything. But do me one favour."
"W-what's that?"
She grins again. "This time, don't seclude yourself from everyone. I need you to be strong for Blaze, but don't think that you're not aloud to have your weak moments. Talk to someone. You have 6 great friends who will help you." She turns now to her son. "Blaze, be a good boy when Mommy's gone. Try not to give Daddy too hard of a time, but remember that it's okay to cry if you need to."
Rochelle turns to Ambrosine and Ophelia. "I want the two of you to be there for Blaze if he doesn't feel like talking to an adult." Turning, lastly, to the rest of us, she says, "Please try not to be too broken up about this. All of you, stick together and help each other through. If I have to force my ghost to come and haunt each and every one of you until you stay with each other, I will." This gets a feeble laugh from some. "I'll miss you all, and I'll never forget you. There, this time I got a proper goodbye!"
"Rochelle, no!" Ethan chokes out, but she closes her eyes and lets her body go limp.
End
Well, that may be the end, but I'm going to type the epilogue now. See, ThePurpleRose? I, too, am evil enough to permanently kill someone. I just usually wait for the end of the story…
