Disclaimer: None of the recognizable characters, etc. belong to me. I'm not getting paid for this, and you couldn't get much money from me by suing me, so please don't. However, new characters (Skye, Nobuyuki, Suki, Akira, Mirachtunel, Chephren) and this story are my sole creation and should NOT be used without my permission. The song at the end of this chapter is titled "The World (Crashing Down)", and is also my property, although I just want to point out that it sounds much better out loud than on a computer screen. ^_^;;
Part Four
"We were not wrong! How can you even think that?! He deserved to die!" Suki was shrieking shrilly at Rowen. They were standing toe-to-toe with one another, and Suki was ready to snap completely; her eyes were aflame, her fists were clenched at her sides, and she had a ready prey just inches in front of her.
Rowen stood his ground firmly and as calmly as he could, meeting her fierce gaze head-on. Barely able to keep his voice under control, he retorted hotly, "We were wrong, Suki. We had no right to take that man's life away! Revenge is not for us to dish out!"
"And who is it for? God?!! He didn't step in and keep that man from killing my brother, and he sure as hell didn't keep Mirachtunel from punishing the bastard! What the hell does he have to do with any of this?!"
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?!" Rowen yelled back, just as angrily. "You're letting Nobuyuki's death turn you into a monster! What next? You already sold your soul! What happens if your mom comes down with a terminal disease and you're pissed that she's going to die? Will you send Mirachtunel out to kill the doctors who couldn't save her? What price will you pay to see them die for your suffering? It's not worth it! We've ruined enough lives already! It has to end!! We have to stop this, right now!"
Suki stared daggers of rage at him, then looked at the others. "What about you? Do you feel the same way? Do you think we should break our oath with Master Mirachtunel? Did we make a mistake?"
Akira sat solemnly on a log, hugging Skye gently. Skye had been crying heavily, and her nose and eyes were red. She looked up at Suki harshly, speaking very clearly and stubbornly.
"We made a mistake. We were wrong."
"Rowen's right, Suki," Akira spoke softly. "We have to stop this before it goes any further."
Suki's muscular jaw was clenched tightly. Quietly, relentingly, she said, "Fine. If that's the way you all feel...we'll just tell Mirachtunel the deal's off."
"Fine. Why wait?" Rowen said. At the confused reactions, he added, "We're here, aren't we? Let's go summon him now."
Suki shifted her weight uncomfortably, but wasn't about to show her fear. Looking him straight in the eyes, she said, "Alright, why not?
"Let's go then," Rowen gesticulated as he walked to the end of the pool and crossed the shallow river to the circle of trees where they had gathered just a few nights earlier. The others followed reluctantly. All of them were frightened, no matter how much or how little they wanted to do this.
They assembled quickly and silently, lighting a fire in the small pit and gathering in the cardinal points, exactly as they had the last time. Suki stood in front of the log they had used as an altar. It still bore stains from the blood of their animal sacrifice. Akira instructed them all solemnly, telling them to hold hands in a ring around the fire and chant with him.
The chant went like this: "Mirachtunel, Mirachtunel, ven ai tunich mayalkiron. Des altein Mirachtunel!"
As they chanted, the modest fire rose higher and the flames leaped and swayed like leaves dancing in the wind. They did not flicker nor crack, and the movements were fluid, like streams of brightly-colored water suspended in the air. It was mesmerizing, and the children gathered around it couldn't help but be sucked in.
Suddenly, the fire flared out until Skye could feel it singe her eyelashes. They all jumped back in surprise, but the circle didn't break.
"Why do you summon me, my children?" Mirachtunel's deep, rough voice bellowed from within the flames. It was deafeningly loud, and sounded less than pleased.
Rowen glared at Suki meaningfully across the circle, but she clearly refused to speak up, so he declared, "Master, we wish to end our dealings with the dark realm. We-"
"The oath cannot be broken!!" Mirachtunel yelled, which was far worse than his bellowing. "Any who fail to fulfill their portion will be punished most severely! Blatant insubordination will result in death - or worse!"
