Once everyone had been armored, Leslie looked at Tasia. "Tasia, how do you want us to split up? Best that we cover as much ground as possible."
"Yeah, we want this done fast before someone blows their top." Tasia blew out a breath. "Take care of the 'Wings first. Element to element, as brutal as possible. Theo, for the love of the Goddess, remove the Icewings from my sight."
Theo grinned. "You hold grudges a long time."
"I think I'm entitled!" She shook her head. "As soon as the 'Wings are down, move to the four-legged things. Rhya stays at the back like a good magic-user and shields anyone who needs it. Leslie can move in, but if she bites off more than she can chew, drag her out by the seat of her armor." Her eyes narrowed on both of her princesses. "Do not get in over your heads or Raine and I will tan your hides. Are we clear?"
Alexandria and Sherry shared a sudden and wry grin with Michael and Sam. Gee, that sounded awfully familiar.
Tasia glanced over her shoulder and said, "You don't get to join in this one. Be a good boy and stay here. Striker will stay with you."
"Sure," Rodi said ruefully as Striker landed on his shoulder, "take all the fun for yourself."
She blew him a kiss and then ran forward into the thick of things, Ice and Shadow magic swelling around her body as she went directly on the attack. It distracted many monsters, leaving them more vulnerable to attacks and shields from the others. Those with defensive magic did not need attacking magic to be effective; they just needed really good timing with shields and what other skills they did have.
The Resurrection Cultivators seemed to have things well in hand, so the Rebirth Cultivators moved back to let the younger warriors handle things. Despite their relaxed positions, not a single one of them felt calm. That unease increased two-fold as they watched the Resurrection Cultivators effectively destroy the monsters.
Shana stepped up next to Alexandria. Her eyes were on the form of Tasia as she casually kept a monster at bay for Ryan to destroy. Shana knew her twin better than anyone except Diaz did. She knew from Alexandria's fury that she had been defeated in battle by their True Shadow witch. "Iris," she murmured. "A Lead Defender from Iris, and one claimed by Aria as well. She's very special, for many reasons. And maybe a little frightening for the same ones."
"Terrifying," Alexandria corrected in an unsteady voice. "Shana, you didn't see her when she fought me. I once believed you were unrivaled, but . . . she might match you. If you two ever fought to win . . ."
"I don't ever intend to be her enemy." Shana looked at where Rodi watched the fight, and she had to smile. She could as easily see the Gray core inside him as she could see it inside Tasia. They had been wise to not cross paths with her or Siobhan, because they could never have hidden their Gray from either Apex. She also did not have to touch him to know he had immense majik of his own. It radiated out of his soul to make him even more unfairly handsome.
It also radiated now out of the entire team, and not just Tasia. Those who had hidden or diminished the presence of their majik no longer did so and assuredly had the subtle enhancement that came from doing good deeds . . . even Rachel, Rhya, and Leslie. At the least, it had finally been answered just what made them so very different from the generations before them.
Her eyes drew back to Tasia. No gloom from the lingering rain could dim the radiant glow inside her soul that came out to infuse her flesh. It looked nothing like what existed around the others, and like nothing Shana had ever seen before. Not even from Jean, and certainly the last High Priestess had been remarkable enough.
Tasia turned her head and met her gaze directly, and her eyes moved between caramel and chocolate in her shadows. The swirl of infinite power moved across her pupils. Arcanistry, Shana thought, remembering the term she had used. She could believe very easily this most special person had a power to rival hers and Siobhan's as Apexes. It appeared that Jean had been right after all, as she always had been. Here stood the final direct descendant of the lineage that had begun with Liena Vanguard, and the power had finally reached the point of making evolution mandatory. This was no witch. She was not even a wizard. The infinite majik inside her made her a sorceress. The whole extent of her gifts, Shana did not yet know. She would not know until she touched her.
