| Chapter 31 Nick opened his eyes. He could hear the fighting in the room, but couldn't see where it was coming from. He felt weak and the pain in his side was excruciating. He tried to get up but couldn't. Looking down at his side he noticed his shirt was drenched with blood and it was pooling on the floor around him. Nick laid his head back and tried to call Gideon for help, but he didn't have the strength to. He sighed, looking up at the ceiling, a tear leaving his eye, "God please help us." Suddenly the pain seemed to leave him as a light shown around him. Nick blinked his eyes as the light intensified in brightness, almost to the point of blinding him. Nick continued to stare up where the ceiling had been until it was consumed by the light. He almost felt like he was floating, and a great peace came over him. Nickolas, let me show you what you've been searching for, he heard a voice say. Before his eyes, almost as if he were watching a movie, scenes began to play. He watched Nickolas' life play before him. It was so real he could feel Nickolas's emotions as he chose the side of �Satan' and was cast out. He felt Nickolas's heartache and regret at what he'd done. Then he felt his helplessness against Luna as the deal was struck for the alliance, then the shock at being betrayed by her to the demons, and the pain of death. As soon as the last scene of Nickolas's life played, Nick's own life began. He watched himself grow up. Seeing for the first time the similarities between himself and Nickolas. He watched as memories and dreams he'd had as a child, fit into parts of Nickolas's life. He slowly began to piece the puzzle together. Everything that had happened in his life, led him to this point. God had planned this for him even before he'd been born. This was who he truly was, and it was what he'd been looking for all his life. Nick felt his tears sliding down his face, "How?" That doesn't matter Nickolas. What matters is that you know who you are, and how important your actions will be. You have been my chosen leader since time began. Everything that has taken place in the last few years of your life, have done so to prepare you for this moment. This is a great thing I ask of you, are you willing to do it? Nick closed his eyes as a new wave of tears began to fall. Now that he knew exactly who he was, he couldn't deny what was destined for him to do. "I am," he whispered. Nick could feel immense joy around him. Thank you Nickolas. Now rise and meet your destiny. Nick opened his eyes as the light quickly faded from the room. He sat up, holding his side as the pain returned to him. He saw Gideon's sword laying a few feet from him. Nick reached out and willed the sword into his hand, then struggled to his feet. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tara and Evi were struggling with each other. Evi had managed to knock Tara's sword away, and the girls were fighting with their bare hands. Evi landed a punch on Tara's wound, causing her to cry out. Evi laughed, "Serves you right you bitch! How could you do that to us?" Tara laughed, "It's easy when the people you're fooling are fools to begin with." "Oh that's it," Evi spat, advancing on her. "Get off!" Ephah yelled, trying to push Serenity away from him. "You know you like it," she said, running her hand up his chest. Ephah was in much the same position as Nick had been in earlier. He couldn't fight the feelings coursing through him, and he was helplessly enduring everything Serenity did. Serenity licked up his neck to his face, all the while positioning the dagger in her hand to stab him. Ephah moaned in disgust and pleasure. "Now, it's time to join your friend," she spat. Ephah looked at her wide eyed, seeing the dagger poised over his heart. "No, don't," he begged. Just then Nick came up behind them and grabbed Serenity by her hair, yanking her away from Ephah and throwing her across the floor. Nick looked at the man, "Are you OK?" Ephah slumped a little against the wall, "Yeah," he said, looking up, "Behind you!" Nick turned and watched in horror as Serenity ran straight into his sword. Her scream pierced the walls of the house, and Tara and Evi stopped their fighting, looking over. Nick stared at Serenity as she dropped to her knees, a look of disbelief on her face. He pulled his sword free of her and watched as she crumpled to the floor. Her last breath coming out in an eerie moan. Nick quickly turned to Evi, "Grab her." Tara and Ephah caught her as she tried to run out of the room, pulling her back and pushing her against the wall, holding her there by her arms. Nick walked up to her, placing the tip of his sword on her chest. "Please don't kill me," she begged. She was truly frightened, shaking like a leaf as tears streamed down her cheeks. Nick stared at her, sending chills down her spine. "You know who I really am, right?" he asked. Evi nodded, "Y-yes." "Then I want you to tell the sirens that the alliance is now broken. Tell them that I've come back and I find you VERY displeasing. Also tell them that I will spare those who turn away from their powers, but I will hunt down every last one that refuses to give it up, understand?" Nick said. Evi