85 - The Darkest Hour

Maia had finally remembered her past life.  This was what her dreams had been trying to warn her of all along!  But as the whistling of the magical star that Kadru had called down—no mere meteor, Maia now realized—grew to a thunderous roar, she knew that her recollection had come far too late. 

But suddenly, before the star struck the earth, Maia found herself toppling over.  Diana had leaped against Maia’s frozen form, knocking her out of the path of the shooting star and sending her crashing to the brick pavement.

The ice that encased her body shattered on impact, and the freezing spell was broken along with it.

Instinct took over and Maia got up and ran.  After stumbling several yards she looked back as she remembered her pet.  “Diana!” She screamed.

The falling star landed and exploded on impact.

But Diana performed another mighty leap and hurtled away from the billowing flames.

The cat tumbled to the ground awkwardly, but she had escaped the fires and scrambled up again, albeit with a slight limp.

Knowing Diana was safe relieved Maia, but adrenaline still pumped through her veins. She could run from Kadru as she had in the past, or she could try to end this vicious cycle somehow.  But where was the Serpent Mistress now?

There! She was near the mausoleum, hovering above the ground in some sort of trance. Now was the best time to make an attempt to stop her, once and for all.  Kadru might be immortal, but one thing Maia remembered from the lesson the Biomancer Paguk gave her and their alien daughters in Moonlight Falls was that Iblisans still could be killed!

Slowly Maia crept up on the heedless Iblisan, fire poker in hand; unaware of what was slithering up behind her.

When she heard an abrupt yowl from Diana, Maia looked back and saw the cat fighting an enormous snake, distracting it and saving Maia yet again.

But this snake was far larger than the others had been. And Diana was old, and exhausted from the many battles she had fought that night...

Diana fell once again and the snake lunged at her, striking again and again as it wrapped its coils around her.

Furious, Maia rushed the snake and bashed it and stabbed it with the fire poker until it was dead.

But she hadn't been fast enough, and Diana hadn’t gotten back to her feet this time.  The cat lay silent and still.

“Diana!”  Maia sobbed, dropping to her knees to stroke the lifeless body of the heroic familiar. Her pet had saved her—so many times!—but Maia hadn’t been able to do the same for her beloved Diana when the cat had needed her most.

Maia was so distraught she hadn't realized the Grim Reaper had arrived until she heard his voice. 

“Come along, little brave one,” he murmured as he snuggled the cat. Then he opened a portal, and Diana moved on to the afterlife.

But Grim stayed.  “I’m so sorry, Maia,” he said and as he tried to comfort her.

“Well, isn’t this a touching sight!” a voice called out mockingly. 

Kadru!  In her grief over the loss of Diana, Maia had temporarily forgotten about the Iblisan. But now her face twisted with rage and she snarled, “Your snake killed my cat, you bitch!”

“Do you have any idea of how many of my snakes were killed by your familiar? I simply went into a trance and helped put an end to that,” Kadru said with a careless shrug. “But it seems a dead cat means a visit from the Reaper!” Kadru turned to face Grim. “It’s so lovely of you to join our little reunion... Samael.”

“Samael?” Maia said in a small, stunned voice as she turned to stare wide-eyed at Grim.

“You hadn’t told her yet?” Kadru laughed.  “Naturally you didn’t, just like in the past you never mentioned to her that you fathered my son. Some things never change! You see, Maia? Even after all these centuries this man is still keeping secrets from you!  I’ll bet he never told you about the prophecy or his part in it either.  You’re such a trusting little fool!”

“I may not know everything, but I know Sam loves me!  I remember that much and I’ve seen it for myself!”  Maia said, but her voice wavered. For until this moment she hadn’t known Samael was the Grim Reaper, and she’d found out about the prophecy from her mother, not from Grim... Samael... himself.  What else had he not told her? 

Samael pulled Maia aside and leaned in close to whisper into her ear.  “I wish I could’ve told you everything from the beginning—about us, Kadru, Reid, the prophecy—all of it. I’ve been waiting for a death to occur near since you woke me with your wish so I can tell you these things, and when I saw you tonight I was sure I’d finally gotten the chance I needed.  But I can only linger in the overworld for a limited time as the Reaper, and I didn’t expect to find Kadru here with you,” he said in a low voice. “She needs to be destroyed while we still have the chance; that’s the most important thing right now, and this opportunity may never come again. Do you trust me?”

Maia hesitated, but only for a moment. “Yes,” she hissed, her anger returning as she pulled away from Samael to glare at Kadru.  “She needs to pay for all the vile things she’s done! My spells don’t affect her, but maybe your magic can put an end to her!”

“Samael’s powers cannot harm me,” the Iblisan laughed scornfully. “Biomancer magic focuses on creation, not destruction. Samael will return to skulking in the underworld as the Reaper, surrounded by a multitude of souls while he searches for his own! And you, Maia, will go back to the burning star that’s waiting here for you! The last lines of my prophecy will come true, and after I gain absolute dominion over this world, other worlds shall fall as well. And there’s nothing either of you can do to stop me!”

“You’re right, Kadru,” Samael answered calmly as he faced the Iblisan. “We can’t.”

And then the Reaper stretched forth his arms, splaying the fingers of both hands as he uttered a string of sinister phrases in a guttural tone that filled Maia with dread, although the words were spoken in a language she had never heard before.

“You fool!” shouted Kadru, as her eyes widened in fear. “What have you done??”

The very earth shuddered in response as a long-held barrier was shattered far beneath the surface, creating a fissure that bisected the cemetery and drained away the spring-fed pond that had been there only moments before.

Amid a chorus of groans, a legion of undead began to rise from the chasm that had breached the deepest pits of the underworld...

Sudden understanding filled Maia and she shrieked in horror. “Samael! NOOOOOO!”