The symbolism of the Resurrection Cultivators was not lost on her. Liena and Jean had been High Priestesses to the Protea Kingdom, and their shared descendant was technically a Light Defender meant to protect the Delphinium High Princess yet she was visibly the twin soul mate to the Protea High Princess. There were no barriers on this team. They had fully unified as one, symbolic in the crossing of twins, and the family blood between Daffodil and Gladiolus Cultivators.
That proved the most confusing to the Rebirth Cultivators, let alone that three of the Resurrection Defenders before them were male. They were clearly Dual Cultivators across the team, so all were Ruler and Defender alike, but only Rachel, Rhya, and Leslie bore any level of physical resemblance to the previous generation. Had the inbreeding of the power of Blossom truly been so terrible to need a complete reboot? While it felt a little alarming, it also felt a little reassuring. All had been worried about it to some extent or another.
Clara stepped up beside Shana as the fight began to end, and Shana had to smile at her oldest friend. "Someone's kid is too much like her," she teased. "Looks like Rachel actually managed to bring them all back for a Pivot without you even noticing it happening. Feel better for not noticing anything going on?"
"To say the least!" She smiled. "And I should not be as happy as I am to be so effectively blocked, but maybe that's just because it confirms my decision that ended the first Pivot with Rachel was the right one."
The field had been cleared, so the Resurrection Cultivators approached the ones of Rebirth. Everyone wearing Masks pulled them off and returned them to their jewelry where they belonged. The rain had begun to diminish as well, and the gloom lifted. "To be fair," Leslie said, "it wasn't just Rachel's Memory magic. It was Tasia's use of Memory majik that helped. And her and Rhya together using Illusion majik is what kept any of you from seeing and sensing . . . things."
That majik faded suddenly and colored locks of hair swept down the front of seven of the Resurrection Cultivators. Purple ombre and yellow to Tasia; orange and yellow to Theo; red and gold to Beth; yellow and green to Storm; peach and copper to Raine; blue and white to Emily; and ultramarine and purple to Ryan. The two colors of the flower of their Mother worlds, as effective a mark on them as the actual Flower Marks all ten wore. In removing the blockage hiding their streaks, the blockage hiding their Seeds and magic from being sensed also lifted, making it beyond obvious their Dual Cultivator standing.
Shana lifted a brow slowly at Rodi, and he smiled wryly. "Deactivated. Long story."
She smiled just as wryly. "Kid, it's never not a long story. And this isn't the place for a meeting, as much as we would like all of our answers right now. Let's go to the normal place and talk things over there. Cultivators, grab a Caretaker to transport them." She could not stop a laugh as half the Resurrection team grabbed Rodi. "Are you sure you're just a Caretaker? I begin to wonder if we should call you a Gardener if you're running herd on all of them."
Tasia snorted. Hard. "That is more accurate than you know."
Transport magic activated by those who had it, and all landed safely in the backyard of the Castlera house. The Elder generation found whatever available place they could to sit or stand, after Emily helpfully used Air majik to dry off the area. Thanks to the ebbing rain, no one was fully soaked other than Alexandria whose temper had marched her into the middle of the downpour. Muttering the entire time, she accepted a towel from Sam and rubbed it violently over her blue hair.
The Resurrection Cultivators then stood across from them, close enough together that it was clear they were united internally and externally. They also seemed to deliberately mix who they stood beside, further blurring the edges.
"Okay," Siobhan said. "Explain how this happened. Now that we know what we're looking at, we know those colored locks mean you were not found before age twenty-one. Are any of you related by blood to any of us?"
"Only Leslie and I are," Rhya offered. "Like Rachel, everyone else was adopted." She linked her hands behind her back. "To get us all on the same page, everyone's names are Anastasia and Rodi Aria, Theo Mallory, Beth Jackson, Storm Peacer, Raine Fujisawa, Emily Hyacinth, and Ryan Orchid. Yeah, Em and Tasia lied about their last names. Or rather, used old last names as a cover."
A hint of bitterness could not be hidden from Tasia's mystical voice as she said, "Destiny was in a meddling mood when she arranged our lives. We were not born to you, and yet we could have been. We are so much like you that we could be your children in all ways except in physical appearance. She wanted the millions of years lineages to end to bring in fresh blood, and what better way than to arrange it in this manner? I will never have a daughter of blood, and my soul mate is intergalactic; I was the perfect choice to start the change. Whatever she truly wants from me, I don't yet know, but she made damned sure she would get it."
