I watched the girl closely, and as I did, I took the opportunity their discussion had created to look into her soul.
It was as if I had been watching the good in her battle the evil that had invaded her. She was essentially a good person, but I needed to find out what had happened to her that made her choose the path that she had.
The farther I went into her soul, the harder it was for me to see anything. The evil had almost consumed all of what was left of her good nature. That was disturbing to me because it looked as if she was doomed to lose the fight that was going on inside herself, but I had faith that we could help her come back to the innocence that she had previously had.
It was not long until I found the hole in her that made her choose evil. Her parents had been killed during a home invasion. She had been the one that found them. The more I watched, the harder it became for me to ignore her pain. It was pouring in to my body and I now realized how Maggie must feel.
I didn’t shy away from it. I forced myself to watch all the details of that horrible day. It was the only way I was going to be able to help her if she made the choice to join us.
There had been so much blood. It was everywhere I looked. The scene was like it came straight out of a slasher movie. My stomach turned and I had to swallow back vomit in my throat.
The intruders were standing over her parent’s bodies congratulating each other on their gruesome work. In that instant, I felt the girl’s fury. The burning feeling of hatred was hotter than any fire could have been. I could also feel the icy coldness hardening her heart at the same time.
When they noticed her standing there with them, they turned and laughed at her. That was all it took to finish turning her into the unfeeling cold shell of a person that she is now.
The sorrow that I felt for her was immeasurable. It tore away at any wrong feelings that I had for her and I realized what a waste it would be if she made the decision to remain in her current alliance with the Dark Union. However, it was not a choice that I could make for her. She had to do this on her own free will and nothing more than that.
When I was out of her soul, I knew that the other members of the Circle had been trying to sway her to join us with every bit of energy that they could, but they didn’t have the information that I now have.
I know what you have been through and I am sorry for the pain that you carry with you every day. That is still no reason for you to live your life in hate. It does not have to be this way for you anymore. I can show you a better way of life, but you have to choose it and be committed to make the changes in your life that need to be made I said to her as I saw the tears stream down her face.
I was on the right track. She was thinking harder about it now. Several minutes passed as we awaited her response.
“Time is running out. They won’t stop until they get what they want the girl said shakily. How do I know you can protect me from them?”
“We can.” Silas said with utter confidence.
“Are you sure of that?” She asked.
“As sure as the air you breathe.” Air Queen responded.
“As sure as the ground beneath your feet.” Earth King said.
“As sure as the sun on your skin.” Fire Queen said smiling at her.
“As sure as the oceans and rivers.” Water King replied.
“And as sure as time.” Eric said as he reached out to her.
Maggie stepped up beside me and took my hand. I instantly knew that we had to wrap this up or she was not going to be allowed to make her choice. Through Maggie, I felt the Gin. He was getting closer. Under strict orders to eradicate the girl.
“The Gin is close. You must decide now.” I told her.
She started looking around her frantically for any sign of the dreadful creature. Honestly, I think she had thought that we were lying to her until she saw him emerge from the tree line. He was smiling and I saw that he was walking faster when he caught sight of us.
“He knows that we are different. He is going to kill her then try and kill all of us.” Maggie said in a tense voice.
Eric and all of the Kings walked closer to the girl, but still not going far enough to break the protective shield that surrounded the entire grounds.
“Come to us if you expect to live. He has been sent to kill you.” Eric told her.
That was all it took. She went into a dead run for them with her hands extended to grab onto them for safety. I do not think I have ever seen another person as frightened as her at that point. She had joined the Circle of Light. She ignored all the evil that had resided in her and chose a new life. A life of peace and joy. Free from the fear that she had felt for so long.
I was relieved, but it was quickly replace with anxiety over now having to face the Gin. He had caused so much trouble in the short time that he had been here and it was only going to get worse the longer he was allowed to remain here. Worse the longer he remained alive.
He stopped just short of touching the invisible shield that divided him and us. He scanned over the crowd, taking careful consideration of our numbers. Taking a single step back, he smiled at us and tried to use his power to infiltrate the shield.
He attempted only to fail. Knowing that his power was useless against it, he gave up. Or so I thought. He then did something that caught us all off guard. The Gin called out a name.
Jax.
I had heard the name before. Jax was one of the most powerful wizards known to the supernatural world. He was ruthless and the epitome of pure evil. His only concern was to be able to rule the world with his magic, leaving all the humans to be his slaves and not to mention, his food source. The wizard survived on the souls of his victims. The souls heightened his power as well as being his sustenance.
It was only a matter of seconds until Jax was at the Gin’s side. The wizard’s absolute power shook the shield and I knew that it would only be a matter of time until it came down.
I took Eric’s hand in an unconscious act to strengthen the Circle’s power. The shield was shaking more violently now and another rush of power from the wizard tore at the shield, making breaks in its coverage, but our Circle was completely unified now, as well as every other person that vowed their loyalty to it. Each member was attached to someone else and that made our power stronger than I could have ever dreamed it could be.
