Spirits and Sorrows
NINETEEN

Alison cried out as she desperately tried to get Nick off of her. His fangs had grazed her skin and he was trying to get the vampire venom into her veins.

They wrestled around in the tent as she tried to throw him off of her but he kept clawing at her, scratching at her and ripping at her hair.

They fell on the ground. He was on top of her, his hand fisted in her hair as he lowered his head to bite her. She screamed out as she tried to push him away, trying to rake his eyes and slice at his face, anything she could do to get him off of her.

Suddenly, his head fell to the side and the rest of his body collapsed on top of her.

She gasped, her brain unable to register what just happened.

Nathaniel appeared in her vision, holding a sword in his hands. He reached down and threw Nick’s body off of her and helped her to her feet. She looked down and screamed when she saw Nick’s decapitated body.

She started to sob but he grabbed her hand and led her out. “Come on, there’s no time!”

He led her outside and both were caught in the battle before them.

Peter lay on the ground, bleeding out from his wound that not even his shapeshifter powers could heal.

Screams and fighting were all around him and he was powerless to do anything about it.

He felt his heart start to slow, his vision started to dim. He knew he was dying and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He’d come back home only to leave it before he had the chance to save it.

The last thing he saw was Hannah looking down at him before his vision faded to black.

Laura snarled as she pinned the raven-furred wolf to the ground. She reared her head back to bite the other wolf but the wolf turned into her human form. Laura gasped when she recognized the girl, unable to believe who she saw lying in front of her.

“Laura, it’s me!” Larissa cried.

Laura stared down at her childhood best friend in shock. Her mind tried to process that her childhood best friend lay at her feet, wearing Kane Moonblood’s red armor. Her heart shattered into a million pieces as it dawned on her what was happening.

“L-Larissa?” she stuttered, her human voice coming out of her wolf form.

“It’s me,” Larissa said and gave her a watery smile. “It’s alright.”

“It’s not alright!” Laura exploded, snarling and baring her teeth at someone who used to be her best friend and trusted with her life. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m here helping the cause, helping the Eternal World become a better place.”

“A better place?!”

“Kane Moonblood has shown me the light and guided me to the path of righteousness. He’s shown me what a better world this can be. You can join us. It’s not too late. Join us now!”

Laura stared into her former friend’s deranged eyes. She knew her friend was gone. There was no getting through to her. No helping her. Larissa had already made her choice and there was no trying to help her get out of this. She knew what she had to do.

With a broken heart, she reared her head back and then tore apart her former friend.

Hannah cradled Peter’s head in her lap as she tried to keep him conscious. She kept calling his name, talking to him, but his eyes drifted close as he slowly bled out.

She’d seen an elf pierce his sword through Peter’s body and the way he’d collapsed to the ground, completely lifeless. She screamed his name, praying he’d respond but he laid still, his eyes closed, his heartbeat weakening. He was dying and she could do nothing to stop it.

Alison suddenly appeared in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. “Hannah we need to go now!”

“I’m not leaving him!” Hannah screamed and pulled away from her.

“There’s nothing we can do for him! The portal’s open!”

“I’m not leaving him!”

Alison let out a frustrated growl grabbed Peter threw him over her shoulder with ease and raced toward the portal. Hannah scrambled to her feet and raced after her. Sebastian and Hendrix had opened a portal and everyone was trying to jump in. Hannah jumped in after them without a second thought.

Ruben and Mark helped guide as many sups as they could to the portal, both in their bear forms and fought off any members of Kane’s army when they tried to attack. They tried to get as many out of there as they could.

A crashing sound near the entrance had Ruben looking in that direction and his heart dropped. More members of Kane’s army were breaking in and they were outnumbered. They were out of time. They had to go now.

“Laura!” he screamed out in his human voice.

She looked up and saw the portal. They made eye contact and they jumped in the portal, Mark right behind them.

As soon as Hannah’s feet touched the ground in the new place the portal took her to, she rushed toward Peter, paying no mind to the after-effects of going through the portal.

She yanked Peter’s body away from Alison and lowered him to the ground. She checked his pulse and her breathing stopped when she felt how weak his pulse was. She knew he was dying and she refused to let that happen.

She pressed her hands on his wound and closed her eyes, reciting the healing spell over and over, using all of her energy to save him.

“Heal and mend the wounds within. Heal and mend the wounds within. Heal and mend the wounds within. Heal and mend the wounds within. Heal and mend the wounds within.”

She felt the energy and life drain from her as she poured everything inside of her into the spell. She thought she heard someone calling for her to stop but she refused. She had to save Peter. She had to . . .

She felt his heartbeat strengthen and kept going until his breathing went back to normal and his wound healed completely. She heard someone, she thought was Alison, yell at her to stop.

She stopped and felt completely drained. She looked at Peter for a moment, saw life and color return to his face, and collapsed, darkness consuming her.

Peter stood near a waterfall and peered at the valley before him. He had no memory of how he got here or why he was there. He remembered talking to Hannah moments before but didn’t know where she or the others went.

“Peter.”

He whirled around and was shocked to see his brother, Michael, standing nearby.

“Mike,” he said in bewilderment. “What’s going on?”

Michael walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s not your time, Pete.”

“I -” The memory of Kane’s army attacking and getting stabbed came back to him out of nowhere and his eyes widened. “I was stabbed with a sword and bleeding out. I kinda think it’s my time. There’s no saving me from that.”

“No. You have sups that need you. The Eternal World needs you. Ruben and Laura need you. Hannah needs you.”

Peter closed his eyes and hung his head, unfamiliar tiredness creeping through him. “I’m so tired. I don’t know how much longer I can deal with this.”

“I know you are, but being tired isn’t an excuse to stop fighting. You need to go back and help everyone.”

Tears burned in his eyes and he embraced his brother. “I miss you so much.”

Michael hugged him back. “I miss you too, bro. But I’m always with you. Always. Now you need to get back. They’re waiting for you.”

Michael and the peaceful valley disappeared and he was met with Laura, Ruben, and Alison peering down at him.

He was alive.

He slowly sat up and felt the spot he was stabbed in and found it was completely healed. “What happened?”

“Hannah saved you,” Ruben said and nodded down at Hannah, who was lying motionless beside him.

Panic surged through him and he pulled her into his arms and brushed her hair out of her face. She didn’t respond as he called her name and his panic grew. She was still, her face devoid of color that he would’ve thought she was dead if it wasn’t for her steady breathing or her heartbeat.

“What happened to her?” he demanded in a terrified voice.

Hendrix walked up to him and knelt in front of him. He peered at Hannah for a moment before saying, “She healed you when you were on the brink of death. You were in terrible shape and she used all of her healing energy to save you. She saved you, but the amount of energy she spent once hurt her. The damage inflicted on herself is unknown. It’s never good to use this much power at once.”

“Will she be okay?”

“Only time will tell. Hopefully, she can recover.”

Peter gazed down at the woman he loved more than anything and who’d saved his life twice now and willed for her to wake up.

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