Shana got to her feet and walked down the path to her. They stood eye to eye with only an inch separating their heights. A silver necklace burnished by age hung around Tasia's neck, and the pendant dangling from it was achingly familiar to Shana. She softly touched the silver dragon blowing flames and felt the power throbbing inside. She was one of only four people who could touch the dragon without receiving a painful warning shock. "Anastasia Aria. So that's it. That's what we kept not remembering. Liena Vanguard came to Protea as Liena Aria, and I think she said her mother's name was Anastasia. The start has circled around to the end. You are the last in her direct line."
"Yes." Tasia covered her hand softly. "We're kindred spirits, Shana. They say that everyone will meet someone just like them. That everyone has someone who has experienced similar events and been shaped into a similar form. I'm yours."
Shana looked into Tasia's eyes and saw where she had forcefully shattered her own soul in order to reforge herself. Their eyes met and held, and she understood the reality of Tasia's presence. Understood what lay still sleeping deep, deep under the surface. Her heart lifted with joy as she realized that someday she would truly be free. "Thank you," she said so softly only Tasia heard her.
"You never need to thank someone for loving you," Tasia countered just as softly.
"Alright, Tasia," Alexandria accused, "you said you were not a witch and yet you're Liena's descendant?"
"I'm not." She turned to look at the team as a whole. "I am not a witch, in the same way neither Liena nor Jean ever truly were, but in a way more as well." Her voice was simple. "I had no choice but to evolve for it was needed of me. Needed of me to fill my role in existence." Her eyes closed. "I was not born Gray. The Light and Dark inside me fought for possession of my soul. I shattered my soul, forced them to fuse, and I remade myself as a Gray Sorceress."
Leslie moved forward without conscious thought and wrapped her arms tightly around Tasia's waist. She had seen the shattering, had been forced to watch as her most important person tore herself to shreds. Whenever she remembered it, she needed to hold on and be reminded they were together and intact. "It was hard for all of us," she admitted, "and we all went close to the edge of insanity. Tasia got there faster and harder than the rest of us. Destiny wanted her to fix mistakes of the past in order to ensure the future."
"It had to do with Aria, I assume?" Desiree asked quietly.
Rodi nodded. "It's very long and complicated. The short version is that I was the Ruler Cultivator of Aria, and the third direct descendant of my own lineage called a True Born. Tasia and I are . . . bound. In some complex ways we don't understand ourselves. Aria has literally claimed Tasia as her Defender Cultivator, and befriended Iris along the way. So Tasia is in possession of magic as a Defender that crosses both Ice and True Shadow. I Deactivated my Seed and Activated my sister, and that allowed me to stay with Tasia where she was needed most. Because Tasia and I will be taking the last name of Iris when we take the throne, we decided to use Aria as our last name until then, so we can honor both of her Mothers born and adopted."
"So you fixed all of the mistakes?" Virginia asked.
"Yes," Tasia said quietly. "But I didn't fix it for those who made them, I fixed it for me. For what I wanted. I have no pride left."
Doug saw pain in her eyes and every paternal instinct stirred. "Tell us more about being a sorceress," he suggested strongly, and ignored the grinning look Edgar and Rocky shot at him. Damned if he would let his daughter remember something that painful. He did not care she had been adopted, honestly. She belonged to him and Yvonne in all important ways.
Tasia smiled. "A sorceress is as high as can be reached as someone with majik, and my majik is in fact infinite. Actually, so is my magic. I have other gifts on top of it not unlike the two Apexes, so where they have arcanery as the blend of magic and more, I have arcanistry as a blend of magic, majik, and more. I don't even know my own scope, really, especially since I'm not an Apex."
"We don't know ours either," Siobhan assured her on a grin. "And we are Apexes."
