Мишель Роуэн - Reign or Shine

Being without his amulet had damaged him. It contained his life force, his ties to the world. Without it he was. . nothing.

Elizabeth waited for me to say something but my mouth had gone so dry that I didn't think I could have formed words even if I wanted to.

So she continued, her voice tense. "Please listen to me, Nikki. I know you care about him. Drink the potion and I will give this amulet back to Michael. If you refuse, then he will continue to fade away until he has completely disappeared from our sight. Even then he'll still exist. He'll be invisible to the world around him, but in desperate, constant pain for many years until he finally dies. It is a horrible end to give somebody you obviously have feelings for. I can't imagine that you'd ever want him to suffer so greatly."

I looked down at my father then, tearing my attention away from Michael's fading form, and saw that his breathing was growing more shallow and his eyes were closed. He had slipped unconscious again. When I looked at Michael I could see the raw desperation on his face.

"Don't listen to her," he said. "Forget about me."

Forget about him. I didn't think I could. Not ever. I felt changed, and not just because I had discovered my Darkling side. It was something deep inside of me that didn't want the people I cared about to be hurt if there was anything I could do about it.

I'd tried to be strong even though I was quivering inside. I'd tried to be brave. But I didn't think I could do it anymore. A tear trickled down my left cheek, betraying the emotional breakdown I was feeling inside.

"I need a decision," Elizabeth said. "Please, Nikki. The time has come."

She thought she was giving me a choice. Let Elizabeth rule in my father's place or condemn Michael to years of torture.

But I'd already made my choice. I couldn't turn back now.

"Don't do it, Princess." Michael drew closer but it only helped me to see the pain he was going through. "Please. . let me go. Your father wouldn't want you to sacrifice the kingdom for me."

"First you want me to drink it." My voice broke a little as I said it. "Now you say don't drink it. You've very indecisive, do you know that?"

"That was when I wanted you to save yourself, not me." He gave me a very weak smile. "Don't drink it. I'm not important."

I blinked back more tears. "You're important to me."

He reached out to me and our fingers passed right through each other. I felt nothing at all, not even a glimmer of energy from him. It was much worse than getting a jolt of electricity from touching his amulet by mistake. This… this nothingness was much worse.

I wondered if I could grab Elizabeth then and take the amulet away from her, but another glance at Dax showed me that he now held it. Besides, the brief glimpse of her demon earlier had proven to me that she wasn't just a pretty blonde in a long red gown. She was powerful and scary and, at the moment, desperate for me to do what she wanted no matter what the cost.

Elizabeth held up the little bottle to me and I took it from her without another word.

My father's eyes flickered open again and he sucked in a breath of air. "Elizabeth, you must stop what you're doing while you still have a chance. It's not right. You can't make Nikki do this if she doesn't want to."

"It is her choice," Elizabeth said. "I'm sorry, Desmond. I truly am. But this is the way it has to be."

Has to.

"Nikki. .," my father managed.

I held the cool bottle in the palm of my hand, my cheeks wet with tears. "When Michael first told me I was half demon, I didn't believe it. I thought he was crazy. I had to see it with my own eyes and when I did it nearly scared me to death. I just wanted to fit in at school. I didn't want to be a demon princess and I sure didn't want to become queen of the Shadowlands."

"I know," my father said. "That's why I had the potion made for you."

"I could see that you were a little disappointed that I took the bottle from you so quickly. That I wanted to forget."

"It's the way it must be," he said. "The choice has always been yours, not mine. Not Elizabeth's. Even now, Nikki, the choice is yours."

The magic potion had been the perfect solution to all of my problems. But I'd had some time to think about it since he'd first given it to me. I'd thought long and hard about what my choices really were-even beyond the threat that turning Darkling would kill me. And I had already made my decision of what to do.

For better or for worse, I was still certain it was the right one.

I took the top off the bottle, tipped the vial back and drank down every last drop of the red liquid. When I was finished I looked at my aunt.

Her expression was tight and her shoulders tense. She nodded. "Very good. Everything will be fine now."

I swallowed hard. "The amulet? We made a deal."

"Of course." She held out her hand and Dax came to her side to give her the amulet. "I cannot tell you how relieved I am, Nikki."

I didn't reply. I just held out my hand and she gave me the chain with the large green stone. At the moment, the stone was as gray as it had been in the alleyway yesterday afternoon. I squeezed the chain tightly in my hand. My father's expression was grim as I let go of him and moved away from the side of the bed toward Michael.

All that was left of him was a fading shimmer. Although I could see the outline of him, his clothes had become shadowy and indistinct, and the rest of him blurred. His eyes were still intently fixed on me and filled with pain.

"You should have done it to save yourself." His voice sounded miles away and strained. "But not for me. I'm nothing."

"You're not nothing. When are you going to start believing that?"

Michael had almost disappeared completely. How could the amulet work if it was solid and he wasn't? I reached toward him and was surprised when I could touch his arm. It must have had to do with me holding the amulet. I could still see straight through him, but his arm felt solid and very cold.

"Hold still," I advised.

"There's no time," he said again. "Your memories-" "Don't worry about that right now." I went up on my tiptoes and slipped the amulet over his head, letting the gray stone drop down to his chest. Keeping a tight hold on his arm, as though if I let him go he'd fade away completely, I waited. He struggled to breathe and I could still see the pain in his eyes, but as I continued to watch him I saw color return to the stone a little at a time. As it did, his form became clearer and more opaque. His eyes changed from gray to green at the same speed as the amulet regained its color. I watched his handsome features fill in, the line of his arms and chest and legs. Even the Van Halen T-shirt was back and looked faded only because it was old.

After a minute had gone by I couldn't see through him at all. He was back.

I let out a great big sigh of relief and threw my arms around him, hugging him tightly against me.

That is, until his amulet gave off its old familiar, painful jolt and I jumped backward, rubbing my chest. "Ow."

His expression was strained. "Why did you have to sacrifice everything for me, Princess? You drank the potion. You're going to forget."

"Michael, it will be fine," Elizabeth said. "I won't punish you for betraying me. You can help me in the future."

He glared at her. "I won't help you."

Her lips thinned. "You don't have any say in the matter. You're a servant."

"I release him from his servitude," my father said. "Michael is free to do as he pleases."

"Desmond," Elizabeth gasped. "You can't do that. He's a Shadow."

"I'm still king here." He looked up at her and there was no kindness in his already scary expression. "And I still make the decisions. It is unfortunate that your… Prince Kieran. . isn't here to help you now. I assume he's behind all of this?"