Daniel Taylor and the Scepter of Power (14 page)

Kitana shook her head, smiling. “Your life has just begun.”

I’m not going to die?
she thought.

“Yes, of course, but not today, and not anytime soon.”

Marla took a labored breath.
I don’t like being pushed around and tortured. I’m so tired.

“Everything will be different now, my child. You’re no longer a demon, just a completely normal human.” Kitana tenderly stroked her hand.

I’m a human? Why?
Without magical abilities, everything would become so much more difficult!

Kitana smiled benignly. “Xandros’ poison wiped out everything demonic in you. That was the only way he could be sure that you would die, and that not you or anyone else would be able to save you.” Kitana sighed quietly. “Naturally, you’ll have struggles now and then — that’s part of life — but you have people around you who will support you because they love you.”

A question was eating away at her soul.
Does Father love me?

“Perhaps in his own way. To the degree that a demon can be said to love. He always protected you from the others, and not only for his own benefit — even though he wasn’t completely conscious of doing so. That’s why he was so enraged when he found out that Metistakles had been abusing you. Obron had only entrusted him with your education because he was afraid he’d deal with you too leniently and show weakness in front of the others.” Kitana raised her head and nodded, as though there was someone hidden in the darkness who only she could see and hear.

You’re far too kind, Mama.

Kitana smiled. “It comes with being an angel.” She kissed Marla on her forehead and floated away from her.

Please, don’t go.
Marla tried to reach out her hand again, but it felt too heavy, and fell back onto her stomach.
I have so many questions for you.

“James can answer some of them.” Kitana smiled at the three people lying on the ground near Marla.

Her daughter turned her head. It was Mike, Daniel, and James. Vanessa was kneeling near Daniel, touching his arm. Her eyelids were red, but she wasn’t crying. Instead, she was looking blankly around her, mouth hanging open.

Marla’s heart clenched.
What’s wrong with them?

“Don’t worry. They’ll come to very soon. The energy of the scepter literally knocked them out.”

She vaguely remembered what had happened.

Who saved me?

“Your brother.”

Daniel!

Kitana nodded. “He loves you. They all love you. Their love prevented them from being corrupted by evil. I’m very proud of you all. Especially Daniel and you, my daughter.”

Marla suddenly heard a groan. She saw that James had opened his eyes and was staring over at them.

“Almost my whole life, I believed that Obron had killed you. And I blamed James for that,” Marla said aloud, so that Daniel’s father could hear. Her strength was slowly coming back. “You sacrificed yourself.”

Kitana smiled. “I know how much that plagued you. I wish I could have told you the truth, but you had to find out for yourself.”

Marla looked her mother in the eyes, surprised. “Why?”

“The time had only come just now.” Kitana sighed, as though it had been difficult for her not to interfere in the course of events. “I killed myself so that Obron wouldn’t be able to find out where I had hidden the scepter.”

To protect them all …

“Kitana,” James whispered, sitting up. He ran a hand over his face. “Am I dead, or am I dreaming?”

“Neither.” The corners of Kitana’s mouth twitched. “You’re all alive.”

“Why are you here now — and why didn’t you show yourself before?” he asked.

“I couldn’t. I’ve only come now because as the last guardian of the scepter, I have to fulfill my duty and take the artifact.” Kitana was holding the scepter in her hand. “It’s lost all its power. It destroyed itself — when the bearer of the scepter sacrifices his or her powers, it becomes useless.”

Before their eyes, the artifact dissolved into dust. Kitana looked from Marla to James and the others, and as she spoke, Marla knew that Kitana was trying to explain the scepter’s power to them. Marla could see questions forming in the minds of the others.

“I had searched for the scepter for a long time. My mother had hidden it and never revealed its location to me. She knew that Obron had only married me to get at the boundless power that, according to the prophecy, his firstborn son would have. Not even when Xandros tortured her to death did my mother betray her secret. I only knew where to find the scepter when James activated it in the pyramid. As a blood heir, I could sense the tremors of power before the others and attempt to hide it again.” Visibly delighted, Kitana looked around the group. “Now no one will ever bother you again about the scepter.”

