There's always a limit to what someone can take. Even the strongest willed of us can be pushed past a breaking point with enough pressure. For me, that moment of eruption came as I saw that cleaver sever Noah's right wing.
It was like time stood still in that horrifying moment, the world turning to black and white, a grainy film that was reality yet outside of it. It didn't feel real. The spurt of blood, Noah's groan of pain as he fell to the ground, and the sight of that bloodied severed wing near him while Missy stood over him, the stained blade still in her hand.
My mind flashed through so many images in that instant. My nightmares, Lenore's almost lifeless body when I found her after her attack, Seraphina's crying as she held that knife to her throat, my mother's pain when that blade went into her back.
So much pain. Too much pain.
I couldn't take any more pain.
The feeling of fire overtook my veins as all of this burst forth from deep within me. It was like my mind had turned into someone else. My body began to change with it, a change I'd never had before. A tail appeared behind me, and I felt my ears turn into Fox ones. My irises became enveloped in an intense heat that only lasted a few seconds, and the whip I'd formed in my hand glowed blue with foxfire.
Missy turned her attention towards me from where she'd been standing over Noah's now limp body. Somewhere in the back of my mind it registered that I hoped he was just unconscious.
Her mutilated face stared at me, and I returned that stare just as forcefully. The flames on my whip flared beside me.
"How dare you." I heard myself say quietly.
"I see. You have now shown your true colors, you vile Fox!" Missy hissed.
"Yes, maybe I am vile. Maybe I was even born to be. But I'm so sick of you now. You think you can hurt my family? You really think I wouldn't destroy you? I don't give a damn if you're influenced by some demon's curse. I'm going to destroy what's left of you so that you can't even go to Hell." I warned her.
It was odd how my voice remained even as I spoke. I barely registered it, but I knew that the thought was there. This didn't feel right. It didn't feel like me, but I was powerless to stop myself now that I'd undergone this strange transformation. The only thing that overrode all in my mind was revenge against her.
Missy growled in her throat, then flew towards me in what felt like the blink of an eye. But somehow, I moved faster than her, using the whip to knock the cleaver from her hand, then wrapping it around her, binding her arms to her waist. I pulled it tightly, keeping her standing in place just three feet in front of me.
"You horrid monster!" she spat at me, "You never should've been born! That Fox took my daughter and made you!"
I was unmoved, keeping the whip pulled taunt.
"Maybe he did." I acknowledged, "Don't you know already how vile we are? My mother has always been beautiful, so of course my father wanted her more than anything. I did the same with Lenore, and now I will bring my child into the world. You just won't be around to see them."
Missy showed no fear of this, only giggling, which then erupted into loud laughter.
"You're such a fool! This will prove that you are no better than the Fox who took my life! You'll bring that baby into the world and make it just as vile as you and your father! Just wait and see!"
Fury was rising within me as she said this. How dare she mock me, and say such things about my unborn child? I'd destroy her for it!
I began to pull the whip tighter, fully intending for it to tear her spirit in half, when a strange sensation suddenly came over me. My body stiffened as I felt warmth surround me. Then, a male voice whispered in my ear.
"Don't do it kid. You're going to always regret it if you do."
"What?" I whispered.
Although I was still pulling the whip tight to keep Missy in place, I could now see a glowing hand holding onto mine. There was the spirit of a man standing behind me, and he was stopping me from pulling any tighter or lighting the fire to burn Missy's spirit. I looked over my shoulder at him, taking in his light blonde hair and blue eyes.
Raphael?
No, this wasn't my uncle. This man looked a lot like him, but he wasn't him.
As I stared at him, what looked like an old memory flashed through my mind. This man, standing with Raphael and Michael when they were young teenagers. He was smiling at them, telling them how proud he was that they were his sons.
"Melvin Renaldi..." I heard myself say.
"Calm yourself down." Melvin instructed me as he kept his grip on my hand, "Don't give into this side of you. It's not who you are. Just hold out a little bit longer. Help is coming."
"But..." I couldn't move as I stared at him, the fury within me dying to embers now, even though my body didn't change back, nor did the power within that whip, "How are you here? Why?"
Melvin didn't answer my question, only smiling at me.
"Stop being so hard on yourself too. We're all proud of you no matter what." he added.
"Sevee! Noah!"
