Not Enough

RORY

It looks hopeless. But I promised, I’d fight to the end. I would stop her this time. Faces flash through my mind: Mama, Ophelia, Mia, Freya, Everett, Nadia, Ace, Lucius, my unborn baby.

A cry builds in me, a primal scream like the howl of a wolf. I can’t hold it in. I don’t want to. I want everyone to hear me, especially Nemesis. I throw back my head and shout defiantly, “Nooooo!”

Power thrums through me, power like I’ve never felt. It’s hot and liquid, pouring through me in a torrent. I’m used to only feeling my own life force, this is like a geyser compared to a trickle.

It feels like it’s coming from deep inside me, from my stomach, or—my womb. The baby. This is the baby’s power. I can feel them inside me, barely bigger than a peach, lit up and glowing with magic.

I throw up my hands and the power streams out of me, washing out in a concussive burst. I shut my eyes against it, it’s too bright to look at. When it settles, I crack open my eyes and gasp.

Nothing is moving. It’s like time itself has frozen. The wolves Nemesis was reaping are held mid-collapse, dangling in midair grotesquely. Silence has replaced the sounds of battle.

I can still feel a gentle pulse of power coming from the baby, maintaining whatever field they created. How long will it hold? How far does it go? I don’t know. I’ve never heard of anything like this.

Two of those still alive are right by me. One is a rogue, someone I don’t know. There’s an ugly gash on his face spilling blood freely. The drops are motionless on his skin, a river on pause.

He’s got the empty gaze of one of Nemesis’s rogues and his arm is raised, holding a crude knife, still mindlessly attacking. He’s seconds away from being sacrificed and he had no idea at all.

The other, I realize with a lurch, is Delilah. Her eyes are half closed, mid-blink or on their way to shutting forever, I don’t know. Nemesis managed to possess her after I healed her, apparently.

She’s bowed backwards, back in an incredible arch, looking like she should topple over any moment. I want to catch her, but I’m afraid to touch anyone, unsure what might happen.

It’s fascinating and strange, almost like Pompeii, people frozen in ash in the last moments of their lives. I feel like the only person left in the world. I shiver, spooked beyond words.

I hope that if we can stop Nemesis now, in the chance my baby gave us, we can save her sacrifices. I look at Delilah, thinking again of her mate, her kids. I’ll never forgive myself if she dies here.

As I look closer, I see that she’s actually not quite frozen. She’s still falling, but incredibly slowly. At this rate, it would take an hour for her to move an inch, days to reach the floor.

I put my hand on my stomach. “You did this, sweetheart?” The strength on display almost makes me dizzy. Not even born yet, and they can do this? How powerful will they be?

There’s a little pulse inside me, a breath of warmth against my hand, and I swear it’s the baby responding to me. Should they be able to hear me, to respond like this this early?

Probably not. But they also probably shouldn’t be able to create a magical zone of slowed down time. I laugh at myself, too loud in the forced silence. My weird barometer is seriously off.

Then, I get a grip. I shouldn’t assume this will last forever. However impressive, my baby is just a baby. They’re not going to have infinite energy reserves. I need to get moving.

I’ve got the sketch of a plan forming in my mind. Really, it’s the same as it always was—use the necklace, trap the shards of Nemesis’s soul, stop her evil plan.

Only now, I need to do it before time resumes its normal flow. Which will be much, much easier if I have some help. I turn to my mate, feeling as ready as I can be to see him frozen and still.

Everett is also suspended in the air, paused in the middle of a leap. A leap toward Nemesis. His last act was to try and fight, to take her down, to do whatever he could for us.

~That’s my mate,~ I think, filled with pride, tears pricking at my eyes. ~That’s the man I want to spend the rest of my life with.~ He could be hard to live with sometimes, but he always made up for it.

I wonder if I can remove the spell from him. If I can, then just maybe we can salvage this. I speak to the baby again. “Will you let daddy go, honeypie? Can you do that for me?”

There’s that little burst of warmth again. I decide to take it as a yes. It still feels extremely strange to be talking to my unborn baby.

I put my hand on Everett’s shoulder. The effect is immediate. He completes his spring, hitting the ground and dropping into a crouch, ready to use his momentum against his opponent.

He notices the rest of the frozen figures and spins around. As soon as he sees me, his face lights up, and he comes to my side. “Aurora! What’s going on? Did you do this?”

He gestures at the suspended figures. I feel a little flattered that he thinks I could do something like this, but I have to tell him the truth. Hopefully, he takes it well. “Not me. The baby.”

Everett’s eyes widen. “Our baby?” All I can do is nod. He puts his hands on my waist, letting his thumbs rest on my stomach, staring at where our baby is inside me. “Wow. That’s…incredible.”

He seems torn between pride and alarm. I understand completely. Unfortunately, there’s not really time for either of us to process this. Or, maybe that’s a good thing? Really can’t freak out now.

I give myself a second to lean my head against his chest, to draw on his solidity and strength. Then, I take a fortifying breath and raise my head, looking into his face.

“I don’t know how long this will last. We need to make the most of it. I’ve got a plan,” I tell him, to stop him from trying to come up with one of his own.

He takes it in stride, eyes clear and focused. I’m struck again by his trust in me. We’re true partners. I never thought I’d have this. “Whatever you say. Where do we start?”