Mike had crawled to Marla’s side and carefully embraced her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and sat up with his help. “Mike!” Sobbing, she threw her arms around him. She had never thought that her life would take this turn.

She hugged him as tightly as she could. She still felt weak, but she was overjoyed. Then she put a hand to her stomach. “I think I’m hungry.”

Kitana smiled and looked wistfully down at them before flying over to Daniel, who was still lying on the ground.

Daniel blinked. So this was his real mother. How beautiful she was. It really must have been her voice that he had heard earlier. “Are you an angel?”

Smiling, Kitana nodded. She stretched out a hand to caress Daniel’s head. “You’ve grown up to be a handsome young man.”

Daniel blushed. Her hand felt cool, like a breeze. Kitana looked over at James, who was standing nearby, staring at them. His eyes were swimming with tears, but he didn’t say anything.

Kitana turned back to Daniel. “Show me the amulet.”

Without taking it off, he picked up the eye of Horus and held it out to his mother. The red stone was no longer glowing; in fact, it had turned black. Its magic was gone.

Floating so close to Daniel that her hair tickled his chin, Kitana took the medallion in her hand and kissed it. The stone suddenly glowed a light blue.

Why isn’t it red anymore?
Daniel thought.

Kitana smiled.
That’s angel magic
. “Always wear the eye, my son. It will protect you.” She ran her hand through his hair one last time and floated over to James. Her face softened. With her thumb, she wiped the tears from his cheeks. He took her hand and whispered, “Kitana.”

His father looked as though he was about to snatch her out of the air. Kitana seemed to fear this as well, as she gently pulled her hand back. “James …” she whispered, and Daniel could hear the love in her voice.

“I thought I would never see you again.” More tears gathered in his father’s eyes, and there was a tormented expression on his face. “I miss you so much.”

“We had so little time,” she said, “but those were the happiest years of my life.” She flew higher, toward the white vortex. Her dark hair swirled about.

“Don’t go yet!” James stood up and stretched out his hand to her, but Kitana could no longer reach it.

“We’ll see each other again one day.” She looked around the group, smiling, and then she waved at James. “Don’t be sad, my love. You have Anne. She’s a wonderful woman, and you were made for each other. You always were, but fate made you wait a long time.” She sighed quietly. “I know that you’ll take good care of our children.” The cloud vortex pulled her closer. Kitana grew smaller and smaller, but her voice was still just as audible.

“Go to Anne. She’s sick with worry.” Through the cloud portal, Daniel could see Anne standing by the cabin window. She had placed a hand against the fogged-up glass. Was it snowing in Canada?

“You’ll always have a place in my heart!” James called out to Kitana.

“I know. And you in mine.” She was gone. Only the whirling cloud portal was still there. It sank down toward the earth so that they could comfortably step through it.

“It will bring you to Anne,” Daniel heard Kitana’s faint voice say.

Happy to go home, Daniel took Vanessa’s hand. He felt strangely empty. Had he really lost all of his abilities? As a test, he attempted to create an energy sphere in the palm of his hand. It didn’t work. Daniel stared at his hand in disbelief.

His powers had really been sacrificed, just as Blondie had foreseen. Was he just a normal human now?

James walked up to him and whispered, “No powers?”

Daniel nodded.

“Me, neither, at least for the moment. The battle weakened me terribly.” James took a deep breath. “Let’s get out of here!” He gestured toward Marla, who stepped through the portal with Mike. They could see the pair arriving in the cabin. Anne turned to them and embraced them. Anne waved to the others — she could evidently see them as well.

“Now you two,” James said to Daniel and Vanessa.

Just as Daniel was about to set foot in the portal, an energetic voice called out, “Halt!”

Daniel spun around and pushed Vanessa through the vortex. She landed on the other side in Mike’s arms.

A shadowy figure rose out of the darkness — Obron! Marla’s father still looked exhausted, but also resolute. His jaw was clenched.

“What do you want?” Daniel asked sharply. “You promised not to follow us!” Damn it all, now he was powerless. Obron would easily destroy them. Could he sense that Daniel was no longer a demon, and that James was in no position to defend himself? Daniel tried to create a mental link to Obron, but it didn’t work.

