by E. J. Krause
"If you understand correctly?" She was on the verge of panic, and he said the one thing he was relatively sure would work.
"Do you trust me?"
That shook her out of it, and she calmed. After a deep breath, she said, "With my life."
"Right now it's more important that you trust me with Mila and Fillmore's lives."
She blanched at that, but nodded. "I do."
He looked over at Fillmore, who wore a strange expression. "You okay?" Ben asked.
"Yes. I trust you both in this. It's just…" He chuckled. "You two work out your problems quite a bit differently than Timothy and Sasha. They hurl words to hurt, and sometimes they physically hurt each other. And it always leads to…well, another kind of physical activity that's embarrassing to watch. I'd like to think Mila and I would have level-headed conversations like you two."
"You will," Andi said. She then turned to Ben. "How do I do this?"
"All you need to do is want Mila back and healthy. As long as you believe in yourself one hundred percent, she will be." He put his hand under her chin and made sure she was looking him straight in the eyes. "And you should believe it because it's true. Okay?"
She gave him a quick nod, and then another with more confidence.
"You can wave your hand, bob your head, snap your fingers, or whatever helps you focus, as long as you will her body, inside and out, back to perfect health. Believe and it'll be no problem. Most of that power is inside you, not me. If you hadn't been born a dragon, you would have become a powerful magician. In fact, when things in that school spontaneously happened in the past, it was usually because of you. I was simply the vessel they came out of."
"Alright. I can do it." Though she didn't look all that convinced, her emotions told him she had it under control.
Ben glanced over to Fillmore, who looked quite pale. "Are you okay? Are you ready for us to do this?"
"Yes, yes. Please. I need her here."
Ben focused on Mila, looked at her not with his physical eyes, but his mystical ones. Sasha's tether was there, tied onto Mila's soul, keeping her in perpetual sleep. Without further ado, he said, "Andi, do it." Healing power pulsed out of her and bathed Mila's body. Ben didn't waste a second in freeing her. As he both hoped and anticipated, her spirit shot inside. Ben opened his eyes, grabbed Andi's hand, and waited.
It didn't happen right away, but since Ben knew her soul was safe, he let out a sigh. Andi relaxed next to him after she read his emotions, and while Fillmore fidgeted for a second, he also picked up on their body language and calmed. After a few beats, he smiled. "I can feel her. For the first time in so many centuries, I can feel her." Tears brimmed his eyes, as they did both Ben's and Andi's.
A minute or so later, Mila shuddered, and then her eyes flickered open. She looked first at Andi, then at Ben, confusion flashing out. She then turned to Fillmore, and that confusion melted. The smiles on their faces, the longing in their souls, made them, for the moment, anyway, the two most beautiful beings in the multiverse. No words were spoken. Fillmore grabbed her and dragged her out of the bed and into his arms. There was no need to worry about him hurting her fragile, so long unused body, as Andi's healing spell had seen to that. Mila wouldn't be able to run a marathon, but she was as healthy and limber as she would be had she been awake her whole life.
"Ah, what a touching scene," Timothy's condescending voice said from the doorway. Neither Ben nor Andi thought; they launched themselves at the evil dragon and his guard.
Chapter 39
Ben slashed his sword at Sasha, while Andi transformed to half-dragon, since there wasn't enough room to go any further, and lunged at Timothy, who likewise transformed halfway. Both Ben and Andi's attacks almost connected, but Sasha and Timothy dodged at the last second. They both seemed slower, but also more confident than at the Stronghold. Sasha's condescending smirk held a bit of humor, which wasn't as should be in a fight to the death.
Andi noticed, too. "He's toying with me. Why?"
"I don't know. We better end this quick. They have something up their sleeves, and I don't want to find out what."
This time Ben went in high with his sword, while thrusting his shield at Sasha's midsection to knock her off balance. She parried his blade with her daggers, while bringing both feet up and bouncing off his shield. She did a quick backflip and landed in perfect defense posture.
"He's not attacking," Andi said, practically whining. "I almost want to leave myself open to a counter attack to see if he will."