I blinked as I heard the familiar sound of my father's voice calling to us. In that instant, Melvin was gone. I remained still, the shock filling my mind as I looked at where I'd been holding Missy, and my whip loosened. What the hell was that? Was that really Melvin?
I was snapped out of all of this by my father grabbing my shoulders. He looked panicked as he saw me.
"Sevee?! Sevee, can you hear me?!" he insisted.
"Uh, yeah..." I managed to answer. It was hard though with the strange haze still trying to clear from my mind. It only halfway registered that the wound on my shoulder had also healed. It must have happened when I'd transformed.
I halfway noticed that Raziel was there too. He had run over to Noah, kneeling down to him and frantically trying to get him to respond. Noah's eyes opened as he did, and he blinked as he saw him.
"Dad?" I heard him say in a painful whisper.
"It's alright." Raziel breathed. He pulled off his shirt, quickly wrapping it around the stub where Noah's wing had been cut off so that he could stop it from bleeding, "Just stay still. I'm right here."
"Come on Sevee. Let the whip go. You don't need it anymore." Sean urged me.
I did as he asked, letting the whip fall from my hand. It disappeared, turning back into a root as it did. Sean pulled me back a few steps, and I realize then that Michael was there with them. He quietly stepped between us and Missy, showing no signs of being intimidated by her grotesque appearance.
For her part, Missy didn't try to disappear or even move, and no weapons appeared in her hands. She simply glared at him.
A few tense minutes passed, which felt like an eternity, before she finally spoke.
"I knew you'd come for me."
Her voice came out in a hiss, yet sounded the same as I'd always known it before. It was like the devil that had been controlling her had retreated from her, although she remained under his spell.
"Of course I would. It's taken me far too long to do this, and I'm so sorry for that. I honestly didn't know what to do to make sure you'd been freed." Michael responded.
"And you think you can make a difference now?!" Missy spat, "You are simply doing this now because I have tied your hands! You know what I have done to your grandchildren and your child, and you cannot stand it!"
Michael remained calm as he regarded her, "This is sadder than I imagined it would be. They've stolen everything from you in your death. You can't even acknowledge that Mia is our daughter and her children are your grandchildren as well as mine. Or can you not see any of that anymore?"
"Shut up! What do you know of the hell I've endured?! My mind has been horrid ever since the moment she died! I couldn't even escape it when I ran away from you and this family! And when I came back, you let me die! You let that Fox rip me apart!" Missy accused.
I stayed close to my dad, listening to this with a clear head now. My anger was gone, replaced with pity for this wretched soul she'd become. Missy was right in a sense. She'd been suffering for so long, and our family never helped her. My father had even been influenced to watch her die. No wonder she hated us so much.
Michael let out a long breath, taking a step towards her. This alarmed Missy, and she took a step back. That was strange to me. She was attacking the rest of us before. Why was she suddenly afraid of Michael?
"I won't argue with you about any of that. You're right. We didn't help you back then, and I didn't understand what was happening to you. I never put it together like I should have. But I won't give up on you. Now that I can, I want to set you free." he told her.
"You stay away from me! Don't you touch me!" Missy shrieked.
I could see Noah slowly sitting up with Raziel, who was still holding his shirt tightly to wing stub.
"What's going on? What is this?" Noah whispered to his father.
"The real answer to set her free." Raziel answered.
As I stared at this scene before us, I realized that something else was happening. Michael's body was starting to take on an ethereal blue glow. It was radiant and soothing; unlike anything I'd ever seen or experienced before. As this happened, it looked like wings came out of his back, but they weren't his. These wings were transparent, glowing the same light blue, and there were six of them.
My mind immediately went back to that dream where I'd spoken to Elvira. She'd claimed that our Angel was going to help us break this curse. Was this our Angel using Michael's body?
Missy became extremely hostile as she saw this, her body contorting violently as she hissed at him. It reminded me of movies I'd seen where a person was supposed to be possessed.
"Stay away! Stay away from me!" she screeched.
The black mist had returned now, gathering from all around the den and swirling around her like a tornado. I actually had to put an arm up with my father and we braced ourselves against the massive wind and dirt it was kicking up. Noah leaned down so that Raziel could keep him shielded too.
Michael wasn't put off at all, still moving towards her. I managed to watch as he reached to her, the glow easily able to cut through the swirling dark mass around her. He grabbed her arm, and an ear-piercing scream filled the entire den. We all held out ears except for Michael, who refused to let her go.
