Bad Lies

Soon the castle was reduced to a pile of debris. Skylar broke down at the sight and fell to her knees. The blood of the person she loved the most was on her hands now. She knew that the demon would have escaped as soon as Emerald died. Stifling her mental anguish, she entered the scene. It was hot and the woods were still on fire. She could barely open her eyes in the midst of thick ashes suspended in the air. Her eyes wandered here and there, searching for some clue or Emerald’s body or her remains and fell on Emerald’s necklace lying on the hot burning wood. This was proof enough that Emerald was dead as the necklace provided her intense powers. It was an anchor for her and she would never take it off voluntarily.

Skylar could not feel the demon’s energy and imprints around. She did not know how to feel about it. She was somewhat relieved that it will give them time to prepare if the demon decides to come back.

Skylar was overwhelmed by remorse, and her feelings were a mess. She wanted to cry her heart out. It felt like she had lost a part of herself. She knew that she would never forgive herself. She wanted to save Emerald from her magic, but she was not able to do so. She felt such great powers were useless if it didn’t even assist her to save Emerald from the never-ending thirst for power. She saw Emerald on the brink of falling but she failed to hold her hand, assure her, and not let her fall off the cliff into oblivion.

“What did I do …,” Skylar muttered to herself in anguish and collapsed on the ground. Her head was clouded by all the sweet memories of her life with her soul sister. She said to herself, “Oh lord, … no, I did not do it, no I did not kill her …. I loved you so much Emerald. I had to save you from yourself,” her voice turned hoarse with crying and hot tears flowed down her cheeks. She then heard a voice in her head mocking her.

“Oh, but you did dear, you didn’t just kill her to just protect the realms from the wrath of black magic. You’re as tainted as she was, you wanted it all to yourself, didn’t you! If Emerald would have absorbed it, she would have been unstoppable, and perhaps more powerful than you. After absorbing Trixie’s power, she was already as mighty as you. You just couldn’t risk seeing someone else superseding your power, could you? You crave for power … that’s what it is Skylar Lindale … it runs in your veins. Accept it, you are a villain deep down inside you and you just proved it…”

Skylar then whispered to herself as she sat heartbroken on the ground, “Fine, make me your bad guy ... I am the bad guy then …”

Soon Lucy and Augustus arrived. The castle was long gone; only its remains were left. They both were covered in demon blood. As soon as Lucy saw the scene, she immediately ran towards Skylar, confusion written all over her face.

“Skylar, what happened, where are Em and Trix?”

Skylar looked towards her with eyes filled with tears, and a face that was emotionless to hide her guilt.

“They’re dead.” There was a moment of silence and Skylar continued, “Shax … he set fire to the castle. Em’s shield was too strong, I was not able to put it down. I killed the demons from outside but he killed Em and Trix, they got burned down in the fire, the shield’s down now but they are gone … nothing’s left except this.”

She opened her fist revealing Emerald’s necklace. Her eyes were on the ground the whole time. She lifted her hand to give Lucy the necklace. Lucy was overwhelmed with grief by what she heard. She had lost her friend and her sister to Shax’s mischief. She was meant to protect Trixie, she was her elder sister but she couldn’t do that.

“No, Trix, what about her?”

“She was the first one to go, I just heard a low scream that’s it. I tried to help, trust me.” She tried to sound convincing. At least her own guilt made her guard Emerald’s wickedness.

“Oh god ….” Lucy wailed at the sudden tragedy.

Soon Ace also arrived. He was concerned for Skylar and sadly gazed at the wrecks and signs of destruction all around.

As soon as he arrived at the castle ruins, Augustus filled him in on the happenings. Skylar controlled her tears and said in an unsteady voice, “We must return to the people.” Four out of six of them returned to the main settlement area.

Skylar decided to take a little detour on her way back and told the others to go ahead. She had to somehow deal with her anger issues. Skylar went towards the dungeon where the demons were kept. She silently looked at them. A minion screeched out at her pathetically, “You will die for this, you despicable creature.”

Skylar looked at him … she tilted her neck and as she played with the piece of wood kept nearby and said, “I see … you pose a threat to me. I must kill you then, kill you all, before one of you come after me, or your offspring filled with vengeance can cause me harm. That doesn’t look good, does it?”

The demons gazed at her in fear and confusion, as she continued, “Any last requests, demons?” She waited for a few seconds, “Okay then ….”

She then held both her hands up and gave out an intense blue light and closed her eyes. She enjoyed the supremacy and the fear she instilled in the demons. A smile appeared on her face as she looked up to the ceiling. As she brought her head down and looked at the demons, their necks snapped instantly. Her lips curved in a weak smile but as she started to absorb their energy, she regained her lost power and became even stronger.