“First, we get a little more help. I’m going to release a few more of our allies from the spell. Fill them in on what’s going on as I go, okay?” He nods, and I get an affirmative burst from the baby.

I find Lucius and Ace and unfreeze them, as well as the warriors I’m sure aren’t possessed. There are fewer of them than I’d like, but I push away the grief and worry for now.

As they gather around Everett and he tells them what’s going on with time being stopped, I finally turn to look at Nemesis. I want to know how this is affecting her before we begin.

Nemesis’s face is twisted in fury, her eyes locked on me, but she can’t move any more than the others. I can tell she knows what’s happening and despises it down to her core.

~Not fun to be trapped, is it?~ I think spitefully, wishing she could hear me. But the ultimate victory was going to be mine. No need to gloat, as much fun as it would be.

“Now what, Luna?” asks Ace. A small knot of wolves stands at attention, looking to me for orders. Looking at me like they respect me. It doesn’t feel real. But I won’t let them down.

“Gather up the possessed wolves and bring them close to Nemesis. The necklace won’t work if they’re too far away, and I don’t want to take any chances.” Thankfully, I sound confident.

They go to work immediately. It’s strange watching them interact with the wolves still stuck in the spell; the ones I’ve freed are able to lift them and move them around like furniture.

It looks very wrong, creepily unnatural, and turns my stomach a little. I turn my head away, not wanting to watch. The nausea eases, but I stumble a little as a burst of fatigue washes through me.

Of course, since it’s me, I don’t just stumble. I fall right on my butt, even though the light-headedness fades almost immediately. So much for the respectable Luna.

“Are you all right?” Everett asks, coming to my side immediately. No one else reacts, so either they didn’t see it or they’re pretending not to. I’m glad either way.

I let him help me up and brush the dirt from my pants. “Yeah, just got a little dizzy. I wouldn’t even have fallen if I weren’t so clumsy.”

“Dizzy?” Everett looks worried, then frowns. I can see him putting the pieces together. He’s seen me wiped after healing often enough. “The power’s running out, isn’t it? Can you keep it up?”

I smile reassuringly. I’m tired, but the pulse of the baby’s power inside of me is still strong and steady. “Yes. I can hold it. But move fast.”

Everett nods. “You’ve got it.” He’s got a steely look in his eyes, treating this like a battle. He’s in his element, and I can’t help but get a little breathless watching him.

He turns to the pack, clapping his hands to get their attention. “Move it, everyone! No time to be gentle, just get them where they need to be. We can sort the rest out when this is over.”

They pick up the pace in response to his direction, and it takes less than a minute for the pack to gather the possessed. They’re arranged in a rough semicircle around Nemesis, heaped at her feet.

It doesn’t look nice, but that’s fine. I take the necklace out of my pocket and hold it aloft. I reach out with my life force, and it awakens in response, the spell inside activating.

It begins to glow a deep red, like the gates of hell are opening. Slowly, the black mist begins to rise from the possessed wolves, responding to the call of the amulet.

The mist moves faster and faster, gathering in dark clouds. Time is starting to return to its normal speed. I see the bodies finishing their fall, see Nemesis stretch out a hand.

The mist is drawn inexorably into the amulet, the shards of her soul pulled inside instead of returning. A long, distorted shriek of rage is rising from Nemesis, louder and louder.

The power the baby gave me is fading, but she’s too late to stop me. And as I look into her enraged face, I can tell she knows it too. There’s fear under the fury in her yellow eyes.

The last of the mist vanishes, but the necklace’s pull only grows stronger. Soon, Nemesis herself starts to move, her feet slipping. The soul trap works on her too. There’s nothing she can do.

She fights it with everything she has, hair and dress flapping in the vortex of the necklace’s pull. “You can’t seriously think you’ve bested me. I will return. I will always return.”

I plant my feet and drop my arm, brandishing the necklace directly at her. “Not this time, Nemesis. This was your last chance. And you blew it.”

She’s pulled off of her feet, flying toward me, toward the amulet. Her hands are outstretched, hands curled into claws, and I can’t help but flinch away.

She grabs my shoulder, hand piercingly cold. “You will never be free of me. It is inevitable. One day, I will kill everyone you love, crush you beneath my heel and take your child for my own!”

Her terrifying eyes are wild, her teeth bared in a sneer. She’s only inches from my face. I should be afraid, but I’m not. Because I can tell this is all talk, a last feeble attempt to hurt me.

And she’s never going to be able to hurt me again. I lean into her face, and this time she flinches away from me. “You’ll never touch my baby. You’ll never have your revenge. You. Lost.”

Her grip on me is broken. With a last horrible shriek, Nemesis vanishes into the amulet. The glow fades, leaving it inert in my hands. It’s over.

The last of the baby’s power drains out of me and I collapse to my knees, exhausted but elated. She’s gone. Gone forever. “We did it,” I whisper.

“Don’t celebrate so soon, Rory,” says a mocking voice. I drag my heavy head up and meet the eyes of Professor Xander, grinning and somehow still alive.

Worse, he’s completely back to normal. He not only resisted the necklace, he managed to heal himself. I’m out of tricks, out of energy. I can barely stand, let alone fight such a powerful magician.

I finally defeated Nemesis, but I’m still going to die at the hands of this man. What kind of evil has he wrought? Why didn’t I see it coming? And what am I going to do?