Chapter Nine

True to my words, we had the funeral the next morning.

We didn't actually bury him in the ground, no, instead we gave him a magical funeral. Even X showed up.

We buried Dani, too. It just seemed right.

We set up grave markers for them, and we tried to dress somberly, but my hair and eyes didn't help the mood. We laid Jonah's body down in one corner of the meadow, near Joel's house. A small stone marker had been set up for Joel there, one I had never noticed. Fane made the markers for Jonah and Dani himself.

Clara made sure that flowers laced the outline of Jonah's body, and where Dani would be laying if we had her body. I chanted an old Death chant, one that was custom for Eternals. It was sort of a good prayer, wishing them well as they traveled to the next dimension.

We gave our speeches next. I didn't know what to say. I choked up when I stood by their graves, so all I got out was, "You were right."

There is always a choice.

Clara was next but she began to cry as well. She managed to say, "I'm so, so sorry. You don't…you're better than that."

We let X have a go. "Good students," he grunted. "Bit of a shame."

We figured it was the best we were ever going to get out of him.

Fane took a deep breath and made his way up to the front of their graves, where he stood, staring at them for a while. It was hard to tear my eyes away from Jonah's still body and look at Fane, but I did.

"To the end," Fane began. "That was what Jonah told me. 'To the end.' The first words we ever spoke."

After a shuddering breath, he continued, "I didn't really think about them. Then again, I didn't think about the end. Who did? At this place, you never quite realize there will be an end.

"Jonah was one of the bravest people I'd ever met. Every time we had a challenge, he was right there in the front line, trying to help people. That's what he loved to do. He helped people."

He died helping people.

"I will never forget him."

For a moment, all was still.

"But this isn't the end. Jonah and I wanted to die next to each other, knowing we made a difference to this mad world. But we didn't. I didn't get to see him when he took the arrow, and we didn't die in battle. I didn't die with him.

"And there's still more happening. The end isn't here yet. We're far from it, actually, and Jonah should be here to see it. I'm going to miss all that, and I think that will be my biggest regret in life."

He turned to Dani's grave just as the first tear I'd seen him shed rolled down his cheek. "And Dani?" he continued, "I…I wanted to say the same."

That might seem harsh to you. It seemed a bit harsh to me. She was dead in our minds. But really, Fane just preached the truth we'd all been thinking.

Clara began the spell before I could dwell on it. I chimed in with her, and when Fane had control over his voice he spoke the words as well.

The instant the sun finished rising Jonah's body, the flowers, and everything else burst into golden shimmers and then faded.

And that was it. My anchor and friends were gone forever. All I had were two gravestones – Jonah's saying Jonah. 1900 – 2012. You made it to the end with honour, and Dani's saying a simple, Dani. 1900 – 2012. We wish it could've been easier, for all of us.

I guess Lêshä was helping me out with the grief, because I didn't feel hopeless. I didn't feel distraught. I knew it would be hard to smile for a while yet, but I wasn't stricken with tears.

All I wanted was to make sure they didn't die in vain.

The instant Bläsa's forces came close to the camp, I heard them coming. I guess Lêshä was trying to warn me, because I could hear the hissing of the Raze and then smell of their crusty skin from miles away. It was evening and the sun was falling already. They'd chosen night as their cover.

"They're here," I said, stopping Clara and Fane in their tracks. We were down in the Practice Rooms. X had refused to teach us, always grumbling about how he was a failure, and no matter what we did he sat in his desk all day. So we'd been teaching ourselves magic and fighting.

"Okay," Fane said nervously, though he was trying to be brave. "We all know the plan, right?"

Clara and I both nodded. "Is it really much of a plan?"

No, it wasn't.

We magically changed into light armour, although we weren't sure if we could hold back the Raze's teeth and claws with it. They bit through everything fairly easily.

Grabbing our weapons, we walked out to the meadow. The sunset fell overhead, giving way to dark. My tattooed daggers were incredible – they felt like an extension of my body and I didn't even have to think to work them. Clara brandished her long sword quite heroically, and Fane slid out his double knives like a ninja.

But none of us could hide our fear.

Lêshä? I thought. I'm going to need all the help I can get.

Don't worry, she replied. I'm here.

Instantly strength flooded through me and my senses sharpened. I was battle-ready.

"Okay," Fane said. "We can't see them through the boundaries. I'm going to take the boundaries down so we can see them. We need to see them, right?"

Clara and I nodded. Together, with Fane, we took away the borders of the camp.

And there they were. Bläsa was confidently walking towards us, a sword in his belt. About a hundred Raze followed him, although Dani was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was commanding the rest of his army.