nodded. "Now, leave this place and this life, and never look back," Nick said, motioning for them to let her go. Evi ran from the room, tripping over her own feet several times before she made it out of the house and to the car. She jumped in, speeding out of the garage and heading as far away as she could get. Ephah and Tara looked at Nick, seeing something different in his eyes. "Nickolas?" Ephah asked, staring at him. Nick smiled and nodded, "I guess you were right all along, Micah." Ephah sucked in his breath at hearing his true name. "H-how do you know my name?" he asked. Nick put his hand on the man's shoulder, "I remember you now. And He told me to bring you back with us." Ephah stared at him, in shock. "Micah, all you have to do is ask," Nick said. Ephah looked from Nick to Tara, seeing the love and compassion in their eyes. He missed feeling that from God, he missed God. He nodded his head, closing his eyes, God, please forgive me. I'm so sorry for what I've done. Please allow me to come home. As soon as he had prayed the words, Ephah dropped to his knees under the power of God. He felt as if the darkness that consumed his soul had been chipped away, allowing the light to shine through. It seemed as if a huge weight had been lifted from him, and he was a wash with love and peace. Joy filled his once empty spirit, renewing his energy and his faith. Ephah wept openly, feeling regret for what he'd done, but at the same time, feeling God's grace and forgiveness. "Micah," Nick said. He looked up at the young man, smiling at him through his tears. Nick and Tara both smiled, seeing the change in his eyes. He now had the same loving compassionate eyes as they had. Micah stood up, pulling Nick into a hug, "Thank you for not giving up on me. Thank you so much for helping to bring me home." Nick smiled at him as they parted, "I'm only a messenger. God is the one that brought you back." Micah nodded, looking down at his hands. He noticed they were covered in blood. It was then that he noticed Nick was hurt. "Nick, you're hurt," he said. As soon as the words were out, Nick felt the pain come back full force. He grimaced, feeling his knees go out from under him. Micah and Tara caught him before he hit the ground. "Let's lay him on the couch," Tara said, as they made their way over. At that moment, Gideon, Jade, William, Lucas and the others appeared in the room, swords drawn. "Nick, Tara!" Gideon said, holding his sword on Micah. Nick shook his head, "No, he's with us." Gideon looked at him, then smiled, "I see. Welcome back." Micah nodded. "Gideon, help us, Nick's hurt," Tara said. "There's no time, we have to go now," Jade said. "But he's...?" Micah started. "We have to leave now. Brian's dying," Gideon said. "What!?!" Tara and Nick both said together. "There's no time to explain. If we don't leave now it may be to late," Jade said, walking up to the three. Gideon looked at Lucas, "You know what to do." Lucas nodded, turning and instructing the others. Gideon walked to the group and took Tara's place holding Nick up. Jade held onto Micah's arm as Tara took Gideon's, then the group vanished from the house. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jackie held her son as he winced in pain. She cradled him in her arms, gently rocking back and forth, humming the song she used to sing to him when he was a child. Everyone watched the heart monitor as the beeps slowed down. Dr. Skinner started to walk towards the bed in an effort to do something, when Ted put his hand on his arm. "Let him go this way. He doesn't want to be on life support," he said. Dr. Skinner nodded, stepping back to Ted's side. He put his hand on Ted's shoulder in an effort to comfort the man. Brian's eyes fluttered open and focused on Lyn. He couldn't speak, all he could do was stare at her. Lyn smiled through her tears, "I know," she whispered. Brian smiled, then closed his eyes. "NO!" Kevin yelled as the heart monitor stopped beeping and flat lined. Kristin took her husband in her arms as he broke down. Harold put his hand on Jackie's shoulder, letting his tears fall as she continued to rock. "My baby," Jackie cried, "I held you when you came into this world. I never thought I'd hold you as you left it." Lyn held Brian's hand, her tears wetting the bed as they fell, "I will always love you," she whispered. Everyone was so consumed by their grief that they didn't notice when the group appeared in the room. "Oh no, we're to late," Jade said, seeing the scene before her. Nick shook his head, "No we're not." Nick pulled away from the arms that held him up and made his way to the bed. "Nick," Howie said, seeing him walk past him. Everyone looked up, staring at the group. Nick sat on the bed facing Jackie and Brian. Tara walked around the side of the bed and put her arm around Lyn. Gideon, Jade and Micah stood at the foot of the bed. Suddenly Tracy and the rest of the protectors appeared, standing amongst the guys. "What the ...?" Dr. Skinner said. Ted smiled at him, "Don't ask, just watch." "Jackie, you have to let him go," Nick said. Jackie looked down at her son, "No." Nick put his hand on her arm, "I can't help if you don't let me have him." Jackie