Light filled the air so brightly that if any regular person had seen it they would be forced to think that the sun had fallen to the ground. It was even blinding to us. It forced us to fight the battle with the Jax and the Gin with our eyes closed. We relied solely on our senses.
Shocks of power hit us as the shield fell. It was painful and I could sense that some of our members were not going to be able to take much more of it. That made me extremely angry. I wasn’t going to allow someone to harm any member of the Circle.
The rage consumed me and once again, I was forced to let it out. I screamed the most blood-curdling scream known to man. I felt the souls of others on our side magnifying it. Love flowed through me from them. What better way to kill evil than with love. The thing it hates worst of all.
My scream was more than the Gin could handle. He was instantly defeated. Only Jax remained. The fact that I had killed the Gin only fueled my power. It gave me the confidence I needed to strike back at the wizard after he dealt us an almost crippling blow.
Several of the witch covens were on the ground. Some were lying there and some were kneeling from the heaviness of the power attacking us.
Each attempt from Jax was brutal and I could feel the rest of the witches falter, but they never let go of the person s hand that they were holding on to. If they did that, it would be a disaster and they knew it. I prayed for them to have enough strength to keep the Circle intact.
As the battle raged on, the werewolves shifted from their human form to their true form, sending a jolt of desperately needed energy to the witch covens. It made them strong again, but knowing what getting up would cause, they stayed on the ground
where they were; careful not to disrupt any effort of the members surrounding them and in hopes that the wizard would not discover their renewal of power.
I felt the wizard stumble as the werewolves began howling along with my scream. Their power in their true form was feeding mine. I screamed without ever feeling the need to take a breath and I could hear the chanting of the witches in my head. The language was foreign to me, but it did not matter at the time. I had full trust in them that they knew what they were doing.
It wasn’t until the vampires starting feeding me their energy, that I knew we could truly defeat Jax. All the power that was being given to me was more than enough to kill him, but I directed every bit of power at him that was flowing through me. I had to be sure. I couldn’t risk the lives of the others by being wrong.
Fighting against the brightness of the light of our Circle, I opened my eyes. The wizard had dropped to his knees on the ground in front of me. I could see the strain that our attacks had placed on him. His body was withering and unsteady. The magic around him had the same appearance as his body.
He looked up at me with an unforgiving pleading in his eyes and I saw that his soul was unclean and purely evil. “Are you not going to ask me to join you, my Queen?” He asked trembling.
“No. I do not believe that is an option for you now Jax.”
My response angered him and seemed to give him one last surge of energy in which he used to send another debilitating attack. Our side remained united but shaken from his final attempt to break the Circle.
I watched him as he slumped to the ground and without hesitation; our army of loyal allies had cast the final blow. It was over. We had killed him. Even in the presence of such evil, I heard Earth Queen saying a short prayer for his soul.
When we were certain that no one else had come to help Jax and the Gin, we went to care for our drained members. I hadn't known that the vampires were able to restore their energy sources and I watched in amazement as they went from person to person, sending them a healing flow into their bodies. Each member rose and thanked the vampires in a way that only made me grow in love for our Circle.
Our group disbanded for the time being. Everyone was in great need of food and rest. The witches quickly renewed the protective shield. Only this time it was larger and much stronger than before. Due to the fact, that certain members had to restore their bodies with the flesh and blood of animals. The surrounding woods were desperately needed now.
Eric and I thanked everyone and went upstairs to get some much needed sleep.
Chapter 9
Months had passed since our battle with Jax and the Gin. We had managed to evade any real attacks since then. We were mostly involved in minor things; things that could be taken care of individually, without the need of the entire Circle.
Today was an important day for our families. I had an appointment with my obstetrician for an ultrasound of the baby. Finally, I was going to be able to see my sweet child inside of me for the first time. The waiting was the worst. I had been counting the days until this day with excitement.
Our parents were all leaving work early to be able to come with us. I had been so scared of telling them that we were having a child, but they all took it in stride and welcomed the idea when we finally decided to break the news to them.
They had said something about it being early in the marriage, and how they had wished that we could have waited a bit longer. However, all that went away with time. In no way were they judgmental or angered by the fact. I was proud of that. I wasn’t sure if I could have handled any of them being disappointed in us in any way.
Soon after we had told them, our mothers had done the usual and started going a little overboard on the plans for our child’s arrival. Our mothers bought a few things for the baby here and there, but nothing pink or blue in color. They were afraid to really.
I only had a little over three months left in the pregnancy and I was beginning to feel the stress of pregnancy. I was afraid of giving birth, more like terrified of the idea of it. We had been through some major stuff with the Dark Union, but nothing frightened me like this did.