It didn't matter. I could see the ring on Bläsa's finger. It was a ruby red and it glinted in the morning sun. That was what I needed to get to.

"Why doesn't he just strike us down?" I muttered. "He's a god." Clara and Fane shrugged. With a pang, I realized I asked Jonah those kinds of questions. This time, however, Lêshä answered me.

I cast him down into a mortal form, she replied. He's lost his godly powers. If he kills everything I stand for, then I will be so weak he can cast me down as well…and…court me.

He wants to court you by killing Light? I exclaimed mentally, which I actually harder to do then you might think. It's like screaming while whispering…in your head. She thought the equivalent of a sharp nod in return.

Love makes people do stupid things, apparently.

Bläsa stopped at the edge of the camp, as if testing for borders, but when he found there weren't any he scowled. "This is too easy," he snorted. "Don't you think you should defend your camp?"

I shrugged, boldly stepping forwards so he could see my power matched Dani's. "You're not a god anymore, Bläsa," I said, recalling what Lêshä had just told me, "You don't have the power to kill us from there."

He raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw my tattoos, and pleasantly chose to ignore my comment, though I could tell I'd angered him. "But do you?" he asked, stepping one step closer. His army followed, stepping only one step. It would've been comical if they weren't massive oversized insects foaming at the mouths.

I shrugged my shoulders. Our plan was basically to go crazy and kill as many as possible, and somehow I'd get the ring. I told you it wasn't much of a plan. I wasn't sure how long this standoff was going to last, because at any moment the Raze could get hungry and charge, or Bläsa. It was equally possible one of us would lose our cool and charge…namely me.

"I do like how as soon as I get my Vessel, you go and make the same bond. Is that smart? Is it tactical?" His lips moved into a smile.

Part of me knew that he just wanted to provoke me, but the other part was angry. "I can match your Vessel," I yelled, but I was careful not to say Dani's name or I might've choked up. "I can beat your Vessel!"

He chuckled, a deep throaty sound that echoed all around me. "We'll see about that. Don't you realize the point of a Vessel, anyways?"

I hated to, but I shook my head.

"We're gods, Lêshä and I, and we need a connection to the mortal world. Without the mortal world believing in us, we'd die," he explained. "You serve as our linking point."

"No one believes in you," I said, hiding a laugh. "I'd never heard of you before."

"I go by many names," he replied, "and many people see me how they want to. I am their Devil, their Hades, their Pluto and their Anubis. Lêshä…in her grace, she is God. She is Zeus, Hera, Minerva, and she deserves to be Aphrodite all in one."

Umm, ew, Lêshä said in my head. I chose to ignore "Aphrodite."

"Bläsa," Fane said, cutting into our squabble, "Are you here to fight or talk?"

Bläsa sneered slightly. "I'm not here for either. I'm here to kill you."

On the last word, his army broke the stance and charged.

"Oh, shi–," Fane spat before we were bombarded by Raze. I lost sight of him and Clara in the fray. All I was focused on was Bläsa and getting to him. He was standing off to the side, a cocky grin on his face. He expected his Raze to just wipe us out easily. I was not going to let that happen.

Slashing with my daggers, I easily brought down any Raze in my path. One of them tried to claw me, but I magically threw him away (literally). I was wearing armour, yes, but I didn't want to have to test it.

Nobody noticed me steadily approaching Bläsa…not even Bläsa himself. It should've worried me, but instead, I just felt stronger. I felt a rush in my head and all I wanted to do was kill him. I could even feel Lêshä in my head, begging me to get the job done. Come on, she muttered, You can kill him.

You're just scared of being courted, I found myself saying. Another Raze leapt out of the shadows and I cut it in half, my eyes still on Bläsa.

I could see him clearly now; his features were smug and he wasn't doing anything at all - no, he was just waiting for the Raze to kill us all. But when I looked at his hand, expecting there to be a ring, but there wasn't.

His fingers were bare.

I didn't know where he was, but I knew I'd spoken in his mind before, so I mentally yelled out to Fane, He has no ring on!

I knew I wouldn't get a reply, but I didn't know what to do. In my confusion several Raze almost bit me before I regained some control. What the hell was I going to do? We weren't going to get out of this…

"Let her come!"

Bläsa's booming roar shook the meadow, and suddenly, everything stopped. Time literally froze around me. The Raze all stopped moving, frozen in various positions. One of them was inches from my back, ready to chomp me, but it was frozen mid-leap. I spun on my heels, trying to find my friends, and sure enough, they were moving as well, pushing frozen Raze aside and coming to my side.

"What trick is this, Bläsa?" Fane demanded.

