Chapter 35: Sacrifice

She sighed once more and the man she had loved longer than the recorded history of mortal man shifted his position behind her.

"What is it?" He murmured into her ear.

"It comes and the farce begun so very long ago shall soon find its finish. I need you to know that no matter what happens this night, I have always loved only you and there can be no one but you for me. I did and do what I think right. I never meant for it to bring hurt to you. I acted to protect you in the only way that I knew how. Cadmus, I need your oath that you will defend those two above all others; upon them all depends for they hold our future. Please, swear it to me." She pleaded in a husky voice.

"I hold no memory of you other than joy in your nearness. My heart bears nothing but love for you and that is how it shall always be for me when I think of you, but please, Sabratha, do not breathe life into your fears of what might come to pass. I have this night to last me for all eternity if needs be and I cannot find it within my soul to regret one moment of it. We shall do as we have always done—the right thing—for we can do no less. It is not in our natures to act otherwise." He breathed into her ear.

She shook her head and frowned though he could not see it.

"Cadmus, I need to hear you speak your oath," her voice no longer pleading, but hard and commanding.

His brow furrowed and he swung her around to face him. His hands clamped upon her arms with a bruising strength, but she did not flinch. She calmly regarded him with unblinking eyes. After a moment, he released her and turned away with shoulders slumped. He ran his fingers through his hair, muttering unintelligible words before he too sighed. He turned to meet her unwavering gaze.

"So be it. Sabratha, I give you my solemn vow to protect your heir and her mate beyond all others, this I swear to you upon the love I hold forever in my heart for you." He lowered his shining orbs, "Love, do not do what I fear you plan to do. Please, stay with me."

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.