"That's oddly reassuring." Tasia shook her head. Some things never changed. "Anyway, where normally a witch or wizard would name off their core, their chosen elements, and their chosen skills, it's actually just easier for me to say what I don't have. Which is a lone Flower Element I sort of would rather not have. I have all other Flower Elements in existence—though Light and Dark merged into True Shadow—and even Memory as was mentioned. I also possess all skills that fit under witchcraft or outside that category. My brain runs . . . high octane."
"Which is actually why Rodi came along," Raine admitted. "Tasia doesn't sleep if he's not near. Literally doesn't. She can't. But because Aria's flower is the black poppy, Rodi can bring Tasia real rest. Actually, everything about Aria is about rest and magic and protection, so inevitably we've all ended up napping on his shoulder."
"Gardener," Shana told Rodi solemnly.
He snorted. "No kidding."
Uwe cleared his throat. "Alright, so this making more sense than we all worried it would. Let's talk about the enemy we're facing instead."
"What'dya mean ‘you're facing'? He's our enemy!" Emily crossed her arms. "You guys couldn't even handle his mini-minions!"
"Lack of knowledge, not lack of ability," was Alexandria's retort. "Don't pick a fight, Emily Hyacinth!"
"Why not?" Shana tossed over her shoulder. "You do. Serves you right to get a daughter just like you!" She grinned at Diaz. "I would say I feel sorry for you, but I think you're probably the happiest about it! You'll have fun watching them lose their tempers before casually just defusing them."
"What can I say?" he countered innocently. "If you're going to have a temperamental and headstrong Air Flower Element of Hyacinth in your life, it's better to be amused than alarmed when they get going. Besides, I know my girls. I can make them stop being mad in like five seconds."
"You cannot do that!" Emily glared at him. "It takes you ten seconds to make me stop being mad." He hopped up, walked over, and firmly hugged her tight. She blinked, sighed, and then her shoulders dropped. "Okay, fine. Five seconds." She spontaneously kissed his cheek, and grinned when he boggled at her. "Got you."
Kellie started laughing as Diaz returned to his spot. "Oh, gods, if this is what we're in for with kids just like us and our mates, the next Era is going to be ridiculous and fun and probably terrifying in the best of ways. Destiny only rebooted the actual blood and power; personalities clearly stayed as-is! I guess she likes what she got there."
"To be fair," Raine agreed on a grin, "most do. We got the best of all our parents, be it by blood or soul." She held up a finger. "And you guys don't have to sit idly by of course."
"We can have some fun too?" Shana teased.
"Fun, she says!" Siobhan groaned as she dropped her head onto her knees.
"You two are far too much alike!" Ryan scolded Tasia and Shana equally.
Tasia grinned. "The enemy is named Alloran Aria, and yeah, as that implies, there's a relation. He and Rodi are first cousins. He . . . well, let's just say he'll have a hard time attacking me. It's another long story, and one I don't want to tell." Ruefully she added, "Possibly the only one I never will. Just let us handle him, and you can play with his monsters all you want if they come your way. Just go in for the hardest and most brutal kills you can. Magikry might be most effective, but they don't like weapons any more than any other creature does."
The meeting disbanded shortly thereafter and the Resurrection Cultivators headed back to the large house they had rented together. The Elder Cultivators stayed together for a bit longer as thoughts churned in their minds. Leslie had flat out said her team had gone to the edge of insanity and come back, therefore all of the Resurrection Cultivators very probably had pure Life Orbs as well. Directly attacking them sounded dangerous, but if Alloran didn't know who they were . . . it could get much uglier.
"It's still a trip," Rocky murmured. "Jean and Byron's descendant is a Mystic. Two Virtuosos managed the one in a billion chance of having a Mystic born to their lineage."
"Destiny probably hedged those odds," Doug told him dryly. "But you can imagine how much more awe I and Sherry feel because we're Shamans."
"Mystic! Oh!" Virginia's eyes widened. "I just remembered! Beth and Emily gave me a music disc to listen to. They said it was two of their friends. The name on it said 'A. Martine', so I'm going to assume it has to be at least Tasia, and I'd hazard probably Theo with her if he's as much like his mother as everyone else seems to be." She dug in her bag until she found the disc.