"Don't do that. Sasha's playing pure defense, too. They may be waiting for us to make a mistake."
"I get Sasha doing that, but what about Timothy? He knows he's stronger than me."
"Don't worry about that. You can take him."
"I know." He heard the eye roll in her voice. "I said stronger, not better."
Ben chuckled and turned his attention back to Sasha, who hadn't made any move to attack. She stood sneering at him, that glint of humor still in her eyes. Why had this turned into a game for them?
Andi again charged Timothy, while Ben shot bolts of dark energy at Sasha. He didn't watch the dragons fight, but judging from Andi's reaction, not much happened. As for his volley of spells, Sasha blocked the bolts with her daggers and laughed.
"Laugh at this," he said with his mind so Andi could hear and hurled a large ball of negative energy at Sasha. It was enough so she'd need a serious shielding spell to deflect it, but she stuck out her hand and caught it before tossing it aside, where it dissipated into nothing. No way! That wasn't possible. He couldn't have done that, and he was the more powerful magic-user here, especially with Andi by his side.
Timothy spun away from Andi to Sasha. She threw up a wall of force to keep Ben and Andi at bay. Ben gave it a mental probe and saw it would take a power boost to break through. By the way Timothy and Sasha postured, they were more interested in talking than fighting. To further drive that point home, Timothy shifted back to his human shape. Andi glanced at Ben, and he nodded, prompting her to do the same.
Sasha cackled and squealed. "Why don't you fight? Why don't you fight?" Ben couldn't wait for her to drop the barrier so he could smack her upside the head for that. Andi seethed beside him, wanting the same thing.
"Would you like to know why we're toying with you?" Timothy said, a smug smile on his face. Ben would love to smack him a good one, too. Of course, that went without saying for Andi.
"No one cares!" yelled Andi. "Fight us! We owe you for Ben's parents."
"We'll tell you whether you want to know or not because we're having fun," Sasha said.
"It's a pity about Mommy and Daddy," Timothy said. "Casualties of war are always tough."
"But why?" Ben asked. "Why are you at war with us? Why include my parents? They never did anything to you."
"You stole our prophecy," Sasha spat. "We were to lead the multiverse, not you two whelps. That power, that honor, is lost on you."
Timothy put a hand on Sasha's shoulder. "Now, my queen, no need to rub their noses in it. Even if it is the truth."
"The truth?" Andi exclaimed. "You two are so full of yourselves if you think…"
Ben put his hand on her shoulder, willing her to stop, which she picked up on. They needed them to keep talking, to give away their plan. That's what the super-villains and megalomaniacs did in movies, right? He found it pretty amusing that it was working out that way in real life, too. The more he saw them in action, the more Timothy and Sasha reminded him of those campy villains in the old James Bond flicks he used to watch with his dad.
"Yes, the truth," Timothy said. "And you two will either help us fulfill the prophecy by dying and letting us take over our rightful place, or by swearing allegiance to us and making the prophecy work that way."
"Neither of those sound like our thing," Andi said.
"We've made them your thing," Sasha said, holding up her hand. She wore a gold ring.
"What did you do to our rings?" Andi yelled, venom dripping fr
om her voice.
"They're our insurance that you'll cooperate," Timothy said, holding out his own hand with a duplicate ring. Both looked like his plain gold one. There were no gems on either. So what did they do with their rings?
"Maybe not as much sparkle as you dragons like," Sasha said, addressing Andi, "but they're good fits for us. We melted them down and constructed two rings mixed with both."
Andi seethed at that, but Ben willed her to stay still, and somehow that worked. Of course, he'd be thrilled to let her go off on these two once they learned exactly what was going on. Since Timothy and Sasha were in full-gloat mode, that shouldn't take long.
"When we couldn't find a way to change the information on the memory discs, our mas…we decided to go with a new plan. Sasha cast a powerful spell on the rings, one which keeps either of you from being able to harm us. That also means we'll gladly take your surrender now. We've already worked up a contract which will make our earlier possession of Alexandria seem weak in comparison, but I'm sure you'll both agree it's better than death."
