Beleth looked from Simmons to Steele, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"Will you, my dear, stand by my side, and let us forget the past and move on to the future?" Again, he held his hand out.
She paused and looked around, then slipped the needle into her pocket, smiled, and accepted his hand.
Drake dashed forward. "No! You have to fight him. I am your son, the boy you gave up to save. Would you now allow him to kill my daughter, your granddaughter, so that you can have power?"
Surely now that she knew, she wouldn't choose Steele. Who could make that kind of choice?
Beleth looked up, eyes wide, and moved closer to Drake.
Simmons shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I gave you up a long time ago."
She didn't look sorry. She looked cold and calculating, but not empty like Sam. No, she knew exactly what she was doing, and chose it anyway.
Beleth growled at Simmons and moved to reach the baby.
"How could you?" Drake squeezed his fist. For the first time in his life, he was glad he'd never known his mother.
Steele held out his hand. "Sam, come to your child. It is time."
She walked away, taking her eyes off of Drake, and walked near the cliff and to Ana. When she looked at their daughter, a single tear fell down her cheek. Her face softened for just a moment, and her voice crashed into his mind—desperate, pleading. "Drake, please, you need to stop me. I don't care about myself. We need to stop Steele."
What was she asking? 'No. I can't hurt you.'
"You must. I'm sorry, but for our friends, for our baby, you must. Please!"
She slipped away, back under Steele's control.
Drake rushed forward and tackled her, throwing them both off the cliff. They fell toward a ledge, and Drake knew they wouldn't survive the fall. His heart pounded, but in the last few seconds of life, he had to tell her one last thing.
He held her tight and kissed her forehead. "I'll love you forever."
He braced for death as they neared the ground, and....
They started to slow down—slower and slower.
He cried out. "No!"
Chapter 129 - Lucy
Lucy gasped as Sam and Drake fell over the cliff.
Luke ran past her, holding his arms out, and used his power to slow them down. Lucy followed, dashing out from behind a large pile of rocks, and watched as they landed safely on the ledge. Well, maybe not so safe. Sam's mind was still under Steele's control, so Drake wasn't safe yet. None of them were.
Lucy ran forward, the heat of the magma pulsing under her feet, nearly melting her sneakers.
She called out to Luke and Hunter. "I have to get the sphere to Sam."
They followed her.
Lucy kept an eye on Steele, but he didn't notice them. He levitated toward the cliff.
Beleth lunged at him, catching him by the shoulders and throwing him in the other direction. "I wish you'd burned in the fire."
Steele frowned in puzzlement, then smiled. "You saved me from that warehouse. You must have hated it. But, I see you've found a way to break my powers. Impressive, though it did take you years."
"It was worth it." Beleth advanced on Steele. His eyes glowed in rage, but also in triumph.
Steele flexed. "I'm the stronger one now."
"We'll see." Beleth's wings flapped and he rose into the sky, followed by Steele.
Lucy couldn't pull her eyes from the fight, even as she tried to find a way down to Drake and Sam. They fought in the air, twisting and turning as they clashed. Steele punched Beleth in the chest, and the tattooed man shot through a cloud, his black wings crumpling as he fell. Before he crashed into the ground, they popped open like a parachute, and Beleth dashed forward, his hands melting into blades. He collided with Steele and they exploded upwards, tiny specks beside the sun.
The sphere had worked. As Lucy had hoped, it broke Steele's hold on Beleth.
***
The sphere burned under Lucy's hand as she pushed it into Beleth's arm. Pressure built, like a tidal wave growing bigger and bigger, until it breaks and drowns everything in its path. Lucy felt the moment the sphere broke through the hold on Beleth.
He screamed in pain, or maybe relief, and slumped down—shaking, tears pouring from his eyes. "I'm free. I'm finally free." He surprised Lucy by pulling her into a giant bear hug and crushing her to his chest. "Thank you. Now, we must destroy Steele and save the children he seeks to use."
Lucy looked at Hunter and Luke, both of them injured and exhausted.
Beleth noticed, and gestured for the sphere. With it, he healed them both without drawing on their energy like it had when Lucy tried.
If they had more time, she would ask him more about how he did that when she couldn't, but they needed to hurry if they had any chance of stopping Steele.