Nine Years Later

Daniel

"What have you done?" I roared at the creature before me. Danu stood over Garen and Serenity's bodies, their mangled hearts in her hands. I had pushed Kieran and Meira behind me as Danu began to advance toward us.

"You should have stayed out of my way, vampire. She was meant for the light, not for you," she hissed. Madness filled her eyes. "Did you really think you could trap me, kill me? I'm a Goddess!" Her voice shook the room.

"Father," Kieran said, tugging at my hand. He tried to take a step forward, and I grabbed for him, only to have Meira dart past me, making a path for her mother and father's bodies.

"Meira, no!" I yelled as Danu lunged for her. In an instant, Kieran had broken my grip and launched himself at the goddess. His tiny hands wrapped around her arm, and his fangs sank into the dirt-covered skin. She let out a howl as she tried to make him release her, but he held fast. Rushing forward, I gripped her free arm as Kieran bit down. The sound of bones crushing filled the room as Danu began screaming in pain.

I watched in horror as her skin began to blacken and crack. Kieran's eyes were completely black as he drained her not only of her blood, but of her magic as well. When her form crumbled to the ground, he spoke in a voice that sounded far older than his nine years, "You will never harm anyone again, fallen goddess." I pulled him against me, both terrified and in awe of what I'd just witnessed. 

My son had killed a goddess.

Turning to the carnage behind us, my eyes watered as I looked at my beautiful wife and best friend. Their eyes looked at one another even in death. Meira knelt between them, softly muttering something I couldn't make out. She reached out to them both, pulling their hands to her, then clasping them together as she began to chant in a language I had never heard. A pulsing light began to flow from her, surging down to Garen and Serenity, engulfing them both.

When the holes in their chests suddenly sealed and they took in a gasp of air, I fell to my knees. She had brought them back to life. My mind reeled as I remembered the last line of the prophecy from so long ago - "Two grey pillars, Power eternal, Life and Death."

Author's Notes:  Let me know if you've enjoyed this little adventure.  Be kind to yourselves and to one another, my lovelies.  Until the next time, Happy Pride!