Clara disappeared inside the house and then returned with an audiobox device that could access and play music from discs or broadcast stations. Virginia popped in the disc and they all waited impatiently as it was read. It clicked over and haunting music began to pour out with the sound of drums and woodwinds. It made everyone think of bonfires and majik and rituals cast at night. The music itself evoked power and took them all far away. Even Chance was caught by the melody, and he moved closer almost unconsciously.
Tasia's mystical voice emerged as part of the music, and chills went down the backs of those who listened. "She's so very deliberately made. More than even Shana was," Doug murmured softly. "The Resurrection Era Lead Defender, descended of a witch and a Defender, is a Gray Sorceress in possession of both arcanistry and a Mystic soul. Her presence was no accident."
"Shh!" Juliet elbowed him. "I want to hear!"
Nature comes and brings down the sun
Hear my call and answer the prayer of my heart
Air comes and lifts us up with power
Hear my calling
Summon Thunder and electrify our hearts
Come courage, and embrace us tightly
Summon Ice and soothe fevered dreams
Come majik, and bring us blessings
Illusion comes and fills the days with calm
Hear my call and answer the dreams of my soul
Fire comes and burns away the pain
Hear my calling
Summon Metal, and give us a new rebirth
Come courage, and bolster our hearts
Summon Glass, and quell our solitude
Come majik, and answer our lonely hearts
Summon Memory, and make the new path
Come courage, and strengthen our minds
Summon Water, and wash away the lost dreams
Come majik, and hold us close to you as we summon
The evening after the rain looked too lovely to be spent cooped up inside. Tasia and Rodi snuck away from their friends to walk together through town, and the Resurrection Cultivators let them go with smiles. Striker would have normally let them be alone as well, but something in the air bothered him so he followed along behind his mistress.
Fighting monsters could be murder on the appetite. The destined couple grabbed burgers from a take-out restaurant and happily munched on them as they wandered through a small park. It was quiet and empty and perfect for two who did not want the company of anyone but each other.
Tasia sat down on one of the swings and rocked it lightly with a foot. Rodi came up behind her and looked down into her face. She was the first thing he saw when he woke, and the last thing he saw when he slept. There could be no more perfect world for him than the one she had made for him. "What are you thinking?" he asked softly.
"You're not looking?"
"I'm too busy admiring my beautiful lover."
Her lips curved as she leaned back against him. "I was just wondering what they'll think when they hear the song. Even our friends didn't fully understand what it meant. Theo did, I think, and I know that Storm did. Our youngest pattern master figured it out not long after I did."
"If they don't, they'll understand it later," he soothed. He lifted her up from the swing and into his arms where he swung her around in a slow circle. "Don't worry so much." He slowly lowered her to her feet but kept her body close. He bent his head to tenderly kiss her and savored the way she always tasted like a perfect blend of chocolate and marshmallow. He lifted his head slightly and murmured huskily, "Seeing you in the light of the stars goes right to my head. A different sort of madness."
Her eyes shimmered and glowed with emotions as infinite as her power. "Kiss me again. It might make it better."
His lips lightly touched hers, and they both suddenly felt the distinct sensation of danger as a warning down their souls, and boiling in Tasia's blood as well. Tasia felt it sharper than Rodi did, meaning it aimed for her Caretaker and not herself, but they both knew they stood equally in the line of fire. He shoved her sharply to the side, wanting to remove her from danger, but she wasn't having any of it. She grabbed his wrist and yanked just as hard, swinging them both around, so that she landed directly in the way just as a blast shot through the air. It slammed into her unprotected back and the recoil that washed around her body sent Rodi flying across the ground. The blast sank into her back and shoved out through the front, and it brought with it an immense Life Orb of such brilliance that it rendered both Rodi and Alloran speechless.
And when the villain saw just who he had attacked, his roar of fury and pain echoed across the sky. This was not at all what he had wanted!
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
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