looked up into Nick's eyes, feeling the peace he was sending her. "Nick ... you're glowing," she said, in shock. Nick smiled at her, "Give him to me." Jackie stared at Nick for a moment, then held Brian's limp body up to Nick. Nick took him in his arms, pulling Brian to him in a hug. He rested Brian's head on his shoulder, wrapping his arms around him. Nick closed his eyes and began praying in his language. "What's he saying?" A.J. asked. Tara looked at him, "He's asking God to allow him to help him. He's praying for strength, and for Brian to be allowed to come back," she translated. Everyone watched in awe as a light seemed to come from inside Nick. It surrounded the two, and filled every corner of the room. In the midst of the light they could see Nick look up, tears leaving his eyes. Then he pulled Brian closer to him, the light becoming so bright that they could no longer see the two. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian slowly opened his eyes. He couldn't tell where he was. All he could see was a bright light surrounding him. He slowly became aware that he was being held, his head resting on someone's shoulder. Brian lifted his head, looking up at Nick's face. "Nick," he said, wrapping his arms around his friend. Nick winced, but held Brian tight, "It's me. Why didn't you call for us?" Brian rested his head on Nick's shoulder, "I couldn't. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me. Am I dead?" Nick laughed, "Not now. God allowed me to bring you back." "Why am I so tired?" Brian asked. "Your body has been through a lot, you will need to rest," Nick told him. Where are we? I can't see anything," Brian asked. "You are with friends," Nick said, gently lowering Brian back down to the bed. As Brian's head hit the pillow, the light began to fade, and the hospital room slowly appeared around him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone stared in awe as the light faded. They could hear the two talking, but they couldn't understand them. Brian was speaking in the same language that Nick was using. They all blinked, adjusting their eyes to the room. Brian looked around the room, seeing his friends and family, along with the �others'. Nick held his hand, "We will make you sleep until your body has had enough rest." Brian nodded, settling back in the bed. He was extremely weak and was fighting to keep his eyes open. Nick smiled at him, placing his hand over Brian's eyes. Brian went limp, falling into a deep sleep. Nick stood up, and faltered. Kevin caught him, "Shit, he's hurt." Gideon and Micah came over, taking Nick from Kevin. "He'll be alright," Gideon said. Nick looked up at Kevin and smiled, "Stay with Brian, I'll be fine." Tara looked over at Tracy, "Can you stay and wake him when he's ready?" Tracy nodded, "It would be my honor." Tara hugged her, then made her way to the group at the end of the bed. Everyone watched as they joined hands, then disappeared from the room. Harold and Jackie held each other in shock. "What just happened?" Harold asked. Everyone glanced at one another. All of their eyes finally resting on Kevin. He looked at his aunt and uncle, then over to Dr. Skinner. He motioned for them to have a seat. Kevin sighed, "Well, we've neglected to tell you a few things about Nick and Tara....." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The group appeared in the living room of Lyn's extra house. "Let's put him in here," Tara said, leading them to the master bedroom just off the living room. Gideon and Micah carried Nick to the bed, laying him down. Nick moaned in pain, his breathing becoming labored. He was still bleeding, and had lost a lot of blood. Nick closed his eyes, feeling lightheaded. Gideon and Jade moved to heal him when Micah stepped up. "Please, let me. I owe him that much," he said. Gideon nodded and Micah sat on the side of the bed. He placed his hand over Nick's side and closed his eyes. Nick sucked in his breath. He could feel a hot tingling sensation start at his side, the work it's way into his body. His breathing eased up, and the pain vanished. Nick looked up at Micah, "Thank you." Micah smiled at him, "No problem. Now rest, you've lost a lot of blood." Nick nodded and closed his eyes, immediately falling to sleep. Gideon motioned to one of the protectors that had followed them back from the hospital, "Marcus, get him cleaned up and into some fresh clothing." Marcus nodded, going to recruit someone to help him. Jade turned to Tara, "Let's get you taken care of too." Tara watched as she healed her arm. "Gideon, there's something about Nick that you don't know," Tara started. Gideon held his hand up, "I know about Nickolas. Get cleaned up and rest for a while, then we'll talk." Tara looked at him shocked, "You knew?" He nodded, "Yes, I've always known. Rest and then I'll explain." Tara stared at him for a moment before leaving the room with Jade. Gideon and Micah walked back into the living room and sat down, looking over the ocean. "Welcome back my friend," Gideon said. Micah smiled, "Thank you. It's good to be home." "Are you ready for what lies ahead?" Gideon asked. Micah nodded, "With Nick leading the way, you bet." Chapter 32 |