Everything #2
The dragon breathed fire again. Mona ducked, but Trivia let out a roar, her scream piercing the air.
She threw the spear directly into the creature’s mouth.
Its flames cut off as it made a harsh choking sound.
It hacked and wheezed, struggling to free the spear from its throat.
The dragon twisted in the air, wings flaring.
It flew higher and higher, then soared directly toward the three sisters.
It was going to land right on top of them.
Mona screamed, lifting her hands to summon some kind of magic—anything to save them—
A gleaming white figure swooped toward the dragon, slashing something into its back. Black blood spurted, gushing like a waterfall.
Mona peered into the sky, her heart thundering in her chest. Her eyes grew wide.
A muscular man with two large wings and long dark hair was flying through the air, his body translucent and glowing. As Mona watched him, he slashed his dagger into the beast again, drawing more blood.
The man’s gaze shifted to Mona and lingered there, recognition lighting his features.
Her heart stopped for a full beat. Her gaze roved over his wings. She knew those wings…
“Typhon,” she breathed in wonder.
Several more winged figures appeared, but these weren’t ghosts.
They were sirens. Some of them carried other figures within their talons.
A golden arrow shot through the air, lodging into the dragon’s chest. Mona followed the golden glow, finding a dark-haired woman holding a matching gold bow in her arms.
It was Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt.
Mona’s jaw dropped as she made out other gods and goddesses, some she didn’t recognize, all being carried by sirens. They swarmed the dragon, encircling it and blocking its view of the sisters.
They were distracting the beast. This was their chance to finally end it.
Mona grabbed Prue and Trivia by the arms, then closed her eyes, unleashing all the pent-up power burning within her. Silver light flooded her body, igniting around her. Prue followed suit, her matching gold light rivaling even the power of Diana’s bow.
They waited for Trivia, but nothing happened.
Alarmed, Mona opened one eye to see Trivia’s face contorted in pain. When she glanced down, Mona realized Trivia’s entire leg was scorched black.
“Goddess, Trivia!” Mona cried, moving toward her.
Trivia shook her head, biting down on her lip.
“Don’t. It’s fine. We have to end this, right?
So let’s end it.” Her face screwed up in concentration, and a faint amber glow surrounded her hands.
Then, she shook her head. “Dammit. I—I’m sorry.
This power is still new. I can’t…” She made a noise of frustration.
“Picture the door to your magic bursting open,” Prue said quietly, her eyes fixed on Trivia. “Picture it flowing from you like a rushing river. Nothing holding you back. Nothing hindering you.”
Trivia’s brows knitted together, and she nodded.
Gradually, her expression relaxed, and the amber glow spread around her, deepening in color until it was a vibrant crimson.
It burned, coiling like flames as it joined Prue and Mona’s powers.
Their light converged, together igniting to form a brilliant river of rose gold.
Something jerked violently within Mona’s chest, and she let out a loud groan of pain. It sliced through her, cutting deep.
But she refused to let go. This was it. This was what she was meant to do.
“Oh gods,” Trivia moaned, falling to her uninjured knee. “I can’t—I can’t—”
A deep, rumbling laugh echoed nearby, and Mona went rigid. Thundering footsteps sounded, and then a large figure lifted its head from within the abyss, leering with jagged teeth. A single bloody eye blinked at them.
“It’s too much for you, isn’t it?” he taunted.
“Go to hell, Atlas!” Trivia barked.
Atlas. Mona’s blood ran cold. The Titan had transformed himself into a Cyclops.
“No, little goddess,” Atlas crooned. “I will reserve that honor for you.”
He slammed his fist into the ground at their feet. Prue, Mona, and Trivia went flying. The earth they had been standing on disintegrated, exploding into nothing but dust.
Mona was weightless. Her stomach dropped, and she was falling, falling, falling…
Something swooped in and caught her under the arms. She jerked wildly, biting back a scream. When she gazed upward, she found herself clutched in the talons of a siren. Not just any siren—but the same one she and Prue had healed.
“Strike hard and fast, Earth Goddess,” said the siren, still using Evander’s voice. “You will only have one moment to do it.”
Mona blinked in confusion. “What?”
Screeches echoed around her. She noticed several other sirens carrying figures nearby. Her heart lifted in her chest when she recognized Marina and Romanos. Marina had shifted, though. Her body was large and stony, and atop her head were…
Mona looked away immediately, realizing Marina had transformed into Medusa. She wasn’t sure if Medusa’s power would work on her, but she didn’t want to find out.
Atlas howled in agony. Romanos and Marina must have targeted him. Relief filled Mona’s chest. She knew the Gorgon and the death god could handle him or the moment.