Dread and terror seized their hearts, but Rowen found the strength to continue. "The deal we made with you was wrong! We won't submit ourselves to an eternity of evil!"
"THEN YOU WILL DIE!!!"
The fire spilled out of its stone boundary like spilt water and spread like a brushfire to the ground and trees surrounding. The four of them broke the circle and leaped out of its reach with the fire under their feet and biting at their clothes. Rowen rolled into the river, dragging Skye with him. Akira and Suki darted between the thick trees outside the ring of fire and soon leaped into the river themselves.
As soon as they were out of its reach, the fire receded and died out, but with its departure rang out the words that would follow the four of them every day for the rest of their lives: "I will come for each of you, and if you disobey me again, you will die."
*****
The sun had just finished its descent behind the mountains off in the distance, but the air was still hot and muggy; too much so for this time of year. There would be no moon tonight, and already it was promising to be a pitch black night in the forest at best. Rowen and Skye walked along the winding paths among the trees together, hand in hand, both trying to steady themselves in their resolve. Echoes of the past seemed to come back to them here in the forest with their friends' deaths on their minds. Pushing them aside, they entered the clearing together and stood side by side in front of the pool they'd shared so many memories by. The only sounds to be heard were the gushing of the river to their right, and their deep, quiet breathing.
"Chephren!" Rowen yelled into the empty air. "We're here! Come and get us!"
A thick, deep laughter reverberated all around them. Skye clutched Rowen's hand tighter to her and looked all over for the source of the sound. Suddenly, there was a sound like snapping wires, and a large figure plummeted from above. All they could see before it plunged under the water was a shock of blond streaked with red.
"Sage!" Rowen yelled, diving into the water like a bolt of lightning.
The moment he was under the water, Chephren's laughter cackled again and a red figure soared down from the sky, landing in a crouched position a few feet in front of Skye. Skye gasped and tried to jump back, but Chephren was too quick and nailed her with a strong kick to the stomach. Skye fell back, the wind knocked out of her, and Chephren stood over her, gloating.
"You shouldn't have come, girl. Didn't you know it would only result in your death?"
Skye rasped between gasping breaths, "As...long as I...get to...take...you with me."
Rowen came up again, gasping for air and carrying a large bundle over his shoulder as he struggled to climb out of the pool. He laid Sage's unconscious body on the edge of the banks, and climbed out. The moment he spotted Chephren, he forgot about Sage and lunged at the woman, knocking her off her feet with a swift kick to the chest and allowing Skye to go to Sage. As the two warriors battled intensely in unarmed combat, Skye removed Sage's gag and checked to see if he was breathing.
Rowen parried a punch, which distracted him from the knee that found his gut. He doubled over in pain, and Chephren brought her elbow down on the back of his head. He hit the ground and rolled to the side just as Chephren brought her foot down on the spot where his head had been. Despite his dizziness, he immediately recovered and swept her leg before she could react. Once she was down, he regained his footing and took on a fighting stance, standing just out of her reach. With an angry snarl, she climbed to her feet and wiped away the blood that was dripping from her nose. Rowen barely managed to dodge her next attack, which was even more vicious than her previous ones, and they entered a deadly dance of attack and defense that outdid anything either had ever participated in before.
In the meantime, Skye untied Sage's arms and legs and the blond slowly revived. Once he did, he struggled to his feet with Skye's help and was all ready to enter the battle between Rowen and Chephren, but Skye held him back. Wordlessly, she signaled and tugged him over to the edge of the river. They waded across hurriedly, and Skye jumped up onto the banks and entered the circle of charred forest where she'd sealed her fate so long ago. Sage followed uncertainly, but he thought he understood when she pulled out a bundle in white cloth and placed it on a large stone at the edge of the circle. Unwrapping the cloth, she withdrew a sword, a dagger, and a yellowed book with large, scrawling letters on the front. She took them all and kneeled before a pile of burnt wood that might have been a tree trunk once. She spread the cloth over the mess and placed the ornate sword over that.
