Its new arms were much thinner and easier to get through. I’d gotten the hang of dealing with this necro now. I went after a shoulder and soon its entire arm fell off. That was such a big chunk it took the godmothers a while to clean it up, but they managed just fine.
I hacked off more arms and more legs and soon the necro-golem was down to the size of a sack of potatoes. That was good because I was running out of energy. I was low on magic and low on stamina. I hurt all over but especially where the sword had gone through me. I wasn’t in good shape and I needed this to be over.
I gave a swipe and hit something solid. That had to be the core. I hammered at the spot and finally ripped it out. When I did, the rest of the golem fell apart. I guess the core gave up at that point as thick black liquid leaked out of it.
The granny godmothers did their thing and soon the core was empty. It sat there, a hunk of metal and runes. Whatever life it had was gone. Sandy could add that one to her collection and study it too. I wanted nothing to do with it right now.
I picked it up, walked through the shield, and collapsed on the grass. The former sword withdrew the claws, flowed back down my arms, and made a solid band around my chest. It stopped draining my magic and because of that lost its liquid transformative properties. It was now just a solid band of metal around me, and part of it still through me.
I was done. The House was safe. I was safe. Annabeth was safe.
Sandy and John were still back at the warehouse but they were probably safe too. We need to go and get them later, but right now I just wanted to lie here. Sandy was unconscious and drained of magic. John was a nine-foot stone monster, but these were problems for another moment.
The danger was past and that was good enough for now.
The front door of the House opened and Annabeth came out. She came over and laid beside me and took my hand. We had to figure out how to recharge the House shields too, but that could wait as well. Just holding my hand was enough. I felt connected. I wasn’t alone.
There was one thing I needed to do. The horde of granny godmothers deserved to rest. They had done an amazing job. They had freed a crap ton of spirits, taken out a saber tooth tiger, and cleaned up a necro-golem. I’d say my little creations had saved the day.
Now I was thinking about the tiger, it was probably a golem too, which meant there was another core somewhere. Oh well, I’d get it later.
In the meantime, I needed to say goodnight to Penny. She was going to absorb all this magic, and go to sleep again. At least I knew what to do to bring her back. This time would be harder, though. This time they had adsorbed the power of two golems instead of one, as well as the black spores on all those spirits.
“Goodnight, Penny,” I said. “I’ll work really hard on this and I’ll talk to you soon.” She gave me a sad little trill. She was going to miss me too.
I held my hand up in the air and my creations swooped in for a final goodbye. Their red eyes were gone, and they were back to the kindly looking, gray haired, dust busting, cheerful grannies I’d started with. They all gave me a wave as they flew into Penny and went back home.
There were thousands and thousands of them so it took a while. I made sure they didn’t have any black dust on them. I didn’t want anything like that near Penny.
Bermuda came over and crawled up by my face. The horde of godmothers didn’t bother him at all. He closed his eyes and started purring. Then he started doing the little paw scrunchy thing on my chest. He was happy.
It seemed to take forever, but finally it was done.
I put my arm down and rested. There was so much to do. I’d get to it soon. For now, I was safe.
I was happy.
I was home.
The end.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading my book! Not only did you make it to the end, but you’re reading all the ending stuff. Clearly you are awesome. : )
I really hope you enjoyed the journey. If you did, please tell others about it! This world only exists when people read it. So the more readers it has, the larger the world can be.
I’ve wanted to write a book since I was 10 years old and I figured I should start small. This whole thing was supposed to just be a writing exercise. Once I made it through the Death Experience, though, the world just kept growing and wouldn’t let go. Jason, Sandy, John and Annabeth kept whispering in my ear and, finally, four years later, I made it to the end of the first adventure.
The next book is already in the works. It picks up three days later and deals with the fall out of Sandy losing her magic and John having too much magic. Jason starts learning how to fight and Annabeth gets creative with her sound affinity. I think it’s going to be a good time!
Reviews are so important! Good reviews let Amazon and Google know you liked the book and they will then suggest it to other readers.
I’m an avid reader, but for the longest time I never posted a review. I didn’t know what to say and I felt like the world would judge me. So for all of you who like the book, want to recommend it, but don’t know what to say - here is a simple format to use:
Title: Just say you enjoyed it and how you read it. Example: “This is a fun read. I read it in two days.”
Description: Just act like it is a text to me. Just tell me your favorite character and what you liked about them. If you still need more words - just add in your favorite scene.
Example: “John was my favorite character in the book. He seemed like such a fun guy to hang out with. I loved the scene where he gets Jason drunk and they toast everything. That is something I would do!”
Before I was a writer, I was a Photoshop artist. I’d ask guys to be my models, shoot them against a neutral background and then Photoshop a scene together. I’ve attached a few samples below and you can check out my shop on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/shop/MichaelTaggartPhoto
Genie
Oxygen
Tryst
Trials of Eros
For all you cat people, Bermuda Moses is real and he’s helped me on every step of my journey as an author. He’s older now, of course, but I wrote him into the book as a kitten. Here’s a picture of him when he was a wee thing.
And here he is with his brother (Memphis Blue Malachi) and my husband Harold
Here is his sister Halo. She’s the smallest of the group but she’s the boss!
Please follow me on Amazon. When I release a new book, Amazon will let you know.
Amazon’s Author page for Michael Taggart
If you want more updates than that, then check out my email list. I promise I will only send out about one email a month or less – and it will only be about book stuff (and maybe the occasional Bermuda picture).
Email signup page
You can also check out my website: Michael Taggart Books
Thank you again for taking a chance on me! I hope you have enjoyed the journey and look forward to more.
Hope you are having a purr-fect day!
Michael and Bermuda
Misfit Mage Page 37
