Champions of Serenity: Destiny Fulfilled

Chapter 11

Debra paced the confines of her living room, trying very hard to not lose her temper. “I’ve been convalescing for a week now, Phil; I think that I can start work on Monday. I’m no longer weak and tired from the smallest exertions. Look around you, I’m the one who unpacked my things, I’m the one who’s done the shopping for the other small things we’ve needed to make this place a home, and I’m the one who’s been arranging the furniture into the current and more maximizing arrangement. Will you please stop treating me like I’m made of spun glass and will break in a strong wind?”

“I don’t think he was trying to treat you like spun glass, Debra. I think, that like all of us, we would rather you take another week and be fully recovered than risk a relapse.” Emily said softly, offering Debra a glass of lemonade.

Looking around the room, she saw nods from everyone and her shoulders dropped in surrender. Curling up in the corner of the couch, Debra set the glass on a coaster on the end table. “Fine, I won’t push it. But I’m going nuts just staying here and running short errands. I need to be doing something and it might as well be reading reports at Phil’s office than lying around thinking up ways to get into trouble while my keepers are away.”

“Will you let me pick you up for work and bring you home, Debra?” Phil asked, sitting in the opposite corner of the same couch.

“Will you let me start on Monday?” When Phil nodded, Debra did as well. “Then I agree to letting you take me to and from work until I can afford a car.”

“Finally, we can rest easy knowing things are getting back on track.” Mike said and leaned back against the chair that Karen was curled up in. “Now, can I ask about something else that has bothered me for the past few days?”

“What is that, Mike?” Deb asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“Sandeenai. When are we going back and will it require we all disappear from Earth while we are there?”

Grant and Jared came in from the patio, each carrying a platter filled with hot food. The tangy aroma of outdoor grilled hamburgers, polish sausages, and corn filled the condo and made mouths water. Setting down the hot food at one end of the island, Grant announced dinner was ready. Already sitting out were toasted buns, sliced tomatoes, onions, pickles, jalapeños, lettuce leaves, bottles of ketchup, mustard, mayo, ranch, and relish. A fresh green salad and a fruit salad rounded out the meal.

After everyone had filled their plates and were sitting around the table eating, Debra addressed Mike’s concerns. “Winter is almost over; Serenity only promised peace until spring. Handsome has already attempted to attack several times and once was able to actually get into the forest.”

“Yes, we remember that.” Grant said, setting down his half-eaten hamburger. “We still haven’t been able to get our things together here.”

“Actually, I’m not so worried about that anymore.” Emily said, taking a drink of her own lemonade. “Since your illness, Deb, I’ve been contacted by Tyra a few times and I’m not so afraid anymore. I think when the time comes; I’ll be ready for whatever is needed of us.”

Debra looked at Emily a moment and then at the others. She took a bite of her hamburger and chewed it thoughtfully. “Since I’ve been ill, how many others of you have been in contact with your counters?”

Her question startled them all. Each of them looked around the table and saw the answer reflected in each other’s eyes. “How many of you had been in contact with your counters before I fell ill?” Debra asked. She nodded at the thoughtful expressions on each of her friend’s faces.

“I’ve been giving this illness of mine some thought. I can’t confirm it and neither can Tris, but it is the most logical to both of us, she and I believe that Handsome did this to me.” Debra held up her hand for silence at the outraged outburst coming from around the table. “Hear me out. First, we are pulled back into Sandeenai in the middle of their winter to deal with an invasion. We joined with our counters and helped drive the intruders out, using ideas from both us and them. Handsome knows about us and was counting on our coming to the aid of our counters. It was just a few hours after we returned that I got sick and almost died. Tris and I have spoken about it and we think he used the invasion as a distraction to cast a spell on me. He was trying to weaken Tris by destroying me and our link.”

“That makes sense, Deb, but how could he do it?” Karen said, picking a watermelon ball out of the fruit salad and eating it.

“How and why aren’t the questions; it was done and that is a fact. But Tris and I think it backfired.” Debra answered and then took a sip of her lemonade.

Phil frowned, setting down his fork without eating the salad pinned to the tines. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said, Phil. Up until now, in order to get to Sandeenai we have had to leave our bodies here and use a great deal of mental strength and magical energy to get to Sandeenai. That’s because it’s been all one sided, us going there. We know all about our counters, but up until now, we’ve just been a secondary detail to them. Now, they know about us and realize we are more than just a side effect of becoming Serenity’s Champions and are making contact with us. Tell me Mike, what happened when you sought out Korol and tried to get help from Tris through him?”

