by Bryan Davis
“I apologize for my absence,” Sorentine said. “When I saw these two escaping, I thought it better to make sure they caused no further trouble.”
“And what of Yellinia?” Thigocia asked. “Have you seen her?”
Sorentine’s head dipped low. “The slayer beheaded her. I assume the others did not tell you because of their grief.”
A tear dripped from Thigocia’s eye. “She was a valiant warrior.” She turned toward Enoch. “Can Yellinia be brought back from the dead when the garden is energized?”
“Sadly, no,” Enoch said. “This energy will not restore life or severed body parts.”
Everyone stayed silent for a moment. Listener hugged Elam and wept. As he patted her gently on the back, he nodded at Sorentine. “Well done, good dragon. You are among the wisest and noblest of your race.”
“You honor me too well,” she replied, lowering her head further.
Semiramis, her red cloak now smeared with dirt, grunted from underneath Sorentine’s foot. “If you will stop all this chatter for just a moment, I would like to plead my case.”
Elam drew his sword and pointed it at Semiramis. “You have borne witness against yourself. We will hear no more from your lying lips.”
Mardon stayed still as he stared at Elam. “Perhaps they will hear me. The three realms are still joined, and I know how to sever the rope that binds them. If you will grant me mercy, I will show you how.”
“I will address that issue later,” Enoch said. “For now, we must continue. Sorentine, what is the desire of your heart? Do you wish to remain a dragon or will you return to your human form?”
“I have learned that my precious little one is alive here in Second Eden, so I would like to become human and be her mother for as long as I can.” She bowed her head again. “If that pleases you, honorable prophet.”
“It pleases me,” Enoch said, smiling. “Now, I need a volunteer who is not going to transform. Kindly take these two miscreants to the village, find a place that isn’t in flames, and guard them there until you receive further instructions.”
Legossi shuffled over to Sorentine. “With pleasure.” She grasped Semiramis and Mardon and lifted them into the sky. Mardon shouted, but only the words, “Sever the rope,” survived the buffeting wind.
Enoch moved the sword to Roxil. “And you, dear dragoness?”
Roxil looked at Makaidos and Thigocia in turn. “I have long disparaged the human race, so it is important that I make up for my errors. If I become human again, I would show that I love mankind by becoming one of them, but it was as a dragon that I spat on their shadows, so I will stay a dragon and become what I should have been all along, a servant in scales to the human race.”
When the sword pointed at Thigocia, she looked up at Enoch. “What of my other offspring, Carboni, Alithia, and Martinesse?”
“They are humans on Earth, and in that place and state they will remain. Many adventures await them there. They have already located other dragon offspring, but that is not for us to consider at this time.”
“And Valcor?”
Enoch smiled. “Patrick’s desire to remain human and stay with Ruth prevented him from becoming a dragon here in Second Eden. That decision will not change.”
“Very well.” Thigocia looped her tail with Makaidos’s and spoke with a trembling voice. “When my mate completes his sacrifice, he is going to be with you in glory, so I will stay a dragon and honor his memory within a suit of scales. Since my remaining days will be spent in sadness, let them be days that give tribute to the great Makaidos, king of the dragons.”
Makaidos laid a wing over her back. He nuzzled her cheek but said nothing.
“And you, Makaidos,” Enoch said, shifting the sword again, “what form do you wish to take? For even in death your body would be left behind.”
Makaidos fixed his gaze on Thigocia. “Although my love for humans is well known, my love for my mate and my offspring exceeds all loves, save for the love I have for the Maker. Let me die as a dragon, and let the legacy of my service to both species be preserved forever.”
Finally, Enoch pointed the blade at Goliath. “What do you wish to be? The dragon named Goliath, or the human who was called Dragon?”
Goliath looked at Makaidos, then at Listener. Although his eyes seemed filled with confusion, he spoke with clarity. “I will not tell you.”
Riveting his gaze on Goliath, Enoch raised his voice. “You must!”
Goliath growled through his words. “I … will … not!”
Enoch bent his brow. “Then we will have to proceed without you.”
“But how do we proceed?” Billy asked. “Who here would kill Makaidos?”
Enoch nodded at Ashley. “Do you still have the dragons’ bane?”
