Lucas Ryan Versus: The Return (15 page)

“You think you’ve won? Idiots! You cannot kill me! I am eternal!” he stated, desperately.

“Yeah, you look awfully invincible,” I teased. He struggled beneath Sophia’s crushing grip but it was no use. She had him locked in place. General Love’s eyes ignited in purple fire that poured out everywhere. Sophia turned her head but kept him pinned to the floor.

“My Queen! Save me! Kill them! Kill them all!” he demanded. Queen Strickland fell from the shadows above us, landing on a broken body that seemed to bend in the wrong places. Her jaw was still dislocated and she appeared to be crying thick black blood from her eyes. She watched in horror as her precious companion writhed in pain.

“Stop them! We’re so close! Stop them, my love!” General Love begged her. She slid closer to him but retreated as Sophia let out a defiant growl.

“Enough!” Sophia finally hollered. She ripped one of the General’s arms from his body and showed it to Queen Strickland. He screamed in pain loud enough to hurt my ears.

“This is what’s waiting for you if you come any closer.” Sophia tossed the twitching limb toward me. “Lucas, burn it.”

I caught the piece of demon in my fiery fist and turned it to ash, instantly. Sophia removed another limb and tossed it at my feet. With a single glare, she dared the Queen to stop her.

“Leave this world. Leave this dimension. Never return!” Sophia demanded. Her rage was growing out of control. I wasn’t sure she could contain her unlimited strength much longer. The smoky outline that surrounded her body began to flicker with red energy. Ripley’s eyes appeared inside the curls of smoke.

~ The power of the rings is overwhelming her, Lucas. ~

She shredded a giant chunk of General Love’s lower half and pulverized it with her palm. I nervously took a step closer and swallowed.

“I can tell.”

Queen Strickland pulled backwards, terrified. She and her broken serpents hissed and moaned at the sight of the General being pulled apart. Sophia continued to destroy every part of General Love. Slabs of him flew everywhere.

“Any last words, General?” Sophia asked, with her eyes wide with hate.

“This…is not the…end…” he gurgled. Sophia pressed her face to his and spoke slowly.

“Of course it is.” She swiftly grabbed the last of his body, which was basically half a tail, a shoulder, one battered wing, and his head, and crushed them all into a screaming ball of bone and scales. All four of her hands disintegrated his remains into a cloud of ash and light. General Love was unmade in a matter of painful seconds. His call to his Queen reverberated everywhere as he died once again.

“No!” Queen Strickland cried out.

Sophia’s body began to shake and change again. Giant horns pushed from her spine and knuckles like bone shaped cleavers. Red fire exploded around her in all directions, sending Ripley’s smoky shell into me.

“Ripley?” I gasped.

~ She’s lost control. The power of the Jynshee Rings will destroy her. ~

I held out my arm and Ripley aligned with my tattoo again. I filled with uncertainty. “How do we stop her?”

~ We don’t. ~

“Huh?” I doubted.

~ Her power is unlimited, unstoppable. The only one who can stop her…is herself. ~

“There has to be a way!” I snapped. “Sophia! You have to listen to me. You’re losing control of your power. You have to calm down! Please!”

Sophia shot forward and latched her mouth around Queen Strickland’s neck. With a quick bite she severed the Queen’s head from her body. The serpents along her back and spine fell still and lifeless. Queen Strickland’s torso dropped to the floor in a splat. Sophia spun around with the Queen’s dark blood dripping from her mouth. Her eyes were wild with hate and she smiled down at Ripley and I.

“Please, Soph, you have to stop,” I begged again.

“No, I don’t.” She growled so deep that it vibrated in my chest.

“You’ll kill us all,” I pleaded. She stepped forward and extended her massive frame above me, covering us in her powerful shadow. As the last of Sophia’s consciousness completely melted away, she promised.

“No, just you!” With all her strength she smashed a steel fist into me, sending me across the Nest.

LEVEL 29

CLOSURE

“Lucas! Wake up! Lucas!” Morgan’s voice called through the blackness. “Get up! We need you!”

“Hmph…what…urgh…” I dribbled out.

~ Lucas? Are you still with me? ~

Ripley’s voice ran through my head. It was distant but it was there. My brain buzzed with pain but I tried my best to answer.
I think so. What happened?

~ Sophia has lost control of the Jynshee Power. If we don’t remove those rings, she’ll never stop. She will terminate us all. ~

Oh, God, it hurts to move. Can you help me up?

~ I’ll try. Open your eyes. ~

As the real world crept into the slits of my eyelids, I began to moan in agony. I could feel Taylor’s big hands locking around my shoulders and pulling me upward. We were tucked in the back half of the room with all the victims huddled together, waiting, and watching in horror. Most of them were completely aware now. Their eyes watched me in shocked silence.

