Prerequisite

Skylar was overwhelmed with the guilt of disclosing her plan to her grandmother despite the apprehensions of her friends. She was not prepared to have anyone lose their life on her account. She wasn’t prepared for it mentally or physically. But she did not let her emotions cloud her judgment and make her weak. Just like Skylar would say, “Emotions are stupid feelings that make you feel lost, and you end up being the bait.”

That’s exactly how she felt at the moment. She just wanted to scream her lungs out in desperation for trusting her blood. She was not to be blamed entirely; she had always wanted a happy family around her. Yes, she did have families around her, but they were not hers to call, not hers by blood. She was always alone.

Ace’s action of striking Shax in his chest was an excellent step. It deranged Shax and he went right at Ace as if he would crumble him underneath his big foot. As Ace was pushed to the ground. Shax pulled the weapon out of his chest with all his might and his sticky blackish-red blood spilt all over the cracked wooden floor and it seeped in through the cracks. Shax moved closer to Ace. In a sudden fit of energy, Emerald levitated and threw junk and scrap along his way that were big enough to slow down Shax’s pace. Emerald then screamed to draw Skylar out of her thoughts, “Any day now Sky!”

Skylar responded to the scene before her and jumped towards Shax hitting his head hard.

If only he dies of a concussion nice and simple — Skylar thought to herself. Instantaneously, the castle door burst open as Thea, Augustus, Kayle, Kol, Aiden, Jade, and the others tried to enter but they were not able to enter due to the spell. Thea shouted at them, “Let us in, the perimeter is secured.”

Emerald immediately broke the spell and they entered smoothly. As soon as they got in chaos broke between them. Out of nowhere, Shax’s horrendous looking demons started to float and appear out of thin air.

“Are you all really this naïve? Did you really think that that was it?” Shax let out an evil grin that ran chills down everyone’s spines; this meant that they were not certain how many were coming their way, it seemed endless.

Shax himself was weak because of the injury in his chest; the mark was deep enough to kill him but not sufficient to reach his heart and end him for good. Only Skylar’s and Emerald’s attention was towards Shax, and the rest were occupied with fighting his ghost minions.

“Where did they even come from?” Jade looked at Aiden as they were fighting off a bunch of chipmunks that belonged to Solhm.

“I don’t know Jade, ask them if you’re so curious,” Aiden said loudly as he was being outnumbered by them.

“Stop bickering like a married couple you guys!” Thea gave them a ‘ugh’ look and chuckled. “Not the right time guys,” Augustus added exasperatedly.

Jade and Aiden in unison then glared at them and said, “Says the married couple themselves.” It made Thea’s eyes grow wide as if her eyeballs would pop out and hit the demon in front of her face, killing him.

“What? What did you just say, young guy?”

Augustus laughed to himself at Thea’s reaction. He did not defend himself by saying anything because maybe deep down he enjoyed this. He found someone in the most unexpected place, and he did not even have the slightest bit of regret about it. He was thankful till this very day for meeting Thea. The electric waves that started to flow through him when he saw her caused ecstasy in him. He did pretty well at first to hide his true feelings, but he was clearly not doing good with it when he was around her.

The connection between Thea and Augustus was in striking contrast to that between Skylar and Ace or even Jade and Aiden for that matter. They were always strangers but from the same side of the coin, but Thea and Augustus were not just strangers but enemies from opposite sides. They were inimical to each other but somehow, they both realized that this was stupidity, something they could have done away with ages ago. This could have ended in killing one of them or maybe both who knows.

Augustus was snapped out of his laugh as Thea whispered at him, “What are you laughing at?” She said with an accent making Augustus blush even more, he was red as a tomato.

Suddenly a voice yelled towards them, “A little help here guys.” It was Skylar. Thea and Augustus ran towards her leaving the rest to deal with the ghost-like creatures. The fight was pretty easy and lame. It was just that they were outnumbered, and the ghosts just did not stop coming. The fight put on by Shax was something to talk about. They lashed out at each other not much frequently, but the intensity was enough to make them exhausted and they took a minute to revive themselves. Shax was steeped in black magic. He had had enough. “Enough of playing around. Now it’s the time to kill,” he then picked up a piece of the wooden shaft that was hanging loose on the side of a wall and aimed it straight towards Augustus. Augustus was to be hit at the weakest spot. Everyone knew that wood to the heart would kill him in no time. Shax had wasted no time in attacking Augustus.