In hushed tones, she told Sage, "Get some wood we can burn - quick! We have to start a fire."
Sage disappeared once he left the edge of the circular clearing, but soon returned with his arms full of various dead chunks of wood and small branches. He dumped them all in a pile in the middle of a small circle of stones in front of Skye's make-shift altar. Skye desperately searched deep in her pockets for the small, half-empty book of matches she'd put there. Withdrawing it at last, she tossed it to Sage, who immediately set to work setting the crisp brown leaves on one of the branches afire. It didn't catch, and Sage hurriedly ripped another match from the pack and struck it on the rough strip on the back of the book as he heard the sounds of the fight escalating on the other side of the river. Three more tries failed, then finally some leaves caught and began to spread the flame. He set a small patch of twigs and leaves on the other side of the pile on fire too for good measure and sat back as it quickly spread to the rest of the wood, which reluctantly caught as well.
Sage and Skye both whipped their heads up when a strangled cry and a huge splash in the river cut through the air. Sage only waited long enough to see Chephren jumping into the shallow water after her victim before he darted out of the trees after her. Rowen laid in the water, trying to recover, with Chephren about to pounce on him, a large, glistening blade in her hands and ready to come down right on top of him.
Sage jumped into the path of the blade just in time, taking it deep in his abdomen. Rowen cried out and caught his friend as he fell with the blade protruding grossly from his stomach. Chephren laughed smugly and stepped back a few paces while Rowen went through a range of emotions from grief and sorrow to anger and guilt in the blink of an eye. His eyes never left Sage, who was breathing rapidly and staring at his stomach as blood gushed out of the wound, too shocked to speak and in too much pain to move.
"Sage, are you okay?" Rowen asked fearfully. Sage looked at him, and his eyes were wide with fear and pain, but he was speechless. Rowen spoke soothingly, but his tone was urgent. "Sage, I have to pull it out. Just...hold on, okay? You're going to get through this. I won't let anything happen to you!"
Sage nodded mutely, bracing himself against another wave of pain. As it peaked and he began to feel feint, Rowen gripped the hilt of the blade and drew it out as quickly and forcefully as he could steady himself to. Sage screamed in agony and passed out in Rowen's arms as Chephren laughed even harder at their predicament.
"Quite a situation you're in, Hashiba. Your friend needs medical attention very soon if he's to survive, but the only way he's going to get it is once you've gone through me - if you can!" she taunted cruelly, standing to one side with her arms crossed at her chest.
Rowen felt his blood run hot and begin to boil in his veins, and he lifted Sage up in his arms, placing him in the tall, thick grasses on the edge of the river near Skye. She went to him immediately, trying to slow the bleeding and get him to wake up. Rowen still held the bloodied knife in his bloodied hands, and he looked down at the red mess blankly. He shut his eyes tightly, looking up to the sky as he closed his fist around the hilt of the blade and made up his mind: this had to be finished, now.
Chephren ceased her taunting and watched him, unmoving, unblinking. With a sudden cry, he leapt in the air, brandishing the blade before him as he sailed through the sky toward the demon-servant with murder in his eyes. She sidestepped his blow, but he landed swiftly and sliced backwards, cutting the air and severing a few red hairs next to her ear even as she jumped back defensively. Chephren whipped her bo staff out from a pocket of thin air and blocked another blow, but almost immediately found a way to turn the tables and end up on the offensive side. Taking advantage of a small opening in his defense, she struck hard and fast, leaving Rowen reeling in pain.
She swung again, but Rowen dodged it and rebounded with a quick punch-kick combination that knocked her off-guard just long enough for him to create a little room between them. As soon as she recovered, the battle resumed, and she was pissed off now. Her attacks were merciless and flawless. If not for Rowen's experience and speed, she would have had him outmatched and beaten in a mere fraction of the time it took them. But as it was, they were well-matched, and the fight was going to be to the death; neither were going to give in easily.
