Chapter 129: Life

The dark forest started to clear as I flew forward on my delicate wings. The first thing to catch my eye in the firelight was Kezia strapped to a pole in the middle of the nexus circle surrounded by what looked to be human bones. The rose bushes that were planted six years ago were the size of people, bushy, and well cared for. Their blooms were just starting to fade as the fall equinox rose. A hundred or so crystals sparkled in the moonlight spread out over the complicated circles drawn in the dirt. Mila stood at the edge of the circle chanting in a language I couldn't make out.
Kezia's eyes darted towards me as I appeared out of the trees. Mila immediately stopped her chant as she looked in my direction. A wicked, too big smile gaped open. Pointed teeth spilled across her face. She extended her fingers out and flicked them at me.
Dark tendrils of shadows leaped from the trees. They wrapped around my ankles and wrists, pulling me down to the ground. I could feel the familiar fear gripping me, tightening my throat. I slashed my hands at them releasing pink magic to slice the black. The shadows ripped, releasing me. I stood a breath, feeling the fears ease from my lungs.
Mila chuckled. "I see we've learned some new tricks since last we met."
I stared her down. A barrier of pink encompassed me. It warded off her shadow powers.
"Release Kezia," I demanded.
"But of course," the thing wearing Mila's body hissed. She snapped her fingers. Kezia's neck twisted and cracked. She hung limply from the pole.
"No!" I screamed. My wings launched me forward across the lines in the circle towards her.
Mila lifted her hand while she chanted. The words sounded harsh and commanding. They hissed and rolled as the language left her lips. I could feel the power in the circle rage beneath me.
I reached Kezia. Her soul glowed within her. I pushed my energy at her, trying my best to heal her broken neck. The soul twisted inside her as I tried to fix her. The power around me rose and pressed in, suffocating me. The heavy weight of it overpowered my delicate wings. My feet hit the ground. The circle pulsed with light.
Mila cackled. She spoke another sentence. The crystals around me broke. The souls within them rose and hovered about the circle. They twisted like they were in pain. I could feel them. I could feel their pain. I could feel Kezia's pain. The weight of the pain dropped me to my knees. Pink power leaked from my fingertips into the circle, but nothing I did helped them.
My power fed the circle. The power reverberated off of me, pushing me into the ground. I could feel the power squeezing at me. It pushed the air from my lungs in ragged breaths. Dirt pushed into my mouth as the power sagged against me.
Mila's harsh chant filled my ears. I fought against the pressure to lift my face. I stared at the harsh lines of Mila's once beautiful face. She was gone. All that was left was this monster.
A faint purple light glimmered behind her. I blinked a few times, trying to see it better. Slowly it materialized. The dark eyes glinted in the lights of the souls. Her bitchy face drew down into a frown.
Karma snapped her fingers. Time didn't freeze. Mila continued with her chant. Karma snapped her fingers again. Her eyebrows knit together. She waved her hand in Mila's direction, but nothing happened. She settled her hands on her hips.
"Damn it, Nami, you better get up!"
I spit the dirt from my mouth. "Who's "Nom Me"?"
Karma rolled her eyes. "You, of course. Nameless chick that's too good to choose a god damn name. I gave you one. Happy? Now get the fuck up!"
Mila continued her chant, oblivious to our conversation. I wondered if she even knew Karma was behind her.
"Why do you care?" The sentence came out garbled as I fought the rising dirt my body was being pushed down into.
"Because if you die, then I have to find someone else interesting. That's really hard. Get your ass up or I'll make your angel sacrifice himself to save you."
"Don't..." I spit more dirt out.
"Fine, then your demon then. He did come and get me after all. He seems willing enough to die for you."
I pushed hard against the ground. "Find... Sandriel." I couldn't get air in my lungs. It felt like a two-ton truck was driving over me.
"Nami," she drew the name out like she was officially tired of talking to me. "Just absorb the damn power already. Watching you act this pathetic is ridiculous."
"Oh..." I managed. I twisted my head up just enough to see Karma glaring back at me with her bitchy face. I guess I didn't really have anything to lose. I let my pink power dissolve. The power crushing into me pressed harder. I opened myself up to it like I was thirsty. The power fell into me. It was the strangest feeling. It was almost like when I had a vertigo attack, like I was falling into it, but I wasn't moving. I drunk in the power. The souls around me stopped twisting in pain. They floated freely then circled.
Mila stopped chanting. I pushed myself off the ground as the souls danced about the circle around me. Her hands dropped to her sides as her gaze fell upon me. I could see her thinking, calculating her next step. I wondered if she had planned for this. I wondered if this was exactly what she wanted.
I balled up the new energy and threw it at her. The power crashed forward out of me like a tidal wave from a tsunami. Mila's shadows dripped from the forest to protect her like a shield. The wave of power crashed around her and dissipated into the ground. I pulled it back to me as her shield broke apart.
"Interesting," Mila murmured. She opened and closed her hands. "I can feel already, even with your interruption."
"What is she talking about?" I asked Karma.
Mila looked back over her shoulder. She turned back around to me with a questioning look.
Karma rolled her eyes. "The spell was completed. You let her kill your cousin."
Anger rolled through me. "I can fix her." I turned my attention back to Kezia's body.
"Don't bother. The transaction is already complete," Mila purred. "I can feel again." Her hand caressed her face. "Heaven has granted me life again."
"That doesn't sound like heaven's doing."
"No? Dearest little one, you have no idea, do you?" Mila crossed the line of the circle. The souls swirling about me started to dissipate one by one. The bones beneath Kezia disintegrated into ash.
My hands held Kezia's shoulders. Her soul sparkled and spread apart. It slowly dissipated before my eyes.
"Stop it. Bring her back!" I pleaded. Anger bubbled inside of me.
"And now it looks like I have the next step in my plan already. It was more than I could hope for." Mila finished closing the distance. Her hand reached out and touched me on the shoulder. "He is going to be punished because of you."
My world went black.