Leaning back in his chair, Mike took a moment to wipe his hands and mouth with a napkin before answering. “Korol was surprised to find me in his mind and at first thought I was some kind of spell. After talking to him for several moments and convincing him I was very real, we went to Tris.

“Tris was sharpening her sword, working a notch out of it, when we approached her. When Korol asked her about healing herbs for strange fevers, she set down the weapon and just stared at us. You know, when you, Leader Deb, are confused or angry or really worried, your face goes still, impassive, blank. Well, Leader Tris does the same thing, only she’s a little paler than you are and little bubbles of color dance in her blue eyes. That’s what happened, she just went still and then we both felt her reach for our minds.

“The memories of my coming to Korol floated before our minds again and then the reason for it. I don’t think I ever want to make Tris angry at me, ever. Her eyes turned a brilliant green and it became hard to breathe as she stared at us, even though it felt like just me. I could feel Korol starting to sweat and he held up his hands. Tris was rather ruthless as she demanded answers from me, not Korol, about you, Leader Deb. Then she reached into her cloak and pulled out a pouch and handed it to me, again how she bypassed Korol I’ll never know, but she did. She told me to have Grant, and yes, she used your name, Buddy, have Grant make tea from these leaves and give it you, Leader Deb every hour until you stopped bleeding and your fever broke and you woke up, then he was to give it to you twice a day for another two weeks. She had me repeat the instructions several times until she was sure I knew them backwards and forwards.

“Then I came back here, had the pouch in my hands, gave it to Grant with Tris’s instructions and proceeded to pass out for 24 hours. When I woke up, I received a visit from Korol asking if I were okay. Since then, we’ve spoken quite a few times. He’s a very interesting man with some really strange ideas about where we live and what I do for a living.”

Debra nodded and then looked around at the others. “I know that Emily has had conversations with Tyra, especially about weapons and fighting and such. And I can tell from the thoughtful expressions on each of your faces that the rest of you have had conversations with your counters since Mike went to speak to Korol. Do you think that has made you stronger or weaker?”

The clatter of a fork hitting a plate had Debra’s eyebrows moving up to her hairline. She turned to Darin with a silent question. “Let me get this straight, the Circle in Sandeenai wasn’t supposed to know about us? And Handsome’s spell made it possible for them to know us?”

Shaking her head, Debra picked up a pickle slice and took a bite. “No, we were meant to know each other, that’s what makes us all stronger and gives us the edge against those who don’t have a counter, mainly any dark champions risen to fight against Serenity. And before winter was out, Serenity would have made sure both sides knew each other and had made contact a few times.”

“Then how can you be sure it was Handsome and not Serenity that made you ill, Deb? I mean, Serenity would know you couldn’t die and that we would make contact with Tris to get the answers. Maybe this was Serenity’s way of getting us talking back and forth.” Karen said.

Debra shook her head. “No, Tris asked Serenity about it and if you think she and I were angry, it was nothing compared to what Serenity’s reaction was. She was storming off to Chaos to rip him a new one last time Tris and I knew.”

“Wow, you spoke with Serenity?” Mike asked, amazed. “How?”

A soft light that had nothing to do with the approaching sunset filled the room. All eight stars in the room started to glow and got hot against each of their chests. Then the most beautiful woman any of them had ever seen stepped into the living room and smiled at them. “Like this, Michael.” Her voice was soft and musical, filling each of them with peace and happiness.

Debra stood and walked over, dropping to one knee and bowing her head. “Serenity,” she said simply and then looked up into the goddess’s face. Taking Serenity’s outstretched hand; Debra stood and was embraced by the goddess.

The others got up from the table and joined Debra in front of Serenity, each of them showing wonder at meeting the goddess who made their new lives possible.

“My Champions, I am sorry that I haven’t been to visit you yet as I have the others on Sandeenai. Debra, I am very happy to see that you have recovered from your battle against Chaos.”

“Chaos? But we thought it was Handsome.” Phil said, standing beside Debra and taking her hand in his. “Why would Chaos do this to Debra?”

Serenity smiled at Phil. “Philip, you have always been the protector and caregiver; the Supreme Creator chose you well, my son. Chaos didn’t mean to cause Debra harm, he was merely trying to give her a few nightmares to shake things up. But his magic, mixed with mine, mixed with Trisinda’s, mixed with Debra’s own caused a reaction none of us could have anticipated. He is sorry and is going to try to make it up to you, Debra.” Serenity’s look with that statement said more than the words did. Debra and Serenity shared a look, a sigh, and a knowing nod.

