by Carol Roi
Jim dropped his eyes to the wolf's body. "I... I just didn't want to hurt him anymore... "
"And ripping out half his soul was being kind?" Her hand caught his chin, and she tilted his face up so that his eyes met hers. "Have you not learned anything in your journey together? The Guide cannot survive without the Sentinel, as the Champion cannot live without the Companion. By choosing this road, you have condemned your bondmates to this fate."
Jim felt a headache forming behind his eyes. Why did she have to talk in riddles? "My bondmates... I don't understand... "
The Companion ran a hand lightly over his shoulder. "Sentinel, your Guide is your soulmate. He is bound to the Champion, and through her, to her soulmate, the Companion. You accepted your role when the Champion chose her Companion." He remembered kneeling in a field of grass, Megan and Blair with their arms around Diandra, the Champion reaching out to him. He had grasped her hand, and... .
"So you do remember."
Jim nodded hesitantly, things beginning to make a twisted sort of sense. "I broke the bond, and left the three of them open to whoever, to whatever did this." He gestured at the destruction around them.
"The firebird."
"The what?"
"The creature that did all this, the being that tortured the Companion, that the Champion could not slay. The one who desired the Guide above all else, yet destroyed him because he was no longer whole."
The sentinel got to his feet. "How do I stop this 'firebird'? How do I keep this from happening?"
The Companion graced him with a smile. "You know the answer, Sentinel." Her form shimmered, morphing into her alter ego, the red falcon, and taking to the air.
He nodded, embracing his fate. "I choose to live." Jim spun around in a circle, yelling at the sky, "I choose to live!"
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After a careful look in both directions, Blair slipped across the hallway and into Jim's room. Pulling a chair up next to the bed, he settled into it, glad he had finally convinced Megan to take Dee back to their loft over the dojo. Simon and Daryl had gone with them, intending to crash there for a few hours before heading back to Cascade. Rubbing his hands vigorously through his hair, he yawned, and wiggled in the chair, trying to get comfortable. When he glanced at Jim again, he found his partner's blue eyes regarding him fondly.
Straightening with a jerk, Blair leaned forward, resting his arm on the side of the bed. "Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling, man?"
"Like I got run over by a truck named Diandra." He moved his hand to rest on top of Blair's, rejoicing in the strong pulse he felt under his fingers. He gazed around the room. "Where is she, by the way? I want to thank her for saving my life."
Blair knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. "I sent her and Megan home. Healing you took a lot out of her." He yawned again. "And a lot out of me too. Don't do that to me again, okay?"
"I'm not planning on it, Chief. I plan on staying around for a long time. You're stuck with me." Giving him a smile, Jim ruffled his friend's curls. There was time enough to tell him about his vision, and the Companion's warning, later. Right now, he was just going to enjoy the sunshine that was Blair Sandburg.
The End
