Famallumi spoke on, his voice raspy after reciting the tale of Mephalus's death so long last night, but still he continued. The room once again filled with power, but this time it was from the Lore Master Apprentice as he gave them this parting memory. It wasn't one Rhychard wanted.Together, they watched as Rhychard staggered his way to her side and dropped to his knees beside her. He brushed the blonde hair out of her eyes and then leaned down and kissed her cold lips, his tears falling on her face. "I'm so sorry."She gripped his hand with hers as her eyes flickered open, the last thing Kree could do for her—allow her to say goodbye. "No," she said, her voice a distant whisper. "I'm the one who is sorry. I gave up on you. On us."Rhychard laid a hand on Renny's forehead. "You weren't supposed to be here.""I wanted to help you. I owed it to you. I wanted to confront Adrian." Her body heaved as another coughing fit wracked her body, blood trickling out of her mouth and down her cheek
Rhychard knelt behind a thick oak, the cloak he had found in his father's garage a week or so back hiding him from prying eyes, the Guardian Sword and iron swords strapped to his back and out of sight. He had also selected to wear his brace of throwing knives, just on the off chance something did go awry tonight. He preferred to be over-prepared as to under. On the other side of the cemetery, Kree sat on his haunches, tongue lolling as he kept an eye on the skies. Once Rhychard left the Murky Cauldron, he made sure Renny was safely locked in his condo with Famallumi as the Warrior discussed with Kree what the witches intended at the cemetery. The coshey agreed that they needed to provide protection while the coven performed their ceremony. :It is still too soon from the Unseelie's defeat to be safe from retaliation. The witches will be targets for sure.:They arrived before the witches, able to watch the small coven enter the cemetery and prepare for their ceremony. The night held a f
Buttercup opened her eyes, almost gasping when she saw the bluish-white glow rising from the ground. She would have thought, with all she had witnessed since Rhychard entered her life, nothing would have scared her, especially a light—a pulsing, eerie, bluish-white light. A spirit. Buttercup had to remind herself that this was all that was left of Rose Tillery, the young witch who had assisted Buttercup in learning how to protect herself against the Learys or anyone else who wanted to cause her pain. Yet, it did scare her. It scared her very much.She watched as the light reached for Tansy, the witch's arms outstretched, leaving herself open for whatever was about to happen. As Buttercup understood it, the light in front of her was all that was left of Rose, and the witches were calling out to her, calling her to them, for her to spread her essence between them, her power. Yet, even though Buttercup sat on the damp ground, chanting along with the others, she wasn't sure she wanted part
It felt as if something poked him in the cheek as wakefulness tugged at the edges of his senses. Rhychard did his best to ignore it as he stretched, his muscles still sore and stiff from the battle with the gargoyles. As he settled back into the bed, he wrapped his arm around Renny, pulling her bare back against his chest. He was still not used to her being in his bed, but he would never complain. He had her back, and he was never letting go. Hell, he could hardly let her out of his sight.Once the battle was over, he headed straight back to his condo and the warmth of his bed, the warmth of Renny's body. He did take a shower first, of course. He was sure Renny wouldn't appreciate him climbing into bed covered in gargoyle blood and ash. Jayden offered to take Buttercup home, which he wasn't sure if it meant his condo or the Valentine home. Kree, of course, just wandered off, saying he would get home on his own. He wanted to scout around some and see if he saw any more of the Unseelie l
"And who is Pux?""The one you tossed so carelessly down," the first gnome shouted as he wobbled into the living room. "I'm Pux, you lummox, and I'll be asking you to be more careful with how you treat me.""Well, Pux, you shouldn't break into people's homes if you don't wish to be thrown around. It's not polite." Crossing his arms, Rhychard stared down at the little man. "And just what were you doing in my bed?"The gnome shoved his hands onto his hips and stared right back at Rhychard, unafraid. "My job, that's what."Rhychard turned back to the Lore Master Apprentice, staring at him with a questioning arch of his eyebrow. Famallumi shrugged, just as clueless as everyone else in the room, it appeared."Aren't you supposed to know all this stuff being a Lore Master and all?" Rhychard asked. Rhychard heard Kree moving onto the porch.Famallumi held one finger up in the air. "Apprentice. Lore Master Apprentice. Master Taryen hasn't given me permission yet to study everything." He shrug
Renny was alive, gnomes invaded his house, the Lore Master Apprentice still found everything amazing, and Buttercup was a witch. Rhychard hungered for some normalcy in his life, even if it was merely moving boxes with his high school friend, Trace Wheeler. Nothing shouted normal in his life as much as Trace did. Friends since high school, Rhychard had learned to tolerate his friend's lack of ambition, instead using it to his advantage. Trace avoided work when he could, but when he needed to work for some cash, he gave it all he had. He didn't require a lot of money, as his mother still paid most of his bills and never charged him rent, so he was perfect for those odd jobs Rhychard took on that required an extra set of hands. It kept Rhychard from having to hire someone on fulltime. Trace was also predictable, which added to the normalcy that he brought to the Warrior's life. Once Trace's father had passed, he moved back in with his mother under the guise of helping her out around the