All this happened instantaneously not giving Augustus and Skylar enough time to retaliate. Thea stood in front of Augustus with a blank face. She was standing facing him and her back towards Shax. As the wood hit her instead, her lips parted a little to say something, but she immediately collapsed. Augustus looked at her in dismay, bloody and almost dead. He ran towards her and held her in his arms still not believing what just happened. He looked into Thea’s gleaming blue eyes filled with pain. She whimpered. He felt helpless. He failed to protect the one person that was most precious to him.

Yes, Shax threw the wooden stake towards Augustus, but Thea’s reflexes made her aware of the threat and without a second thought she had stood in front of him to save him. Her thoughts were not filled with the safety of her life but that of the one who made her live her life. Skylar was stunned to see what had just happened. Her hand went straight to her mouth gasping at the sight. Shax chuckled, “One down, rest to go. I’ll make sure to make it as painful as I c—”

He was cut short when the broken back wall of the castle tumbled down and Shax was attacked, making him fall down on the dust with heavy wood on top of his head, causing him to yell in pain. The silhouette of a woman in black was visible from afar, as she walked towards Shax, everyone gasped. Grandma Lindale finally made it.

“Take one more step towards my granddaughter and death will very welcomingly kiss you in the face.”

Shax was stunned to see her. “What are you doing here, trying to protect the hateful?”

“The only hateful I see here is you, Solhm.” As she said this, she hit Shax with bolt of lightning, enough to make him stay on the ground longer.

Skylar ran towards Thea and cupped her face in her hands as Elizabeth was fighting Shax her way.

“Stay put little wolf, I’m coming don’t you dare go die on me or else I’ll pull you back with your hair from hell to kill you myself,” Skylar blurted in one breath.

“Not the hair please,” Thea pleaded weakly with tears in her eyes. Thea whimpered in pain as she smiled. They all knew that Thea’s chances of survival were very small, but they were not ready to accept the reality. Thea however could feel her end approaching and bravely she accepted, not flinching at her fate and literally welcomed her release with open arms.

Skylar sprinted towards Elizabeth. There was a sense of relief in her voice when she said, “Grandma, you made it.”

“Of course, I did, how could I not protect my little one.” They gave each other reassuring smiles.

“Nice to meet you again, Elizabeth,” Emerald said in a very emotionless manner.

Elizabeth gave her a very displeasing look, “Let’s get this over with girls, shall we?” Elizabeth said with authority.

Thea was gradually nearing her death. She held Augustus closely and that provided her with the warmth she needed. She gave him a small smile as he looked into his hazel brown eyes. She could see that he was crying. She had so much to say but very little time on her watch, so she let her eyes convey them to him. “You are going to be okay, all right!” Augustus said but deep down it was a question to which he certainly knew the answer was not in his favor. He had planned so much. She made him feel alive even though he technically drowned to his death at the age of 25 and is still the same ever since. The thought of losing her in the span of a few minutes shattered his soul. He had a long span of life, and his worst nightmare was coming true. Augustus didn’t care if people saw him crying because he was too broken from within to give a damn about the world around him when his world was leaving him. More importantly, the guilt consumed him that the wooden stake was meant for him to take and not Thea. “It should have been me Thea …why did you come in front of me!”

Thea just simply smiled again and looked at him and said, “Is it so hard for you to understand Augustus, God you are slower than I thought.”

“I don’t understand Thea.”

“The thought of my loved ones getting hurt scares the crap out of me. You are … too important for me,” she said, and tears started to roll down her rosy cheeks. “Thea!” Augustus said as his voice cracked,

“I … I wanted to tell you something and I was willing to wait but I think I should just say it.”

Augustus looked at her wound and blood loss, he knew that Thea had lost too much blood and now there’s nothing that he or anyone could do to save her. “Thea werewolf pack Alpha, you never seem to stop intimidating me, yo … you are like the sunshine I needed in my dark, dull life. Ever since I saw you, I tried to hate you but I jus … just couldn’t do it. It seemed so damn hard to not like you and eventually so damn hard for me to not fall for you….”

