Chapter Twenty-Two
The Final Battle
The One That Matters
The Most
Evening
With the stage set, and the circles cast, this was going to either blow up spectacularly, or it was going to save Lucian and the rest of the psychics. Time would tell, and if they got lucky, everyone would come out of the static whole.
Avalon knew the risk, and so did Lucian, but they had no choice but to do this.
There was too much on the line.
Genesis’s life was in danger, and so were the spirits that called Salem home.
This was more than just one more mission.
For them, it was the most important Phoenix File. For Avalon, it was what she was born to do.
Now, they would all see if the years of honing her skill and being the queen of the static would pay off, or it would blow up spectacularly in their faces.
It was a crapshoot as to which.
What she did know was Maura and Jagger were on the move, and by now, they should be at the mansion.
Timing was everything.
It was paramount.
For one moment, time would stop, and they’d have their chance to take him down.
As she got into position, she kissed her husband and focused on the two people with her.
“Ready?” she asked.
Both of them were, despite what the tension in the room told them about what was coming.
Everyone was on edge, and that didn’t bode well for them.
“Do we have to do this?” Josh asked, staring at his new wife, and wishing he could scoop her up and get her out of there. Only, when he tried to talk her out of it, telling her she owed these people nothing, she wouldn’t back down.
Genesis said they needed her, and she was going to be there for them.
“Yes,” Avalon said. “Trust me when I say that this isn’t done lightly.”
Well, that said it all.
Lucian took both women’s hands in his.
For a brief second, he thought to say goodbye to Ridge, but decided against it.
He was on his own.
When he was ready, he let out the deep breath he was holding and stared at his wife one last time.
“Okay, Avalon, take me deep.”
Immediately, she began pulling them down, knowing she wouldn’t have the strength to pull all three of them out. She’d have to make a decision.
Sometimes, her job sucked.
Meanwhile…
They were outside the mansion as the weather was whipping around them. The storm was happening, and it came up from nowhere.
Yeah, that couldn’t be good.
In front of them, the place looked closed up when they did their initial drive by, but Maura was betting that Avalon wasn’t wrong.
She rarely was.
There was no doubt that their target would be in there, and it would take being sneaky to get to him.
“Ready?” she asked her husband as the occasional pelts of rain hit their windshield.
It was a good thing Marines worked best in the worst possible conditions.
At her question, Jagger leaned over, kissed his wife, and said one thing.
“We off this piece of shit, and we hit the road. We’re going home,” he said. “I miss my kids and my life. I’m getting too old for this shit.”
Which was funny since they were both in their mid-thirties.
She patted his cheek.
“Deal.”
Pulling their ski masks down, the ones with skulls on them, Maura and Jagger got out of the Hummer, the one they tucked into the trees, and made their way to the house.
Thunder crackled, and the air sizzled with energy.
Oh, that douchebag was definitely in that house. With each step closer, they could feel that juju.
And it sucked.
Once through the trees, the lights were off, and rose up ominously. In this storm, it looked…haunted.
Pulling a box from his pocket, Jagger scanned, and he picked up a signal.
“There’s security,” he whispered, just loud enough over the storm and wind so she could hear him. “Hitting the blocker, now,” he stated, doing just that.
When the red light turned green, they were all set.
“We’re in a loop. So, if this asshole is watching security, he’s not seeing us approach. Hopefully, Avi has him distracted.”
Yeah, that was the hope.
Now that they were ghosts, it was time to move.
Across the law they crept, grateful for the cover of darkness, despite the slash of lightning every so many minutes. With just the two of them, they moved like a well-oiled machine, accustomed to this kind of mess.
This was what they did, and it was what they excelled at.
For.
Sure.
As they reached the house, Jagger picked the lock and made sure the blocker was still at green. As the door opened, they found the security pad blinking.
Without hesitating, Maura slapped a blocker onto it, freezing the system, so they wouldn’t set it off.
That was when she gave him the go-ahead signal.
Once more, they moved in silence, and as they did, she was screwing the silencer onto her sidearm.
There was no doubt how this would end.
When Oracle called your number, you were done.
At the top of the stairs, they could feel the energy change. Pulling the two necklaces out of their pocket, the ones the witch had given them before they headed out, they put them on.
Neither wanted anything bad to happen.
As they crawled across the wood floor, they heard him and saw him.
He was in all black, sitting in a circle of salt and flame. Also, he was sitting in a puddle of blood.
And none of it was his.
