Chapter 47: Last Stand

Clara struggled to her feet amidst the ringing in her ears from the hum of the shockwave. Piles of dust and chunks of the old building continued to rain down around them. The ritual was reaching a breaking point. She could feel the tug, the darkness swelling with every second that passed. "Clara!" Thomas's voice cut through the haze, and she saw him a few feet away hauling himself up from the floor. "I'm okay," Clara panted, though her legs were shaking under her body. "We have to stop him. Now." He'd stood at the centre of the ritual circle, attired in black, and raised his arms as the storm of energy whirled around him. A triumphant sheen had lit up in his eyes. Behind him, he could hear members of the secret society chanting in low, menacing voice tones. The symbols on the floor began to shine brighter and pulse with dark power. "We're out of time," Victor said, falling beside her. His face was white; he had a cut above his eyebrow; but he didn't seem to care. "We have to stop the ritual." "But how?" Lucas's voice shook. "He's too powerful!" Clara whirled around, her panic welling in her chest. They were outnumbered and outpowered, and the ritual was already in full sway. But they couldn't give up-not now. "Use your powers," Clara said, running through her mind, "We have prepared for this; we can do it." Thomas nodded and clutched his knife tighter. "You heard her. We gotta give it everything we've got." The others turned in various directions, each to claim space within the degraded building. Clara could feel the tug of the energy from the ritual, pulling at her, trying to draw her into it. She struggled against it-her mind set on the symbols they'd found while studying the scrolls. There had to have been something there that could be used to send it back to him. With a rod held aloft, Victor sent a shimmy through the air. Closing his eyes, Lucas reached with his mind, his hands shaking. Clara watched as bits of debris started to rise in the air. Annie stood ready beside him, striking with quick mind and fleet movements. The man in black saw them; his smile twisted to one far darker. "You're too late," he was echoing into the room. "This power is beyond anything you can imagine." "Maybe," Clara shouted back, "but we're not giving up." With a shriek, Thomas sprang forward, his knife jerked completely on the man in black. But before he could reach him, he felt the wave of energy crash against him and send him backwards into the wall. "Thomas!" Clara shrieked, running to his side. He moaned while a jet of blood ran across his forehead, but he was alive. "You think a few meagre tricks are going to stop me?" he sneered, hands rising once again. "You are but nothing against what I wield." The air was thick with crackling energy, and Clara could feel the weight building up around her. It was almost complete. In mere instants, it would be too late. Then Ella stepped forward, her eyes flashing with some otherworldly light. Quiet, her healing powers are more subtle than the others, only now different. Stronger. Resolute. "I can stop him," she said quietly. Softly. Clara whirled on her. "Ella, no! You'll-" "I don't have a choice," Ella inserted, her eyes fixed in some desperate plea on the figure clad in black. "This is what I was supposed to do. Can't you feel it?" She swatted aside anyone who got in her way, forging right into the middle of the room, right into the whipping energy of the ritual. The man in black's eyes went wide with surprise. "What is it that you're doing?" he asked, the first trace of fear in his voice. She said nothing. Closing her eyes, her hands rose almost slowly as she reached out with her power. The room held its collective breath as a soft glow enveloped her, spreading out, pressing against the dark energy of the ritual. "No!" the man in black exclaimed, but it was too late. Ella's light fought back the dark, and in an instant, every speck in the room was bathed in its blinding brilliance. Clara squeezed her eyes shut tight, heart racing. When finally the light went away, the man in black kneeled on his knees, coughing. Gone was the energy surrounding the ritual. But Ella… Clara's heart clutched as she realized her friend stood shaking in the middle of the room. The light wrapping around her was dying out in huge leaps, and she was white as snow colour had been siphoned from her face. "Ella!" Clara sprinted forward, barely catching her friend as she fell. "I-I did it," Ella whispered, her voice barely audible. "But. It's too much." Clara clasped her close against her, wetting her face with hot tears. "Nein, nein, bleib bei mir. You're going to be alright." But in her heart, Clara knew the bitter truth. Ella had given all to stop the ritual. Her body had given all it could, and nobody could do anything to bring her back. Victor, Lucas, and the rest were around her, their faces wet with grief and shock. "We have to finish this," Victor said, shaking. "We need to finish everything for her." Clara nodded, wiping her face on her shirt. "For her." The man clad in black heaved himself onto his feet, his face screwed up in anger. "You think you won?" he snarled, his voice hoarse. "This isn't over. The darkness is still out there. It has always been there. You can't beat it." Clara leapt to her feet, fists clenched. "We may not have a means of destroying it," she said, in a rock-steady voice. "But we can stop you." The black figure flung himself upon them with a growl; his hands crackled with dark energy. Barely did Clara have time to react before Thomas flung himself in front of her, his knife flashing through the air. The man in black dodged but not fast enough. The blade bit into his side, and backwards he fell in a fumbling stumble, his blood oozing from his robes. "You…," he gasped, clutching at his wound. "You'll regret this… Clara gave him no time to recover. Reaching with her power, she leaned against the remnants of hanging darkness. The others emulated her, and the amassed weight of their strength drove the man in black onto his knees. "This is for Ella," Clara said, her voice low and shaking with emotion. It wasn't until one final surge that they managed to push the man in black back toward the centre of the room, where the floor symbols still glowed faintly. The earth beneath him started to fissure, a dark void opening, sucking him down. His screams still echoed in the room as the darkness fully took him. Then, in one last blaze of light, the void closed, and the room fell silent again. Clara fell to the ground, shaking with exhaustion. It was over. The man in black was gone. The ritual was stopped. But the cost… the cost was just too high. She looked down at Ella's still form, her face streaming with tears. By now, the sun was well up; shafts of gentle light danced over Eldridge Falls. It was quiet in the town, but Clara knew this was only just the beginning. One could never beat the darkness; it had just gone for now. And as she looked out toward the horizon, some feeling of predisposition that something else was to come- something far more dangerous. This was the last stand, but in reality, the real battle had only just begun.