Brice Financial was only about twenty minutes away, and as they went, Rhychard, sensing that Trace no longer wanted to talk about his new flame, filled Trace in on everything that had happened in the two weeks since they last saw each other. It seemed unreal to the Warrior that it had only been that long. It seemed like forever ago that the war at Feather Lakes took place, changing people's lives forever. The story was longer in the telling than Rhychard realized and the two men sat in the cab of the truck outside Brice Financial as Rhychard finished his tale. He told him everything from Renny's ghost to how the flames were an attack from Mephalus from within the Guardian Sword to try and subvert Rhychard and take possession of his body. He shared how Kendalais took him through the Brintohar and how the other Warriors, whose souls dwelt inside the sword, aided him in defeating Mephalus and bound him inside the sword. From there he told of Buttercup's reunion with her sister and how she
Renny knew Rhychard wanted her to talk to Laci, Buttercup as everyone else called her, but she wasn't sure the other woman wanted anything to do with her. If Renny was honest with herself, it almost seemed like Buttercup resented Renny being brought back to life and it had to do with more than the fact that her friend, Rose, died. It felt more to Renny like the other woman had started to develop feelings for Rhychard, and now that Renny was back, felt she was betrayed somehow. Rhychard would tell Renny she was overreacting, of course, but Renny didn't think so. There was tension there, and talking wasn't going to make it go away.She glanced over, catching Kree standing out of the corner of her eye. The coshey was still being treated like a giant pony by several of the gnomes who had invaded the condo, and it seemed the elven hound had enough of the small faerie creatures climbing and jumping on him. Stretching his feet out to the sides a little to brace himself, Kree shook his entire
While their mother piddled in the kitchen fixing them a plate of fajitas, the Valentine sisters sat on the living room sofa, legs folded under them. Maria Valentine put most of the house back in order after Baltabek's attack, but the destruction remained obvious to Laci. She held tight to her sister ever since the Summerlands, scared to let her go. Jayden, of course, fussed at her to stop being a mother hen.Once everyone arrived back at Rhychard's Thinking Rock, a place Renny decided would cause the least amount of sightseers, the witches and Famallumi returned to the Murky Cauldron while Rhychard placed a still-weak Jayden in the back of Laci's car. The eldest Valentine wasted no time or words as she headed straight for home."I almost lost you," Laci said. "I don't know what I would have done if that happened.""Probably moved into my room since it's the biggest," Jayden said with a shrug."That's not even funny," Laci snapped, shoving Jayden's hand away from her in disgust.Jayden
Rhychard wasn't sure what he hit, but he found himself spinning backward, the Guardian Sword leaving his hand as he hit the ground with a hard thud, the air whooshing out of his lungs. Scrambling to his feet, a pain tugging at the back of his head from where he hit the ground, the first thing he noticed was Laci sprawled on top of Kree. Renny! He jerked his attention around until he saw her still gripping Jayden's arm as both women lay stretched out on the grass. However, he didn't see the wall he ran into, knocking him back on his ass. Another glance around, and he noticed the salt circle and the three witches sitting on the ground, eyes closed as they chanted. An older man he didn't recognize stood behind Wanda, his face a mask of admiration.A groan alerted Rhychard to Baltabek stirring, and Rhychard lunged for his sword. The demon moved faster, however, and shot a burst of his demonic power at the Warrior, knocking him back against the invisible barrier, the air he just managed to
Rhychard heard screams, but he couldn't tell whose or where they originated. They might have even been his for all he knew. Pieces of the broken table jabbed him in his back and legs, and he felt blood making a trail down his side. Groaning, he tried to sit up. He must get up. Renny needed his protection as did his parents.:Warrior, Baltabek is heading to your home,: Kree sent. Rhychard could hear the elven hound moving toward him through their connection. :He hid among the woods along the creek.:"Rhychard!" Renny shouted, and then he felt her hands on his arms along with someone else's on his other side.:Well, he knows how to make an entrance.: Rhychard sent.He could hear shouts of panic coming from the parking lot and other apartments, people screaming at the sudden explosion.Glancing up, he noticed the other set of hands helping him to his feet belonged to his father. His mother stood by the sofa, her face pinched with concern, and Tryna picked herself up off the floor from whe