“Ah, what can I say Augustus I am pretty awesome,” Thea whispered to Augustus as she smiled and looked at him. “I am glad to hear you say that. You always seem to show people the cold side in you. That you are cruel and bad, but you are not that, you are ju … just a simple being who deserves to be happy, Augustus.” He said as she caressed his cheek. “Let people into your lonely world, they don’t always mean harm.”

“I let you in and I don’t regret it … not even the slightest.”

“Feeling’s mutual.” Thea said with a big smile.

“Even though you were cold at first, I just loved talking to you. I somehow enjoyed the talks, maybe because it was you. I was afraid to admit it at first since you know the whole vampire vs. werewolf thing but I was just keeping myself in denial, I guess … I hope this tells you enough, Augustus.”

He nodded as he kissed her forehead. The rest of the crew then came running to check on Thea.

“Oh my god, Thea,” Jade exclaimed in anguish.

“How bad is it?” Aiden whispered in Augustus’s ear.

“No … not good,” he said in a low voice.

Kayle and Kol stood beside them with grief on their faces and felt wretched.

The whole werewolf clan came near Thea as they all lamented their Alpha’s conditions. As a tradition of the clan, Thea’s second in command, Luna, came up to her and sat down on her knees next to Augustus who held Thea in his arms. As Luna held Thea’s hand, Thea gripped it tightly.

“You can do this Luna; they are your responsibility now.”

Luna took a deep breath as a tear slid down her cheeks and nodded, “Rest easy, T.”

Luna muttered and kissed Thea’s forehead, Thea lost consciousness gradually and her eyes closed slowly.

Augustus felt a fresh wave of pain, “Stay with me Thea, hey open your eyes,” as he lightly tapped her cheek.

“Au … Augustus hey don’t cry, it’s oka … okay,” she lightly replied as she took a deep staggering breath.

“It’s okay, I am fine, I am okay,” she tried to reassure him but hearing those words only made him break even more. “Thea, I am … I am so sorry, hey please stay with me … you can’t leave not now, not ever, I just got you I can’t let you go, Thea, plea … please,” he begged for her to hold on but he knew it was something she had no control over as much as she wanted to stay, it was her time to go.

“Hey! Augustus, look at me,” she said, lifting his chin with her thumb. “I am gonna be fine alright, don’t cry please, I need you to be happy alright, live the life you got, meet someone new …” she said as she raised her eyebrows trying hard to control her sobs that were on the brink of exploding.

“… Just do … don’t forget me.”

“Never,” he said between sobs.

“See you on the other side, love … after a very long time.”

Thea whispered as she pecked Augustus on the cheek. Their foreheads met each other’s, and Augustus felt Thea’s body go limp. Her heart had stopped beating. His hand on her neck was not able to feel any pulse. He knew she was gone, gone away from him. He was broken but he only wished for her to be at peace because she surely deserved it … she was nothing but pure.

Augustus then lifted his head and looked at Luna. “She’s gone,” he said softly. Luna took a deep breath and with a bold voice stood strong and said, “Thea, our Alpha, has fallen an honorable death, and I, Luna, take after her as the second in command.” All the werewolves looked at Luna with hope in their eyes and nodded as they held their heads low in honor of Thea. Augustus then slowly picked up Thea’s limp, cold body in his arms and gently put her on a safe corner where her body would remain unharmed from any chaos going around.

On the other side, Elizabeth managed to put Shax down, giving them enough time to plot their next move. Skylar went running and stood next to Elizabeth and Emerald, “Let’s get this over with once and for all. The more time we waste the more he will manipulate us and sabotage our plan.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Emerald said … panting.

“Alright ladies! Let’s hold hands!”

‘Hold hands, oh okay!’ Emerald muttered to herself and interlocked her two hands together; so did Skylar.

Elizabeth glared at the duo and said with a flourish, “Not your own, with each other,” she said each word with great emphasis, so that they could understand it this time.

‘Oh! Okay sorry,’ they muttered in unison. Elizabeth smiled to herself over their stupidity, even being the most fierce and strong creatures, stupidity did not elude them.