She lifted a chain from around her neck and pulled the candlestone from under her uniform. The moment the crystalline facets appeared, Billy flinched. Every dragon showed signs of pain, some grimacing and others drawing back a step.
The chain dangling under her hand, Ashley wrapped the gem in her fingers, concealing it.
“You will give it to the sacrificial dragon,” Enoch said, “for he is called to suffer great torment. Every ounce of energy he has gained in this life will be delivered bit by bit to the ones for whom he is dying. This will demonstrate once and for all the great love that he has for humans, and since love covers a multitude of sins, every evil act by dragonkind that has ever been incited against the human race will hereby be nullified in the memories of mankind. Tales of this sacrificial act will be told to generation after generation, and the story will remind them that the evils of the past have been washed away.”
Keeping her grip on the chain, Ashley released the gem and let it dangle underneath. Now sobbing, she rose to her feet and held it out for Makaidos.
Bonnie looked at Billy. He was biting his lip. The pain had to be terrible, but he could bear it. If the pain in his heart was the same as the horrible ache in hers, it was much worse than anything the candlestone had ever delivered.
As Makaidos reached out with a foreleg, Goliath beat his wings and shot forward. He snatched the candlestone in both clawed hands and held it close to his chest. “I could not choose a form,” he said, his eyes flashing wildly. “For I have chosen death.” He settled to his belly, holding the candlestone underneath. “Let the Maker decide what he will.”
Thigocia lunged toward him, but Enoch waved her back. “Stand aside!” he shouted. “The Maker’s purposes will be fulfilled through this dragon, and every word I spoke will come to pass, for the evils perpetrated through dragonkind had their source in him.”
Goliath lay still. His eyes pulsed. Smoke poured from his nostrils. Although his tail and wings twitched, he gave no other signs of suffering.
Makaidos dropped to his belly next to Goliath and draped a wing over him. “My son, I love you.” Spasms shook his body. “I love you more than I could ever say.”
Thigocia did the same from the other side. Sobs punctuated her words. “Oh, my dear son! My dear, dear son. My love for you has never diminished, and my memory of you will never die.”
Clefspeare and Roxil guided Karrick in front of Goliath’s eyes. “Father,” Clefspeare said. “For many years my thoughts of you have been dark, but now they will be filled with light, for I have never witnessed a nobler act.”
Tears falling to the ground, Roxil stretched out her neck and nuzzled Goliath’s cheek. “Now I will look forward to eternity. Our love will truly survive death, and when I see you in Heaven, we will forever celebrate what you have done.”
Karrick nuzzled Goliath from the other side. “Good-bye, Father. I have known you for only a few years, and now I will live the rest of my years as you have lived your final minutes, in sacrificial love for those around me.”
Enoch gave Excalibur back to Billy. “It is time to energize the garden’s soil, so please move Walter, Valiant, and Sapphira close to Goliath.”
Gabriel and Sir Barlow lifted Valiant
, while Bonnie and Elam carried Sapphira. As they laid the two limp bodies side-by-side, Sapphira’s feet almost touching the dragon’s snout, Yereq carried Walter and placed him next to Sapphira.
Enoch pointed at Makaidos’s plant. “Set the bone on the ground near the roots.”
Ashley laid the tiny white fragment next to the thick stem. “Like this?”
As he nodded, Enoch reached for Bonnie. Cradling her arm, he looked into her eyes. “Prepare yourself, sword maiden. This will hurt terribly, but you will soon be healed.”
Gritting her teeth, Bonnie watched Enoch as he pushed the arrow the rest of the way through her arm and pulled it out the other end. Pain jolted her body once again. For a moment, she felt dizzy, and nausea churned in her stomach, but both sensations quickly eased.
Enoch threw the bloody arrow to the ground. “Now we must hurry. We don’t want Bonnie or anyone else to lose too much blood before the healing takes place.” He turned to Billy. “Summon the beam and cover the bone with Excalibur’s energy.”
Billy aimed the beam at the spot. The laser coated the bone with light and dug into the soil.
The finger of Makaidos glowed so brightly, Bonnie pulled a wing in front to shield her eyes. The energy spread across the ground and flowed into every human and dragon.