"Don't push him," Clara muttered. "This is kinda handy, if you think about it…"

"I'm glad you appreciate my work," Bläsa laughed, drawing our attention away from the still army and towards the towering god. "This isn't easy, you know. It took precision."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes; then I realized Lêshä was the one rolling her eyes, and I just did the action for her.

"Lêshä was clever by making a Vessel," Bläsa continued, pointing a finger right at me, "but not clever enough. She didn't count on…certain forces."

A sudden gust of wind filled the clearing, whipping my golden hair backwards. A strong wing beat echoed through the meadow, and I looked up at the sky to see an eagle.

"An eagle?" I asked doubtfully. "You brought an eagle to kill us?"

Bläsa shrugged. "Sorry. I'm an old timer, you would say."

"It's a nice eagle," Clara shrugged. I looked over and her and bit my lip when I saw the long scratch on her shoulder. I knew, since she wasn't unconscious, that it was a mercury scratch, and she'd be able to heal, but that was some of her energy gone.

"Guys," Fane said slowly, "I don't think it's an eagle." I noted Fane also had been bitten. It was light, but he kept grimacing in pain, so I knew there was a mercury scratch somewhere on him. The large bird was floating through the air, slowly coming down towards us, but he was right. The giant bird had doubled in size and it continued to grow. Before long it had tripled in size, and it didn't look like an eagle anymore - its legs were muscular and its wings stretched out farther, and it seemed to shine its own light, combating that of the sun.

"Oh, shit," I heard Fane beside me, and it was painfully obvious that once again, we were in terrible, terrible danger.

The rustling wind became too much and I had to shield my eyes from the flying dirt. When the wind finally stopped and I could look again, a dragon was in front of me.

Yes, I did say dragon. Scales coated its massive, turquoise body, and ran all the way down to its feet, where huge, curved claws could be found. It's eyes were small, black and beady but I knew it could see us clearly. Smoke drifted out of its nostrils and a small tuft of flame followed, eagle feathers burning and shriveling inside the fire.

"That's a…that's a…" Clara trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. I vaguely remembered X telling us about dragons, grouping them with "other magical species" but I couldn't remember anything else about them.

"Dragon," Bläsa finished, his smug look not going unnoticed. "In the olden days, the days of creation, they were called Dråygiöns, but mortals can't pronounce that so we simplified it. We simplified everything for the mortals, didn't we?"

"You brought a dragon to kill us," I said, biting my lip. The thing was huge; it would require a lot of agility and magic to take him down, and probably all three of us.

"Well, I had to come prepared, didn't I?" he said, shrugging. The dragon hissed in response, casting its beady eyes to its master. Lêshä, I thought in my mind, how do you kill a dragon?

Hmm, her voice came into my head, Well…umm…probably not fire…

You don't know, do you?

I wouldn't say that, she retorted. It's just been so long…I've forgotten. How embarrassing.

Great. You get a god in your head, and she can't remember the trivial things, like killing dragons. Figures.

I cracked my knuckles, not taking my eyes off the dragon. "What's the point of bringing the Raze here, just to bring a dragon, Bläsa? It makes no sense."

He shrugged again, a movement I found infuriating. "It wouldn't to you, would it?"

And then the dragon pounced.

"Shit!" I yelled, just before I dived out of the way, uprooting some grass as I skidded along the ground. We'd all dived in different directions, causing a sort of triangle around the dragon.

"Hope!" I heard Fane yell, "do your spell! Now!"

I knew the one he meant - it was the one I'd used to escape from Bläsa's compound. I nodded and focused my energy, creating the magical aura around me I needed. I could hear Fane slashing something with his daggers and Clara yelling, but I tuned them out as I felt magic seeping from my hands to the outside world. "Put up a shield!" I managed to yell before I let it all go.

Black energy swirled around me like I was in the middle of a tornado. Through gritted teeth I propelled the energy towards the dragon who was engulfed in black. Letting my arms fall, I watched as Clara and Fane stumbled away from the inferno and listened to the dragon howl.

"Is it that easy?" Clara mumbled.

"Don't jinx it," Fane shushed her. She mumbled an apology before the swooping tornado disappeared…

Leaving one very, very, pissed off dragon.

Clara smacked herself in the head, clearly blaming herself for the result, when the dragon pounced again, this time shaking the ground and roaring, spewing fire into the air.

"Hope!" I heard Fane yell again, "Look! The neck!"

I managed to catch a glance at the beast's huge neck, and I saw a small, ruby red ring hanging from a chain. Bläsa's ring!

"That's too easy," I mumbled, before shrugging and running behind the dragon. "Keep it distracted!" I yelled to my friends, who began shooting spells and slashing the dragon's front.

