Chapter 345

Tessa’s POV

The Moon Goddess had completely taken over my body and spoke to everyone through me. She warned them what would happen if anything were to happen to me or my baby. Now it was up to them to decide if they wanted to continue hunting me to gain the powers of the Heavenly Heart, or if they were going to trust the Moon Goddess with her decision.

Seeing the horror on everybody’s faces, I knew the choice they would make. It was the obvious choice; I had seen what they had seen, and they would be stupid to chance it. Their lives and the state of this earth were in their hands.

Silence consumed us as everyone processed what they had just seen. Only the yelling of Carter brought me back to the present moment. I turned to look at him and I could see the straight-up horror on his face as he screamed for Ruby.

I turned to see Ruby lying on the ground, her body completely still and it was clear she wasn’t breathing. But most importantly, blood was pouring out of her eyes.

“Ruby!?” I heard Amelia’s voice coming from the barn as she quickly rushed towards us. Carter was attempting to fight through the barrier and his strength and love for Ruby was almost enough to shatter the whole thing.

“Noooo!!!” I heard the growling of another familiar voice in the distance, and I turned to see Eevee marching toward us; her face was filled with fury and her teeth were gritted. “Why is nobody trying to get the Heavenly Heart?! Don’t you want the power it holds????”

Everyone looked amongst themselves and then at the deceased bodies of those fallen around them. Grim faces were all I could see and then someone finally spoke up.

“We have fought long enough; the Goddess had shown us the outcome and it’s not one any of us wish to endure.”

“The fate is worse than death. We will fight no longer,” another said, their voice tired.

With a growl, Eevee glared at Amelia.

“Cast the spell now; we will figure out another way. Make them forget what they had seen!” She ordered.

Amelia looked taken aback by the command and she curled her lip up in disgust.

“No,” she said through her teeth.

“What did you just say??”

“I said no,” Amelia repeated.

“You have taken my daughter from me and now she might not survive! Look at her!” Ameilia said through tear-filled eyes. “I will not help you any longer. You have nothing more to hold over me.”

Eevee screamed in fury as she lunged towards me.

“Then, I’ll have to just take out the heart myself. How hard can it be?”

I held up my hand and Evee bounced away from me as she hit the invisible shield, I just placed to block her; not that she could get through to me anyway with the circle still intact.

She fell to the ground with a thud, and everyone gasped around her.

“It’s not fair!!” Eevee hissed. “I did everything I was supposed to! The heart was supposed to be mine!!!”

“If you want her, you’ll have to go through all of us!” Someone in the crowd surprised me by saying. “We won’t let you destroy this world. Not after what we saw.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and took stances like they were preparing to fight. Eevee looked around; her face paled at the sight of everybody. They stared at her with fury once they realized she manipulated this whole thing.

“You haven’t seen the last of me!” Eevee growled and with those words left in the air, she turned and ran from sight at such an incredible speed that she was gone by the time I blinked.

Everybody was still too stunned, confused, and groggy from the vision to go after her.

“Tessa, release the circle,” Esme instructed. I saw that Carter was now kneeling on the ground, defeated. He was racked with sobs as was Amelia. Everyone else just looked distraught, tired, confused, and mournful. I met Joseph’s eyes and I saw how beat he looked.

Bernard was dead. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and comfort him. I wanted to wrap my arms around Ruby and protect her from this.

I turned to face the circle, which was still glowing with the elements, waiting for instructions.

“Fire, water, air, earth, metal, and spirit, thank you for all your hard work this evening. I release you from the circle!”

With those words left in the air, one last swirl of energy went around us and each of us glowed brightly in the colors of our elements before the glowing went away and the circle was broken.

As soon as the barrier was released, both Carter and Amelia ran to Ruby.

“Ruby…” Carter croaked as he lifted her into his arms. Her body lay limp in his arms.

Tears streamed down my face; I was too numb to move or even speak.

“No…” Amelia cried as she held onto Ruby’s hand. “There’s no pulse…”

“Check again! We must do something. Where are the healers?!” Carter cried, his body trembling violently.

Everybody remained silent as we stared at Ruby. I found my legs weak and unable to hold my weight any longer. I soon fell to the ground with a thud, my heart completely shattered.

I screamed in fury and remorse while the Nightwalker police and some healers rushed to Ruby’s side, trying to wrestle her out of Carter’s hold.

I didn’t even realize that Joseph was by my side with his arms wrapped around my body, pulling me into his chest, engulfing me with his warmth.