“Can you take me to my sisters?” Mona called to the siren as it swooped wide to avoid Atlas’s thrashing fists.
“Yes!” the siren called. “But we are weak, Earth Goddess! We cannot hold you for much longer.”
“I understand.”
The siren’s wings beat hard, and Mona could hear it struggle for breath. Sirens were likely not used to carrying anything so heavy for long periods of time.
Mona squinted in the hazy air, trying to deduce where the other sirens were.
Then, she caught sight of Prue’s familiar golden light. And there, not much farther, was Trivia’s scarlet magic.
“There!” Mona pointed, directing the siren toward her sisters.
The siren flew obediently in that direction, then let out an anguished screech as fire ignited on its left wing. The creature spiraled, trying to right itself, but with only one good wing, it was falling fast.
“Mona!” Prue was screaming. “Mona, jump!”
Mona only hesitated for a moment before leaping from the siren’s talons. A long vine caught her around the waist, yanking her upward and into Prue’s arms.
But the weight was too much for Prue’s siren, and it started to sink toward the abyss.
“Trivia, unleash it all!” Mona shrieked. The world was spinning around her, careening as she plummeted to her death.
“What?” Trivia cried. “Mona, no!”
“Now!” Mona roared.
An explosion of crimson light ignited like massive fireworks.
Mona let loose her own silver power, letting it grow and burn until it merged with Trivia’s.
Prue followed suit, the gold flowing freely until that same burst of rose gold spun through the sky.
Mona stretched her arms wide, feeding everything—every facet of her body, her soul—into her power.
It lifted her, letting her rise, giving her flight as she soared higher and higher.
Prue and Trivia were there, arms outstretched, carried by the force of their own power. An endless circle formed as they joined hands, the magic flowing over and over. Never ending. Never ebbing.
Nothing could stop them. Their power continued to funnel within itself, fueling their magic, fueling them. Mona could see nothing but the brilliant light of their energy.
The magic of the Triple Goddess.
Around them, roars split the air, making the ground tremble. As the light of their magic burned, so did the Titans’ agony. Their screams of anguish shook the realm. Their pain rent the earth in two.
But another scream joined them. Beside Mona, Prue screamed, too. And Mona understood why. That pain—she felt it in her chest, slicing deep. If this much power was enough to destroy the Titans, then surely the burden of carrying such a power was enough to destroy them, too.
Mona gritted her teeth. It didn’t matter. Her pain didn’t matter. She couldn’t stop. This had to be done. Their purpose had to be fulfilled.
Trivia was screaming, too. Her hand trembled in Mona’s grasp.
“Just a little longer!” she urged them. “You can do this!”
Prue’s cries were tainted with sobs. Her body jerked violently beside Mona, who struggled to maintain her grasp on her arm. Hot liquid poured down Mona’s palms. Blood. Whether hers or Prue’s, she couldn’t tell.
Oh Goddess, Mona realized with horror. This is going to kill us. It will take everything from us to end this…
She shut her eyes, feeling blood trickle from her nose and ears.
“No,” she murmured.
She refused to let this power take her sisters from her. Take anything else from her.
They had given up everything. Their lives. Their souls. They had been born for this purpose, born to die, to give up everything.
But Mona refused. She would let Prue live. She would let Trivia live.
I will be the sacrifice, Mona offered. I did it once before. And I’ll do it again.
Something sang in the air around them, a haunting melody that strikingly reminded her of the song of her soul. The song she had sung with Evander.
Evander…
She let herself dwell on his beautiful face one last time. Tears burned in her eyes, streaking down her face and mingling with blood.
Forgive me, my love, she thought, knowing this loss would break him.
“Let go!” she screamed at Prue and Trivia.
“Mona, no!” Trivia yelled.
“I’ve got it!” Mona told her. “I can hold it. This has to end. Let go, now!”
Trivia was too weak to object. She released Mona’s hand, but Mona kept carrying the power, pushing harder than ever. Her flesh was on fire. Her insides were burning.
“Prue!” Mona wheezed. “Prue, you can let go now!”
“Dammit, Mona!” Prue wailed. “I—I can’t—”
“I told you, I’ve got it! I promise you I can hold it! Now go!”
Prue’s voice broke on a sob, and then she, too, released her hold on Mona’s hand. Something exploded in Mona’s chest, bursting within her until she could no longer feel her heart, her organs, her skin… She was nothing and everything all at once. She was power itself. Magic. Energy.
She was the earth. She was life.
And Mona gave up everything. Every last drop. Every last piece of herself.
All of it.
Until darkness consumed her.