Grace Academy

Part Fifteen

Mel ran through the woods, stumbling with the heavy sword in her grasp.

The weapon glowed softly in her hand, seeming to suck from the strength from her bone barrows.

She stumbled to a stop, collapsing near the edge of the lake.

The girl forced down images Luce and Jess and Mrs Grace, fighting the temptation to hightail back to her room's zero safety.

She looked up, startled, at the sound of snapping twigs.

"Get away from me," she hissed, gaze meeting Mrs Grace's. "I'll do it if I have to."

The woman stopped a few yards away from her, Jess on her right.

Standing on shaky legs, she looked behind her to see Luce standing on the lake. His eyes looked pained. "We don't want to fight," he said, voice softer than a whisper yet more powerfull than any other.

"Neither do we, Lucifer," Mrs Grace called over to him. "We merely wish to retrieve the Sword of Light and keep it safe."

Mel crumpled at the weapon's name, feeling it tug at her insides.

When she looked up again, she saw several shadowed and lighted figures aurrounding the two sides.

She looked doan and realized her soul was hovering above her body, but the sword was still tightly in her grap.

Warning radiated from the dark side of the forest whilst pain radiated from the light.

The girl was vaguelly aware of the two sides bickering until her head snapped up.

She straightened her back with newfound strength and smiled. "Grey must fade to be remade," she whispered. She looked at Jess and Luce. "I'm sorry," she mouthed.

Then in a flash of blinding light, she lifted the sword above her head and brought it down on her body, sinking into it just as the sword penetrated her heart.

What happened next happened slowly.

Luce was next to her in seconds, cradling her body against his chest. Jess was there straight after, sharing half of her weight.

Mrs Grace stood stunned, unable to comprehend the girl's last words.

Then all was quiet, the soft sobbing of a single angel and single demon the only sound for miles around the clearing.

Slowly the shadows and lights faded and Mrs Grace also stumbled away, still dizzy at what happened.

Jess was the first to move, gently taking Mel's body and placing it near the lake's edge. Luce stood slowly, face emotionless as they molded small white flowers out of their tears.

Then they stood together and turned, walking back to Grace Academy side-by-side.

They didn't turn around, though, and they didn't see the soft twitching of her fingers as Mel found herself in a new, and beautiful,  vision.