The pain was the center of my anxiety, but I was also afraid that something unnatural would happen during birth. Things like the baby glowing or stuff like that. And what if the Dark Union was planning a major attack when it was born? How would I be able to defend us if that happened? I couldn’t, could I?
“All those what if’s. You’re going to drive yourself crazy worrying like you do.” Eric said to me with a smile.
“What if I’m already crazy?”
“Oh, for goodness sake Bailey! Would you stop?” He laughed. “It’s almost time to go and you aren’t even dressed.”
I took a quick look at the clock on the microwave and realized that if I didn’t hurry
I was going to be extremely late. I ran, more like waddled, upstairs to take a shower. Eric had been urging me to use the bathroom downstairs, but I didn’t want to. I liked the one upstairs. He was starting to worry that I would miss a step and fall down the stairs. I was getting a bit unsteady from all the weight that I had gained. My belly was enormous. If I hadn’t known any better, I would think I was well over nine months pregnant, but that is just not possible. I was definitely going to have to lay off the ice cream and Fritos.
When I finally got out of the shower and got dressed, I slowly made my way back downstairs. Eric was standing by the door with a jacket draped over his arms, holding the car keys and making them rattle. He can be so impatient at times and I was beginning to become annoyed by it.
He opened the door and I walked out on the porch, he was right like always. The breeze still had a slight chill to it, but the sun was warm on my skin as well. Spring was in full bloom. All the flowers I had planted when I moved in were beautiful.
He locked up the house and escorted me to the car, holding on to me like he was ready to catch me at the first sign of a slip. That was going to get really old in the next few months, but it was his way of keeping me and the baby safe, so I guess I could deal with it.
We stopped at my parent s house and honked the horn. Our parents came out the door in a rush.
“You guys are going to be late you know!” Eric mother yelled as she got in the passenger side of my mother’s car.
Our mothers always stuck our dads in the back seat when they all went somewhere. They didn’t seem to mind. I think that they liked riding instead of being the ones to drive all the time.
Eric drove more carefully now since I am pregnant. He seemed to have a tendency to worry too much lately.
I looked out the window taking in all the gorgeous colors of spring. This was one of my favorite times of the year. Summer was my favorite season, but spring gave me a feeling of life. Everything rejuvenates from the cold winter months and new life sprouts from every part of the Earth.
We arrived at the doctor’s office with just enough time left so I was not late. I went in and wrote my name on the sign in paper next to the receptionist’s window. She smiled at me and told me that the ultrasound technician was ready for me. My nerves kicked into high gear when she said that, but I did not have much time to think about it all. The nurse had already opened the door and asked me to come on back. I had been expecting to have to wait a little while when I got here, but there was no chance in that today.
Can everyone come on back with me now? I asked her and she nodded yes in response.
We all made our way into the room together. There was a black leather couch next to the wall. The nurse instructed our parents to sit there and she and Eric helped me up on the exam table. He stood beside me trying to hold in his excitement, but I could tell he was having a hard time doing it.
The technician began the ultrasound and we all watched it on the gigantic television screen on the wall. It was taking longer than the other ones I had before. I tried not to let my imagination go into hyper drive. Was there something wrong with our baby? Panic started to creep up on me and th
e fact that the ultrasound technician announced that she was going to go get the doctor did not help any.
Everything is fine, but I need to get the doctor’s opinion on what I’m seeing, she said and left the room without giving us time to ask any more questions. It did not take long for her to enter the room with the doctor following behind her.
They immediately began staring at the monitor, pointing to several places on the screen. “I see.” My doctor said.
“What is it? Is something wrong with the baby?” I asked nervously.
“No, certainly not. Everything is fine with them both.”
Eric squeezed my hand and at that time and I was not completely sure I understood what my doctor had said.
“Can you say that again?” I asked her.
“You are having twins.”
“Twins?” I said utterly shocked.
“Yes. It seems that you are having one of each. A boy and a girl.”
No way. No wonder I was so big. I had two wonderful babies growing inside me. One of each? Now Eric would have his boy and I would have my girl too. It was a blessing to us.
“And they are both exceptionally healthy at that the doctor said. But now that we know, there is going to be some planning that needs to be done.”
“Planning? What sort of planning?” I asked her.
She explained that at my current size and the size of the babies, I was more than likely going to need a cesarean section and she was probably going to have to induce my labor around the thirty-eight week mark. That is, if I had not already gone into labor by then.
I was thankful to know the sex of the babies, but the other information was a bit unnerving. Somehow, I knew that everything was going to be fine. My children are very powerful. I can feel it. I had always been able to feel it.
This bit of information needed to be kept a secret. The Dark Union could not find out that I was going to have two babies instead of one, or they would intensify their attacks against us. That much I was sure of. It would mean an all-out war.
Ignite (Circle of Light Book 2) Page 11