“Now,” Enoch said, “the healer must cover the wounded.”
Ashley lay on top of Sapphira and spread her arms over the other two. The light crawled up over all four, coating them with a pulsing glow. Beams of light shot out from Ashley’s eyes, and, as she guided the beams from body to body, she wept. Her tears sizzled as they fell to Sapphira’s chest.
Bonnie held Billy’s hand. Her arm had already stopped bleeding, and the entry point seemed to be closing. “The light stings, doesn’t it?” she asked.
“Yeah, but it’s a good sting.”
Goliath groaned but quickly stifled it. Makaidos and Thigocia patted him on the back and whispered into his ears, but their voices were too quiet to be heard.
A violent spasm jerked Goliath’s body. A stream of black fog flew out of his nostrils and, like a frantic phantom, darted back and forth, stopping at each human and dragon as if seeking refuge.
Enoch pointed at the stream. “Billy! Strike the foul spirits of the Nephilim! They have tormented both dragons and men for far too long.”
With a flick of his wrist, Billy zapped the fog with Excalibur’s beam. The beam’s energy enveloped the blackness with a halo of sparkling radiance. It evaporated the entire stream in an instant.
Enoch gave Billy an approving nod. “You may now let Excalibur darken.”
He obeyed and lowered the sword.
“While the power of light does its work,” Enoch said, “one of you must summon the hospital and bring it down to rest. Then, bring everyone to Heaven’s Gate. Let them bathe in the radiance, and all will be healed.”
Elam raised his hand. “I can run the magneto. I’ll set them down in the field.” He jumped onto Dikaios, and they rushed toward the forest path to the village. The fire had dwindled, allowing them to pass.
“The transformations will now begin,” Enoch said with a bow. “When all is completed, I will come back. I have something very special prepared, and I ask that everyone return here ready for a celebration.” Smiling, he added. “Including a good washing.”
With that, Enoch turned, passed through a brief rift in the gate, and disappeared.
Hartanna lifted her wings. “I feel something.”
“As do I,” Clefspeare said.
Firedda and Sorentine stretched out their necks. “I feel smaller,” Firedda said. “My neck is shrinking.”
Clefspeare’s scales smoothed out, and his tail and snout began to shrivel. Hartanna’s spines flattened. Blond hair began to sprout at the top of her head.
Bonnie picked up the bag Enoch had left near the plant. “I’ll bet I know what this is.” She pulled out a beautiful sky blue dress. As she held it up off the ground, Billy reached in and withdrew a man’s suit, black with pinstripes.
“Uh …” Billy said as he looked in the bag, “there are two more dresses in here, underwear, too. Men’s and women’s.”
Giving Billy a wink, Bonnie placed the bag in front of the dragons and turned toward Heaven’s Gate. “Let us know when you’re done,” she called.
Bonnie gazed at the transparent gate. Although she could see through to the rear of the garden, it seemed that faint shadows passed across the plane, like human phantoms of light scurrying from one place to another. It seemed that much more was going on behind the scenes than met the eye. The precise timing of so many events proved that loving helpers lay behind that shimmering barrier.
“We’re ready!”
Billy and Bonnie turned. Jared Bannister, dressed in a perfectly fitting suit, bowed. Holding her ankle-length dress up to keep it from touching the dirt, Irene Conner curtsied. Dallas and Tamara copied her motions but with a bit less grace.
Bonnie ran to her mother and wrapped her up in her arms. “Oh, Mama, I’m so glad you chose to be human!”
Billy walked up to his father and extended his hand. “Dad, I—”
Jared pulled Billy into a tight hug. “Son, I watched you in battle. You and Walter both sacrificed yourselves for Ashley and Listener. I’m so proud of you, I might just explode.”
As he returned the embrace, Billy laughed. “Don’t explode. You’ll mess up your new suit.”
He pushed Billy back and brushed off the dirt Billy’s uniform left behind. “Kind of overdressed for this place, aren’t we?”
“You heard what Enoch said. He’s planning something special.”
Bonnie looked down at her uniform, caked with dirt and blood from her collar to her pant cuffs. “We’d better get cleaned up.”
