Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising (44 page)

They were winning.

A maniacal laugh cut through the room and she turned on a pinpoint to face Elena.

She watched as Elena blew one of the Caelestis high guard’s into pieces. She growled.

Elena turned to face her, a wicked smile twisting her lips.

Prophecy growled again when Elena changed, morphing into Valentine’s shape, just like she’d expected her to. She ran at him, leaping up onto the back of an Aleaeries and launching herself at the witch. The second she landed on the platform, she attacked, not giving Valentine a chance to make the first move.

She threw a fireball at the fake Valentine and glanced at the real Valentine to make sure that she was fighting the right person. He smiled slightly, his sword gripped tightly in one hand while he throttled a zombie with the other.

“I told you I’d make you pay,” Prophecy growled the words at Elena, hating the fact she was in Valentine’s form, and brought her sword down in a swift arc while at the same time casting another spell.

She put all of her power into her blows, both magic and with the sword. She had to defeat Elena. She had to make her pay just like she’d promised. She had to give it every last ounce of energy she had, for the sake of being with Valentine and for all the people who had given their lives in this fight.

She struck hard and hit the fake Valentine on the shoulder. He recoiled backwards, a look of shock entering his eyes. Prophecy struck again, fuelling herself by remembering what Elena had done. She had taken so much from her. She had taken Mathias, and Iona. She had taken countless other lives, the lives of people she knew and cared for.

She had taken Valentine.

Prophecy roared as she struck again, this time hard enough to cut through the armour on Valentine’s shoulder and into his flesh. She felt the sword hit bone and heard the cry of pain, watching Elena appear for a moment before she changed back into Valentine. Yanking it free, she swiped at Valentine again, forcing him backwards towards the wall.

She changed into her vampire guise, using her heightened abilities to aid her in the fight. The smell of fresh blood filled her senses and she roared again. Remembering the spell she’d absorbed in her mother’s house, the one Valentine had chosen, she focused on her amulet as she attacked. She could feel the power building there, the strength she needed to defeat Elena. The room shook and darkness began to engulf her hand. She could feel the blackness growing inside of her as the spell raced towards completion. It wracked her body, sending painful tremors through her.

She stopped dead when three shimmering spots of light punctuated the darkness, blinding her and forcing her out of her vampire guise. She shielded her eyes with her hand, squinting to see what was happening.

A cry filled the air and the light disappeared.

She lowered her hand and looked at the Three. They were standing around the fake Valentine, their hands glowing brightly like her own, but with a white magic. She looked at her hand, watching the ribbons of black magic weaving through her fingers. She could feel the power it held and the devastation it could cause if she were to use it. It wasn’t the way.

Too many lives had been lost already. She wouldn’t risk losing more.

The fake Valentine struggled as she approached but couldn’t break the bond the Three had on him. Prophecy nodded a thank you to them. She had forgotten they’d told her that they would see her here.

Elena growled at her and tried to shift out of Valentine’s shape, but couldn’t. No matter what the witch did, she remained kneeling on the floor, in the guise of Valentine.

Just like Prophecy had seen in her vision.

She knew what she had to do.

Raising her sword, she became unaware of the battle around her. The cries of death and smell of blood disappeared. There was only her and Elena.

This was her destiny.

Calling her magic, she focused it on both her hands and tightly gripped the sword. Elena was muttering something and magic was weaving around her whole body. Prophecy concentrated hard, extending her magic so it ran along the blade of the sword, swirling around it and making it shine purple.

Only magic could defeat magic. She needed something powerful to cut through Elena’s spell and her neck.

Coming around the side of the witch, she stared down at her as the Three forced her lower. Elena’s head hung forwards, her long black hair falling down beside her head and exposing her neck.

Prophecy stared at it, breathing deeply and focusing through the pain. Her whole body burned with the magic. It made her bones ache as she called every last drop of strength she had and put everything into the spell and the sword.

Raising the sword, she held it tightly and fixed her eyes on Elena’s neck, shutting out the rest of the world.

This was for Mathias.

This was for Iona.

This was for her friends.

This was for Valentine.

“This ends tonight,” she said.

With a roar of exertion tangled with a cry of pain as the magic ripped through her, she brought the sword down in a hard, fast arc. She closed her eyes as she felt the resistance of Elena’s spell and then gritted her teeth when the blade hit the flagstones, sending reverberations through her.

She breathed heavily, struggling against the onslaught of pain and fatigue.

Opening her eyes, she looked around her at the room and saw all the zombies fall to the ground. A few under-demons remained and the rest of her army attacked them. Her head spun as people ran in from outside and her body screamed at her that the sun was coming.

She wavered slightly as she tried to walk towards the edge of the platform, away from Elena’s headless body. She managed barely a few steps before her knees gave way, her legs too weak to carry her any further. She fell to the ground, the sword slipping from her hand and her stomach turning over. Hollowness filled her. The drain of becoming wholly vampire and the energy given to the magic left her feeling dead inside.

Pushing her hands hard into the ground, she tried to get up, but collapsed again.

“Rest,” said a strong male voice. “It is time to rest.”

Tears filled her eyes on hearing it. She buried her face into Valentine’s neck when he wrapped his arms about her, cradling her against him and supporting her tired body.

She limply put her arms around him, too weak to hold him properly like she wanted to and too drained to cry with relief.

It was over.

She’d fulfilled her destiny and it was over.

“The long night has ended,” a familiar female voice said and she looked up to see the Three standing before her.

“But we will see you again,” the second witch said.

“Soon,” the youngest one said, smiling.

She nodded and then flinched away when they disappeared in as bright a flash as they’d appeared in.