“Oh, Oracle, be prepared to lose your crown, and all the dead in this town. I’m ready for you. Welcome to Hell.”
Oh, they had bad news for him.
He didn’t know Hell.
Not yet.
Meanwhile…
Their slip into the static was nothing abnormal.
Lucian leaned into that fall into the multi-layers, and was cognizant of everything around him.
Each layer deeper, he counted, making sure to keep track so he could navigate his way out. One miscount, and he would be trapped here forever.
And die.
The second they landed, they knew they weren’t alone. From the energy that told the tale.
It felt different in there.
As bait, they made themselves known.
“Show yourself!” Avalon called. “Yes, you, Will Sinclair, son of Kennedy Sinclair. We know who you are, and we know how to stop you.”
There was laughter.
It was sick and twisted, as a dark shadow appeared, they saw his face for the first time in this realm.
“He’s killed someone else. He’s just done it, and cast a circle!” Avalon warned, putting Genesis behind her, as she and Lucian stood in front of him.
He approached, no longer needing to hide himself. He was now stronger than Oracle.
This was his new kingdom.
“I wondered when we would meet. As for me killing again, that ridiculous woman at the shop selling those stupid trinkets was easy. I marked her, and I got her back here. Imagine how easy it was to have them deliver more pentacles to me.”
Well, they knew how he got his last victim.
“Amethyst, she called her herself, but her blood was pure red and perfect.”
Avalon wasn’t afraid of him.
“You can push it out,” she said, doubting that was the truth, but she had to stall. Maura and Jagger needed time, and she’d know when it was time to pull them out.
He laughed.
“No, I can’t, but you know that, don’t you, Avalon Miller, or shall I call you Avalon Carter? Your husband will die too, and so will your wife,” he said, focused on Lucian.
The man said nothing.
“She’s beautiful. How did a gorgeous woman like that fall for a one-eyed monster like you? Does she know you cheat on her here?” he asked.
And still, he said nothing.
Avalon warned them, and they were listening. He was outing himself, explaining it all. They’d been right. He’d been tracking them since they left Utah.
As prey.
He moved closer and focused on Genesis.
“And you. You should have taken me up on my offer for a date. Imagine how angry I was when I showed up at your apartment for our date, and my plans to kill you, and you were gone.”
She faced him.
They were in Avalon’s space, and she was holding them safe.
“Meh, I like a man with a little more under the hood,” she said, provoking him. “Like my husband.”
Immediately, there was that pause.
Then, the rage erupted. It was like flames as it exploded around them.
“HUSBAND?”
Avalon’s melodical laughter cascaded through the space. She’d woven this area, specifically for this moment.
It looked like her mind’s eye, but it wasn’t.
Not.
Even.
Close.
When she ripped it away, he’d fall into the static, lost and trapped.
Hopefully.
“Yes, Will, she married someone. Looks like you couldn’t get her on that plane either.”
He became twisted with rage. They could actually see him shift and morph as the demon was riding his soul.
“NO!”
She didn’t mince words.
“Yes. I married him after weeks. My soul knew he was the one. I’m stronger now, and I’m not going to be your victim. In fact, when I get out of here, I’m going to go have some babies, and make more Oracles. I’m going to carry on and be the shepherd in this static as I get MY DEAD BACK!”
Avalon reached out to the Marines.
Get ready. We’re in serious trouble. He’s taken another, and I’m not strong enough to save all of us.
That was sent to Maura, and she crossed her fingers.
“Well, then, I guess I don’t have to play nice,” Will said. “Notice there’s no dead here,” he stated. “I’ve taken them all. When I kill you three, I’ll take everyone else too.”
That’s when he moved at them.
The energy exploded, and Lucian felt the barbs go into his flesh, as that darkness wrapped around him.
“Get her out of here!” he said, using all he had to cut the ties between him and Avalon, sending her and Genesis out of there where he and Will Sinclair would do battle.
Oh, he knew what Avalon had been doing. He’d worked with her for years, and now, he was the only one stronger than her. He was, after all, the one who would replace her.
She thought in the mission.
Instead, it was in the sacrifice.
There were screams as Avalon tried to hold onto Lucian, but he slipped through her fingers.
She saw him falling away into the darkness as her trap unraveled, because he’d unraveled it.
And all Hell broke loose.
Everywhere.
Meanwhile…
The Vanderbilt Mansion
At the door, they finally had a clear shot. Oh, and they’d been right.
The sicko was sitting in a puddle of blood. Not far away, there was a body.