“Can this ever happen again, Serenity?” Jared asked, coming to stand behind Debra, resting one hand on her shoulder.

Debra shared another look with Serenity and in the swift moment of the look conveyed her irritation with the over protectiveness of the others in her Circle as well as her gratitude for their friendship. Serenity, for her part, conveyed to Debra her understanding and support of Debra’s feelings.

Serenity then looked to Jared and smiled at him. “No, Jared, it can’t. I have fixed the anomaly in Debra that made the blending of magicks deadly to her. I have also made sure that none of the rest of you has such anomalies in your bodies.” Serenity moved around the room, looking at everything, touching some objects and ignoring others completely. As she walked by each of her champions, she touched them softly, giving them a smile. “You have a nice home here, Debra and Karen. It has a warm and welcoming feel.” Looking around one last time, Serenity turned to face all of her champions. “I must be leaving now, but I wanted you all to know you can all come to my home anytime you need to. I have left the knowledge of how to find it within each of your hearts. Your tasks are no less easy than Trisinda and the others on Sandeenai, so have courage and accept help as you give it.”

The red-gold of the sunset flared in the room through the glass walls between the dining room and the patio. Serenity was gone between one heartbeat and the next. Eight people stood facing each other in the center of the living room, awe in their faces.

“Was that really….”

“Yes, Grant, that was really Serenity.” Debra said and then she took a deep breath and let it go. “I guess that answers the question of what happened to me. It’s nice to know I won’t ever have to face that waterfall again.”

Darin frowned. “What waterfall, Debra?” He looked from Phil’s hand holding Debra’s up to Phil’s face. Then he looked at Debra. “I don’t recall anything being mentioned about a waterfall.”

Phil turned to face Debra as well, the same question echoed on his face. Debra released her hand from Phil’s and went back to the table and her food. She took a bite of her hamburger and chewed it, shaking her head at the thoughts in her mind. “Don’t evade the question, Debra.” Phil said softly, coming up behind her and resting his hands on her shoulders.

“I’m not, Phil.” Debra’s head was bowed with her back to everyone, the only one sitting down. Her voice sounded odd to her friends and they moved to stand around the table, facing her; all but Phil who kept his hands on her shoulders.

A clock ticking in the living room seemed to thunder in the silence that waited for Debra to say more. As they waited, a few of them sat down and worked on finishing their dinners, the others just watched the head of their leader. “Debra?”

Lifting her head, Debra brushed tears from her face and let go a shaky breath. “It was oblivion. I was at the top of the waterfall, floating down the current, the water was soothing and the sound inviting. All I had to do was allow myself to go over the falls and I would cease to be. Oh, my body may not have perished, but everything that made me Debra would have been gone forever. And for a moment, I wanted to fall over that waterfall.” She whispered the final words and then bowed her head again, hiding her tears from her friends.

“You want to be rid of us so soon?” Mike asked after what seemed like an eternity. Debra lifted her head in surprise, shaking her head.

“No, Mike, never. That’s why it was so terrible. I was so tired from battling the madness caused by Chaos that I just didn’t care what happened as long as I had peace. That is why I hate myself now, for even thinking of going over that waterfall and leaving all of you behind. I don’t ever want to think of a life, any life, without the seven of you in it.” Debra got up and walked over to Mike, kneeling in front of him and resting her hands on his knees, looking up into his face. Tears dried on her cheeks and her nose was red and stuffy, but to Mike, she had never looked more lovely. “You, all of you, are my dearest friends and I would be completely lost without you.”

“Don’t hate yourself, Leader Deb. I don’t think any of us could have gone through what you did without wishing to go over that waterfall. In fact, I don’t think any of us could have lasted as long as you did trapped in Chaos’s spell as you were.” Mike reached down and pulled Debra up to his arms and held her a moment. “Gods above and below, Debra, without you we would all be lost.”

Debra scoffed and shook her head. “Without me, you would all be very successful people and do a lot of good in the world. All I’ve done was tag along and hope I could fit in somewhere. Then Serenity stepped in and decided to shake everything up and voila here we are. But enough of this maudlin melodrama, that’s Jamie’s purview not mine.”

“And how is Jamie, Debra?” Emily asked, sitting down and accepting the change of subject. Everyone seemed to follow suit, Phil holding Debra’s chair for her before returning to his own. Dinner was resumed with more pleasant chatter. All had the feeling that the time before they must go to war on Sandeenai was very short and they wanted to fill it with as many happy thoughts as they possibly could.