“She was supposed to be protected…” I whispered, my lip quivering as more tears fell from my eyes. “She wasn’t supposed to go like this…”

“Let the police and the healers take her,” Esme pleaded. “They might be able to help her.”

Looking at my dear friend lying motionless with blood pouring out of her eyes, I felt helpless, and I doubted the healer's abilities to save her. She wasn’t breathing and she didn’t even have a pulse!

Carter finally relented and allowed them to take Ruby, however he stayed by her side and went with them. Amelia stayed close behind him, sobbing and shaking as she walked away.

“Search the perimeter. Penny couldn’t have gotten far,” I heard Mulligan commanding his men.

I looked around at the silent crowd; most were injured; some were fighting for their lives. A lot were dead. But those who were alive knelt on the ground and bowed their heads to me, remorse etched on their faces.

“We would never go against the Moon Goddess,” one of the men bowing said to me. “She had shown us the future and we would do anything to keep that from happening. Please, forgive us… we have been steered wrong for so many years. We let greed and envy blind us from what is important. You are a gift, and we will treat you as such.”

I was in no shape to give them an encouraging speech, but these people needed a leader and to know that the future that they saw wasn’t going to happen as long as I was alive.

I nodded to them as I stood a little straighter, trying to keep the heartbreak and fear out of my face and voice as I spoke to them.

“What the Goddess’s prophet showed you was the truth. I hope we can work together to prevent that terrible fate,” I said to them firmly. “My powers are meant to protect you. Please, trust me and my coven.”

Just as I finished speaking, my legs grew weak as I thought about the lives lost during this battle. I felt exhausted and my body was unwilling to cooperate any longer. Joseph wrapped his arms and scooped me into his arms, holding me bridal style as I rested my head on his chest.

Esme stepped beside us, and her voice boomed across the farm.

“The Moon Goddess had spoken to almost every supernatural creature in the world, not just the ones who were a part of this battle. They all saw what you saw, and they all heard what you heard. But please, continue to spread the word. No harm will come to Tessa or her child. No one shall fear her, and no one shall possess the Heavenly Heart. Let this war end. And I mean all war between supernatural creatures. That includes the longstanding battle between witches and vampires. We are not enemies, and we shouldn’t be treated as such. We are the children of the Moon Goddess. If we work together, we can keep Alastar, the lord of the underworld, away from our home.”

After a moment of silence, applause erupted around us, and everybody began cheering and clapping. I was too weak to appreciate it, but I offered them a small smile in return and nodded my thanks to Esme for continuing the speech on my behalf.

“Joseph take me inside. I need to see my father,” I told him, my heart thudding violently in my chest as I thought about my father locked in the house during the battle.

I just had to hope that he was okay.

“Tessa!” Amy said as she rushed towards me as we neared the house; the rest of my coven followed suit with worried expressions. “Are you okay?”

I couldn’t even speak, I just wept in Joseph’s arms.

Was I okay?

I didn’t think so.

My best friend was gone and now I felt nothing but hollow.

“We are so sorry about Ruby,” Cole said, staring down at his feet. “We tried so hard to protect her.”

This only made me cry harder and I buried my face in Joseph’s chest.

“We should get her inside,” Joseph instructed them.

“Oh, yes. We will release the barrier. We made it impossible for anyone to get in and for her father to get out.”

The sound of that made my heart swell just a little knowing that my father was secured inside without a chance of getting out. I was beyond thankful to my coven for thinking of such a thing.

Once they released the barrier, my father immediately threw the door open and rushed outside. I imagine he’s been trying to get out for quite a while now. I wondered if he watched the entire thing go down from his windows.

“Tessa!” He said, rushing towards me, worry clear in his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

His voice trailed off and I could see the painful expression on his face.

The spell that Penny had over him was broken and now I knew he was confused about the entire thing. I didn’t blame him for anything; it couldn’t have been helped.

“You were under a spell, Rick,” Patty was the one who spoke, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him. “Penny had you hooked. It wasn’t your fault.”

“I don’t know what happened. It’s like I was there… but not in full control. I would just get so angry if someone tried to tell me the truth about her and I would deny it. But deep down, I knew Tessa was telling me the truth. I should have fought harder…”

“There was nothing you could have done. But it’s over now,” Patty assured him, giving him a small smile. “You are free from her.”

“Where is she? Please tell me she’s in custody.”

At that moment, I remembered Ruby’s original vision. Tomorrow was the day that Penny would kill him in the stable. She must return at some point, hungry for blood. My heart sank deep into my stomach, and it snapped me out of my stooper as I lifted my head to look at my father.

“Dad, you might be in danger.”