As he held her, visions began flashing through my mind. I realized that they were pieces of memories that this darkness held. Most were short and distorted, but I saw flashes of Melvin and Elvira, and of Annabelle. There were also flashes of Missy's life, of her being slowly tormented into near insanity by the dark voices and emotions this curse carried.
But as they came to an end, two visions stuck out in my mind. The first was of a dark figure in a misty realm. The silhouette appeared to be female, and I could make out what looked like angel wings behind her. She was whispering something that I couldn't decipher.
However, it was the last vision that startled me the most. One of a bright blue flame, and a man standing in front of it; a man who looked much like most of our family, with light blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He was dressed in white robes, and there were six brilliant blue wings coming from his back.
"I will never abandon them."
His voice faded in my head as the scream ended, and I was back to reality. Now I could see that Missy was no longer fighting, nor was she acting possessed. Now she was crying against Michael as he embraced her faded form. She no longer looked like she had when she'd died. Instead, she looked much like the vision I'd seen of her before she'd been killed.
"Everything's okay now." Michael comforted her, "I'm sorry it's taken so long, but finally, I've been able to set you free."
"It hurt so much Michael! I'm so sorry! I hurt our baby, and hers!" Missy sobbed.
"It's never been you, and you cried out for help too. You wouldn't have let your mother send Mia to me at all if you weren't, and he's right. You could've easily done more to Sevee than you ever did. You've been fighting for so long too." Michael responded softly.
I stood up straighter with Sean, a mix of emotions within me as I looked at Missy. No, I never hated her. Even when I was so little and didn't understand what she was, I always had that part of me that felt sad for her. Was it because I sensed what she was still trying so hard to fight?
Missy pulled back from him, her form now glowing with a pure light.
"Thank you Michael. Thank you for loving me, even after all I did to you." she told him.
"You know I never stopped. I just want you to be at peace now." Michael reminded her.
"I will. He's going to take me home." Missy assured him. She looked at me and Noah, "I'm so sorry too. I hurt you all, and I can't take that pain back. Please, I want you to be free too. Don't let this take you like me."
Her words felt cryptic as she said them. Even though we'd been able to set her free, it was like this curse was far from over.
She shared a gentle kiss with Michael before stepping back.
"I'll always love you, Michael." she whispered.
As she did, we all saw a beautiful golden glow appear around her, and then, she was gone. She'd been carried into the Heavens where she belonged.
There was a surreal feeling in the air as the cavern went back to being dark. The ominous feeling was completely gone, replaced with mostly silence. It was still sinking in for me that my nightmares were finally over. Missy was free, and in a sense, so was I.
I was pulled out of this as I heard Noah let out a painful groan. Shit. I'd forgotten for a few minutes how bad off he was.
Sean and I hurried over there as Michael knelt down with him and Raziel. The panic was rising within me as this reality sunk in. Noah had lost his wing. She'd cut it off.
"This is really bad Michael. It's a clean cut, but I don't think we'll be able to reattach it." Raziel was saying.
"I hate to say it, but probably not. I'd imagine this is like having a severed limb, and if there's too much damage then reattaching just isn't possible." Michael reluctantly agreed. He peeked under where Raziel had wrapped his shirt over the wound, "We'll still take the wing back with us. If there's any chance of saving it, then Gabrielle will definitely try."
"What the hell were you two thinking? You knew better than to run off and come here on your own!" Raziel scolded Noah as he helped him to stand.
"Guess we weren't thinking." Noah breathed.
"Now is not the time for your attitude." Raziel muttered.
I looked at Sean as Michael picked up Noah's severed wing, feeling guilty now. I shouldn't have listened or encouraged him about this. I definitely knew how dangerous it was.
"Sorry Dad. We just... we wanted to end all of this." I apologized.
Sean patted my shoulder, giving me an understanding look, "We get where you were coming from, and what's done is done. But for now, let's get you both out of here. Without the spiritual power to maintain it, this den's going to end up falling apart soon." he told me.
That was enough for us to get moving. We headed back to where Noah and I had entered the den, although it took all four of us to hoist him out. Noah was in a lot of pain now, but doing his best to hide it.
As for me, I was reeling from all of this. Not only the horrifying injury that he had, but what I'd almost done to Missy's spirit in anger because of it.
