Daniel Taylor and the Scepter of Power

by Monica Davis

  From Marla, he caught only one word: Deliverance.

  She didn’t want to live.

  Daniel had to decide: Marla, or himself. Or could he have both?

  No … a voice whispered in his head. Where did it come from?

  Daniel looked at the hopeful faces of his family and friends. His gaze lingered on Mike, and an evil thought crept into his mind: Why should I save Marla? So that Blondie can get what he wants?

  Daniel ran a hand over his face. Heavens, what was he thinking? Marla, his sister, would die if he didn’t act now! Why did he always feel so jealous of Blondie? He clearly wasn’t interested in Vanessa.

  Daniel looked at Nessa. “Please,” she whispered.

  He was suddenly grateful that Vanessa had left her hiding place and been captured. Had she not done that, things would have turned out quite differently. I can make her my queen. The scepter can grant my every wish. Vanessa and I, side by side, for all eternity. I can save Marla as well.

  Yes, that was a tempting thought. And he could make Vanessa submit if she didn’t do what he wanted.

  His stomach tightened. He shouldn’t be having such thoughts. No! But the demon side of him was strong. Damn strong.

  His gaze wandered away from Vanessa and landed on James. Rage suddenly surged within him. “Where were you all those years, when I needed you so badly?” he snapped.

  James didn’t flinch. He merely said in a calm voice, “You already know the answer.”

  His father had only wanted the best for him, because he loved him.

  “Daniel, there’s far more watcher blood than demon blood in you! Not only mine, but that of your mother! Think about what I told you in the tunnel!” James looked at him intently. “Be strong!”

  Your father is right … Again, Daniel heard a woman’s voice and realized that it was Kitana, his real mother, whom he had never really known. Could he bring her back from the realm of the dead with the scepter’s help?

  You shouldn’t even think about such things, my son. My fate was sealed long ago. But you can keep your sister from dying. Her time is not yet at hand.

  Marla … He had almost forgotten about her! Only now did he notice that he was moving at lightning speed around the others, as though he were afraid that they might tear the scepter away from him. If I tap into the full power of the scepter, I can still save her!

  You won’t save her, his mother said sadly. The evil side in you is too strong. It will overcome you.

  Why didn’t Dad succumb to the power? Daniel wanted to know the answer, if his mother would still speak to him. Her pleasant voice soothed him.

  He’s not a blood heir, so he didn’t feel the temptation so strongly. I also gave him the eye of Horus. It protected him from the temptation to retrieve the scepter from its hiding place. James was to never take the amulet off until the prophecy had been fulfilled.

  Daniel’s ears pricked up. What prophecy?

  According to a prophecy, the scepter will save a child of mine. Everyone always thought that the prediction referred to you, but it actually meant Marla, as I have only just learned. That’s why I didn’t destroy the scepter when I found it. Any magically gifted person can activate it, but its full power can only be deployed by a blood heir.

  A blood heir … The words echoed in his mind. James had mentioned that as well.

  My great-grandmother Anastissa created the scepter. Her blood also flows in your veins, my son, and it is strong.

  Anastissa was evil! Daniel was shocked.

  Yes, she was, Kitana said. But James and I aren’t.

  He suddenly felt someone touching his arm. It was Mike.

  “Come on, Taylor!”

  Daniel had come to a halt out of sheer astonishment. He felt the scepter taking hold of Mike through his body.

  Mike’s eyes widened. Daniel saw what Blondie saw; their minds were linked until Daniel shook off Mike’s hand.

  Now Daniel knew how much Mike loved Marla, and also that Mike had never felt anything of the kind for Vanessa.

  Daniel looked at Vanessa. She was crying. Please save Marla! If she dies because of me, I couldn’t live with the guilt.

  Then it seemed to him like a switch had been flipped in his head, muting the voice of his demon side. There was a great deal of human in him, and the watcher genes did the rest. He would never be able to inflict harm on the people he loved. Not as long as he was in his right mind.

  “I’ll save Marla!” Daniel cried.