Tansy walked over to where Alex's backpack lay on the ground from where the gnome dropped it when they first entered the Summerlands, pulling out the container of salt that rolled halfway out. As she stood, she couldn't take her gaze off the dark pack, remembering its owner and how far he came since walking into the Murky Cauldron that first day. Her heart twisted, and she did her best to keep the tears at bay. She didn't know how much time they had, so she needed to make sure she completed the barrier spell before Renny arrived with Baltabek.Kayla and Wanda sat off to the side, Kayla with her arms wrapped around her knees as she stared at the last spot she saw Alex, and Wanda absorbing her surroundings. Since the demons had been cast out of the Summerlands, the dank grayish color slowly faded away, replaced once more by the lush greens and vibrant colors of the flowers that filled the Land of the Dead. They had even seen the return of some of those who had already passed on from the
"Mom! Dad. What are you doing here?" Rhychard just stood there, staring. He didn't need this right now."Your father thought I was crazy," Catherine Bartlett said. "He even made sure I didn't have any hidden wine bottles anywhere. Empty wine bottles, that is. I had to drag him here to see for himself.""You're alive," Rhychard's father said as he stood there and stared at Renny, his brows bunched in disbelief. "How is this even possible?"Rhychard sighed. "I've discovered just about anything is possible these days.""Hello, Mr. Bartlett," Renny said as she casually closed her purse, hiding the gnomes from sight for now. Catherine didn't handle them well last time, and Renny didn't know how Rhychard's father would react. "I'm sorry we didn't come over and tell you. We've just been…well, we've had our hands full."James Bartlett swooped in, wrapping his arms around Renny and giving her the tightest bear hug she ever had. "I can imagine you have," he told her, his voice filled with enthus
Rhychard watched as Renny gathered up the other Warriors and returned them to the Guardian Sword, only to reappear a moment later with Pux on her shoulder. Laci paced the entire time until Renny returned, eager to be on her way to protecting her sister. With the bridges gone, she had no other way back to the Land Above than Renny. None of them did, actually. Rhychard ran a hand over his long, dark hair, worried about what they would find when they arrived in the Valentine household, concerned for his brother, just as Laci showed concern for her sister.Tansy still stood off to the side, holding a sobbing Kayla and a shaking Wanda. Both witches shifted back to normal once the demons left them, but still wore the wear and tear from the possession. Rhychard hoped they would continue to heal with time, at least physically. He highly doubted Kayla would heal emotionally anytime soon considering her hands snapped Alex's neck even though the demon controlled her. That would be a heavy weight
Karl stood there, still not sure what he should be doing or even what was actually happening. He saw what those demons did to downtown. He couldn't possibly stop one if it showed up now and took over Jayden's body. Glancing over at Famallumi, he wondered just how much power the elves possessed. Gormec seemed to always have his giant hammer nearby, and while Karl had seen its power before, was it enough to stop the demons? There were only five of them against a demon like the ones who killed a witch and almost defeated his brother, the Warrior. Karl didn't particularly care for his odds."How do you feel?" he asked Jayden, his hands over his chest."I'd feel better if you'd stop staring at me like I'm about to go off my meds," Jayden snapped."How about I go and fix us all some lemonade?" Jayden's mother suggested. "It'll give us something to do while we wait for the others.""Do we even know they're going to be here?" Gormec asked, leaning on the handle of his hammer. "It's been longer
The witches continued to shout their chant, their power strengthened with their success. Baltabek sent a blast toward them, but Rhychard blocked it and hurled the power at the demon's feet, the ground exploding and shoving Baltabek up and backward into the air. The other Warriors quickly pressed their attack while the demon lay on the ground.Kayla let out a wail, slicing the air, and dropped to her knees. The demon inside of her wasn't so easily taken, however. With clenched fists, he shoved his power at the witches, doing his best to stop their chanting. Rhychard caught one of the bolts before it struck Tansy, but the next slipped past him and struck Laci in the chest, somersaulting her backward to land on the ground in a heap.Kree leaped up on his back paws, spinning in midair before racing over to the fallen witch. Rhychard could hear her moan and breathed a sigh of relief that she still lived. :Is she okay?: he asked Kree.Kree leaned down, pressing his muzzle against Laci's sho
Rhychard blocked another blast, sending it off to the side to explode into the ground. The gnomes fought from inside the ground, churning up the soil the demons stood upon and causing them to slip and lose their balance. Kree darted in all directions, drawing the demons' fire while he attempted to get close enough to bite one of them. The witches sent their power at the demons, Rose from behind and the others in front, doing their best to keep Baltabek and the others from focusing on any one person. They all did their best to bide Renny time to bring the other Warriors out of the sword, but Rhychard wasn't sure how much longer they could keep it up.The demons who possessed the witches spun, one sending a bolt of power at Rhychard's head and the other one sending one at his feet. He swung his sword, blocking the bolt to his head, but missing the one aimed at his feet. The magic snatched at his ankles, spinning him around and dragging him to the ground. His sword arm hit the ground, his