Endless seconds of attack, block, rebound, parry, attack, recover, attack, and the seconds turned into minutes. Time was ticking away too quickly, and always in Rowen's mind was his wounded friend, who was likely to bleed to death before anything was resolved. Becoming increasingly more desperate, Rowen's fighting style grew erratic and erroneous. His defense was crumbing, his reaction time slowing, and his attacks weakening, providing Chephren with more and more opportunities to end it all. Finally, she struck the deciding blow.
His guard was down for only a split second between attacks, but that was all she needed. Her bo found his knee cap and cracked over it with such ferocity that it suffered a hairline fracture in the wood. Rowen cried out in pain and bent forward in pain, leaving himself open for a follow-up attack, this time across his spine and so hard the staff snapped in two. With a strangled moan Rowen fell forward into the water and didn't stir.
"Rowen, no!" Skye screamed from Sage's side.
Chephren laughed maliciously, grinning like a madman. She gripped half of the splintered, sharp-ended bo staff in both hands, and raised it one last time over Rowen's back. She licked her lips hungrily, intent on savoring the moment for a little longer.
Looking down on his unmoving body with pity, she spat and said, "Goodbye, Rowen of the Strata. Perhaps we shall meet again in another life. I look forward to fighting you again - and killing you."
She threw her entire body down on top of her victim, adding to the force she was already using to plunge the wooden stake down on her prey. Chephren was in midair - a mere eighteen inches from Rowen's back - when he suddenly spun around, raising the still-bloody knife in one hand while sliding out of the way just in time for Chephren to plummet into the water face-first. She landed fully on the blade, taking it and her stake full the chest, shattering her sternum and plunging the metal knife right through her chest.
Rowen felt the life go out of her, and her lifeless body bobbed limply in the water with the instruments of death protruding from her chest and spine. He rolled her onto her side forcefully, pulling the knife out of her corpse and running it through the water to take some of the blood away. Without an ounce of remorse, he stood weakly and limped through the water, climbed onto the banks of the river, and stumbled to Skye's side. She looked into his eyes with fear and helplessness, and it filled him with the greatest dread he'd ever known.
"Is he...?" he asked hoarsely, unable to finish.
"Not yet, but it won't be long now," said Skye.
Rowen stood, pulling her up by the arm. "Come on, we have to finish this."
"What?!" Skye exclaimed.
"We can't wait! It has to end now!"
"What about Sage? He'll die-"
"He'll die if we turn our backs on this and Mirachtunel comes after us for penance!" Rowen yelled. And Skye knew it was true. She knew they had passed the point of no return. It was now...or never.
"Okay," she whispered. "Let's get this over with."
With a final glance at the unconscious, slowly dying warrior, they turned their backs and reentered the circle, where the fire had grown to a small, but raging inferno. Skye took the head position at the altar, and Rowen took his opposite her. They sat before the angry orange flames resolutely, and Skye opened the spellbook to a marked page. She took the ornate dagger that lay beside it in her left hand and held it over the altar, over the sword. Her right hand was poised in front of it, at the tip of the sharp silver blade.
She exhaled a deep, long breath and steadied herself. She looked up at Rowen, staring across the fire and asked, "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," he said firmly, meeting her gaze. Taking in a deep lungful of air that made his injured back jolt with pain, he began in a low voice that quivered slightly. He spoke slowly, pronouncing each word precisely in a reverse of Akira's original chant. "Thcer sobeanma enicud enutciv! I bodna sotnahcim sotnarim ia!" After finishing the verse three times, the skies opened with a deafening crack of thunder. Lightning struck the river a few dozen yards downstream, lighting the night with a lucid glow.
Skye took that as her signal, and drew the point of the dagger down over her palm, opening up the flesh and spilling her warm red blood on the sword. A large, crimson puddle spread over the bright white cloth of the altar, staining it forever. The flames of the bonfire leapt higher and turned a deep, blood red. As Skye began to recite her part from the spellbook, the skies unleashed a rain of hot, stinging water down on the forest. It pelted their skin like acid, but they couldn't stop now.