"Concentrate, Andi," Ben whispered out of the side of his mouth. "Let's take these clowns down."
"With pleasure."
Once their minds snapped together, he let loose a spell which should break through any magical barrier Sasha could erect, and it did with no problem, knocking Sasha and Timothy back. Both wore surprise on their faces. If they hadn't expected that, maybe the power boost would also beat whatever magic those rings possessed.
"Cheaters," Sasha hissed as she regained her feet.
Andi converted back to her half-dragon form and said, "As if. As long as they're wearing our rings, they're the cheating cheaters who cheat."
"Indeed," Ben said, doing his best impression of Lee. He winced as soon as he did, worried it would dig up memories of her parents and slow her down. Her reaction proved the opposite, however, as she gave him an internal smile and seemed to gain some pep in her step.
They charged again, Ben at Sasha and Andi at Timothy. This time the evil duo wasn't content to play defense, as they now knew that Ben and Andi could hurt them. Sasha blocked Ben's sword thrust with one dagger and slashed at his face with the other. It took a quick duck and a bit of contortion on his part for her to miss. He thrust his shield forward, and like last time he tried that, she pushed her feet onto it and back-flipped away. This time she didn't wait for him, but flung herself forward, not only leading with her long daggers, but also with a blast of magical lava. Ben produced a hasty shield of dark energy to deflect it, while he dropped to his knees to avoid her twin blades. She sailed over him, landed, and fired two more energy bolts his way, which he knocked out of the air with two of his own blasts of dark energy.
"Clever," she said. "But we're just getting started."
"I was afraid of that," he muttered, which drew out a delighted laugh, probably the most genuine emotion he'd ever heard from her. Yeah, great, it took a battle to the death to bring out her true personality.
Andi wasn't having any more luck with Timothy. She might have had more speed and agility, but his raw power kept her from gaining any sort of advantage. Ben didn't dare take his eyes from Sasha to watch, but her exclamations and emotions proved she was frustrated, but overall okay.
As he and Sasha exchanged more steel and mystical energy, Timothy let out a roar that sounded like a laugh. "Crud," Andi said. "I thought I had him. He left himself open to a bite on the neck, but my teeth bounced right off when they should have ripped him to shreds."
"We'll have to concentrate and use a power boost, but I don't think they'll give us enough time," he said. Sure, they could connect a power boost, but there was no way Timothy and Sasha would let them sustain it long enough to get a spell off.
"If we can…oof." Timothy and Sasha had switched. He flew straight at Ben, while Sasha peeled off and nailed Andi with a bolt of force, knocking her back. Timothy tackled Ben in the confusion, and instead of thinking they were in big trouble, Ben marveled at such a simple bit of teamwork. Ever since Andi got back, they'd been too preoccupied with magic to worry about training as a fighting duo, as Cassie and Lee had always tried to get them to do. That came back to bite them in a big, bad way.
Before Ben could do anything to correct the situation, Timothy had one of his sharp claws on his throat, and Sasha had Andi dead to rights with any spell she so chose. Timothy transformed back to human, except for his hand, which kept the claw on Ben's throat.
"You heal fast, Benjamin, but not fast enough to escape this death. I know you can resurrect the both of you, but Sasha and I have researched resurrection far longer than even Alexandria has been alive. We know a bit more about it than you."
"So you're going to kill me in a way that will keep us from resurrecting?" It was possible, and his mind went back to the necromantic pirate captain whose soul he disintegrated. Sasha, though, wasn't a necromancer, so she couldn't do something like that, could she? Anyway, he mostly asked to keep Timothy talking. The more he rambled on about their plan, the less he'd be killing them.
"We contemplated that. Sasha could blast your bodies into ash, meaning you'd have nothing to come back to. Our one worry, though, is an ancient tale that may or may not be true. It's said the great masters of resurrection can mold new bodies from dust. While it would be interesting to see if you two have that much power, it's also said those masters have the ability to choose when and where to return. We don't wish to think you dead and gone only to have you pop up in another century, ready to pummel us."
Andi let out a loud groan. "Are you going to talk us to death? Bore us so bad we won't want to come back?"