Michael had brought his car there, and Raziel and him loaded Noah into the Mustang that we'd brought. Sean got into Michael's car with me to take me back to our house, but not before requesting that they let us know as soon as possible about Noah. Raziel and Michael agreed, then quickly drove off.
I looked down as Sean got into the driver's seat and turned on the car, unsure of what to do or say now. Then I caught sight of myself in the side mirror. My head jerked up and I stared at my reflection. Was that really me?
While my face looked the same, my hair was now streaked with silver, and my ears had changed into a fox's. It also dawned on me now that I still had the silver tail.
But the most stunning part of this was looking at my eyes. While I could still see some of my original emerald green, there was now gold trying to overlap it.
I yanked down the visor to look in that mirror so that I could see myself closer.
"What the hell's happened to me?" I whispered in disbelief.
Sean reached over and held my shoulder to reassure me.
"It's alright. Your extreme anger towards everything unleashed more of the Alpha blood within you and caused this change, but it's only temporary. It may end up being a good thing though. Now that you've been able to unlock this change, you'll be able to access it as you need it and have more abilities to fight back and defend yourself and others."
"I guess." I breathed, reluctantly putting the visor back up.
"I realize that you've been through a lot," Sean continued as he sat back in his seat, "but I do agree with Raziel. What in the world were you two thinking, coming here alone like this? You must have realized how dangerous it would be."
"I guess we weren't really thinking about anything but stopping Missy and the curse. Noah was so sure that he could find what was binding her here. We didn't realize that it was a trap until it was too late." I explained.
"Yes, it most certainly was. The binding that originally kept her would have decayed away by now. It was only the curse holding her at this point." Sean informed me.
"Guess you talked to Musket about all of this before you got back." I noted.
"I did, and he told me that normally Flint would use the heart to bind a spirit for his own amusement. But as I said, Missy's heart would've decayed away by now because he didn't have a chance to preserve it. However, I didn't even get the chance to relay this to Michael before we had to come here looking for you and Noah. I'm just glad that Michael sensed the help we were getting to free her." Sean continued.
"Yeah, me too." I nodded. But as I said that, something dawned on me, "Um, Dad, you mean you haven't been home yet?"
Sean shook his head, "No. I didn't have the chance with all of this. Why are you asking?"
He didn't know what had happened earlier. It was obvious from the way he was questioning this. Michael must not have gotten the chance to talk to him about it, but he might've been way to preoccupied worrying about me and Noah to think about it.
But I knew I had to tell him now. It would be heart breaking for Sean to get home and see Seraphina like she was. I highly doubted that she'd be talking again anytime soon.
"Well, yeah, there's something I need to talk to you about. Something really bad happened this afternoon with Sera, and Mom too." I admitted.
Now he looked worried, "What happened Sevee?"
"I know this gonna sound weird, but I had this dream where I met my great grandmother, and she was telling me something, then it got really dark, and she begged me to save my sister. I woke up and went to look for Seraphina, and she'd left the house and gone into the woods. When I went after her, Missy was already with her, and that curse had convinced her that she needed to kill herself. Mom and I stopped her, but Mom got stabbed by Missy, and even though Gabrielle said that it wasn't that bad, Sera really lost it. She stayed curled up in corners for the rest of the day, and she won't talk now." I explained softly.
The car was very quiet as I explained his. I couldn't face my dad. I felt way too guilty over not being able to help more with any of it. But I could see his shocked expression from the corner of my eye, even though tears were threatening to blur my vision.
"Sera won't talk at all?" he finally asked me.
I shook my head, "No." I confirmed in a strained voice, "I tried so hard, and she won't say anything to me or Mom or anyone. She wouldn't leave Mom's side either. It's like she's a different person, like she's trapped in some kind of shell in her mind now."
I couldn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. It hurt so bad to think of Seraphina like she'd become. Even if I did this much, it might not bring her back. My sweet little sister might be gone forever as I knew her.
Sean looked down, looking just as pained as I was, but kept himself pulled together.
"It's not your fault Sevee. You weren't the one who did that to her or your mother, and now I understand why you were so desperate to do this. But right now, what Seraphina needs most is us. If we stay by her and help her as much as she needs it, then there's still a chance that she'll come back to who she was one day. She can still heal." he told me.
"You really think so?"
"I know so."
I was surprised when he put an arm around me, pulling me into a half hug. But I didn't protest it. It actually felt good after all of this.