"We gather here to call Mirachtunel, Lord of Revenge and Death, to sever our woeful souls from his undying vice. We pray to the Lady for forgiveness for our evil doings, and call our rightful master to challenge him: a duel to the death to unleash our spirits from his madness! Wrongs done to us, wrongs we have done, wrongs he would have us do; the circle has been broken but haunts us still. Mirachtunel, foulest demon, show mercy on your subjects! We call thee forth from the abyss; we call thee and stir thee; we challenge thee! Mirachtunel! Oaynat hcun ialed a Lenuthcarim!" Skye's voice was high and shrill, but Rowen could only just make it out over the wailing of the wind and roar of the storm that brewed and cried above as she took the sword in her hands and shoved it deep into the heart of the altar.
Lightning rained down all around them, simultaneously striking the river and trees around them in at least six places and charging the air with electricity. It smelled rank and reminded Rowen of Akira's ruined house that morning, but he managed to suppress his nausea. The rain continued to pour down on them violently, and the wind howled and shook them. Lightning struck a tree at the edge of the circle, and its eight-foot base fell only feet from Skye.
"Something's wrong!" she called out to Rowen over the roar.
Rowen ran it all through his head. *Make everything the same, everything the same... * he rambled in his mind, thinking of the original spell and tonight.
"Of course! Skye, we don't have enough people!"
"What?"
"We need Akira and Suki! It won't work without them!"
He forced himself to think calmly and rationally. How did you get two dead people to attend a ritual to call their demon master?
*Pray!* a voice in his mind sang out urgently.
"Pray?" he mumbled uncertainly. "It has to work... Skye, we have to pray! Pray for Akira and Suki to help us!"
Skye nodded. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ro..." she whispered under her breath as she closed her eyes. Skye had never been religious before, but she figured this was a good time to start.
Almost with one mind, they thought, *Akira, Suki! We need you! Please, help us destroy Mirachtunel and set us all free! We can't do it without you! Please! *
The cold, unrelenting storm was pierced by a spear of warmth as a misty green fog rose at the edge of the circle, enclosing Skye and Rowen in a wide column of warmth and glowing light that could be seen from the nearest neighborhoods. Rowen and Skye kept their heads bowed in prayer, even as the transparent images of two spirits materialized to their sides, kneeling in front of the fire and in positions of prayer. As one unit, all four cried out in prayer, "Oaynat hcun ialed a Lenuthcarim!"
A deafening howl of agony and rage echoed from a point just above the leaping red flames of the fire, where a black vortex was gutting the air. It widened, with tendrils of electric black energy shooting out from all directions, some just missing Rowen and Skye. When it was big enough to swallow one of them, a creature erupted from the opening, its oily black skin oozing with a yellowed liquid that reeked of death and its five enormous tentacles like tree trunks thrashing madly in the air, groping for something to strangle the life out of. It had no solid form, but held shape like a congealing drop of blood when cooled, and it was larger than three horses - and at least as strong. There were sharp, spire-like points on its head and back like horns, and one large elliptical eye that glowed with a scarlet lust for living blood. Here was Mirachtunel, in all his disgusting horror, and he was pissed.
He unleashed a shrill shriek that was nowhere near human, and the green mist fragmented and dissipated.
"Wretched traitors! Foul, disgusting creatures! You die now!!!"
Akira and Suki's apparitions writhed in agony, shimmered and disappeared altogether. The storm's fury came down ten times as hard now, and the lightning strikes increased in frequency, but Rowen and Skye did not run. They stood their ground firmly as Mirachtunel's one cycloptic eye fixed on them. A slimy black tentacle shot out for her, and she leaped to the side just in time.
