She drew in a shaking breath, but a cacophony of unholy screeches silenced her reply. With eyes blazing, she lifted them to peer into the heavens.
"No more talk. The battle begins. It is here!"
He returned to his earlier position and wrapped his arms about her once more. She felt him behind her as he raised his head and heard his slight intake of breath at the sight above them. The sky seemed filled with glistening bits of white; a meteor shower of gleaming hail headed directly towards the ensorcelled couple. As the storm drew nearer, a deep black vortex became visible buried within its center.
Sabratha called to the small band of defenders. "The place of darkness above hides the creature that long ago was Mara. Defeat it and these winged imps shall lose their power, but you must remember that our first duty is to protect Erik and Christine. I pray that the Goddess protect us all!" With surprising gentleness, she pushed herself from Cadmus' embrace and approached the unaware couple. "Christine," she called, "it is time to awaken the golem from their slumber. Sing, child, sing!"
Christine opened her mouth and a wordless melody issued from her lips. The sound took on a silver glow and wound through the air, dropped close to the ground and blanketed the small inanimate lumps of earth the company had worked so hard to form. The sodden masses absorbed the shiny fog, emitted a brief shimmering haze before they seemed to harden and began to grow.
Holding out her hand, Sabratha muttered some incomprehensible words. A streak of light flashed through the night and impacted her upturned palm. She blinked the after-effects of the dazzling light to gaze upon the crystal bracelet that once held her captive. She waved her empty hand over the bracelet, continued her incantation, after a few moments, she closed her eyes and bowed her head. The bracelet began to glow a brilliant white that extinguished with a clap of thunder. When the flare subsided, Sabratha stood clutching the pommel of a crystalline sword that glowed with a white-hot fire. Her mouth set into a thin line, she strode towards the oncoming horde and screamed her challenge into the heavens.
"Mara, you bitch, face me! This fight has always been between the two of us. Well, let the two of us settle it now, for once and for all time. Face me and leave the others alone or are your pathetic minions the only power you truly have? Come, sexless slut, face me now and let us finish it!" Sabratha's taunt resounded across the clearing.
Cadmus stood frozen in shock as he watched the petite form of the woman he adored stand steadfast and resolute in her challenge of the dark creature; his petrified limbs refused to obey his mind's commands to rush to her side and lend her his hand in aide. His eyes gazed with horror as Sabratha raised the sword blade above her head daring Mara to answer her call to battle. And then, with a thunderous explosion of sound, oily black void rammed into the ground and enveloped Sabratha within its inky depths, hiding her from his sight. He screamed out an anguished cry of horror as his guts twisted with fear, but as he saw the arc of Sabratha's blade slicing through the darkness that surrounded her, his heart hardened and he felt the grip of an icy determination take hold of his mind. He reflexively stretched out his arms and called upon deities that were ancient when he was a young man. He struggled to breach the barrier he had created between his heart and his power, but found it difficult to concentrate as he watched the woman he loved twirling the crystal blade about in the blackness. And then, the unthinkable happened, he watched in stupefied horror as Sabratha's body flew through the air and crashed with a sickening crack into the trunk of a nearby tree. Her small body lay in a tangle of twisted limbs, utterly still and frighteningly silent.
He cried out his rage into the night and felt the wall within him crumble. His power leapt to his call and he thrust his hands out towards the vile cloud that held the creature that threatened to destroy his happiness. Without conscious thought, the spell tumbled from his lips and light more brilliant than any ever seen before on this earth erupted from his palms. The rays of light sliced through the roiling cloud and struck the creature hiding within it center. His power tore through the thing, ripping it apart, leaving it in unrecognizable pieces of sizzling flesh. And still Cadmus directed his power at the bits, until his fire turned them into ash and the remains blew away. The stream of light cut off abruptly and the man turned to run to the crumpled body of his love. He stared at her unmoving form and then dropped to his knees, an unearthly keening issued from his mouth. Almost at the same instant, Christine and Erik threw back their heads and joined his cry.
*****
Kilometers away, Helen stopped her desperate trek through Paris, dropped to her knees and wailed. Horrified by the sound of overwhelming grief that tore through the peaceful silence of the Parisian night, Kimberly turned and knelt next to her distraught friend.
"Helen," she hissed, "whatever is the matter?"
The woman seemed bereft and completely unaware of her surroundings. After giving a fearful look around to see whether the pair had garnered any unwanted attention, she stretched out a shaking hand and Kimberly reached out to touch Helen, but a blaze of crimson that suddenly encircled Helen's wrist, diverted her attention. Her eyes sought out the source of the light and Kimberly found much to her amazement that its source was a gleaming bracelet of crystal. She stared at it in wonder.