She took a deep breath and made her way up from the underground dungeon, which was located in a far-off isolated area. The killing of the demons was known only to Skylar, not even Ace, Augustus, or Lucy knew. This killing and Emerald’s death were secrets that she swore to take along with her to her grave. Revealing them could cause a possible mayhem turning her friends to formidable enemies. She took a long solitary walk. As soon as she reached her destination, Ace asked her, “How are you feeling?”

She addressed the people of the realms authoritatively, “The demon has fallen! The rest of his army has been punished to spend their days between the dark walls of the dungeons until the void consumes them.”

“Our beloved Emerald Natalie Whitelock and Beatrix Rayez had fallen, a proud death, they died heroes fighting Shax till their last breath. The freedom that we have today is all because of them …. You all shall rest easy tonight. The sun did shine on us again.” She then turned her back and called for the committee to assemble for some important matters to be discussed.

The committee assembled after some time. They were seated in a circle around a huge table, covered with important paperwork. “Shax is not dead; he was backed by dark magic ….” Skylar started.

“What!” Said Jamie Whitelock, Emerald’s maternal cousin sister.

“Yes, Shax planned it all. He burned all our libraries, so that we can’t find a way out of this…. All our ancestral work is gone, we are left with nothing, we are just a few steps away from doom …” Skylar said with desperation.

“What do we do now,” the committee raised the question. “As of now there is only one way out of this misery, a collection of immense power to nullify the black magic.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Asked the others.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” added Lucy, her eyes still red.

“That’s right, it’s extremely arduous to acquire such immense power. To create such powerful and high magnitude energy, we will not just need one but two full bloodlines to give up their powers and lead the life among the common people as mortal humans, only then can this curse be lifted from us …” said Skylar.

Silence filled the room. Suddenly Jamie cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and in a voice drowned almost in tears, said, “I won’t let sister Emerald die for nothing. She started it, we must end it. The Whitelocks will volunteer.” She said as tears finally escaped her eyes. Everyone was sad but proud of her at the same time.

“The Greshmans too would volunteer,” Skylar nodded as Agatha Greshman said this. She was a fine old lady in her late 60s. “It’s settled then, the name of the Whitelocks and the Greshmans will always be remembered among the realms for their significant sacrifice, this act of courage will help us from not drowning into the depths of void and oblivion. We must start with the ritual early in the morning tomorrow. Get some sleep, the committee is adjourned.”

Skylar went to rest in her room, the entire night she was extremely anxious. Hours passed as slow as a snail would move. At the first hour of sunrise, out came all who knew about the secret, on the holy grounds. Skylar opened her grandmother’s grimoire, the only thing that belonged to her that she found useful all through her very long life span. Skylar along with Lucy’s help started to chant. They held hands to unite their heavenly energies.

Constantly chanting the holy words, they first asked Jamie Whitelock and her husband to come to the elevated ground. Skylar then took a sacred knife and asked the pair to bring their hands forward. She then made a small slit on both their hands. As blood gushed out of their hands, she asked them to join their hands. Lucy then did the same with Mr. and Mrs. Greshman. All four joined their hands as their blood mixed and created the powerful symbol shaped like a hand with multiple smaller yet quite powerful runes within them. Everyone was stunned to see the beauty and power of their faith.

Skylar then brought the holy chalice and collected the purified blood in it. She asked them to drink it one by one. Suddenly energy and light started to emit from their bodies as they took a sip. The mix in the chalice robbed them of their birth powers and left them as ordinary as the humans. Their powers would now be used as a shield of protection for the super realms. After the ritual was over, Skylar announced, “The ritual is now over, the Whitelocks and Greshmans will lead a life along with the humans in their realm. They no longer possess the powers or abilities of the superworld. They are no longer a part of the supernaturals.”

She took a deep breath and continued, “Their sacrifice has helped create a shield against the black magic that is supposed to emit with the death of Shax.”

Jamie Whitelock stood with her head held high as her hazel eyes were wet with emotion. She was sad yet proud to leave the superworld. Skylar and Lucy then hugged the Whitelocks and the Greshmans bidding them goodbye for their invaluable sacrifice. Both the families then began to pack their things. They received a lot of love and support from everyone. They left after a week and a farewell was hosted for their departure. Both the families were helped to settle in the human realm. During those times, Jamie volunteered to help with medicine as she had acquired enough knowledge from the superworld. That’s how everyone in Jade’s family became doctors.

The children of Greshmans also settled well and both the families decided to live alongside. Jade Harris was a descendant from the Whitelock bloodline, through Jamie Whitelock. Emerald’s locket was given to them to pass it on to the next deserving young decedent of their bloodline. After the farewell of the families, Skylar successfully removed all the records of Emeralds from everywhere and the name of the Whitelocks. She justified herself by thinking that in the future if their existence is not revealed, the peace won’t be disturbed. What’s left is that a few prestigious families made great sacrifices to save the superworld.