"Skye!" Rowen screamed, lunging forward to help. But the demon deftly swiped at him with another of its tentacles, knocking him off his feet. He laid in the grass, moaning in pain. The oily substance on the creature's skin burned like acid, and his skin felt like it was on fire.
Now it was Skye's turn to dart to his aid, but she was more successful. She struggled to pull him up, but Rowen saw the broad tentacle coming and pulled her on top of him just out of its reach. He rolled her under him, and they locked gazes for one intense moment as the last moments approached.
Rowen looked into her frightened violet eyes and knew the time had come. He leaned in and kissed her passionately, communicating all the love and hope he could muster at once. He broke it reluctantly, gazed lovingly into her eyes one last time, and whispered, "I love you, Skye."
Then he gathered his weak, battered body up for a last stand with fate. He snatched up a fist-sized rock and hurled it at Mirachtunel's head, yelling, "Come and get me! I'm right here! Come on!" and jumping up and down just feet in front of the vortex where the beast was coming through from the Dark Realm. Two enormous, oily battering rams swung at him from different directions, giving him a split second to react without losing his head. He leaped over the first, lower one, and rolled his recovery into a somersault while the other passed overhead. He ended up beside the ruined altar and pulled the sword from its remains like the proverbial sword in the stone. He saw another strike coming straight at him and spun himself in a tight circle with the sword flying out at shoulder-height. It sliced right through the blubbery flesh and severed the tentacle completely.
Mirachtunel shrieked and screeched furiously as he flailed and thrashed in pain. "Aargh! Strata! You'll suffer eternally for this! I'll see you dead this night!"
"Like hell you will!" Rowen yelled. In his mind, he was screaming, How do you kill an immortal demon?! He knew hesitation was not an option, so he went for the first thing that entered his mind. With a shrill cry, he leaped into the air, slicing off the end of another tentacle and landing on the demon's expansive belly. Mirachtunel howled and swung at him fiercely, but Rowen lunged forward, plunging the sword deep into the pupil of Mirachtunel's scarlet eye, unleashing gallons of sticky yellow-clear blood over his head and body. Now it howled in agony and wrath deeper than ever, even as the blade pierced his brain.
Some of the oozing yellow blood landed on Rowen's arm, burning him like acid. He hissed in pain, and at that moment Mirachtunel's flailing tentacles found him and sent him flying through the air like a sack of potatoes. He landed on his right shoulder and felt the bone pop out of its socket with a sickening suction-like noise. He cried out in pain as he struggled to his feet again slowly. He shot a quick glance at Mirachtunel and found him still writhing in pain from the gaping wound in his head.
"What does it take to kill this thing?" he panted exasperatedly.
He whirled around at a sound behind him.. Too fast. His head swam and his body felt both heavier than lead and lighter than air simultaneously. Skye jumped out of the trees and caught him before he could fall. Her eyes were pain-filled just from seeing him like this.
"Ro, you can't go on like this! You're going to be slaughtered!"
"I have to," he said. "I can finish this!" He tried to lift the long, double-edged sword again, and cried out in pain.
"What is it?" Skye asked in fear.
"My shoulder...it's dislocated," Rowen managed to say through clenched teeth as he gripped his arm to his body.
Carefully but firmly, Skye placed one hand on his shoulder and the other on his back to steady them both. Before Rowen could protest, she jerked the shoulder back into its socket with a loud crunch, sending him into spasms of pain. Skye was bent over to help him when a thick black tentacle swept her up around the waist and held her up near Mirachtunel's ugly, blood-covered face.
"Are you frightened, child?" he rasped in disgust and conviction. "If you fear now, just wait until I send you to Hell!"
"Rowen!" Skye screamed helplessly as she struggled against his vice-like grip. Scenes from the movie 'Anaconda' suddenly flashed through her mind as she felt the muscles rippling under the rubbery flesh. The goo on his skin was burning her flesh, and she had to struggle not to cry out in pain.
