CHAPTER 56: Breaking Point

CHAPTER 56: Breaking Point

Georgia's POV
I threw clothes into a bag while Jared lay asleep on the bed.
"We're leaving," I told my children for the third time. "Right now. Before anything else happens."
"But Mama," Emma said, clutching her stuffed bear, "Papa needs us."
"Papa," I said angrily, "is apparently the son of the First Evil. He's going to turn into a monster and kill us all. So yes, we're going."
Oracle Mira stood in the hallway, blocking our exit. "Georgia, you can't run from this."
"Watch me," I snapped, throwing more clothes into the bag.
Shadow suddenly grabbed my hand. "Mom, stop. Something's wrong with Aunt Serefina."
"I don't care about your aunt," I said. "She's not our problem anymore."
"No, listen!" Shadow insisted. "There's something evil attached to her. Something feeding on her anger. And it's coming this way."
I froze. "What do you mean?"
Before Shadow could answer, the door burst open.
Serefina stumbled in, her eyes wild. Behind her, I could see something—a shadow with red eyes and too many teeth.
"Georgia," Serefina gasped. "Help me. Please."
I stared at my sister. The same sister who'd pushed Kelvin down the stairs. Who'd tried to steal Jared. Who'd made my life hellish.
"Why should I help you?" I asked coldly.
"Because it's going to kill me!" Serefina screamed. "And then it's going to kill all of you!"
The ghost thing laughed. "She's right. But I'm going to have so much fun first."
Oracle Mira started chanting a defense spell, but the shadow thing moved faster. It wrapped around Serefina like a snake.
"No!" Serefina clawed at her own skin. "Get it off! Get it off!"
My children screamed and hid behind me.
I should have felt happy seeing Serefina hurt. She'd hurt my son. She'd tried to ruin my life.
But all I felt was sick.
"Oracle Mira, do something!" I yelled.
"I can't!" Oracle Mira said. "It's too strong! It's been feeding on her negative feelings for weeks. It's too strong now!"
The dark thing squeezed tighter around Serefina. She couldn't breathe.
"Please," she choked out, looking at me. "Sister... please..."
I grabbed a lamp and threw it at the shadow thing. It passed right through.
"You can't hurt me with normal weapons," the shadow thing said. "Only love can beat me. And there's no love in this room for Serefina, is there?"
It was right. Nobody loved Serefina. Not even me. Especially not me.
"Mom," Shadow said quietly. "We have to help her."
"Why?" I asked. "After everything she's done?"
"Because we're not like her," Shadow said. "We're better."
I looked at my six-year-old son. When had he become so wise?
"Fine," I said. "But I'm doing this for you kids. Not for her."
I walked toward Serefina, even though every part of me wanted to run away.
"What are you doing?" the dark thing hissed. "You hate her. I can feel it."
"I do hate her," I admitted. "But she's still my sister. And I won't let you kill her."
I reached out and grabbed Serefina's hand.
The shadow thing screamed and pulled back. "No! Your hands—they burn!"
I looked down. My hands were shining with a soft golden light. Just like my children's magic.
"How?" I spoke softly.
"You're a Guardian too," Oracle Mira breathed. "You just never knew it. It was hidden. Dormant. Until now."
The shadow thing released Serefina and lunged at me instead.
I raised my glowing hands and pushed. Golden light exploded from my hands, hitting the shadow thing square in its chest.
It screamed—a horrible sound that made my ears ring—and then it vanished.
Silence.
Serefina fell on the floor, gasping for air. I stood there, looking at my hands.
"I have powers," I said numbly. "I have actual powers."
"That's impossible," Oracle Mira said. "Both your parents were normal dogs. There's no Guardian blood in your family line. I checked years ago."
"Then how?" I asked.
"I don't know," Oracle Mira revealed. "Unless... unless one of your parents wasn't really your parent."
My mind spun. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying someone lied to you about your bloodline," Oracle Mira said carefully. "Someone hid the truth."
I looked at Serefina, still breathing on the floor. "Did you know about this?"