“Get up, Luc, she’s coming!” he warned. I could feel the room shaking and it made it hard to stay upright on my feet. I did my best to ignore all the confused spectators.

“Taylor…is everyone…okay?” I asked, painfully.

“Not for long. Whatever you’re going to do, do it quick!” he said, urgently.

“She’s here!” Roland yelled out.

Sophia was now fully engulfed in her raging powers. The rings had granted her unlimited strength but at a price. Her emotional state was never solid enough to control the rings. Now, the infinite energy possessed her. Ripley coiled around my body, lifting its long dragon neck above mine and readying ourselves for battle. Sophia lunged forward but stopped just short of us. She puffed up her massive body and smashed her fists agains her chest in a furious drumming pattern. Her eyes were alive with red fire that peppered the floor below her in sparks. Her mouth stretched open in a long scream that revealed all her sharp teeth.

Feeling too dizzy to do much else, I placed my hand out in front of me. Ripley morphed into a large shield that blocked everyone behind it. All my friends and the terrified student body cowered in fear behind me. Sophia exploded in a fit and swung her arms above her head. With the force of a hurricane she smashed them down upon Ripley and I. The crushing blow sent me to my knees instantly.

“Sophia! Please!” I screamed out, with my voice cracking. She ignored my plea and brought down another barrage of her fists. Ripley’s shield erupted in dozens of cracks. Smoke poured from them with popping purple bursts of lightning.

~ I can’t handle another blow like that. ~

Holding my pounding head, I grimaced, “Neither can I.”

Just then, a voice called out from behind Sophia and she spun around accordingly.

“Soph,” Olivia smiled. Sophia roared above her but did not attack.

“Olivia, no! She’s too dangerous!” I warned, uselessly.

“It’s okay, she won’t hurt me.” Olivia glanced up into her sister’s raging eyes. “Isn’t that right, Baby Sis, you’d never hurt me.” Sophia staggered forward, intent on ripping her sister in pieces but stopped herself.

“Olivia…” Sophia rumbled, in her deep monstrous voice.

“Yes, that’s right, Soph. It’s me.” Olivia reached up and took one of her sister’s giant fingers in her hand. “See, I’m here to help.”

Sophia frowned, “Olivia?”

“I’m here,” Olivia whispered, and swiftly removed the ring from the finger she had a hold of. Sophia winced and stumbled backward. A long belch of sadness shot from her mouth as her body began to shrink. Her sharp claws and fangs receded, her skin faded back to almond pink and her features returned to the sweet little girl we knew and loved. Tears welled in her eyes as she reached for her big sister.

“I’m so sorry,” Sophia puffed out, just before she loss consciousness and dropped to the floor. Olivia caught her just in time and settled to the ground with Sophia in her lap. Olivia quickly removed all the rings from her fingers and called to me.

“Lucas, take these.”

I stumbled up to her and scooped them all into my hands. All of them except the one that was tied in her hair, the Invulnerability Ring. I settled the other twelve rings into my pocket and knelt down next to Olivia. Without saying anything I untied the last ring from Sophia’s hair and slowly placed it along my finger. Olivia seemed hesitant at first but trusted me.

“She’ll be just fine,” I promised. The power of the ring made me feel better immediately. I caressed Sophia’s brow with the ring and she filled with healing energy. I looked over at the rest of our friends and they all high-fived each other. “Ripley, can you handle all the scared onlookers?”

“ Affirmative, ”
Ripley answered, and flew around the huge crowd of stunned students and teachers. Ripley dusted enchanted white smoke over them in a twisting funnel. Slowly, every one of them passed out, softly slipping to the floor in a deep sleep.

“Nice!” Roland cheered.

“Now what?” Morgan asked, nervously.

Ripley answered for me.
“ They are all sound asleep. When they awake they will not remember anything that happened here tonight. Hurry up, Lucas, we have a long night ahead us. Teleporting each one of these people back home is going to take some time. ”

I huffed at Ripley and smiled. “Just another night for the world’s newest superhero!” I flexed my arms appropriately and Taylor burst out with a hearty laugh. Morgan and Roland giggled too. Felicity just watched me with a somber smirk plastered across her face. She looked away as soon as she noticed I was watching her, watch me. Her hand fell to the finger that she had kept her Jynshee Ring on, and it was obvious she missed its cool touch. She quickly disappeared behind the sleeping piles of students.

From the floor Olivia whispered, “What about Queen Strickland?”