"I know it's been hard, and it might not get any easier for a while, but we'll make it through. I promise you." he whispered.
"Thanks Dad. I needed this right now." I confessed.
Sean smiled at me as he let me go, "Let's head home now. Hopefully your mother won't be awake and worried."
"Fat chance. You know how Mom is when it comes to stuff like this. It's like she'd got a sixth sense for it or something." I scoffed.
Sean chuckled, "As much as I hate to say it, you're probably right."
I sat back in my seat as he turned on the car and backed out onto the road. The night sky was clear, with a full moon and stars blanketing it. I took that in as I looked out of the window, my mind drifting back to what had happened in that den. Melvin Renaldi. I was sure he'd been there, and he'd stopped me from destroying Missy's soul.
But it was strange too. Why did only I get contacted by him and Elvira? Was there a reason behind that?
The lights at our house were on as we pulled up to it. Sean had the same knowing smile I did. Yep, we were right. Mia was well aware that something had happened. She was even waiting on the front porch and stood up as we got out of the car.
"I'd be really upset with both of you right now if I wasn't so worried!" she fussed as she came over to us. While I expected her to tear me up one side and down the other verbally, she shocked me when she hugged me tightly, "God, I thought I might've lost you this time Sevee! Don't ever run off like this again! I mean it this time!" she demanded in a harsh whisper.
"I'm sorry Mom. I'm okay. I just look a little weird right now." I responded as I hugged her back.
"He's fine Mia, although Noah's not so much. He did get badly hurt, and I've asked your father to call us once he knows more about his condition." Sean added.
Mia quickly pulled away from me to look at him, her eyes now wide with fear, "He's not going to die, is he?" she pressed.
Sean shook his head, "No, but he's probably lost a wing now. I promise I'll explain the whole thing to you soon."
"You'd better." Mia sighed. She noticed him glancing at the house, and how apprehensive he looked, "I guess Sevee told you about Sera too."
"Yes. Is she any better?" Sean asked her.
"Not really. Well, at least she's not hiding in corners, but she still won't talk. She's in there with Lenore right now, so why don't we get inside so we don't leave them alone too long?" Mia suggested.
It was the nice way of saying that she understood how much my father wanted to see Seraphina. Sean might've been trying to act normal, but it was easy for us to tell that he was shook up about his daughter. Not that I blamed him. I wanted to see Seraphina too, and also Lenore. I needed to know that they were okay.
The three of us walked up the front steps into the house. It was stepping into the same inviting atmosphere I'd always know, and for once in my life, I welcomed it.
Lenore was sitting with Seraphina in the living room, and both looked up as we came in there. Seraphina immediately got up when she saw us, running over and hugging our father tightly. It was actually a relief to see that. Seraphina had always been very close to our dad, and I'd been a little worried that she might not keep that closeness with how she'd become.
Sean hugged her back just as tightly, "It's okay Sera. I'm home now." he promised her.
Seraphina still didn't speak, but did nod her head a little as she held onto him.
Lenore also got up, coming over to me. She looked shocked at what she saw, but I'd been expecting as much. She'd never seen me look this way, and neither had anybody else until now.
"Sevee, what in the world happened out there?" she asked as she ran a hand through my hair and over my ears.
"I'm not that sure, but Missy's free now, so I guess that's all that matters." I answered.
Mia was also looking wary as she saw how I now looked. She turned to Sean as he continued holding Seraphina, who refused to let go of him yet.
"What is this, Sean? I've never seen Sevee have the ears or tail before. Is this permanent?" she asked him.
"No. It will turn back to normal in the next few hours. This was only the result of anger awakening more of his Fox nature. I believe it probably would've happened eventually anyway. While Seraphina has always leaned more towards the Nephilim side and is showing signs of getting her wings soon, Sevee has always leaned towards the Fox, so this would be natural for him." Sean explained.
"I guess." Mia reluctantly backed off.
"It's fine Mom. I don't feel any different, although my girlfriend is apparently fascinated with my ears now." I joked.
Lenore made a face at me, "I can't help it! These ears are cute on you!" she protested as she continued playing with my ears.
I heard Mia and Sean trying to hide where they were laughing. At least the mood was a little lighter now. But looking at Lenore and my sister, I knew that things were also far from over. Not only did I want to help Seraphina get back to being herself, but I also had a girlfriend and baby to protect. I just hoped that I wouldn't have deal with that part too soon.