  Mike nodded. “I knew it!” Who would have thought that a seer was hidden away inside of Blondie? “But you’ll have to make a sacrifice,” he added.

  Daniel swallowed. “Why?”

  “There always has to be a sacrifice for such strong magic,” James said, stepping closer.

  Daniel looked at him intently. “You’re only telling me this now?”

  “I didn’t want to give you any more reasons to doubt the right decision.”

  With his sharpened mental senses, Daniel knew that James had a guilty conscience about this. “What do I have to sacrifice?”

  “I don’t know.” His father was just as frightened as he was. “The artifact will take from us what it needs.”

  That could be anything — even a life, perhaps?

  “I know what it wants,” Mike interjected. “I saw it.”

  “Tell me!”

  “You have to decide whether to sacrifice your soul or your magic. In the first case, you would become the sole ruler of all you survey; in the second case, Marla would be saved.”

  His powers! Daniel would lose all his wonderful abilities. Only his demonic powers, or also the watcher powers? He didn’t really know which ability came from which side, but he didn’t want to give up any of them.

  If he decided to keep them, he’d become the most powerful demon on Earth.

  “Daniel!” James looked at him sharply.

  “Hurry!” Vanessa was kneeling next to Marla, feeling her pulse. She was crying. “She’s very weak — she’s barely breathing!”

  “Please!” Mike begged him, grief and worry palpable in his voice. He didn’t look desperate, but rather determined. His hands were balled into fists, and two deep creases had formed in between his eyebrows. “I’d give everything I had, if I had the choice. Everything!”

  James nodded. “As would I.”

  Daniel took a deep breath and briefly enjoyed the vision of all that he could have done. “Okay, I’ll do it!”

  James hastily explained that he had to focus only on Marla’s recovery, not anything else. “It may be that the scepter automatically seeks out the evil within us, or our most hidden desires.”

  “I only have one desire,” Mike whispered, looking over at Marla.

  James nodded again. “Do it, Daniel!”

  As he concentrated on Marla’s recovery, a wave of energy pulsated out of the scepter. Daniel was almost knocked off of his feet, and the others were pressed to the ground.

  He planted his feet firmly on the gravel path and looked at his companions. Blondie, Vanessa, and his father were on all fours, their hair standing on end. The wave of energy had included them as well. Daniel could hear their heartbeats in his body, could feel their emotions — fear and excitement. A storm-like roar echoed in his ears, and the scepter inexorably sucked everything that it could out of him.

  More and more energy flowed through his arm and into the artifact. Daniel thought only about Marla, about nullifying the poison and healing her body. You’ll live, sister!

  The scepter was glowing white-hot. Daniel was sorely tempted to drop it; it was as though the object were reluctant to do good. The light, already so bright that Daniel was forced to squint, increased in intensity.

  James and Mike dug their fingers into the path while Vanessa fell against a bush and clung to it.

  Daniel positioned himself directly over Marla, who was still lying on the hedge in front of the statue.

  The light gathered itself into a ball that floated above the snake he
ad. It looked like a miniature sun. The ball remained there for a moment and then shot directly into Marla’s body through her mouth. A golden aura formed around her body, enveloping her. It pulsated and then disappeared. Marla reared up screaming as a green cloud escaped her mouth, then dissolved into a thousand tiny green flies that flew off into the night and were gone.

  Marla gasped for air, her eyes open wide. There was no more blood running from her mouth or gurgling in her throat. Daniel sensed it: She was healed.

  The hurricane-like roar suddenly ceased, as did the flow of energy. Daniel felt profoundly exhausted. Overwhelmed by a sense of relief, he staggered and saw spots dancing before his eyes. The scepter ceased to vibrate and stopped glowing. Daniel saw James and Mike lying motionless on the ground nearby.

  His last thought as the staff slid out of his hand and he saw the ground rapidly approaching was, What have I done?

  When Marla opened her eyes, she saw her mother leaning over her. Smiling, Marla reached a hand out to her and let a lock of black hair slide through her fingers. It felt like cool silk.