She managed a smile when the light cleared and she saw her friends walking towards her. Sitting up a little in Valentine’s embrace, she blinked and the tears spilled down her cheeks.

Hyperion was licking wounds on his arms as he approached but when he reached her, he was ready with a seductive smile.

“You truly are a beautiful woman, only made even more stunning by your skill on the battlefield.” He bowed low and looked up at her. “It is an honour to say I have fought beside you.”

She averted her eyes and then found the strength to look back at him, surprised by his words and the fact that Valentine hadn’t even tensed on hearing them. She placed her hand over his where it rested against her thigh and held it.

“The honour was mine,” she said to Hyperion as he continued to lick the blood off his arms and hands. She’d never seen him looking so pleased.

When he stepped to one side with his Watchmen, her whole body lightened with relief.

Mia and Dmitri were holding each other as they came to stand before her. She nodded her thanks to them and then looked at Serenity, who was helping Cornelius stand. Valentine had been right. He wasn’t much of a warrior and had clearly been hurt. She could smell the blood on him.

“When my strength returns, I’ll heal you, and anyone else that needs it,” she said and Cornelius bowed.

Serenity checked he was all right and then rushed over to her. Prophecy closed her eyes as her friend wrapped her up in a tight hug. She held her as tightly as she could manage and then smiled through her tears when Serenity released her, a look of deep concern in her eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

A flash of light caught her eye and she looked around at the open doors. The sunlight was streaming in. Tears filled her eyes when her gaze shifted to Venturi. He looked so tired and beaten, scratches marring his cheeks and his armour bloodied and dented. Gripping Valentine’s shoulder, she struggled to her feet and held his arm when he stood beside her.

She smiled at Venturi, causing her tears to cascade down her cheeks. When he smiled back, she was filled with warmth and relief, happy beyond words to see that he had survived. She looked into Valentine’s eyes and was surprised when he let go of her arm and smiled, as though he knew without words what she was asking of him. She touched his cheek and then took a deep breath, knowing that he would be able to sense everything she was feeling about Venturi, and surprised that he seemed to have accepted it.

Walking over to Venturi, she wrapped her arms about his neck and closed her eyes when he held onto her, his breath cool against her throat. She gripped him tighter as more tears came, falling down her cheeks in an endless stream. She wanted to tell him so many things, wanted to tell him that she was glad he was all right and how she felt about him, but words eluded her and all she could do was hold onto him and hope that he’d know everything from her actions.

She cupped his cheek when she drew back, and looked deep into his intense blue eyes. They were smiling at her and she could see so much affection in their depths that she knew he’d got the message loud and clear now.

Releasing him, she toyed with the bottom of her breastplate.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she whispered to her feet.

He caught hold of her jaw and raised her head, looking straight into her eyes.

“I am the one who is glad, glad that you are all right and that you did not destroy my home. It is nice to have it back,” he said in a low voice, the kind of tone she would have once hated but now loved. It was intimate and full of unspoken feelings. “Rest a while. You are always welcome here.”

She smiled and placed her hand over his. “It’s reciprocal. There will always be a room for you at my home.”

She watched in silence as he turned his hand, taking hold of hers and bringing it to his lips. He pressed a long kiss to it, staring into her eyes the whole time, and she let him see the effect it had on her and how she felt.

When he bowed and walked away from her, she saw that all the survivors were tending to each other, helping each other heal as best they could. When she was strong again, she would heal them all. She nodded when Tiberius looked over at her and he bowed in response. She smiled at him, and at Xavier and Piotr.

Heaving a sigh, she looked over her shoulder at Valentine. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms about her waist, pulling her back flush against him. He pressed a kiss to her throat and when she reached out with her senses, she was surprised to find that he wasn’t the slightest bit angry or jealous over how she’d acted with Venturi.

Turning in his embrace, she snaked her arms about him and looked up at him, taking in the way he was smiling at her and how beautiful he was.

“We did it,” she said in a breathless whisper. “We made it through together.”

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her hard. She latched onto his feelings of happiness and relief, and kissed him back with all the strength and passion she could muster.

Tears crept from the corners of her closed eyes and she brought her hands up, holding him close to her. He was holding her so tightly that she felt as though she couldn’t breathe and she could sense how much he loved her and how glad he was that they’d made it through.

“
You told me you love me,
” he said telepathically.

She smiled against his mouth. “
I love you.
”

He kissed her deeper. “
I love you too.
”

“
I want to lock myself away with you for days … weeks,
” she said.

He stopped kissing her and frowned. “We have families to run.”

She shrugged. “That’s what Chosen Son’s and Daughter’s are for.”

He grinned at her, mischief filling his eyes, laced with desire.

She brushed her lips against his, barely touching them. The feeling of it made her eyes close and her stomach feel as though it was too light for her body. It flipped and jigged as his tongue swept against her lower lip and then he kissed her. When he pulled back again, he was still grinning wickedly.

“I still have apartments that people do not know about.”

She giggled when he lifted her off the floor, their armour making it impossible for her to get as close to him as she wanted. She wrapped her arms about his neck and smiled down at him as he looked up at her. Sighing at him, she nodded. They were due a little time alone together.

She glanced around the room at their friends and then at the open door and the daylight outside. Her smile broadened when she watched the shafts of sunlight moving across the floor.

She felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders and she was free again. Lives had been lost and wars had been won. New friendships had been forged and love had been found. Her whole world had changed. Her whole life had changed.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, she had a future in front of her that she was in control of. One that was certain.

She brought both her hands up and cupped Valentine’s cheeks. He was still smiling at her, his eyes reflecting all his love for her. She lowered her head and rested her nose against his.

Shifting slightly, she touched her lips against his and sighed when he kissed her.

She’d made it through.