Serefina shook her head weakly. "No. I promise. I thought we were full sisters."
"Thought?" I grabbed her collar. "What do you mean 'thought'?"
"Mom and Dad," Serefina whispered. "They always treated you different. I thought it was because you were awkward. But maybe... maybe it was because you weren't really theirs."
The room tilted. I let go of Serefina and stepped back.
"I need to leave," I said. "I need to get out of here. This is too much."
"Georgia—" Oracle Mira started.
"No!" I grabbed my bag. "First Jared's the son of evil. Now I'm not even who I think I am. My whole life is a lie! Everything is a lie!"
"Mama, please calm down," Keira said, pulling my hand.
But I couldn't calm down. My chest felt tight. I couldn't move.
"I'm leaving," I said again. "And this time, nothing will stop me."
I picked up my bag and headed for the door. My children followed.
"Georgia, wait!" Oracle Mira called. "If you're a Guardian, that means your children have even more power than we thought. They're not just Guardian children. They're double Guardians. That makes them—"
"I don't care!" I shouted. "I don't care about predictions or powers or any of it! I just want a normal life!"
I was almost out the door when Jared's words stopped me.
"Georgia."
I turned slowly. Jared was awake. He was sitting up in bed, looking at me.
But his eyes were different. They were completely black.
"Jared?" I spoke softly.
"That's not my name anymore," he said in a voice that wasn't his. "The First Evil was right. I remember now. I remember who I really am."
"No," I breathed.
Jared stood up. Dark energy whirled around him. "I am Daemon's End. The Destroyer. The First Evil's best weapon. And I was put in the Blue Moon Pack twenty-six years ago for one purpose—to destroy it from the inside."
My children gasped.
"You're lying," I said. "You're Jared. The man I love. The father of my children."
"Those are fake memories," Jared said coldly. "Implanted to make me weak. To make me think. But I don't care anymore. The spell is broken."
He raised his hand, and dark energy gathered in his palm.
"And now," he said, "I'm going to kill everyone in this pack. Starting with all of you."
Oracle Mira stepped in front of us. "Jared, stop it! The evil is ruling you!"
"There is no evil to fight," Jared said. "This is who I've always been. I just forgot for a while."
He pointed his hand at Oracle Mira.
"Wait!" I screamed. "If you're really evil, then show it. Kill me first. Not them. Me."
Jared's black eyes focused on me. For a moment—just a moment—I saw something flicker. Something that looked like pain.
"Georgia," he whispered. Then his eyes went black again. "Fine. You first."
The dark energy shot toward me.
I closed my eyes, waiting for death.
But it never came.
I opened my eyes. Serefina was standing in front of me. The dark energy had hit her instead.
She fell to her knees, blood pouring from her chest.
"Why?" I gasped.
Serefina looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "Because... you were right. You were always... the better sister."
She collapsed.
And behind her, standing in the doorway, was my mother.
But she wasn't my mother anymore. She was glowing with the same golden light I had.
"Hello, daughter," she said calmly. "It's time you learned the truth about who you really are. About who I really am."
She smiled, and her face changed. Shifted. Became someone else.
Someone I'd never seen before.
"My name isn't who you think it is," she said. "I'm not from this pack. I'm not even from this world. I'm the Guardian Queen. And Georgia, you're not my daughter. You're my clone."
The room went quiet.
"What?" I spoke softly.
"I created you eighteen years ago," the Guardian Queen said. "To be my replacement. To carry on my mission. But then I got attached. I tried to give you a normal life. I failed."
She looked at Jared, who was staring at her with his black eyes.
"And now," she said, "you and I have to kill the man you love. Because he's the only thing that can destroy everything I've built. Everything I've protected."

She raised her glowing hands.
"I'm sorry, Georgia. But sometimes, love isn't enough."She fired at Jared.