The dragon's tail was long, and two spikes guarded the end, but I had to try. With a quick grunt, I lunged myself onto its tail, stabbing my daggers into its scales for support.

Somehow, the dragon didn't even react.

"Come on, Hope!" Clara yelled, jumping away from a column of flame spewed in her direction. Like I was climbing a mountain, I shimmied my way up the tail until I was on its back. Now the monster noticed.

It began to move back and forth, shaking to knock me off like you would shake a fly off. I couldn't move for a second. All I could do was hold onto my daggers and wrap my legs around the back of the dragon to keep my grip.

Another flame of fire shot out of the dragon's nostrils, and I heard somebody scream in terror and then Fane yelling, "Hope! Hurry the hell up!"

"Easy…for…you…to say," I grumbled, hauling myself up another inch, still trying to stay still. "Stop moving!" I yelled at the dragon, who…froze.

"What did you do?" I yelled to Fane, scrambling my way up the thick hide as fast as I could.

"Nothing!" he yelled back, "but Clara's frozen too! She just stopped in the middle of the attack! Hurry up, kill it! Get the ring!"

I didn't have time to worry about Clara (yes, I know that sounds rude. I'm sorry, I was battling a giant dragon) and soon I was on the dragon's still frozen neck, stabbing my daggers in at random points. Liquid dribbled out of the wounds, but it was blue, unlike red blood. Soon my hands were coated and I looked like a half-smurf but I kept climbing until I was just under the head.

As quickly as possible, I jabbed my daggers into both eyes.

Just my luck, the dragon unfroze.

It roared in anger, and before I could jump down myself, I was flying off the dragon's back and across the meadow, hitting the ground with a thump.

My eyesight blurred and I struggled to sit up. The dragon seemed to be dancing around the clearing, spewing fire in every direction, and soon the area below my feet was singed and burning. Frozen Raze were falling to the ground, dying without even being aware.

I stumbled to my feet, swaying slightly. I snatched up my daggers from where they had been tossed and saw Fane slide underneath the dragon with his daggers ready. Clara was passed out on the ground, a few Raze around her. Her long sword had been casually thrown beside her. It was obvious she had died, but what had happened to her? Why had she frozen?

And then, just as Fane rolled back out from under it's belly, the dragon staggered and wobbled like it really would die. Blue blood pooled below it, and as its massive body fell to the ground, another ring of fire flew from its nostrils. It would've hit Clara, and that would've been it for her, but then suddenly Fane was running and through my blurry vision, I saw him jump in front of her and take the blow.

"Fane!" I yelled, as he dropped to the ground, shaking. He wasn't burned so it wasn't normal fire, but he was hurt. Clara had begun to stir, her ten minutes finally up.

I staggered over, my vision still blurry. "What's going on?" Clara groaned, clutching her head. I reached the two just as the dragon fell to the ground, for once and for all. The ground shook like an earthquake had struck. "Oh," Clara said, "That's what happened."

"Fane!" I yelled again, and soon Clara was by my side, but her expression was grave. "What?" I said.

"He's dying," she whispered, clutching his shaking hand.

"Yeah, okay, he'll come back," I said. "He'll be fine."

"No!" she yelled. "No, he won't. He's dying for real, Hope. Just like Jonah did!"

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. "No. No, he hasn't got the four poisons in him. There's no way."

"He got scratched and bitten, so that's arsenic and mercury," she said, her voice barely audible, "and the fire must've contained ricin and cyanide, because he's dying. I'm sure of it."

"Maybe you're wrong," I whispered, but I knew she was right.

"We have to kill him," she said. "And when he dies, he won't come back."

"How can you say that?" I cried. "He saved your life, Clara. After you…what the hell happened to you, anyway?"

"I would tell you if I knew," she spat. "Suddenly, the world just stopped and I blacked out and died, okay? I don't know."

"Okay," I grumbled. "Fane?"

"Mhm…," he mumbled.

"I never thought I'd - I'd have to say this, but…which one of us…should…you know…"

He shook his head. "I…will."

I was about to protest, tell him not to, tell him this was a huge deal, but my mind flashed back to when I had tried to kill myself, and I stayed silent. Without a word, I handed him one of my daggers, fighting the tears welling in my eyes.

"Wait," Clara said all of a sudden, "Where's Bläsa? Where did that son of a bitch go?"

She was right. All around us, dead Raze lay on the ground, their rotting corpses giving off a terrible odor, and blue blood was still pooling around the dragon, but Bläsa was gone.

And don't ask me how I knew. I just did. Maybe it was Lêshä, pushing the thought into my head, or maybe it was just pure intuition, but I knew.

"He's gone back in time."