With a sturdy click, the stone was released from the casing. Perfectly round. Heavy.
She scrambled back to Dax, who was slumped and bleeding against the cavern wall. She pried the scepter from his hand. In such close proximity, the scepter and stone gained a magnetic quality. The stone moved as if by magic to its place at the end of the scepter.
An electric shock pierced Meredith as she tried to pick it up. She couldn’t get near it. But she was too close to give up now.
“Dax!” she screamed, fighting to be heard. “It’s not too late! I need you!”
****
Dax reached instinctively toward Meredith’s voice. The fires of hell wouldn’t burn as long as she was within reach.
His eyes popped open as he felt a sensation that he had not known for more than two centuries. The vibrating energy of the scepter. A living force field created for one purpose—demolishing the enemy.
Dax blinked away the pain as he stood.
“Go home to hell, all of you!” he shouted, swinging the scepter to create a protective space for him and Meredith. “The tide has turned!”
The weaker creatures began dropping, their energy rushing back through the portal and into the underworld.
“Dance through the fire! Dance through the fire!” Dax’s rhythmic chanting brought him strength.
A few hours later, a dozen creatures remained. Then just a handful.
Finally, only one—Voran. The leader of the demons. The one with the greatest power over humans.
“I underestimated your fortitude,” Voran said.
“So it’s just you and me, huh? I should have known.”
Voran’s voice was barely a whisper. “I knew the fighting would be ferocious, but I had no idea that it would be quite this bloody. The intelligence your aunt provided should have given me a clue, I suppose.”
“What do you mean?”
“Cara informed us earlier of everything that you have said and done around that new human, the one called Meredith.”
Voran leaned as close to Dax as he could without penetrating the energy field of the scepter. “You vile, disgusting creature. You may have won this battle, but ours is a long, long war and we will not be defeated. See you in 250 years.” He winked. “Give or take.”
Voran turned toward the crystal room.
“Wait!” Dax said.
Voran turned to face him. “What now, Dax? And don’t be tedious. I have had a rather trying day.”
“You know that the victor can make a claim. From this day on, I want to live as a full-blooded human.”
“How very boring. But if that is what you wish, then it is so.” Voran bowed dramatically and swept a bloodied, leathery wing across his body.
Chapter Eight
A Few Months Later
“What did you say the name of this color is, hon?” Dax held the can of paint so that Meredith could read its label.
“Desert Primrose. The perfect shade for a nursery,” Meredith said.
She took off her reading glasses. “Need these?” She smiled.
“No, thanks,” Dax said. “It’s just that since becoming fully human, my arms aren’t quite long enough to read all the fine print.”
“Ah,” Meredith said. “I guess no one told you that it would all be downhill from there. Physically, at least.”
“Physical things are definitely not a problem,” Dax said, pressing his hand to her swollen belly.
“Want some help? Everything else is done, I think. I moved the last of Cara’s things to the cave and installed the baby-proofing stuff this morning.”
“No, thanks,” Dax said, “Won’t take long. Besides, you don’t need to breathe these fumes. Why don’t you go lie down?”
Meredith pulled a light cotton blanket over her as she settled onto the couch in the den. Within minutes, she saw a little girl, with black hair and brown eyes, standing before her. Deep in sleep, she remembered how much she missed this dream child.
“Desert Primrose was my favorite color,” the child said. “Remember how the bathroom was that shade before Elena painted over it when you two were teenagers?”
The girl laughed at the memory.
“I loved being your grandmother and taking care of you. And I can’t wait to be born so you and Dax can take care of me this time around. But there’s another story I want to tell you before I’m born. I’ll make sure you don’t forget any of it when you write it down.”
Meredith Thelassian draped her arms across her belly and smiled in her sleep.
A word about the author...
Ann Kellett launched her fiction career at age seven, with the Planet of the Cat People series, which sadly remains undiscovered. She lives in Central Texas with her husband, three cats and rescued greyhound.
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