"Shut up, you dumb worm," Sasha hissed.
Ben agreed with the shut up part as they still didn't know what Timothy and Sasha had planned, but once he thought about it, he realized it was a masterful stroke by his lovely mate. If Sasha lost control, she might make a mistake, and a mistake meant a possible way out of this. Timothy would stay cool, so right now it was all in Andi's hands. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't help it along.
"Is she spelling that with an 'o' or a 'y,' Tim?" he said. "Seems to me, if it's a 'y,' she's insulting you, too."
"Kill them now!" Sasha screamed, while sparks, actual sparks, flickered from her body. Timothy laughed.
"They're trying to rile you up, my queen. A smart move, really." He flashed a smile Ben didn't like one bit. "But, no. I want them to hear this. I want to feel their desperation, feel their hopelessness. They need to know what they're up against. You see, children, you can't resurrect forever. Every time you do, a piece of your soul disintegrates. It doesn't matter, as it doesn't affect how you live. When you pass through the final gate to the afterlife, those pieces reattach, meaning you're whole in your next life, whatever that is. But, and this is where you should both pay extra attention, if you resurrect too often, the last piece will eventually not break off. Your entire soul will be gone, and you can't come back or move on, but cease to exist altogether. I'm sure that's not something you two, bound for such a short time, want."
"So that's your game?" Ben asked. "Kill us until we no longer exist?"
"If it comes to that, yes. Honestly, I'm hoping you choose to head through the other door. Or there's always servitude. We're not bad masters. Ask Fillmore." Timothy chuckled and pointed to the doorway.
Ben had forgotten about Fillmore and Mila. He looked over, and Fillmore gave him a nod. He wasn't sure what it meant, but there was no doubt it wasn't in agreement with Timothy's statement. It looked like an assurance of help, but what help could it be? He and Mila were in no way strong enough to stand up to Timothy and Sasha. He glanced over at Andi to see if she noticed, or if she could get any sort of drop on Sasha. Before he could figure it out, though, Timothy slit his throat.
Chapter 40
It looked the same as last time, or, rather, had that same non-look, with fog surrounding her on every side. It was sort of funny how she'd forgotten all about this place not long after they left, but now
that first trip was as bright in her mind as if it had never vanished. Ben was near, and her entire concentration went to getting to him. It took seconds, days, years, but they were again in each others' arms. Their lips met, drawn as if by magnets. The fog still swirled around them, but neither noticed. Yes, this was how she wanted to spend her eternity, and she knew he'd be perfectly content this way, too. They couldn't end up burning out into nothing.
Though the kiss might have lasted forever, it ended far too soon. They needed to talk this out. Neither wanted to, but their future, which quite literally hung in the balance, necessitated it.
"What do you want to do?" Ben asked.
She shrugged. "Are we positive they're telling the truth? What if they're trying to get us to give up?"
"They are trying to get us to give up, but that doesn't mean it's not true. We know from experience there are ways for souls to cease to exist."
"Yeah, but what if that isn't the case here?"
"I don't know. I wish I could ask Felix. I doubt he would know the answer, but he does make a great sounding board."
"So if it's not true, they'll keep killing us forever. That's going to get old quick. I imagine they'll take shifts, maybe hire out the fun to others."
He winked at her. "I wonder what the going rate for a never-ending whack-job is?"
"You're a whack-job," she said, then giggled and threw herself back into his arms. At least they could joke about it. What choice did they have? Either way, she couldn't see a way out of this. They'd pass through the heavenly doors, or whatever it was, before they signed their life away to those two rat-finks.
"There's something else," he said. "Right before Timothy slit my throat."
"What?"
"Fillmore. He nodded at me when Timothy said he and Sasha were good masters, but it wasn't a nod of agreement, more a nod like he was ready to start the plan."
"The plan? What plan? Why wasn't I made aware of any plan?"
He kissed her, shutting her up. As always, it annoyed her that he could do that, but, also as always, she was happy with the kiss. "There was no plan. That's what I'm saying. He's all set to do something, but I have no idea what."
