“You will be a goddess, Grace,” Sakesh hisses, his voice seductive. “A goddess of fire. You’ll walk across the world, avenging the fallen and the broken. You’ll smite those who are cruel, just as I have slain your enemies today.”
“I can’t…” My voice fails as I remember the pain I’ve suffered, almost every day of my life. Echoes flood the circle, and Alisha cries out as she remembers the brutal treatment from her ex. Sara cries out, and memories of what her father did to her flood the circle. Scarlett wails in pain, a dark cavern inside her where her parents’ death and her uncle’s betrayal still festers.
“You killed innocent people, too,” I gasp, fighting him with all my strength.
“I only needed to eat, Grace,” Sakesh whispers my name like a lover, in reverence and awe. “Now I am full, I only need you to feed me. Your power. We can be as one. All of us.”
“And what about the world?” I croak. My mind fills with images of the burning earth, the screams of dying animals, and thousands of people suffering under a red sky.
“Lies,” he spits. “Lies from the evil coven, the women who used you for their own ends. Always, it was you and me. The end doesn’t have to be like that, Grace.”
He hisses, and I feel his tongue flickering across my skin.
“It could be paradise,” he hisses. “A garden. A place of no injustice, only peace. Only love.”
My mind fills with beauty and warmth. Green grass, bright flowers, clear running streams. No pain, no sickness or greed. Only happiness.
“Be my goddess, Grace,” he whispers. “All of you… be with me. Let us change the world.”
My heart wavers. I hate myself, but it does. I remember the pain in my heart when Gretchen told me I had to marry Dan. The awful rejection. Years and years of abuse, all because I was different.
Faith!
A small thump in my belly yanks me back to reality so fast, I almost collapse. White light blooms from my belly, and my strength returns. I can smell the burning flesh again and hear the screams of the dying world.
“No, Grace!” Sakesh screams. “Have faith in me!”
“No,” I gasp, looking up at him. He writhes on the great pillar of flame, trapped by the net above and our white light beneath.
“No,” I say, louder, and I feel the strength of all my sisters behind me. “I only have faith in love.”
Sakesh screams, a piercing sound that feels like it splits my skull in two. Even though we all cry out in pain, all of us keep our hands pointed upwards, focused on Sakesh as our light pushes him up while the net descends from above.
Have faith in me, Grace!I hear Sakesh’s voice one last time.I can be everything you need!
“I only need love,” I whisper. “And you know nothing of love.”
Sakesh howls, and the beast begins to shred apart under the force of white light. The net tightens, strangling him, and piece by piece, we tear him apart. The coven chants, their voices getting stronger as the net descends, and the other lunas and I force the glow of white light into the fiery glow of Sakesh, feeling his body ripping apart between the two forces.
As the last scales of gold drift down, they sprinkle onto our heads, and I know that we have absorbed some of his power. I feel it flowing into my blood, and I know it isn’t a curse; it’s the assurance that he is truly gone, and now what remains of him is kept within the light of love forever.
A huge boom shudders through the rock, and the air snaps as if a powerful lightning strike split the air. As the magic clears, all of us fall to the ground, and the last thing I see before I hit the rock is Dan running towards me.
“Grace,” his voice reaches me through the void, and for a moment, I think I must have died, but then I feel his hand on my cheek.
“Gracie,” he almost sobs. “Wake up, please wake up.”
My eyes flicker open, and I see Dan’s blue eyes right above mine, wide and glittering with grief.
“I’m here,” I murmur, reaching for his hand. “I’m here, my love.”
“Oh, God,” he chokes out, wrapping his arms around me and holding me against his chest. “Oh, thank God.”
He shudders as he rocks me back and forth, and slowly, I gain the strength to wrap my arms around his neck and hug him back.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “Shh, I’m alright.”
“I know,” his voice is muffled with his head pressed against my shoulder. “I just—”