  Her mother was with her, and that brought a smile to her lips. Behind Kitana, she could see a gigantic cloud vortex swirling in the night sky like a portal. There was a portal in the sky. Would her mother take her with her? Had her torment finally come to an end?

  Marla felt very weak, but there was no more pain. Yes, it must be all over.

  “Mama,” she breathed.

  Kitana pressed a hand to her cheek. “My child …”

  Has my time come? Marla wanted to ask, but it was so exhausting to speak.

  Kitana shook her head, smiling. “Your life has just begun.”

  I’m not going to die? she thought.

  “Yes, of course, but not today, and not anytime soon.”

  Marla took a labored breath. I don’t like being pushed around and tortured. I’m so tired.

  “Everything will be different now, my child. You’re no longer a demon, just a completely normal human.” Kitana tenderly stroked her hand.

  I’m a human? Why? Without magical abilities, everything would become so much more difficult!

  Kitana smiled benignly. “Xandros’ poison wiped out everything demonic in you. That was the only way he could be sure that you would die, and that not you or anyone else would be able to save you.” Kitana sighed quietly. “Naturally, you’ll have struggles now and then — that’s part of life — but you have people around you who will support you because they love you.”

  A question was eating away at her soul. Does Father love me?

  “Perhaps in his own way. To the degree that a demon can be said to love. He always protected you from the others, and not only for his own benefit — even though he wasn’t completely conscious of doing so. That’s why he was so enraged when he found out that Metistakles had been abusing you. Obron had only entrusted him with your education because he was afraid he’d deal with you too leniently and show weakness in front of the others.” Kitana raised her head and nodded, as though there was someone hidden in the darkness who only she could see and hear.

  You’re far too kind, Mama.

  Kitana smiled. “It comes with being an angel.” She kissed Marla on her forehead and floated away from her.

  Please, don’t go. Marla tried to reach out her hand again, but it felt too heavy, and fell back onto her stomach. I have so many questions for you.

  “James can answer some of them.” Kitana smiled at the three people lying on the ground near Marla.

  Her daughter turned her head. It was Mike, Daniel, and James. Vanessa was kneeling near Daniel, touching his arm. Her eyelids were red, but she wasn’t crying. Instead, she was looking blankly around her, mouth hanging open.

  Marla’s heart clenched. What’s wrong with them?

  “Don’t worry. They’ll come to very soon. The energy of the scepter literally knocked them out.”

  She vaguely remembered what had happened.

  Who saved me?

  “Your brother.”

  Daniel!

  Kitana nodded. “He loves you. They all love you. Their love prevented them from being corrupted by evil. I’m very proud of you all. Especially Daniel and you, my daughter.”

  Marla suddenly heard a groan. She saw that James had opened his eyes and was staring over at them.

  “Almost my whole life, I believed that Obron had killed you. And I blamed James for that,” Marla said aloud, so that Daniel’s father could hear. Her strength was slowly coming back. “You sacrificed yourself.”

  Kitana smiled. “I know how much that plagued you. I wish I could have told you the truth, but you had to find out for yourself.”

  Marla looked her mother in the eyes, surprised. “Why?”

  “The time had only come just now.” Kitana sighed, as though it had been difficult for her not to interfere in the course of events. “I killed myself so that Obron wouldn’t be able to find out where I had hidden the scepter.”

  To protect them all …

  “Kitana,” James whispered, sitting up. He ran a hand over his face. “Am I dead, or am I dreaming?”

  “Neither.” The corners of Kitana’s mouth twitched. “You’re all alive.”

  “Why are you here now — and why didn’t you show yourself before?” he asked.

  “I couldn’t. I’ve only come now because as the last guardian of the scepter, I have to fulfill my duty and take the artifact.” Kitana was holding the scepter in her hand. “It’s lost all its power. It destroyed itself — when the bearer of the scepter sacrifices his or her powers, it becomes useless.”

  Before their eyes, the artifact dissolved into dust. Kitana looked from Marla to James and the others, and as she spoke, Marla knew that Kitana was trying to explain the scepter’s power to them. Marla could see questions forming in the minds of the others.