“I promised not to follow you to take the scepter for myself. I’ve only come to see what happened to my daughter.” Obron stopped in front of the cloud portal and looked in. “There’s something else as well,” he said to Daniel, without taking his eyes off of Marla. “The Oracle selected you as the future Overlord. You must accept your responsibilities.”

Marla stared back at her father. Mike was holding her tightly in his arms.

“I won’t. I abdicate the throne,” Daniel replied as casually as he could, although a hurricane was whirling through his stomach.

Obron snorted derisively. “Not that you would be capable of the job.”

Damn it, of course the demon could sense that Daniel no longer possessed any powers! But Daniel didn’t want to show any fear.

Obron took another step toward him. James immediately stepped in between them, but Obron pushed him aside.

Hopefully this was just a show of force. The high lord obviously enjoyed intimidating them.

Daniel broke out in a cold sweat.

Obron frowned. “You can’t just abdicate. Not without naming a successor. According to the Oracle, you are the chosen one. And since Antheus, the next in line to the throne, is dead, you must either become Overlord or select a successor.”

Relief washed over him. He thought intently. What would Obron do after Daniel named his successor? The demon would have no reason to spare their lives.

As though Obron could read minds — which he certainly could — he said with a smile, “Don’t worry. I’ll let you both go.” He glanced over at his daughter again.

Marla, Mike, Vanessa, and Anne stared back at them, raptly following the events playing out many thousand miles away.

There was an almost eerie silence in the park when no one was speaking. The cloud vortex whirled soundlessly before them, and no sound could be heard from the other side of the portal. Could the others in Canada hear what was being said here?

Obron made an impatient gesture. “So, whom do you choose?”

Daniel hastily considered his options. He had never thought about this question before. He certainly wouldn’t have chosen Antheus. Metistakles was dead … That only left Obron. He was a member of the High Council. The last surviving member. Daniel didn’t know anyone else; he had never had any contact with other demons, except for … Sirina!

Sirina or Obron, who would be the better choice? Daniel would have liked to see a woman take over the leading role, but Sirina wasn’t Vanessa. The demoness was not very intelligent. She hadn’t really done anything but exploit her sex appeal. No, Sirina alone wouldn’t make a good Overlord.

Obron, in contrast, had proved himself to possess something like a heart, if a cold one. He had saved Marla. That counted for a great deal in Daniel’s book.

He suddenly saw the perfect solution. “I select you as my successor, Obron. But only if you marry Sirina.”

“Sirina and I … married?” cried Obron.

Daniel nodded. He couldn’t help grinning. Obron’s cool logic and Sirina’s calculating passion would complement each other well. That would shake up a few things in the underworld. Daniel could imagine the two fighting constantly. “Yes, Sirina must become your wife; that’s my condition.” She would make Obron’s life a living hell, he could already tell.

Gnashing his teeth, Obron replied, “So be it.” He turned to James.

Obron opened his mouth, then shut it again. Did he want to say something to James?

Obron scratched his bald head and again glanced over at Marla. “Promise me you’ll take good care of my daughter. Always.”

“Of course I will,” James said. “As though she were my own child.”

Obron nodded quickly. Without showing any further emotion, he spun on his heel and disappeared into the darkness.

A few weeks later …

Daniel and Vanessa crept past the living room door. His mother and father were sitting on the couch in a warm embrace, watching a Christmas film. The teenagers lingered at the door and eavesdropped for a moment.

“It’s a pity,” Anne said to James, “that you haven’t completely regenerated your magical powers. You could be beaming us to sunny Hawaii right now.”

James pulled her closer, and Anne laid her head on his shoulder. He rubbed his nose on her forehead, grinning cheekily. “We could make it warmer right here. I could show you some other special talents I still possess.”

“James!” Anne gasped as she submitted to a gentle kiss.

Vanessa pressed a hand to her mouth. Her face had gone bright red — certainly not due to the cold night air — and she pulled Daniel away from the door. Daniel suppressed his laughter with difficulty. He definitely didn’t want to witness James applying those “special talents” to his mother. For Anne, his father was a superhero, and the two of them still seemed to be walking on air, ever since they had all piled into James’ old car and driven back to California from the cabin in Canada.