Chapter 27

Chapter 27
Merlot
Merlot watched from his spot next to Margo’s rooting location as Rose paced in front of their family anxiously. Everybody was present. Even the current royal trio, their mates, and their friends were there. Nobody had ever seen Rose so upset before. Her face had rough trails of raw skin down her cheeks where she had wiped too many tears away, which didn’t matter in the slightest because she still had some coursing down her face. Her eyes, along with her nose, were red and swollen from being rubbed. Her bottom lip quivered, and she wrung her hands in front of her body. She was inconsolable. Her mates, parents, Aunt Kalani, and Emily had all tried. She refused to tell anyone what was going on. Whatever it was, she felt like she had to shoulder it alone. No amount of reassurance had gotten her to change her mind.
Aiden Junior wrapped his arm around Rose’s waist. “What’s going on, baby? Talk to us. We all have your back,” he murmured softly to her.
She took a deep breath. “I know why the twins were moved. Jackson and Yuri are powerful species that they didn’t want us to get a hold of. We already have most of their creations here with us. I want to warn you that even though so far it has been easy to convince and turn your mates, these last four are not shifters.”
“Then what are they?”
“One of them is a giant. They can grow until they are over 30 feet tall, and they are impervious to our magic. Another one is a Light Beam. For those of you who are unaware of what Light Beams are, they are a special type of Cyclops. These Cyclops hoard attack energy. Whatever you hit them with, their bodies will hold onto it until they send it back at you. One is what we call a Mime. They are a special demon whose entire purpose in life is to confuse their enemies. They will go into your mind and pull images out of the people you love. They can appear to be the person or put the image on someone else. The key to fighting against that one will be to use all of your senses.”
Yola frowned at her. “And the last one?”
Rose took each of her mates’ hands. “The last one is Torva Messor.”
Her words hung in the air between all of them. Torva Messor. The true Bringer of Death, also known as the Grim Reaper in human folklore. Their touch alone was enough to take someone’s life. It was a terrifying thought. Merlot knew everyone had the same thought. If there was a Torva Messor, their chances of winning were almost gone. He glanced around at his family, also knowing that every single one of them would go fearlessly into whatever battle was coming their way. They had never backed down before, and they weren’t about to start now. This wasn’t just for their family. It was for every living species and soul on Earth. If they didn’t try, it was a guarantee that life, as they knew it, would cease.
“Do we even have a chance?” Gary asked defeatedly.
Shadow stood up, nodding. “There is a reason they were rescued in the order they were.” She took Nalani’s hand. “Nalani and Link’s are the original poisons and are the only two that are immune to both their own and each others’ poisons. Even the Light Beam is affected by them. They will absorb their poisons, but the longer it sits in their system, waiting to be spit back out, the weaker it will become. We will each have to be injected with their antidotes before we go to battle.” She smiled at Bea. “Your scales are impenetrable. Anything the Light Beam throws back, you can deflect. You three will be the team to bring the Light Beam down safely. Their mate will join you to ensure they are not harmed. Once down, you will need to provide them with the antidotes.”
She took Jenna’s hand while she turned her gaze to Joel. “Jenna is magic’s origin. She’s the only one who can affect the giant. The only problem is getting them to stay long enough for her to get them under control. That’s where you come in, Joel. You can focus your song on them, holding them in a trance long enough for Jenna to work her magic. Pun intended.”
“I haven’t even shifted yet,” Jenna whimpered.
“No, you haven’t, but the magic inside of you is still there. Joyce will help you channel and direct it.” She paused to think for a moment before shaking her head. “For the Mime, we have Minton and Jordan. Jordan can turn the Mime’s tricks back on themselves, while Minton’s bat can shatter the illusions with his echolocation. Of course, all the teams will have their own mates and the mates of the person they are trying to control.”
Merlot stood up as dread made a heavy stone settle into the pit of his stomach. “And for the Torva Messor?”
She walked over to touch Margo’s shoulder while Merlot growled warningly at her. The spot she touched Margo on erupted in sweet-smelling flowers that helped everyone relax.
“She is the key. For every death in the world, a new life is created. Souls are never destroyed. They are simply recycled. That’s all second-chance mates are. A mate from a past life.”
“And what about you, Kennedy, Easel, and Gary?” He growled. “What is your purpose?”
She smiled at him with a touch of pride on her face. “We are not meant to be in this battle. We are meant to handle the aftermath. There will be so much to fix after.”
“So, if the new old species are supposed to fight this out amongst themselves, what do the rest of us do?”
“We fight the others. There are 3 million other soldiers. Demons, witches, dragons, humans, wolves, and other shifters. We need to keep them away from our people while they disable the last four.”
Merlot glared at Shadow. “Hold up. Rewind. How is Margo supposed to handle the Torva Messor by herself?”
Before Shadow could answer, millions of thin vines branched off of Margo’s body, diving under the ground only to come back up a few inches later. Shadow began whispering, making Rose lunge for her as she shot a spell toward Margo. Aiden Junior caught Rose around the waist, pulling her out of the path of the killing spell that had been fired at Margo. It hit Margo and was absorbed instantly. Margo’s body began to turn gray, and Merlot jumped up as his chest exploded in pain. Everybody watched as Margo’s body began to turn to ash, blowing away on the wind. Suddenly, what was left of her body was cocooned in a vibrant white plant that came up out of the ground.
Everyone watched as it started to glow yellow. A high-pitched hum filled the air, and Shadow began to throw even more killing spells at the plant. Several more vines came out to wrap around Shadow tightly, keeping her from casting any more spells. Everyone waited anxiously for the plant to open back up.
When it did, Margo lay cradled inside it, with so many tendrils connecting her to it that she was barely even visible. Once opened, the tendrils went back into Margo’s body as the plant that had wrapped her up started to decay rapidly, leaving a usually green Margo, a gorgeous blue-hued white. Margo’s plant-self rerooted into the ground as she straightened up, lifting her face back to the sky. The vines that wrapped around Shadow let her go, and she sank to her knees, panting.
“Margo is the only true immortal among us. She has infinite lives. She is truly a miracle.”
Merlot rushed over to Margo, pulling his shirt off. As soon as he got within a few feet of her, her tendrils shot out to attach to his skin, pulling him closer to her in a hurry. He wrapped his arms around her, marveling at the softness of her plant as she relaxed slightly back against him. He turned his head to glare at Shadow.
“Don’t ever fucking do that again,” he growled.
She shrugged. “You don’t scare me for one. For two, I like Margo. I would never really hurt her.”
Jay cleared his throat as he tugged Rika onto his lap. “What about Rika?”
“Ah, yes, the one that nobody knew was connected to the Diablo line. Rika is a harpy. Harpies were used as healers during wars. As long as they had feathers, they were useful. As soon as their feathers were gone, they died.” She held up her hand to stop Jay’s response. “Her feathers will regrow. It will take time, but they will regrow. Rika, all you have to do to heal someone is to pluck a feather. Each feather contains a special type of oil that will immediately heal any wound, even if it’s fatal. If you can get to the person fast enough, you can save them. Jay, you will have to protect her. The enemy will try to capture her for their side. They will steal all of her feathers until they are all gone. We have to be extremely careful. We do not want to lose any of our people.”
Merlot kissed the back of Margo’s plant. “When Margo is done rooting, we will leave.”
Sasha stood up with a determined look on her face. She looked around at her family before thrusting her hand in the air.
“TEAM SOMA!”
Raven, Sherri, Melissa, Ana, and Kalani all threw their hands up, followed by everyone else who knew what was coming.
“TEAM MOTHERFUCKING SOMA!”