“We’re close to Noah’s house,” I said, chewing my cheek.

The ground rocked. We’d only felt tremors in the Between, but here, the ground shook so hard it was nearly impossible to stay upright.

“The Oracle was right. It’s begun,” Darkness said, gesturing toward an area in the woods that remained illuminated after a lightning strike.

As we headed closer, I could hear the distant screams, cries, and shrieks echoing as the battle raged. After several steps, something caught my foot and sent me falling to the ground. Urgently, the others picked me up and looked me over to make sure everything was in place.

“What is that?” I asked, squinting at the blob on the ground.

Storm’s eyes glowed, lightly illuminating the area around us. On the ground, there was a deceased, mangled demon with black furry skin oozing an inky, sticky substance onto the grass.

Nightmare pointed to different lumps scattered across the surrounding area. “They are everywhere.”

“That is a lot of them,” Honor mumbled. “The Light must be winning.”

Nightmare picked up what appeared to be a deflated golden balloon that emitted a gentle flicker. “Lots of them around here, too.”

“This is bad,” Darkness said.

“There is so much happening,” Storm said, pressing her fingers to her temples. “Violent storms everywhere. It’s hard to concentrate.”

Darkness placed his hand on her shoulder. “Stay calm so as not to make it worse. They are not your storms.”

“Still, I can feel it,” she said, clenching her teeth.

“Use it to fight,” Darkness said, peering into the distance.

I shook my head. “I don’t know how to fight.”

“Keep your head clear, and have faith that the artifacts will guide you,” Honor said.

“They aren’t doing anything!” I said, balling my hands into fists. “It feels like I’m just walking right into my grave. Why can’t this be easy?”

Storm wrapped her arms around her middle. “It’s different for all of us. We had more time to come to terms with everything than you do.”

“I can feel it inside me bubbling like a hot pot of stew,” Darkness said, holding out his fingers as bits of dust and debris swirled around, growing larger as he stared at it. “All I have to do is think, and it happens.”

“Can you do anything?” I asked.

Darkness shook his head. “No. I use particles. Nightmare can use mind control, and Storm can manipulate the weather.”

In the distance, a blood-curdling scream ripped through the air, sending shivers down my spine. The surrounding shadows seemed more sinister as we once again started toward the battle.

“What did Calista do?” I asked, wrapping my hand around the medallion as it warmed my wrist.

Nightmare shrugged. “I’m not sure. As far as I know, she never had to use them.”

“She just always kept things in order. She treated everyone with kindness and fairness. Calista was a good listener who just seemed to know how to solve problems,” Storm said, clearing her throat.

“Great,” I said, letting out a heavy sigh. “Basically, no one knows what I’m supposed to do.”

Darkness pressed his lips together. “Perhaps you just need to be there. We will fight for you. This isn’t your war. I will do anything and everything to keep you safe.”

“As will I,” Honor replied, pressing his hand to his heart.

“Us too, of course,” Nightmare added.

My eyes focused on the warm medallion around my wrist. “I just wish there was something more I could do to help. All this work to convince me that I’m Balance reborn or whatever, and I can’t even do anything helpful.”

“There won’t be anything any of us can do if we don’t get to the battle,” Storm said, her eyes glowing intensely as the wind picked up.

I followed them as they picked up their speed toward the glowing light deep in the woods. We were rather close when Darkness caught my arm and stopped me.

“If this is the end, I want you to know that I love you,” he said before pulling me in for a kiss. “I loved you always, even when I was fighting it and even before I knew what you were meant to be.”

“If only you would have acted like it,” I teased.

Darkness grinned. “Please, you were afraid of me.”

“I think you wanted me to be afraid,” I replied, pressing my head against his chest. A long sigh escaped my lips as I breathed him into my lungs. “I’m scared, Darkness. I’m really, really scared.”

“I wish I could promise you it would be okay,” Darkness said, kissing the top of my head.

I exhaled slowly. “I wish you could, too.”

“Let’s go!” Nightmare shouted as he waved his hand.

Darkness cupped my face and peered into my eyes for a long moment before softly placing his lips to mine. Time seemed to stand still, but only for a moment before he took my hand and pulled me along.

As we drew closer, the number of bodies on the ground increased. I could feel the deflated Light Beings squish under my shoes as I followed behind Darkness into the clearing.

The area was larger than several football fields, with all sorts of creatures fighting against one another. It was easy to tell which side was which as all the beings fighting for The Light were white with a faint glow. Some were tall and slender, others were short or had wings.

The demon creatures had long fingers and fangs. Some of them moved so fast that it was hard to keep track of where they were going. It was absolutely horrifying to watch them tear each other to shreds.

“Holy shit,” Nightmare said, his hands on his hips.

Storm ducked as a demon was tossed in our general direction. She pointed at a group across from us that was fighting against both.

“Our family is already here,” she said.

“How many of you are there?” I asked.

“Not enough,” Storm said before her eyes rolled back into her head.

A massive black cloud floated down from the sky, cloaking the area in absolute darkness. As if dropped into a blender, the ground shook, and we swirled around for a few seconds before the cloud dissipated.

“This is brutal,” I said, holding Darkness’s arm as I steadied myself.