The three then held their hands together and interlocked their fingers. Elizabeth gave them a nod and the trio started to chant a spell. As they chanted the inaudible words fluttered out of their mouths, they walked towards Shax who was too beaten to even get up. Their spell acted as if someone was sprinkling salt over the wounds of Shax. He was whimpering in pain, but it was something the girls wanted to see.

As they were about to complete the spell to tame Shax, Ace leapt onto Shax and held him down as Augustus plunged a metal rod across Shax’s neck. As he pushed it with full force onto Shax’s neck, he could see the other end protruding from his back.

It should have killed him but then again, he’s the bad guy, bad guys don’t die easily, they thought mercilessly.

The impact only caused Shax to be weaker; not enough to kill him. The trio continued the spell as Shax was nearing his death. As soon as the spell was complete, Skylar grabbed the rusted metal, broadsword and immediately beheaded Shax without any second thought. As they all witnessed Shax’s limp body fall to the ground and his head toppling down to the side, Skylar muttered, “It’s what he deserved,” without any emotion on her face. They had finally killed Shax, the biggest evil hindering the peace to prevail on the superworld. He was dead, gone, and this time they made sure about that.

“Should have been careful with his actions, karma bit him right in the back.” Aiden whispered to Jade; and she agreed. Although she was trained very well, she was new to all this bloodshed. At first, she was frightened even though Shax had done terrible things. Watching his lifeless head roll on the floor was gruesome. This was too much for her to watch.

As the so-called “undefeatable” lay dead on the ground, his evil blood spilling all around, the rest of the crew took a breath of relief. Suddenly, Ace’s eyes were on Emerald as he saw her taking deep breaths staring at Shax. Her hands shivering, as if she was tempted to do something and was on the edge of her control. Ace realized what she was up to and held her forearm with pressure snapping her out of her thoughts. “Don’t do it Emerald, you got your chance to make up don’t screw it up again,” Ace gritted his teeth and whispered in her ears, Emerald furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him with a confused look on her face, “Why shouldn’t I, Ace? He’s dead anyways, he’s mine to take. I won’t let anyone else get what’s mine.”

“He’s no one’s Emerald, the kind of power his corpse carries is off-limits to this superworld. No one gets it.”

“Can’t say the same for Skylar now can you, you would happily hand it to her on a silver platter.”

He glared at her, “Neither Skylar nor you, no one gets it, understood.” Ace’s voice was sterner.

“Too late for that Ace,” Emerald said as she held Ace’s hand that was on her forearm and using her heavenly energy, she burned Ace’s arm. He winced in pain and agony. Emerald not only burned him but also absorbed energy from him causing him to collapse on the ground beside her. Everyone’s attention suddenly was on the scene before them. Skylar immediately ran towards Ace and shouted his name in confusion.

“Ace!” Skylar exclaimed. Ace was barely able to speak and whispered, “St … stop h … er Sky.”

He spoke by taking pauses after each word as he was going weak.

Skylar immediately ran towards Emerald. Emerald knew that Skylar would try to stop her. She wanted complete control of Shax’s strong energy and couldn’t even stand the thought of sharing some with Skylar. Skylar sensed the acute betrayal!

With the energy she had absorbed from Ace, she hurriedly created a wall to shield her from Skylar’s attacks and separated Shax until she had absorbed Shax’s power to be the strongest creature on earth.

Skylar was pushed backwards by the wall causing her to shout her out trying to talk some sense into Emerald’s being.

“Em, stop!”

“What are you doing. This isn’t right. No one gets to absorb him; it’s too dangerous … please stop.” She pleaded; she knew she had lost her best friend due to her greed for power, but she was not ready to physically lose her too. Knowing that if Emerald would absorb the power, she would unnaturally be too strong to stop and could be seen as a threat and threats in the superworld are put down by only one means — death.

“I’m just taking what is mine,” Emerald coldly stated.

As she walked towards the dead Shax wasting no time, she started her spell. Dark energy and immense power waves could be felt by everyone in the room, as it left Shax’s limp body and started to enter Emerald, first through her fingertips then slowly reaching her forearms and then as the energy took a purplish-blue hue, it started to reach between her eyes over her head and in her chest. A loud voice more like a shout aroused everyone’s attention towards them, “Emerald!”

Lucy came panting as she shouted Emerald’s name.