Rowen pushed through the waves of dizzying pain and climbed to his feet drunkenly, the sword hanging limply from his hand. He saw his friend - his love - dangling helplessly in Mirachtunel's grasp, and he yelled out to her, "Skye! Hold on!"
Gripping the sword in both hands, he poured all of his resolve, every ounce of his will, determination, and love into one last stand. He felt a new burst of power and adrenaline rush through him, and when he looked down on his blade, it was glowing with a blinding blue light that spread up his arms and encased his entire body in a bright aura. Blind and pissed as he was, Mirachtunel sensed the power, and turned to Rowen suddenly.
Rowen yelled fiercely as he rushed upon his enemy, the sword held out before him. Mirachtunel shrieked, but it was too late. Rowen plunged the blade deep into Mirachtunel's belly, embedding it so deeply he couldn't remove it without losing an arm. The blue aura filled Mirachtunel's insides like a raging fire, eating away at him.
Mirachtunel wailed deeply, letting Skye fall to the earth. He knew he was dying, but he wanted to end one more life before it was all over. With one last cry and burst of adrenaline, one fully-intact tentacle lashed out and batted Rowen off him like a pesky gnat to smash against a tree trunk.
Mirachtunel's last howls rang through the night in vain as the blue light engulfed him whole and the vortex swallowed him, sealing itself shut. The storm suddenly ceased and the clouds parted. The fire died as the air grew still and dry, and the night was black and silent.
Skye's breaths came in short, panting gasps as her heart pounded furiously in her chest. Fighting off the pain and fear in her limbs and body, she rose and went to Rowen and Sage, checking dreadfully for signs of life. Finding them present but severely weak - and worsening - she did the only thing that entered her mind. Purely from instinct, a bright symbol, "West," flashed on her forehead in a soft violet glow, enveloping her body in a hazy aura. She raised her arms with a look of pure serenity on her face, and the aura enveloped Rowen and Sage as well. In another moment, they were no longer in the forest, far from help, but were just inside the doors of the Emergency Entrance at Tokyo Mercy.
*****
Skye shook her head slightly, whipping a few stray strands of silver-violet hair behind her shoulders. She rang the doorbell again and tried to wait patiently. She smiled at the warm sunshine on her back and dipped her head to smell the sweet-smelling flowers gathered in two large bundles in her arms. The front door finally opened, and Skye smiled warmly at the sunny young face that greeted her.
"Hi, Yuli!" she said.
"Hey, Skye!" the boy smiled.
"How are they?" Skye stepped into the front entryway of the house and slipped her shoes off.
"Not too bad. The doctors say they can get out of bed in a couple days, but Mia said not till she says so."
"Oh, really? I bet they aren't taking that too well."
"Nope, I guess not."
"Can I go see them?"
"Sure! Mia said that's okay, as long as they don't get too tired."
"I'll be sure not to wear them out," Skye smiled as she took the liberty of showing herself to the main upstairs hall. Mia was just exiting one of the bedrooms when she saw Skye.
"Hello! How are you today?" she greeted warmly.
"Not too bad. Yourself?"
"Fine. Did Yuli let you in?"
"Yeah. Do you mind if I...?" She gestured toward the door.
"Not at all. We were hoping to see you today." Mia went on merrily, and Skye let herself into the bedroom.
The curtains were drawn open, illuminating the room with the bright sunlight and creating a calm, happy atmosphere. Two young men were laying comfortably in their beds.
"Hi, guys!" she said cheerfully, getting their attention.
"Hey, Skye!" Sage grinned and tried to sit up in his bed. He was still very weak from his stomach wound and all the blood he had lost, but he was recovering well, and managed to get to a half-sit before giving up.
Rowen peeked over the edge of a thick book marked 'Asimov' in bold lettering and flashed Skye a warm smile. There was a bandage wrapped around his head and a few bad cuts still marking his cheek and forehead, as well as bandages around the knee that was propped up on some pillows, but he looked much better than he had a few days earlier, when he'd been released from the hospital.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey yourself," she grinned, leaning in to kiss him sweetly on the mouth.