I exchanged a worried glance with Taylor. He swiped the loose hair from his face and nodded, “I’ll check on her.” Before I could say anything, he was already halfway to the spot where her severed head rested. Morgan nervously waved to me to follow him.

“Wait up, T,” I called out. With a small wave back toward Morgan I ran up to Taylor. We both slowly walked up to the pieces of the Queen. Her serpent children were shriveled up and lifeless. Her body had shrunk back to its original human form. It was scattered in different places and her skin was white like a ghost. There was no blood but there was black sand everywhere, on the ground, on her body parts, and spilling from her opened wounds.

“Gross,” Taylor chuckled.

“Where’s her head?” I asked, the dark and musty room. When I received the answer it came from the last person I expected.

“I’m…over…here…” Queen Strickland coughed out. Her voice sounded broken and weak, but it was definitely her. Taylor and I turned to our right and found her scaly black face along the floor, buried almost halfway in the debris.

“No way,” I whispered.

“You will…regret…this…Lucasssss Ryan…” she threatened, in a heavy hiss. Her eyes fought to stay open and her serpent tongue dared to touch us. The sight turned my stomach. I leaned down, placing one knee in the muck next to her head.

“I will?”

Her evil eyes pulled toward mine. “Yessssss.”

“Thisssss…isssssn’t over. It’ssssss…never over!” she warned, loudly. Taylor stepped up next to me ready to stomp her with his foot. I stopped him with my hand. “You have…no idea…what isssss coming, Lucassssss…”

I leaned in closer to her and carefully lifted her head from the dirt. As I propped her head upright, I said, “I’m listening.”

She let out a thick, wet cackle that carried across the room. “You have forgotten…the final piece…of the puzzle…”

“What are you talking about?” My patience was at an all time low and her threats were taking a toll on me. Queen Strickland’s eyes came alive with a deep silver hue. Her skin began to disintegrate in my hands and fell away like dust.

“You were supposed to find…your way back from that…other dimension. You were…dessssstined to make it back here. We wanted you here. We needed you here…”

I was completely confused. “What do you mean, we?”

“You didn’t escape our home world by yourssssself. You had help…didn’t you…” she spoke with her mouth no longer functioning. Her jawbone fell to the ground and shattered into tiny gray bits.

“Yes, Ripley told us how to escape. Ripley saved us,” I declared.

“Nooooooo!” she moaned, and her voice started to fade as if she were far away. “There wassssss another being with you.”

“Huh?” I dropped what was left of her head and stood back up. Her face began to melt, but her voice continued to taunt me.

“Ssssssssomeone else helped you. Ssssssssomeone…dark…ha, ha, ha, ha!”

The shadowed person from the maze, the Dark Beacon. That’s who she must be talking about. Her cackle grew louder as her organic body completely disappeared all around us. Only a faint pair of glowing silver eyes hovered in the air like a ghost.

“The Dark Beacon,” I mumbled. Her eyes finally succumbed to the darkness and her final laugh ricocheted off every surface in the devastated Nest.

Taylor looked over at me, and asked the obvious question, “What’s a Dark Beacon?”

“When Soph and I were trapped on that other world we were warned that we would never make it back home unless we found three things, the Beacon of Light, the Beacon of Virtue, and the…”

He cut me off, “Let me guess, the Dark Beacon.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, I assume that since you made it back to Earth, you found all three of them,” he shrugged.

“Kind of. Sophia is the Virtue Beacon, and I am the Light Beacon.”

“Who’s the last Beacon?”

“I don’t know. I never found the other one,” I sighed.

“You didn’t?”

“Nope, the Dark Beacon found me.”

“What?” Taylor exclaimed.

“I never really saw him, he was always wrapped in a shadow, but he pointed us in the right direction when we were lost. Now, I’m thinking maybe he wasn’t helping us at all. Maybe this was all part of the General’s plan?” I glanced over my shoulder, checking our surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. That’s when it hit me, everything in my crazy world was out of the ordinary. An overly aggressive smile curled onto my lips. Taylor tilted his head, curiously.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing, T. I was just thinking that if there is another chapter in this amazing story, we’ll be ready. I’ll be ready. I can’t live my life in fear anymore.”

With a slap to my back, he chuckled, “It’s about freakin’ time!”

We made our way back to our friends. Morgan took Taylor’s hand in hers and placed her head on his chest. Roland was lost in the miniature screen of his cell phone as he filmed everything he could. Olivia sat holding Sophia in her arms, looking up at me with a warm smile. I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on top of Olivia’s head. Ripley slid up next to us and waited for me to give the order.

“All right, Rip, let’s clean this mess up.”