  “I had searched for the scepter for a long time. My mother had hidden it and never revealed its location to me. She knew that Obron had only married me to get at the boundless power that, according to the prophecy, his firstborn son would have. Not even when Xandros tortured her to death did my mother betray her secret. I only knew where to find the scepter when James activated it in the pyramid. As a blood heir, I could sense the tremors of power before the others and attempt to hide it again.” Visibly delighted, Kitana looked around the group. “Now no one will ever bother you again about the scepter.”

  Mike had crawled to Marla’s side and carefully embraced her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded and sat up with his help. “Mike!” Sobbing, she threw her arms around him. She had never thought that her life would take this turn.

  She hugged him as tightly as she could. She still felt weak, but she was overjoyed. Then she put a hand to her stomach. “I think I’m hungry.”

  Kitana smiled and looked wistfully down at them before flying over to Daniel, who was still lying on the ground.

  Daniel blinked. So this was his real mother. How beautiful she was. It really must have been her voice that he had heard earlier. “Are you an angel?”

  Smiling, Kitana nodded. She stretched out a hand to caress Daniel’s head. “You’ve grown up to be a handsome young man.”

  Daniel blushed. Her hand felt cool, like a breeze. Kitana looked over at James, who was standing nearby, staring at them. His eyes were swimming with tears, but he didn’t say anything.

  Kitana turned back to Daniel. “Show me the amulet.”

  Without taking it off, he picked up the eye of Horus and held it out to his mother. The red stone was no longer glowing; in fact, it had turned black. Its magic was gone.

  Floating so close to Daniel that her hair tickled his chin, Kitana took the medallion in her hand and kissed it. The stone suddenly glowed a light blue.

  Why isn’t it red anymore? Daniel thought.

  Kitana smiled. That’s angel magic. “Always wear the eye, my son. It will protect you.” She ran her hand through his hair one last time and floated over to James. Her face s
oftened. With her thumb, she wiped the tears from his cheeks. He took her hand and whispered, “Kitana.”

  His father looked as though he was about to snatch her out of the air. Kitana seemed to fear this as well, as she gently pulled her hand back. “James …” she whispered, and Daniel could hear the love in her voice.

  “I thought I would never see you again.” More tears gathered in his father’s eyes, and there was a tormented expression on his face. “I miss you so much.”

  “We had so little time,” she said, “but those were the happiest years of my life.” She flew higher, toward the white vortex. Her dark hair swirled about.

  “Don’t go yet!” James stood up and stretched out his hand to her, but Kitana could no longer reach it.

  “We’ll see each other again one day.” She looked around the group, smiling, and then she waved at James. “Don’t be sad, my love. You have Anne. She’s a wonderful woman, and you were made for each other. You always were, but fate made you wait a long time.” She sighed quietly. “I know that you’ll take good care of our children.” The cloud vortex pulled her closer. Kitana grew smaller and smaller, but her voice was still just as audible.

  “Go to Anne. She’s sick with worry.” Through the cloud portal, Daniel could see Anne standing by the cabin window. She had placed a hand against the fogged-up glass. Was it snowing in Canada?

  “You’ll always have a place in my heart!” James called out to Kitana.

  “I know. And you in mine.” She was gone. Only the whirling cloud portal was still there. It sank down toward the earth so that they could comfortably step through it.

  “It will bring you to Anne,” Daniel heard Kitana’s faint voice say.

  Happy to go home, Daniel took Vanessa’s hand. He felt strangely empty. Had he really lost all of his abilities? As a test, he attempted to create an energy sphere in the palm of his hand. It didn’t work. Daniel stared at his hand in disbelief.

  His powers had really been sacrificed, just as Blondie had foreseen. Was he just a normal human now?

  James walked up to him and whispered, “No powers?”

  Daniel nodded.

  “Me, neither, at least for the moment. The battle weakened me terribly.” James took a deep breath. “Let’s get out of here!” He gestured toward Marla, who stepped through the portal with Mike. They could see the pair arriving in the cabin. Anne turned to them and embraced them. Anne waved to the others — she could evidently see them as well.