As the radiance continued sparkling on the ground, Goliath also shrank. Within seconds, he had turned into a man, now motionless. Makaidos and Thigocia kept their wings over his naked body from his shoulders to his ankles. Roxil lay down and stretched her neck over her mother.
Listener knelt near the man’s head. “Oh, Daddy! It really was you!” She ran her fingers through his thick locks and tried to look into his eyes. “Daddy, it’s Listener, your daughter.”
Tears welling again, Bonnie pulled in her lip. This was too sad for words. The poor little girl had lost her father once again.
Tamara joined Listener and rubbed her back. “My precious little one. I will take care of you now. I cannot replace Angel or your father, but I promise to love you with all my heart.”
While they embraced and wept together, Tamara’s dark tresses fell over Listener’s pigtails. The two colors were perfectly matched. Mother and daughter had finally reunited after over a thousand years.
Ashley lifted herself off Sapphira and helped all three patients rise to their feet. With her hair tossed about, her cheeks scarlet, and her shoulders slumped, she seemed ready to collapse, but when Walter smiled at her, her own smile lit up her tired face.
Rubbing his head, Walter looked around. “Wow! What did I miss?”
“When we hit the washroom,” Billy said. “I’ll tell you all about it.”
Valiant bowed toward Ashley. “Thank you, healer. I am forever in your debt.”
Sapphira ran to Acacia’s body and fell to her knees. “Oh, my dear sister! I was hoping it was just a nightmare!” She laid her head on Acacia’s chest and wept.
As her cries rose into the air, another sound drifted down from the sky, a low hum. Like a slender blimp, the long, tubular hospital descended toward the field. Merlin eased in for a landing as well. Candle threw down the back airstair and helped Windor hobble toward the garden.
Bonnie touched Billy’s arm. “I’ll stay with Sapphira. Why don’t you and the others help the hospital patients come for their healing in the garden. Then we’ll all get cleaned up.”
“Good idea. I can hardly wait to see Dad and Mom get together.”
While Billy, Walter, Ashley, Shiloh, Barlo
w, and Gabriel headed to the field, Bonnie stooped and touched Sapphira’s shoulder. “I will never, ever forget your sister’s sacrifice,” Bonnie said. “She saved my fiancé, she stripped Devin’s invincibility, and she rescued Earth and Second Eden. I have seen many wonderful sacrifices, but never one as beautiful, noble, and loving as hers.”
Sapphira looked up at her. Tears poured from her shining blue eyes. “Thank you,” she said, barely above a whisper. “That means a lot to me.”
Bonnie rose and turned toward the field. Pearl and Marilyn had just carried a patient on a stretcher through the hospital doors and onto the landing platform. Ashley took Marilyn’s place at the stretcher and pointed at Jared.
Marilyn pressed a hand against her chest, let out a squeal, and very nearly flew into Jared’s arms. Billy and Walter laughed, but Ashley got them back to work in a hurry as she barked out her usual rapid-fire orders.
Carrying a stretcher, Patrick and Ruth emerged, with Steadfast walking alongside and holding an IV bag. Whoever that patient was, he or she must have been very sick.
When Bonnie’s father came out, carrying a dark-skinned little girl in his arms, Ashley caught his gaze and nodded toward Heaven’s Gate. As Sir Barlow took the girl, his resonant voice carried across the garden. “Your wife is waiting for you.”
His mouth agape, Bonnie’s father ran to Irene, then stopped and stared at her for a moment. After an exchange of inaudible whispers, they embraced warmly. Soon, they pulled apart and, holding hands, walked back to the hospital.
As stretcher after stretcher headed toward the garden, Bonnie leaned over and caressed Sapphira’s hair. “I’d better check on our water supply and see if we have any clean clothes. The fire might have burned everything.”
“Wait!”
Bonnie followed the sound of the voice. Enoch stepped out of a new rift in Heaven’s Gate, carrying a pile of clothing draped over both arms. “I apologize for this last-minute detail, but some good friends of yours have been rushing this project to completion. Karen and Naamah were particularly fussy about your dress.” He nodded at the pile. “They guessed correctly that you would keep your wings, but they had to pull out some fastening devices they had put in the back, just in case.”