"What've you got there?" he asked, looking at the bouquets in her hands.
"What does it look like? I'm spoiling you rotten, remember? This one is for you," she said, handing Rowen one of the bundles. It was brimming with bluebells, soft yellow lilies, a few perfect blue tulips, and a smothering of baby's breath. Turning to Sage, she offered a bundle filled with a similar mix in violet, white and yellow hues, saying, "And this is for you."
"Thanks, Skye. They're beautiful," Sage said in admiration.
"You're welcome, Sage. So, I hear you two are being quarantined for a few days yet?"
"Yeah," Rowen sighed. "Mia's playing nurse again, and not in the kinky way Ryo likes." Skye giggled, and Sage snickered.
"So how are you feeling?" Skye asked.
"A lot better, thanks," Rowen said, grinning, "I can actually sleep without fear of slipping into a coma now, and I only get a minorly crippling head rush when I get up to go to the bathroom."
Skye laughed, her eyes twinkling happily. "That's good, I guess. Sage, how 'bout you?"
"Not bad. Just tired, usually. And my stomach doesn't hurt so much now."
"That's because they're keeping you pumped on morphine, dummy!"
"Shut up!"
"Make me!"
"No, just do it!
"Well," Skye called over them, making them quiet down, "I'm glad to see you're both feeling better. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm being forced to start attending school again before my parents get arrested for letting me skip so much. I'll stop by tomorrow afternoon, 'kay?"
"Okay," Rowen said, tilting his head up as Skye leaned in for another kiss. Their lips met in a passionate kiss that sent ripples of pleasure down both of their spines.
Reluctantly, Skye pulled away, saying, "I love you, Rowen."
"I love you, too," he responded sincerely.
Sage tried to stifle his giggles unsuccessfully, and burst out laughing.
"Sage, grow up!" Rowen scolded, tossing a pillow at the blond's head that missed by a couple feet.
"Your aim's off, hon," Skye grinned. Rowen looked at her in annoyance, but she just ignored it, saying, "I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay ,guys?"
"'Kay, bye!" Sage called between spasms of stifled laughter. He was clutching his stomach, trying not to aggravate it too much, all of which made Rowen even more annoyed. This, of course, made Sage laugh harder, creating an inescapable cycle.
"Bye, Skye," Rowen grumbled.
Skye let herself out of the room and closed the door behind her to the words, "If you don't shut up, I'm gonna put you back in that hospital!"
Once outside the house and on her way down the drive, she sighed contentedly, thinking to herself how lucky she was and how perfectly things were turning out when they had been so bleak just a short time ago. She only hoped they stayed that way for a long, long time.
A high, sweet music filled the air, and Skye spotted a beautiful, brightly-colored bird on the lowest branches of a nearby tree. She walked closer curiously, and reached out a steady hand to the small red and blue creature. It hopped onto her hand and sang to her as it stared up into her wide violet eyes, seeming to tell her something.
"You don't say?" she asked it softly. "Well that's very good news. Thank you very much."
The bird did a small head bob and seemed to curtsy in a friendly bird fashion before it took to the air and disappeared from sight.
Skye continued down her path, strolling along with a spring in her step that made her hair swing fluidly from side to side as she sang a soulful, dramatic song with a quick, steady rhythm to herself.
"The clouds roll in,
The tide moves out;
Judgement Day has come.
The skies grow dark,
The storms do rage;
The world comes crashing down.
Once we kissed,
Twice we loved,
And death cannot tear us apart.
Death... Beware...
Allies flee; foes despair;
But nothing will change my heart.
Danger surmounts; evils lurk;
But love is here doing its part.
Your lips meet mine
As we embrace
And promise to always be true.
Lightning strikes and
The skies have weeped;
Death has come to greet us.
The shadows fall;
My heart... stops.
BUT NO ONE CAN MAKE US STOP!
His eyes close;
His head falls;
He whispers, once:
...Always! I always will love you..."
THE END