Mary

First, I felt the pain of the knife cutting through my neck; then, I felt the blood dripping down my chest, soaking into the clothing I was wearing. Finally, I felt the burning sensation; it started in my toes; I could feel the fire scorching my skin, the skin peeling away from my bones as the fire devoured my body; I could feel my body vanishing away into nothingness. I heard the crackling of the fire as it turned me into ashes.

I could feel the presence of someone else in the room before I registered that she was hollering for the Alpha, letting him know the deed was done. I could hear the sounds of anguish coming from a man whose screams sounded like his heart had been ripped from his body; he sounded like his entire world was being torn about. Something inside me urged me to go and find him, and I found my soul drifting out of the room I'd died in, heading toward the man whose own soul was on the verge of shattering.

The man whose sorrow called to me had fallen onto his knees, his head was bowed down, and he looked like he was praying to the Gods. Another man was standing in the room; I could sense the darkness coming from him. He had his hand inside the other man's chest cavity, and he looked like at any minute know he was going to snuff out his light, but instead, he laughed, ripping his hand from the man's chest before knocking him over by pushing his foot into the grieving man's chest.

"This is far better than killing you, Nikolai; watching you grieve forever over something you won't ever get back is a far greater reward than crushing your heart with my bare hands."

Hearing the man's name, Nikolai, made my chest flutter, or whatever it was that kept a soul alive. I felt like we were connected in some way. I reached out to touch him, my soul wanting to touch his the closer I got, but I pulled back when he looked up, his eyes filled with hope. I couldn't be the one to give him what he sought.

I ached for his touch as I pulled away, but I couldn't cause that man any more sorrow than what he was going through. I left the grieving man with the one filled with darkness. I headed for the front door, not bothering to open it as I passed through. The sight in front of me was unexpected. There was nothing but a whirlwind of disorder and violence, a blur of color and vicious motion. Blood splattered the floors and rained from the sky; sounds of pain, anguish, and exhaustion echoed in the air. Tattered souls drifted in the sky, lives that had been lost too soon, no longer knowing where they belonged. I walked through the masses, feeling myself being drawn to the center of the battlefield.

There were bodies everywhere, strown in a circle surrounding a man, whose body looked battered and bruised. The man on his knees was cradling the head of a beautiful woman with long curly jet black hair and golden skin. Her eyes were closed, and she looked peaceful; one would have thought she was sleeping if it weren't for the gaping hole in her chest. The man held her like one would a lover as he caressed her face and begged her to come back to him. He made endless promises about how he would lead a better life and give her everything her heart desired, but it was too late. His lover had already left this plane. His promises meant nothing to the empty corpses he was whispering them to. I wanted once again to reach out to this man and tell him that everything would be okay, but how could I do that when everything wasn't okay when he'd lost the most precious thing to him just a few moments ago. Instead, I passed by the lovers and drifted off, a faint magical aura calling me over.

"Mary," A soft masculine voice whispered, coming from a fae whose light was slowly dimming, "I'm so sorry, Mary. I never meant for this to happen. If I'd known this would be the outcome, I would let Nikolai come for you immediately; at least then, you would've still had a fighting chance."

I wanted to tell the man that he was forgiven, that he shouldn't blame himself for this outcome, that it was fated to happen this way, but who was I to forgive him. I passed by the fae; our magic mingled as I walked by, "Mary?" He whispered, looking all around him.

I wanted to tell Ambrose not to worry as I walked by, but I kept the words inside me as I wondered who this Ambrose character was and why I wanted to call the fae man by that name.

There was a loud crashing noise as a gigantic beast came crashing through the sky, breaking branches on needles as the beast propelled to the ground. Once again, I felt myself drifting to the creature who'd fallen from the sky. By the time I reached the spot where he'd landed, the gigantic beast had shifted into his human form; a naked young man lay there instead.

"Mary," the young man whispered each word he formed, causing him to wince in pain as he grabbed his chest, trying to sit up. "Mary." He called out again, staring straight at me.

Could he see me? I pointed at myself and tilted my head sideways, looking straight at him, waiting to see if he responded.

"Yes, you. Mary, please." The young man pleaded, his eyes begging me to come near.

I hesitantly walked toward him, knowing that there wasn't much else he could do to harm me; I was just a soul drifting along, waiting to pass on.

"Mary." The man spoke, his voice barely above a whisper as he reached up and took my hand into his, a strange spark of energy rushing from him into me. "Mary, it's time. You need to wake up. You need to rise from the ashes. You need to purify the world."

What did he mean by rising from the ashes? And how could I wake up if I was already dead?

I looked at him questioningly, figuring out what he was saying. Why must the only person who can see me speak in riddles?

"Mary!" He whispered harshly, grabbing my attention once more as he wrapped his arm around his chest, gasping from the amount of pain he was in. "Your loved ones are dying. Nikolai felt you die; he's given up all hope. He will lose his humanity if you don't come back to him. Nevaeh died trying to protect Kade; her death will be for naught if you don't end this war. And Ambrose made the ultimate sacrifice by betraying his best friend for the good of the people. He sacrificed his magic to slow down time enough for us to have this conversation. And I, I'm using the last of my life force to speak with you. I could have stayed in my dragon form and recovered from my wounds, but that wasn't my destiny. My destiny is to direct you along the right path." He took a heavy breath, one that I thought would be his last, but he spoke once more, "and Mary, Anya is waiting for you. Your sister is alive."

Anya, my sister, why did that name and those words mean so much to me? The man smiled up at me, taking my hand in his, using the last of his life force as he reassured me that everything would be okay and that the world was moving in the right direction. I felt them glistening on my cheeks before I realized what was happening. I was crying. I was crying over the corruption and chaos that was happening. I was crying over the younger lover who held his female in his arms, I was crying over the fae whose magic was slowly disappearing, and I was crying for the man who had lost the will to keep leaving, who was losing touch with his humanity. I cried for the girl who would never reunite with her sister, and I cried for the world. I cried and cried and cried until there were no tears left in my body.

Then I felt it again, the burning sensation rushing through my body, but I didn't give in to it this time. I fought against it instead. I clung to whatever I could feel beside me, my nails gripping into a soft fabric as I clawed through the burning ashes. I pulled my body from the raging inferno before collapsing onto my knees, feeling the soft carpeted floor beneath me, and then all my memories came flooding back to me. The witch Baba Yaga slicing across my neck with a dull blade, Ash's arm stuck in Nikolai's chest, Kade holding Nevaeh as she lay dead in his arms, Ambrose's light slowly fading from his body, and dear Dru once again sacrificing himself for the good of humanity. I couldn't; no, I wouldn't let this be our future. I wouldn't let the darkness snuff out the light.

Today a miracle happened. A Phoenix had risen from the ashes, and I would purify the world once more.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

***The end is near, do you think your favorite charcters will make it out alive?***